# A set of lights for a world downfall.



## cxax (Feb 10, 2013)

Hello.
Weeks ago I started with a post in headlamps section to choose a headlamp fitting my demands. Meanwhile I decided to biud a 3-pieces set of lights:

1. A headlamp, flood or flood/throw. I'm choosing between Zebras' H51Fw and H502d.
2. A small single or double AA thrower with long and narrow beam and with very high and very low settings (no specific light chosen yet).
3. A strong 4 or 6 AA light. I'm chosing between Fenix LD41 and Olight S65 Baton, being closer to LD41.

Concerning point 2. 
Many people recommended Zebras' SC52 (SC51 is unfortunately out of stock) as a best single AA light, it's on back order so I believe it is available, is it?. Among other recommended lights I consider Eagletac D25A or D25A2 (XP-G2 R5) or 4/7 Quark Pro QPA or QP2A. The Eagletac P20A2 MKII (XP-G2 R5) is also in my top 5, even without the very low mode. What should I choose? Any other recommendations?

Concerning point 3.
I think the Fenix LD41 offers great performance for 4AAs the Olight S65 Baton is more powerful, but the need of 6AAs may be disadvantage. Am i right?


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## ObsceneJesster (Feb 10, 2013)

Yea. I think you are right about the S65 needing 6 batteries. If I were to choose a light for a SHTF situation then I would look for a light that required no more than 4 AA's. Personally, I would save two lights for a SHTF scenario and here's why. The first would be a light that ran off of AA bateries for the most obvious reason of them being the most popular. The second light would be one that ran off of no more than 4 AAA's. The reason for the AAA powered light is because I could pack away 20 or so AAA's without them being too heavy. Triple A's themselves are pretty easy to find as well. I have a Intova Fire Light that has a rotating head so it can be used either as a right angle flashlight or a regular flashlight. It's compact, runs off of 3 AAA's, has a burn time of 4 hours, water resistant to IPX4 standards and packs 220 lumens. Tovatec fire-light

I forgot to add that they sell the same light in a black version.


*Link removed as per the banner at the top of the page - Norm*


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## cxax (Feb 11, 2013)

ObsceneJesster said:


> Yea. I think you are right about the S65 needing 6 batteries. If I were to choose a light for a SHTF situation then I would look for a light that required no more than 4 AA's. Personally, I would save two lights for a SHTF scenario and here's why. The first would be a light that ran off of AA bateries for the most obvious reason of them being the most popular. The second light would be one that ran off of no more than 4 AAA's. The reason for the AAA powered light is because I could pack away 20 or so AAA's without them being too heavy. Triple A's themselves are pretty easy to find as well. I have a Intova Fire Light that has a rotating head so it can be used either as a right angle flashlight or a regular flashlight. It's compact, runs off of 3 AAA's, has a burn time of 4 hours, water resistant to IPX4 standards and packs 220 lumens. Tovatec fire-light



I understand your point of view, but I have very often both hands occupied and the headlamp is a must. Secondly the small (1 or 2 AA) thrower will be more like an EDC as well as will be very usefull in ransacking small, closed areas. The strongest light will be used to run for a long distances and in large closed areas. I plan to use Eneloops and solar chargers.


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## Shorty66 (Feb 11, 2013)

Dont ever buy lights with different batteries. AAs are most common - far more common than triple As andf they also have a much higher capacity.
If you buy lights with different Battery-types you WILL at one point run out of batteries and wont be able to use some from the other light.


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## mcnair55 (Feb 11, 2013)

Shorty66 said:


> Dont ever buy lights with different batteries. AAs are most common - far more common than triple As andf they also have a much higher capacity.
> If you buy lights with different Battery-types you WILL at one point run out of batteries and wont be able to use some from the other light.



I dispute your findings,in the UK and Germany(yes i lived there) AA&AAA are equally as popular.I could and can buy AA&AAA anywhere in all combinations.Near on all TV remotes run on AAA,all the German supers stock them plus electrical stores like Saturn etc do.


