Armytek in the woods. Photos and videos

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
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New England woods.
In another thread I had a question about a beam shot from a Viking. The person thought it was from a Predator. I hiked again later afternoon into night and took a beam shot from the Predator in field use to show the similarities within brush cover to the Viking which has more flood. Oh the strange stuff gear nuts do. Rather than just posting the beam shot how about a little background as to why the flashlight was there in the first place.

As part of my conditioning hikes I like to spin a coal or two for extra physical activity for the upper body. When the friction fire attempt runs into trouble that only means more of a work out. Often these hikes start late pushing into the night. It was a good day.





Wild strawberries in this open area. They tasted ok which is often the case.








Heading up to higher country. I do this hike maybe 3 times a week changing it up with other trails during those outings.





The mountain laurels are in bloom. Some flowers are pink and others white. Not sure why they're different. Too lazy to Google it.





The higher scrub is my favorite type of country.














The blueberries aren't ready yet. These are one of the pros to being up here.





My usual resting spot. The Kifaru pointman was 28 lbs today. Much too heavy for a dayhike but that's part of the fun.





I always pick up trash in the woods. Not too many people hike this spot but will find the occasional can or wrapper which was the case here. So why not use them for a friction fire practice? My extra thin jacket was out for a knee pad on the rocks but the moss worked just fine.





Bearing block ready to GO! Aluminum cans have relatively low friction but are sharp when crushed and transfer heat easily. All and all uncomfortable to hold. I have cut myself a few times doing this in the past. The spindle can easily fly out as well. They can be improved upon but not the perfect bearing block. They are fast to modify and unfortunately tossed about as trash so all too often available. These pros make them usable but again not prefect.





Burn in over. It went smoothly enough which tends to be a good sign.





The V-notch cut. I am going to use the wrapper to hold the coal. What could possibly go wrong?





Got a coal fast but almost instantly it started to melt though the plastic.





It's amateur hour in the high scrub! The coal fell through the wrapper into the tinder bundle however it disintegrated. Not enough held together to blow into flames. What was I expecting. A coal not to melt plastic? If this had been my only shot at getting a fire in bad circumstances it would have been over. Then again if I was totally dependent on this horse and pony show to get a fire maybe better planing is in order? Yup I got matches, lighters and a firesteel.





Tossed the wrapper into my pack changing it out for an oak leaf. Spun another coal however the spindle flew out before I had time to build it up. Kinda sad little thing and without a coal extender I failed to blow it into flames.





But on the third try we have success. A nice fat coal which should hold together just fine once allowed to solidify.








The baby has been delivered.











Tools of the trade for dayhikes which go into night. I also have a Fenix HP12 headlamp in addition to the flashlight.







The hike out. The beam from my Warm aka NW Predator in actual use. So there is the back ground information as to the how and why.


 

ven

Flashaholic
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Oct 17, 2013
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Manchester UK
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Awesome thread,pics and little story,love it mr walker:twothumbs Every thread i see you on makes me want to disappear :laughing:............ just no where that local to me(sure there is but unaware). Well i have the awesome Lake District 60+ miles away,then Wales similar miles...........just nothing "round the corner" so to speak;)

I know its only pics and i know catching tint is very difficult,but it does look cool to me,comparing against my viking pro cool
Not a hike but the other weeks camp trip(should be doing another this weekend but rach not well)

In day


pd35vn quad 2x 5000k and 2x 6500k so around 5700k which is close to my fav tint


Viking pro v2.5 cool


tn36vn 3xMKR


These are great for soft low light,lots of use and may get more as useful for work too with the magnets. Guess just useful all round for general purpose.......


Little arsenal for the 4 day camp
Viking pro 2.5/tn36vn/quad pd35vn/ and edc D25c ti neutral


Pics took on iphone 6 that does a pretty good job to an extent ,even though auto balances............

Cheers ven:)
 

ArmyTek

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Apr 11, 2011
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804
Location
Berlin, Germany
Re: Armytek in the woods.

If you want I can create a thread for all of you where you can share your pics and stories about your hobbies and other activities! Just let me know. Or we can just rename this one.

Woods Walker, your backpack is nice. It is not so large, but can contain a lot of things. Just want to buy something like that for my brother as a birthday present. :)

ven, the last pic is so bright!
Thank you for the photos! It will make our Instagram account more wonderful. :)
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Re: Armytek in the woods.

If you want I can create a thread for all of you where you can share your pics and stories about your hobbies and other activities! Just let me know. Or we can just rename this one.

Woods Walker, your backpack is nice. It is not so large, but can contain a lot of things. Just want to buy something like that for my brother as a birthday present. :)

ven, the last pic is so bright!
Thank you for the photos! It will make our Instagram account more wonderful. :)

The Kifaru Pointman is very comfortable with heavier weight. Around 25-30 pounds water included is what I pack for longer ranges in summer with 35-40 during winter so I try to hike with similar weight often unless planning on running or looking to cover pure distance.
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Re: Armytek in the woods.

I know its only pics and i know catching tint is very difficult,but it does look cool to me,comparing against my viking pro cool
Not a hike but the other weeks camp trip(should be doing another this weekend but rach not well)

The camera was unable to properly capture the neutral white tint of the warm Predator. It's very nice in person.
 
