Safari Spotlight?

[Paperdesk]

What would be a good spotlight for an African Safari? It obviously needs to be extra portable and not too heavy because of luggage limitations. Someone suggested the Stanley HID at about $69 and 4lb. Any lighter/smaller options?

Ted

 

[Paperdesk]

Oh, and yes, it does need to have cordless operation.

 

[GaryM]

If I were going, I think I'd rather have a night vision device over a spotlight. A good LED flashlight running on lithium cells might be more practical than a spotlight. Multi level output would be useful in camp as well.

 

[CouldUseALight]

Take a look at the Titanium Innovations line at Battery Junction. These are proven lights with a couple options that might suit you.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-illuminator.html

http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-lx50-explorer.html

 

[Paperdesk]

If I were going, I think I'd rather have a night vision device over a spotlight. A good LED flashlight running on lithium cells might be more practical than a spotlight. Multi level output would be useful in camp as well.

I never priced night vision gear, but I suspect it's out of my price range, however, it would be great fun. I'll check into that. Do you have a suggestion of a good LED flashlight?

 

[Paperdesk]

Take a look at the Titanium Innovations line at Battery Junction. These are proven lights with a couple options that might suit you.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-illuminator.html

http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-lx50-explorer.html

Those both look awesome, but not nearly as portable as I'm hoping for.

 

[AEHaas]

This one would be a good choice in many ways:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/combo-l35-batt-lens-opt.html

Also, Look at the SR90 LED light.

aehaas

 

[Paperdesk]

Amazing, that would be perfect, but the price! Ouch. Out of my league.

This one would be a good choice in many ways:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/combo-l35-batt-lens-opt.html

Also, Look at the SR90 LED light.

aehaas

 

[Paperdesk]

What about something like the SKYRAY 3XT6
http://www.lazerpoint.com/p-skyray-...M_US_2521711&gclid=CNvK-cLVwrMCFW1yQgod-nIAGA

 

[Paperdesk]

Any ideas how the Sky Ray would compare to a typical spotlight?

 

[Paperdesk]

I've looked all over, and not seen any beam comparison's done between XM-L and HID lights. Has this been done? I'd be very interested to see!

 

[maka99]

Unless you need a light that goes over 1000 yards I'd go with the Olight SR90 which can throw out to 1000 yards or if you have the time it would be worth seeing when Eagletac is releasing their turbo head for the MX25L2. Both Lights use the SST-90 LED which has proven to be the king of throwers in the LED flashlight world and should give rather similar performance. Lil on the pricey side with the Olight being $400, however the Eagletac is $280 for the current version, which seems very reasonable for the light it is. Runtime on both lights is 80+ minutes. Could always buy an extra battery to bring with you.

 

[BVH]

Let's get practical here. Quite frankly, light produced by the Olight SR90 and other similar LED's is not going to be visible to the naked eye at 1000 Yards, if at all. Same with a 35 Watt HID. It just doesn't go that far in "usable Lumens", if at all. Even with an 80 watt HID 240 Blitz, you're going to have a very hard time seeing and recognizing anything at 1000 Yards. Look at my Medium Iron thread and at the 900 Yard tree. With the Maxabeam, you really cannot recognize what the spot is shining on. A 35 Watt, well focused HID is good for about 500 Yards maximum - usable.

 

[Paperdesk]

I have a 1 million cp spotlight. I'ts bright, and has good enough throw for me. It's just too big and heavy to take to Africa with me!

 

[Gunner12]

Those "XX million" candlepower spotlights are nowhere near what they say on the box. A true 1 million candle power light, like the first gen Maxabeam, throws a very far distance.

What size do you prefer? Runtime? Batteries? Maybe something like the Firefoxes III could work?

Would the guide have a spotlight?

 

[Paperdesk]

I suppose if I were to rate the important factors it would be as follows:

1. Cost
2. Size
3. Runtime

If we go on a night drive the guide will have a spotlight, but he never shines it where I want to look!

 

[djans1397]

What about the Thrunite TN31 or even the slightly older Olight SR51 which is an XML and can be found on cpfmarketplace often for under a $100 = good thrower with decent spill and with the diffuser it'd be a good camp light. I love mine. Just a thought.

 

[Patriot]

The most 'useable' (convenient, reliable, ergonomic, roll flexible) lights that I currently grab for spotting wildlife and video work at night time are the SR90 & SR95. I can spot deer sized critters out to about 300 meters and can project enough light for video out to about 175 meters. The SR95 is the brighter, lighter, longer running replacement of the SR90. There's also a SR95UT throw version which utilizes the SBT-90 LED but having borrowed one, I find the extra lumen output and beam angle of the SR95 to be more useful for the task.

The SR51 that djans1397 mentioned would be a smaller, less expensive option and still give reasonable performance but it has about 70% less throw than the SR95.

None of the Triple XM-L's will be in the same league with regards to Peak Throw Lux as the single, large emitter lights. For example the TN30, TM15, EYE-30 & EYE-40 Will have about 1/4 the Peak Throw Lux as the SR95.

HID lights are awesome performers but when you throw in travel convenience, role flexibility & run-time into the mix, sometimes, all but the most expensive HID's can be cantankerous compared to LED.

A SR95 is under 3lbs and can be put in a backpack or slung over the neck like an SLR camera. After a while you sort of forget that you're carrying it and it's great for getting in and out of vehicles because it fits tight to your body.

I hope that helps...

 

[TEEJ]

BTW - A million CP is not that much light.

 

[pertinax]

Lots of answers from people that have never been on a safari...

Precisely what do you intend to do with it? (And are we talking the dangerous kind of safari, or photo safari?)

Most PHs have spotlights consistent with their area. Have you asked? (Before you eat up a sizable chunk of your luggage allotment.)

I've never needed one, but I've not done cats at night...