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## ObsceneJesster (Feb 11, 2013)

Shorty66 said:


> Dont ever buy lights with different batteries. AAs are most common - far more common than triple As andf they also have a much higher capacity.
> If you buy lights with different Battery-types you WILL at one point run out of batteries and wont be able to use some from the other light.



I as a self proclaimed prepper I have to disagree with your point of view. You are automatically assuming that you will constantly need both lights working at all times. In a desperate "end of the world situation" you're going to want flashlights that use different types of batteries. One in AA and the other in AAA. Doing so will increase your chances of always having a working light. You never know what type of battery you're going to come across and chances are the battery you are going to find will be one of the two listed above. 

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2


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## ObsceneJesster (Feb 11, 2013)

I also forgot to add that you could carry a light that used a lithium rechargeable and was capable of being charged through micro usb. Then you could buy one of those solar charging pads. That way you would always have a light whether you found batteries or not. Just make sure you pack away a couple extra lithium batteries in case they were to die on you. 

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2


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## MatthewSB (Feb 12, 2013)

cxax said:


> A set of lights for a world downfall.



I've been pondering the same thing lately, and while I don't like headlamps, because in the dark I tend to stay put and use a handheld light when I need to illuminate something, the concepts are the same - having usable light for as long as possible.

I am building a light kit that will include the following: 

- long runtime, dual mode CR123a LED light
- incandescent CR123a light with spare bulbs
- lifepo4 rechargable CR123a batteries with charger and solar panel
- AA dual mode led light
- incandesecent AA light
- AA rechargable batteries and charger that work with the same solar panel

I do this not so much because I think I'll have to use it, but because it's fun to buy gadgets and gear and cases to organize it in 

Whilerechargeable batteries are great, with long life lithium batteries now it should be years before they're needed if we buy them ahead of time and rotate them out ever few years (I plan on selling my 10 year shelf life batteries every 5 years to people I know that use a lot of them regularly, and replenish my stock). A dual output LED light with a 50 hour life on one battery, combined with 50 batteries, gives me 2,500 hours of light or enough light for 3 years if I use it for 2.5 hours per night (if I feel like carrying around 50 batteries). By that time I'll be dead or accustomed to going on without electronics or things would be back to normal, I'd think.



ObsceneJesster said:


> I also forgot to add that you could carry a light that used a lithium rechargeable and was capable of being charged through micro usb. Then you could buy one of those solar charging pads. That way you would always have a light whether you found batteries or not. Just make sure you pack away a couple extra lithium batteries in case they were to die on you.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2



There's solar panels that work with car charger adapters, which many chargers come with.


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## Shorty66 (Feb 12, 2013)

You can easily use most AA lamps with triple As by using a spacer. That spacer can easliy be made of any conducting material. It certainly works with Zebralights.

At least in the german towns i lived in (6 till now) AAs were always more easy to come by.


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## CarpentryHero (Feb 12, 2013)

I think diversity is best, like the Gerber Omnivore, runs on AA, aaa or cr123 battery, 10-20 lumens so you'll have a long runtime. 
Zebralight sc80 runs on AA or cr123 batteries  

i don't recomend the sc52 if your planning on scavenging cells, they don't recomend alkalines at all for this light. It's turbo mode draws too hard, and may cause leaks. Nimh, energizer L91 or 14500's are what can be used.

Quark AA or aa2 with xpg2 or the Thrunite Archer 1aa or 2aa are better survivalist lights in my eyes


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## argleargle (Feb 12, 2013)

100% Modular parts for TEOTWAKI I think are more important than a "specific type of battery light," IMHO.

