One is none

[ilikeguns40]

I can't stand using my phone light. I see guys at work doing it, drives me nuts. There was one time I needed a light and for some reason I didn't have mine on me and had to resort to my cellphone. It was very disappointing and it won't happen again

 

[fulee9999]

Yeah, I'm a bit sad that the cell-phone light has become almost universal among everyone now. Used to be that in any given group, the flashaholic was the ONLY person who would have a light of any kind!

to be fair, while I'd suggest anyone carry at least some sort of flashlight with them ( like a best practice, or good habit, like having a fire extinguisher in your house and car, having a fire retardant blanket if you deep fry stuff, etc ) what really weirds me out is that most tradesman I meet like plumbers, electricians, etc don't carry a flashlight on them and just fumble around with their phones

 

[Stress_Test]

I do like the completely smooth flood "mule" type of light from my cell phone emitter. It made me wish I had bought one of those little 4-sevens Atom lights back in the day. However, the ol' Scotch tape on the lens trick gets pretty close on some lights.

I will say that I wouldn't want to burn down my phone battery by using the flashlight function. If you've ever had to use your phone in an emergency situation, then you'll know how critical it is to have enough battery for communication, especially depending on the duration of the event.

 

[ironhorse]

I have to admit to using the light on my phone. It make a flash when I take a picture in low light. Other than that, it's never been on.

 

[jz6342]

I rarely have less that three lights on or about my person. As a firefighter I found out really quick how dark the inside of a structure can get, even in the middle of the day. Also, I have a healthy respect for Mr. Murphy

 

[rwolfenstein]

I work dayshift but I still have two lights on me. One is my issued duty light (streamlight stinger led) and the other is my trusty surefire 6P

 

[Monocrom]

It's situations like that one why I always carry 3 lights on me, and 2 more in my car. Usually when out & about, I'm either in or near my car. One flashlight really is none.

 

[Kitchen Panda]

that's mad, recent years I've always heard you need four flashlights for caving, and just googling a bit, every caving site says you should have at least one headlamp ( but two is preferred ) and at least two backup flashlights with you at all times.

to be fair, if you like hiking it's well within the realms of possibilites to randomly happen upon a cave you might want to explore.

Four? Sounds about right. Four in my pockets, four for the missus, ....and four for the tour guide who's leading the group that I'm following. Caves terrify me.

Bill
(cool trench, by the way...imagine spending what you fear might be the rest of your life in one of those !)

 

[bykfixer]

A few years back my son asked me to look at the windshield of his car where water was leaking into the cab. It was dark outside.
I started out with a microstream in tooth hold mode and my drool got inside the tailcap. "Zzzzztt" darkness. Reach in my pocket and pull out another light that flickered and turned off. Reach in my other pocket and with that light tailcap clicky decided to fail.
Go inside the house and grab two more lights and finally #5 worked without a hitch. Number 4 was an incan and the bulb poofed.

Next day I bought 2 Elzetta Alphas, 2 Malkoff MD2's and 2 Streamlight Pro Tac's. That was many years ago when 350 lumens was a big deal.

We added some clear silicone and the leak was fixed but it took longer to get a light to work than to fix the leak.

Moral of the story: Sometimes 5 is 1. 👍

 

[Repsol600rr]

For deer season I brought 2 flashlights and 2 headlamps. I'd rather not get caught in the pitch black if I take a shot close to dusk as any number of things could happen than mean we are still out well after dark. I also know my group maaaaybe brings 1 of each, usually just a random flashlight and no headlamp. So I can assist there should they need it. Fenix uc35 v2.0, fenix hm50r, olight s1r baton 3 ss, and black diamond revolt 2015 I've been using for years. I like usb rechargeable for this. Know I start fresh every morning. Gotta charge my heated sweatshirt anyways.

 

[Ishango]

Yeah, I'm a bit sad that the cell-phone light has become almost universal among everyone now. Used to be that in any given group, the flashaholic was the ONLY person who would have a light of any kind!

Firing up a flashlight during a sudden blackout just doesn't have the same impact when everyone else in the room turns on their cellphone lights also.

Sure, it takes away some of the impact, but then again, since they all have lights now they are less likely to go after mine. Plus I get to actually use my phone for communication purposes while the others drain their batteries quickly.

I do like the completely smooth flood "mule" type of light from my cell phone emitter. It made me wish I had bought one of those little 4-sevens Atom lights back in the day. However, the ol' Scotch tape on the lens trick gets pretty close on some lights.

I will say that I wouldn't want to burn down my phone battery by using the flashlight function. If you've ever had to use your phone in an emergency situation, then you'll know how critical it is to have enough battery for communication, especially depending on the duration of the event.

