An outdoors hiking/camping light

llmercll

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Dec 27, 2009
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I took my lights out tonight to test which ones I liked the most for an outdoor/camping environment.

I felt like brightness was critical, the brighter the better. I liked being able to see as much as possible in the darkness. But I also noticed that I prefer warmer light, for instance 4000k over 5000k. I tend to prefer 5000k for indoors however, as I feel it brings out colors more accurately.

I also noticed I prefer a beam with a good amount of throw for distance, whereas with indoor light I prefer flood.

Does anyone else feel this way? Part of me wonders if I prefer warmer color temperatures because we evolved to have fire illuminate our nights.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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Yeah, there's a lot of reds, browns, and yellows in a forest. As well a green, obviously. Very little blue and violet. So, a warmer tint brings out the color differences in those reds and browns. A cool tint just washes those reds out, and has no advantage in bringing out blues because there is none.

I like 4000K-4500K for outdoors. Indoors, I actually prefer even warmer. But outdoors, a really warm tint (3000K-3500K) starts to make things look unnatural.
 

bykfixer

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Ahhhhh, the golden hue of a campfire. I like a throwey incan for camping. But at 2am a lot less brightness gets it done until.... wait... whatz that russeling in the bushes....
POW!!! The brighter and whiter the better there. Ease of ID.
 

BauerFive

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Sep 16, 2016
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I recently came back from a camping trip at Big Bend and was using a friends' zebralight sc63w (which is prompting a search of my own) I'd recommend that light.
 

floody

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Nov 17, 2017
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I love Nitecore HC65. The light is beam enough. Hence, I will not blind others. Also, I can use the red light during photo-shooting for the galaxy. It gives me enough brightness to see surroundings environment but not ruin the pic.
 

Keitho

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Jun 7, 2017
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I agree with liking warmer at night in the woods, but I try to avoid using bright light too often at night. I like using moonlight and starlight when I can, and a couple extra high CRI lumens when needed in more dense underbrush. Stars and quiet outdoors don't go well with turbo mode, at least in my brain. That doesn't stop me from having and using a good thrower in the woods, especially at overlooks!
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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I agree about preserving night vision, when possible. However, I also like to blast a wall of light upwards at trees. It gives a very surreal look. We're so used to trees being lit from above, they look very different when lit from below. You have to use a lot of light with a big flood, though.
 

jorn

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Nov 8, 2008
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Norway
I prefer a neutral floody headlamp. zebralight 600 "something" fc, suits me fine. Also got a warm handheld for backup that i like outdoors, more throwy, but far from a thrower. It's a solarforce with a edc+ x60 l. Only gives 1,5A to a warm xm-l led so it's not that powerful. I like the mode spacing on that one. But as long as i have my headlamp, the handheld will not see any use. It's more a backup/spare battery holder for longer trips.
 

markr6

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Jul 16, 2012
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Those 4000-5000K lights sure look nice outdoors. I was never in a situation where I had a 4500K light and couldn't see far enough, so then took a 6500K light and said "oh now I can see it". The difference is never that great to my eyes.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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Those 4000-5000K lights sure look nice outdoors. I was never in a situation where I had a 4500K light and couldn't see far enough, so then took a 6500K light and said "oh now I can see it". The difference is never that great to my eyes.

Yes. Cool white looks more impressive, but I find it harder to see things with it, especially at a distance, even if it is slightly brighter.

I have a thrower with a 3000K warm tint, and I find it worse than a more neutral 4500K thrower of the same design. So, I think 4000K-4500K seems to be the sweet spot for outdoors.

Indoors, I prefer warmer, but that's more for comfort.
 

tom-

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Jun 10, 2013
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From reading the specs the 'Hound Dog' looks like it should be called the 'Hot Dog'

Does it really cost over $200 usd?
 
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