Example: I have some tolerant led showerheads that light up just fine on 4V-15V. I like to pull one out during power outages and play with different battery combos. It could run on stacks of just about any available battery, I'm fond of using rechargable power tool batteries. There's nothing stopping me from feeding a pile of AAAs to them. I run them on old replaced 9v smoke alarm batteries all the time. They look like something like a MacGuyver-reject in Mad Max land, so I have had zero not returned yet. 

Who would steal a strange-looking part with no "on switch" that they understand? Does that thing even make light? What *IS* that thing?

Just a thought.

Aside from that, I'd pick anything with a super-low mode, meaning hundreds or thousands of hours of emergency runtime. I can wire an external battery pack, so battery limitations really don't apply much as far as I can see.


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## jabe1 (Feb 12, 2013)

Take a look at the Peak Logan 17500, and a set of battery spacers. These lights will run on anything that can fit in the tube!

Another long runtime option is a Safelight; hundreds of hours from a 9v battery, which most homes have a few of (smoke alarms).


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## dusty99 (Feb 12, 2013)

I agree. The world is certainly more stable today, and the collapse of society far less likely, that it was even in the middle of the last century, but it's fun to buy gear.



MatthewSB said:


> I do this not so much because I think I'll have to use it, but because it's fun to buy gadgets and gear and cases to organize it in


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## argleargle (Feb 13, 2013)

dusty99 said:


> I agree. The world is certainly more stable today, and the collapse of society far less likely, that it was even in the middle of the last century, but it's fun to buy gear.



The Roman Empire lasted over 2,000 years before *it fell.* Some governments in the world today are far, far younger than 250 years. History provides a good perspective.

Even so, gadgets are definitely fun.


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## Sub_Umbra (Feb 13, 2013)

In the final analysis lights are just tools, at least in an emergency event.  So for me it's just a matter of figuring out what I must accomplish and what lights I need to that end and then to get them. 

I think some make this too complicated.


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## yearnslow (Feb 16, 2013)

In a complete breakdown of society, law and order and basic morality, I'd be suprised if 10% of people here survived the first three months,
So it's really not worth worrying about.


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## Sub_Umbra (Feb 16, 2013)

Unless you want you and yours to be among that 10% 
who survive...ymmv


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## Burgess (Feb 17, 2013)

Well put, Sub_Umbra.


_


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## yearnslow (Feb 18, 2013)

Of course, but the fact is, until the situation arises you have no idea how you will react/respond.
The majority of people will perish. I'm sure we all THINK we'll survive, we are all survivors by nature as a species,
but only a few will make it, and they will be mainly military with the odd 'natural' thrown in.
As a rule, people tend to survive in groups/tribes/clans whatever, very few make it on their own.
This idea of 'me against the world' is very romantic, but entirely impractical.
People should be finding each other for a scenario like this, not preparing to reject each other.


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## CarpentryHero (Feb 18, 2013)

If that moment of SHTF ever comes, I'll be grabbing my fav's and batteries for them. When I run out of batteries and have to salvage, I'll have wished for a capacitor powered shake light. 
I'll be packing ten lights. I won't be too worried about throw, just reliability and runtime since warranties will be out the window.


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## Slazmo (Apr 29, 2013)

AA's & AAA's... Had lots of them until they all started to leak in some torches I had and in their original packaging... I was prepared however I sent them all back to Duracell...

If SHTF or ITEOTWAWKI ever happens, I hope that my selection of AA & AAA lights keeps me enlightened enough to get through. I do prep however its hard at the moment with everything going on.


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## Poppy (Apr 29, 2013)

yearnslow said:


> Of course, but the fact is, until the situation arises you have no idea how you will react/respond.
> The majority of people will perish. I'm sure we all THINK we'll survive, we are all survivors by nature as a species,
> but only a few will make it, and they will be mainly military with the odd 'natural' thrown in.
> As a rule, people tend to survive in groups/tribes/clans whatever, very few make it on their own.
> ...





Slazmo said:


> If SHTF or ITEOTWAWKI ever happens, I hope that my selection of AA & AAA lights keeps me enlightened enough to get through. I do prep however its hard at the moment with everything going on.