Nice coincidence that you mention the Atom here. I was just going over my collection this afternoon and was wondering if I would take the Atom for a spin (haven't used it for a few years now). You just made me pocket it straight away

 

[Terry M]

I subscribe to this philosophy with lights and knives. Yes, people make fun of me. I usually have 3 lights on me and 3 or 4 knives. Got caught under a house in a crawl space once when my only light quite working

 

[Burgess]

Great thread here !


And today, at age 69,
I learned what a Bothy Bag is !


_

 

[pnwoutdoors]

One is none ... dropped and broke his *only* flashlight and sp ent two days in total darkness unable to find his way out ...

It's been awhile since I have done much hiking and back-country camping. But if armed with today's flashlight tech I'd certainly want to bring at least a couple of lights along with spare batteries.

For me, it'd be: two or three Malkoff M61 LED lights, and a dozen or so fresh 18650 cells; one on me (with some battery spares) as well as one set in the pack. The "split" load would help guard against, say, loss of the pack, or my carried unit getting damaged along with the pack's unit. Fully-potted LED drop-ins, and multiple spare batteries. That plus a decent nearly-unbreakable mirror ... that's about as good as I could make it, for visual lighting/warning.

Of course, these days, with emergency signaling, GPS and other electronica, it's getting easier to have the gear with you that'll avoid such scrapes to begin with. Better safe than sorry, when out in the back-country, on the ocean, down the river gorge, etc.

Back in my teens and twenties, I did uncounted journeys into the wilds, was in and around water, in spots where there was no communication and days' worth of travel to get to help. Can't imagine surviving it, these days, if faced with the same challenges. But I learned quite a bit. Including the "One is none" adage. Very useful, that.

A stuff-sack emergency bivy sack (or two); an emergency "space" (heat) blanket; fire-starter; water purification and emergency water purifying "straw"; compass and spare; flashlights, spare cells; knives; several bundles of rope/paracord; etc etc.

 

[Burgess]

HERE is the LINK
to the video on YouTube --

 

[Monocrom]

HERE is the LINK
to the video on YouTube --

I used to love that channel, and was a subscriber. Every Tuesday morning there'd be an upload, every single week. Had to unsub. quite a few months back. Just got angry at the end of each video. Most of his content revolved around individuals who displayed literally obscene levels of greed that got countless people killed. With those directly responsible getting off with barely a slap on the wrist, if that. Don't need a visit from Anger every Tuesday morning.

But those curious about such disasters, yes; his channel is worth subscribing to. Only channel I ever unsubbed from that had nothing to do with the content creator being a low-life and showing his true colors, or not uploading for months at a time.

 

[knucklegary]

Great thread here !


And today, at age 69,
I learned what a Bothy Bag is !


_

We called them "bivy" bags. There's a few on Amz inexpensive. I keep one in each vehicle for emergency situations

 

[fulee9999]

never heard of a "bothy bag" before, but if I see this correctly, the bothy bag is a larger tarp like contraption while the bivouac sack/bag or "bivy" is just a small one person sized survival tarp/blanket/sack/bag

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

A bivy bag (bivouac sack) is basically a water resistant sleeping bag cover. Some are more elaborate with a pole, headroom, and mosquito netting to be used like a single person tent. A bothy bag is also known as a mountain hut. It's a bag that you get inside and sit on the sides (has no floor other than the piece you sit on) and use your bodies for poles (it may also allow use of trekking poles in center for added supports). They start at 2 person and go up to 12+ person sizes. I carry a 4-6 person Rab shelter which weighs 22 ounces. I've found ways to use it for a single person shelter in bad weather. I got that size because it is large enough for one person to lay down in. If you're in a situation where you need one, most likely someone is injured or exhausted and needs to lay down and sleep. 4-6 person is also a good size for a small group or family hiking. And don't confuse either a bivy bag or a bothy bag with a biffy bag. The owner will not appreciate it.

 

[rwolfenstein]

When I first got into my job field, I was stuck on 16 hour shifts. I had taken my old magcharger with me to work and a surefire G2 (original that I bought when I was 18) on my belt as a spare. The mag charger lasted about 2 hours overnight before the bulb went dim. The G2 ended up dying one night when it was raining and I was doing a field contact. Turned out that there was water in the G2 when I replaced batteries. It heated up, swelled up and that was the end of it. (Surefire replaced it dont worry and I still have it to this day). Moral of the story, I have plenty of lights around me. I have a light mounted in the car, another in my pocket and two duty lights. Never hurts to be prepared.