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markr6

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Re: Armytek in the woods.

I recently started carrying a thrower in the woods. Not totally necessary, but I feel it's worth the weight most of the time. Here's a quick shot hammock camping in the red pines. They go for miles and the S200C2 cuts thru nicely :)

S200C2_pines.jpg
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
Re: Armytek in the woods.

What's the make of that gueessing black under quilt? Nice pic! :)

HammockGear 20°. One of my favorite purchases ever! Took me down to 3°F no problem, but I since purchased a 0° just to be safe.
 

ven

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Manchester UK
Re: Armytek in the woods.

The camera was unable to properly capture the neutral white tint of the warm Predator. It's very nice in person.

yes i know exactly what you mean,the only camera surprisingly accurate at close ish range is the iphone 6+. Still it auto balances so you dont get the right brightness,the tn36vn and pd35vn really are walls of light in a neutral to cool tint.

I will get a warm predator v3 i think, as my next armytek light:D I do like mixing my tints up a bit,also gives a little variety when out and about other than specific uses.....well for me anyway .
 

blackbalsam

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WNC
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Very interesting trip. I thought I was the only hammock camper here. THANKS.
 

blackbalsam

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WNC
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Thank you for the video. Enjoyed it very much. ...Robert
 

nbp

Flashaholic
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Wisconsin
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Nope. It's not just you.

We had a happening Hammock Camping thread on the CPFEDCAQ forum while it was up... sad that it's gone. I am still optimistic that such a thing will be opened up over here. I have done some hammock camping myself and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great posts everyone, especially the great fire tutorial from Woods Walker! I also had some nice survival threads, including a firemaking one on the Adventuring forum. I wish I had more time to practice my bushcraft!

I had my AT Prime C1 warm head on a C2 18650 body last night for a bonfire by some friends. I didn't take any pics, sorry. But it came in handy for finding a lost earring, picking up broken glass from a tipped over martini glass, finding a wandering Pomeranian, and helping a friend clean marshmallow goo off her forehead.... I don't even know how that happened. :ohgeez: Do you think anyone else would bring a flashlight with them?!?! Hahaha.
 

ahtoxa11

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Mar 18, 2015
Messages
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Re: Armytek in the woods.

I recently started carrying a thrower in the woods. Not totally necessary, but I feel it's worth the weight most of the time. Here's a quick shot hammock camping in the red pines. They go for miles and the S200C2 cuts thru nicely :)

S200C2_pines.jpg

I would LOVE not to lug my 2-man Kelty around and bring a hammock instead. But, alas, dogs and hammocks don't go well together, and I'm not one for leaving my dog out.
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
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Messages
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Location
New England woods.
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Here is something you all might find interesting. On that very same spot which I did that friction fire a few days ago and returned last night for another adventure with the Predator on my belt I had a bear encounter only a few hours ago. Oddly I felt last night there was something unusual, maybe I was on edge from the previous encounter but despite a sweeping with the Predator's throw light nothing showed. I was also schooling a friend on blowdrill and other bushcraft skills during last night's hike so was distracted. Still the far reaching throw took the edge off when combined with our headlamps. I guess the bear was after the Blueberries and Hucks. I live 4 miles away from that trail system and the the day before look what was in the back yard then walking up the driveway.



We carry these gear items for a reason. Bears and rattlers are active at night so I wan't maximum illumination possible. Neither are looking for a fight but best to see what's in the environment before it sees you. Oddly enough on that very same moss covered spot I placed my pack and rested during the last two days was the bear.

It was right here:




This one took off before I could get a pic. That's the way it should be IMHO. I guess we both like nice thick mossy spots in the sun. I didn't see any bear sign the night before but did find a family of foxes illuminated under neutral white on the hike back. Guessing the bear was probably within the area during that hike as well. 3 days two bear encounters is a record for me.
 
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Raysbeam

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Alberta Canada
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Really enjoyed this thread. Awesome ArmyTek lights and other gear. Great pictures and videos. Thanks for sharing.
 

ArmyTek

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Berlin, Germany
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Really enjoyed this thread. Awesome ArmyTek lights and other gear. Great pictures and videos. Thanks for sharing.

Agree with you! :)

Thank you, friends, for all your stories, videos and photos. Highly appreciated!

Follow us on Instagram - there you will find a lot of interesting. :)
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Re: Armytek in the woods.

Really enjoyed this thread. Awesome ArmyTek lights and other gear. Great pictures and videos. Thanks for sharing.

So far it's working out. The only issue is an easy to scratch guessing coating on the outside of the lense but that doesn't affect it's performance. More importantly the holster has not slipped off the belt of my pack. I tend to take this pack out in colder weather so this light will be getting more use soon. Might change over to CR123s for the winter as well. It does have stupid good throw and a nice tint. Haven't gotten the opportunity to drop it or myself hold it yet so can't say if it's durable. I guess it's rated to take a good fall so if or rather when that day comes will know more. Tell yea all what. Next night hike I will take the pack with the Predator attached will post some pics here.
 
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