ITEOTWAWKI ... LOL... I had to google that to see what it means. Its the end of the world as we know it.

As yearnslow pointed out, we'll have to band together with others. Perhaps we'll need to supply our own food, water, shelter and heat. We'll need a means to cook and sterilize water. Will we farm? Have a dairy cow? OR will food and water still be transported to our neighborhood? Will we want to protect our supplies from those who do not have them, or will we give them away? If we decide to protect them, how? 

Maybe we want a bunch of TN30's or other area flood lights so our security force can monitor and protect the fields, cow/s, poultry.

Sorry, I can't forsee a scenario where I'll be hiding under a rock, proud to have a flashlight that puts out 0.3 lumins for a hundred hours on a single battery. If that becomes a necessity, I'll just make sure one of you paklite guys is a member of my tribe.


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## Poppy (Apr 29, 2013)

CarpentryHero said:


> If that moment of SHTF ever comes, I'll be grabbing my fav's and batteries for them. *When I run out of batteries and have to salvage, I'll have wished for a capacitor powered shake light. *
> I'll be packing ten lights. I won't be too worried about throw, just reliability and runtime since warranties will be out the window.



I have two hand crank dynamo flashlights and a small bunch of inexpensive shake lights (mostly cannibalized for a different project). I prefer the crank type. I THINK they are more HUMAN energy efficient. One of my dynamo lights is also a radio. Both can be used to charge cell phones etc.


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## 42 (Apr 29, 2013)

I have a load of AA and AAA lights that can serve as EDCs and have a great floody ZebraLight CR123 light (don't recall the model but it's their first) to use as a head lamp but when the SHTF the S stood for Sandy. Sandy knocked my power out for 10 days and my go-to emergency light quickly defaulted to my Fenix TK45. While I have MANY other lights none served me as well as the TK45. With its ability to tail stand and four widely spaced power levels, it did everything from night-light duty to light up the room as if there was no outage at all.


No lights that counted on rechargeable batteries were useful during that extended blackout and fed by four sets of lithium primaries the TK45 lasted the entire time. It doesn't hurt that I keep a gross of L91s on hand at all times.  


Since Sandy, I've had two very strict rules of thumb. A light has to tail stand and has to be able to use primaries, preferably AAs.


One really bizarre thing, since Sandy and my epiphany about the TK-45, I've had no desire to buy another light.


Mark


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## franzdom (Apr 29, 2013)

I don't know about a world downfall but since I found this place I have my own downfall planned!


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## Poppy (Apr 29, 2013)

42 said:


> No lights that counted on rechargeable batteries were useful during that extended blackout
> 
> One really bizarre thing, since Sandy and my epiphany about the TK-45, I've had no desire to buy another light.
> 
> ...


I'd like to respectfully disagree about the use of rechargeables. If you have a car, you can recharge MANY batteries without running the engine, and a fifteen minute run to the grocery store will be enough to recharge the car battery. 

I do agree with you though that a triple head or quad in your case, with multiple output levels can make weathering the storm much more comfortable. My preference is 18650 batteries and lights.


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## Lou Minescence (Apr 29, 2013)

I've been reading through a few posts. The AA AAA batteries seem to be pointed out as common and will be easier to find in the end. But battery chemistry will be a consideration too. The lithium batteries will outlive the alkalines. How long do NIMHs live for ?


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## Sub_Umbra (Apr 29, 2013)

Lou Minescence said:


> ...How long do NIMHs live for ?


 I don't have an absolute answer to that but I have anectotal real world experience from the events of 2005.

I had quite a few alkies stashed in the storm kits but our crisis strategy also relied on both NiMH and NiCD cells in AAA, AA, C and D form factors. It worked well for us and while tweaked here and there we still use the same basic strategy.

We use FIFO boxes (first in - first out) for the secondaries. In normal times I loosely monitor the cells and recharge when needed. I don't obsess on this because we always have a minimum of 72 hours warning of a hurricane and when pressed we may also charge with solar.

If a storm's coming I charge all the secondaries up. This system is nice because if the off grid interval is short you never have to even dig into your alky stash so the outage doesn't cost you anything in terms of resupply. 

OK, Back to your question. My wife and I are not as radio-active as we used to be but when Katrina blew threw New Orleans it took out *every single radio station in the Metro area* -- AM and FM. My wife used a CCR (D cells) and I used a GE SuperRadio III (also D cells). We both independently DXed outlying stations virtually all of our waking hours for the six weeks our power was out as there were no local stations.

With this relatively heavy use I think we still got 2 1/2 weeks use out of the NiMH D cells before we had to break out the alkys. At that time we did not have a way to recharge them off grid but we did use solar to recharge AA NiMH cells so we could listen to audiobooks, etc.

I don't have hard numbers but secondaries may definitely be worked into your plan, although it will involve a little more planning and vigilance.

I hope that this may be useful to you.


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## Lou Minescence (Apr 30, 2013)

Suppose no new batteries have been produced for 10 years or more. You find some AA batteries. Would an AA alkaline or lithium still work ? Would a NIMH still be able to be recharged ? Or would a CR123 be the long term find that still would work. 15 years ?


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## Sub_Umbra (Apr 30, 2013)

Lou Minescence said:


> Suppose no new batteries have been produced for 10 years or more. You find some AA batteries. Would an AA alkaline or lithium still work ?...


They _*might*_ under some circumstances. This has been a somewhat controversial issue at times in the past. I buy Procells in AAA, AA, C and D from people who specialize in batteries and mine seem to last much longer and leak much, *MUCH* less than those bought at drugstores, convenience stores, hardware stores, etc. A look at the cpf polls regarding leaky alkys may be interesting. Some respondents have lots of leakers and some have none or almost none. For years I have believed it is a handling issue so I quit buying batteries from anyone but specialists. It has worked very well for me.

While any heat will shorten a cell's life, I live in the subtropics, use my cells FIFO (first in, first out) and stock enough cells that mine have always been sitting around for years and *years* before being used. As stated, I've had very few leakers *in spite of the conditions noted above.*

This may interest you. I *do not* buy 9V batteries for personal use (except for smoke alarms). When needed I buy Procell 9v batteries from BatteryJunction (and other specialty houses) for use in body mics at a theatre. The sound man tests each cell with a ZTS tester after each performance and the cells are sorted by remaining capacity so that they may be used for short shows, single acts or just rehearsals.

For years I had these partially spent 9v Procells packed back into the boxes they came in and they came to my house. They come in 24 count boxes and I still have quite a few left. I have a CYAN Pak-Lite by my bed right now that's powered by a Coppertop pulled from a body mic after a stage performance from *twelve years ago*.

The long and the short of it is if you find some of *MY cells* ten years from now at least some will probably work... 



Lou Minescence said:


> ...Would a NIMH still be able to be recharged ?...


I doubt it. 



Lou Minescence said:


> ...Or would a CR123 be the long term find that still would work. 15 years ?



I've had some cheap Chinese CR123s that failed a couple years before their expiration date. Overall quality and handling would both be issues, IMO. I don't have any experience with high quality CR123s. I stock 'middle of the road' priced CR123s and use them within 4-5 years.


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## scout24 (Apr 30, 2013)

I realize it wasn't the end of the world, or a complete breakdown of society (Locally, I'm sure it seemed like it!) but Sub Umbra's Hurricane Katrina thread is a must read for anyone even remotely contemplating the above scenarios. A fantastic read, should be required reading.


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## Norman (Apr 30, 2013)

Lou Minescence said:


> Suppose no new batteries have been produced for 10 years or more. [...] Would a NIMH still be able to be recharged ?



My very first 4-pack of NiMHs were Duracell 2300mAh cells. They're labelled as purchased in 3/2003, and they still work. I don't know what their capacity is now, but their ability to hold a charge over a few months is quite impressive. They all still work and my charger has no problems with them.

I also have 4 or 6 Energizer 2500mAh NiMHs (of 12) that were purchased in 2006/7. These batteries have always seemed to lose more capacity in 1-3 days than the Duracells lose in a month, but they still work. That's probably why I haven't purchased any Energizers since. I've also tossed about 6 of these batteries in the past 3-4 years.

I also have a 4-pack of NiCD C cells that were purchased sometime between 1995 and 2000. They're labelled DynaCharge XP, but say they're made by Duracell. These have spent their lives in a 2C Maglight in alternating pairs. This week, one of the 4 seems to have stopped supplying a proper termination signal to my charger, but still works.


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## Sub_Umbra (Apr 30, 2013)

I'd like to hear storage stories from someone who has used high end CR123 cells for a long time.


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## 42 (May 1, 2013)

Lou Minescence said:


> Suppose no new batteries have been produced for 10 years or more. You find some AA batteries. Would an AA alkaline or lithium still work ? Would a NIMH still be able to be recharged ? Or would a CR123 be the long term find that still would work. 15 years ?



I have a small analog portable shortwave radio (Sony ICF SW20) that has a set of Energizer Lithiums installed. I installed them back in March of 1994 and the radio still works. The radio got a few hours of use every summer weekend for the first few years but was only used rarely, maybe once or twice a year afterward. Over the past few years I just test the radio for a short while once a year to see if it still works.

The key fact here is that the radio is analog and when it's off there is no current being drawn. The digital electronics used in most radios and some flashlights draws some current to power clocks, memories (even flashlight mode memories) and possibly other functions. Lithium AA or AAAs should hold a charge for a very long time if left unused. I'm guessing CR123s may act similarly. OTOH, I found a 5-6 year old pack of Kirkland alkalines in a toolbox last fall (shortly after Sandy hit) and they were near dead. I put them in a radio and only got a couple hours of use while a new set of Duracells lasts days with a few hours of use per day.

Needless to say, I only buy lithium AA and AAA cells these days. I've had too many alkaline batteries leak or just go dead for no apparent reason over the years.

Mark


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## 42 (May 1, 2013)

Sub_Umbra said:


> They _*might*_ under some circumstances. This has been a somewhat controversial issue at times in the past. I buy Procells in AAA, AA, C and D from people who specialize in batteries and mine seem to last much longer and leak much, *MUCH* less than those bought at drugstores, convenience stores, hardware stores, etc. A look at the cpf polls regarding leaky alkys may be interesting. Some respondents have lots of leakers and some have none or almost none. For years I have believed it is a handling issue so I quit buying batteries from anyone but specialists. It has worked very well for me.
> 
> While any heat will shorten a cell's life, I live in the subtropics, use my cells FIFO (first in, first out) and stock enough cells that mine have always been sitting around for years and *years* before being used. As stated, I've had very few leakers *in spite of the conditions noted above.*
> 
> ...



I built a couple identical LED flasher circuits many years ago, both powered by Duracell D cells, to simulate an alarm light. One was kept on top of a refrigerator (warm to hot) at home and the other spent it's time in an unheated cabin upstate NY. The home flasher lasted 9-10 years while the one that spent the winters in the cold would be dead every spring. I also forgot a mini-mag one winter and not only being dead, the tail cap shot clear across the room when I opened it to change the batteries (Duracell alkalines).

Mark


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## Lou Minescence (May 16, 2013)

So the type of flashlight for a "world downfall" will depend on how long the world is fallen down. Batteries will only last so long. From the posts here I would say lithium AA and CR123 will be the longest lived in both chemistries. Start out recharging your NIMH's and Lions until they will no longer take a charge and then burn through your lithium batteries. The flashlights will probably last a few hundred years longer than the batteries.


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## whiteoakjoe (May 16, 2013)

I lean toward AA's myself, but my plan is to take all the lights I have to the cabin. I have a solar pannel on the roof, that powers up a pair of 12v batteries (I need to upgrade to Optima deep cycle batteris still) and my I4 charger will run off those, with the extra cable. Eneloops 16340's and 18650's are all fine with me. What I don't have is a good long running LED set up as a permanant fixture in the cabin to run off 12v. Still looking for a good system to be able to flip a switch and have 12v LED light in there.


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## 42 (May 20, 2013)

You should look into the Luminus CBM 360. I think the minimum voltage is 12.8 but if you can manage that the light output should be excellent. it is after all 4 SST90 emitters in series in one package. A good heat-sink and the right modified fixture could look great.

Mark


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## Norm (May 20, 2013)

This thread has gone way beyond what I'd expect to read in a "Recommend me a light" thread, most posts are way off topic, not sure why I didn't notice earlier.
So rather than run around yelling off topic at 90% of posters :whoopin: , I've moved the thread putting most of you back on topic.  - Norm


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## jorn (May 20, 2013)

If you got different lights accepting from 0,9v up to 12V+ you are all set. You can use whatever battery you could scavange from a tiny coincell to a car battery. With some wires and some ingenuity you will always have some kind of light.


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## Cereal_Killer (May 20, 2013)

MatthewSB said:


> - incandescent CR123a light with spare bulbs


Idk if you have any experience with incan lights but most 2xcr123 incan lights will only run for one hour or less (surefire p61 runs 30 minutes) there's no reduced power mode to conserve power or anything. I have several P60 bulbs laying around but can't imagine a situation I would actually want to use one. Using the same 2xCR123's and a LED putting out the same 60 lumen you could up the runtime tenfold. 

On to for concern 3, have you considered a nitecore EA4? More output, smaller size, similar other features and powered by 4xAA. IT'S HIGHLY recommended around here. 


Someone mentioned farther down on page 1 how they don't want to be hiding under a rock with .03 lumens of light for 100+ hours, that's not what extended runtime is about, it's about conserving supplies. in medium mode I can get as much or more light than an incan bulb can and the batteries in the LED will outlast the incan so many times over, it would be stupid to continue to use the incandescent bulbs in an end of the world situation, can't go buy new batteries (or use whatever resources to recharge batteries) so why not do everything physically possible to make the ones you have last the longest?

Another source for scavenging AAA's is tool battery packs, a lot will have dozens of NiMH AAA's packed in each one. If the advertised voltage divides by 1.2 you know it's full of some size of NiMH.


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## Poppy (May 20, 2013)

Cereal_Killer said:


> Someone mentioned farther down on page 1 how they don't want to be hiding under a rock with .03 lumens of light for 100+ hours, that's not what extended runtime is about, it's about conserving supplies.


I don't know if you were just making a point that incandescents are not a good choice when you are in a limited power situation.

My point was that the type of scenario was not spelled out. IMO, I see few instances where extreemly long run times on very limited resources would be the flashlight that would best suit the scenario. 

One might consider that there will be many vehicles that have fully charged batteries, but are out of gas. There will be many opportunities to recharge batteries for months into the future of essentially any scenario.


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## sidecross (May 20, 2013)

All my lights use either Surefire or Eagletac 3100 mAh and 3400mAh batteries and I have a solar panels to charge 18650's.
I have a large number of these batteries, but in a real collapse light would not be high on my list.
Water, hygine, food, and shelter would be my first main concern and whether civil order could be maintained.


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## Stilt (May 20, 2013)

I would really like to have lights that run on 123a batteries, because of their ten year shelf life, with low lumens for extended runtime. In a World downfall scenario, bright lights could make one a target for anyone trying to find water, food, or anything else that could prolong their survival.


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## Poppy (May 20, 2013)

Stilt said:


> I would really like to have lights that run on 123a batteries, because of their ten year shelf life, with low lumens for extended runtime. In a World downfall scenario, bright lights could make one a target for anyone trying to find water, food, or anything else that could prolong their survival.


Wow.... ten years out, I hope to be running a wind powered electric generator, and barter to charge people's batteries.


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## miket458 (May 21, 2013)

Take a look at the Nitecore ea4, Eagletac gx25a3 and Eagletac sx25a6


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## LGT (May 23, 2013)

Poppy said:


> Wow.... ten years out, I hope to be running a wind powered electric generator, and barter to charge people's batteries.


Good idea, except I can't see anybody wasting precious fuel to drive to a wind powered generator in order to recharge a couple of rcr batteries. I think with a World downfall, the least of all problems would be having a flashlight.


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## braddy (May 23, 2013)

I have so many angles covered on this and such a variety of long run-time lights that I won't get into details, but a simple, quick package for someone would be my Fenix lights and Eneloops and a couple of small solar chargers.

The LD12, LD22, HL31 and the E01 and LOD-1, go a long ways to covering everything that a person could need, from long run times of 20 and 50 and a 100 hours, to outdoor throw and use, to headlamp, key chain and all done with a total of 6 batteries, and they can all be recharged with those garden solar lights if needed.

All of them are regulated, waterproof, and bulletproof and all run on aa and aaa, with adapters the aaa will run the aa lights just fine and for a long time.


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## Poppy (May 24, 2013)

LGT said:


> Good idea, except I can't see anybody wasting precious fuel to drive to a wind powered generator in order to recharge a couple of rcr batteries. I think with a World downfall, the least of all problems would be having a flashlight.



Well, yeah... but won't you be putting together lithium power packs for their electric powered mopeds? 

I wonder what the exchange rate will be? What will be worth more, a potato or an apple?  Maybe there will be volume discounts,, recharge three moped batteries, and get two flashlight recharges for FREE!


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## Sub_Umbra (May 24, 2013)

Ten years is a long time to plan for when you're coming out of a whithering industrial age where nothing has been designed with repair in mind for fifty years...


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## nightshade (May 25, 2013)

Wasted post.... carry on


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## braddy (May 25, 2013)

I was born in Hurricane country, as a little boy I grew up watching my mother prepare and how it helped during 2 weeks of interruptions in services every few years, some saw this kind of thing in the midwest as snow storms blocked them in.

I will continue to be responsible for myself and prepare for sustained disruptions in services and electricity, it is just the way I am, I like to be there to help those who live from day to day and think that all this is permanent and unbreakable, every year Americans have to find out the fallacy of that.


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## jorn (May 26, 2013)

Poppy said:


> I wonder what the exchange rate will be? What will be worth more, a potato or an apple?  Maybe there will be volume discounts,, recharge three moped batteries, and get two flashlight recharges for FREE!



A potato is worth more to a flashoholic. You can use them as a battery  Hmm i need to make a copper tube for my arc, accepting 4-5 "protected potatoes" or lemons. Wonder what the runtime would be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufoOJfzro2c


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## Neginfluence04 (Jul 19, 2013)

I personally EDC a fenix LD22 (g2) or a nitecore MT2a. Soon I will be adding a eagle P20A2 to the mix. I also carry a matching higher lumens light with my gym bag. I currently have the nitecore mH2c and will soon be adding the fenix pd35 and eagletac p20c2.


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## demoteamone (Jul 20, 2013)

braddy said:


> All of them are regulated, waterproof, and bulletproof and all run on aa and aaa, with adapters the aaa will run the aa lights just fine and for a long time.


Agree with this! Not all the alkaline battery "aa & aaa" are build the same.....:shakehead My normal alkaline battery shelf life go beyond ten years


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## Poppy (Jul 21, 2013)

jorn said:


> A potato is worth more to a flashoholic. You can use them as a battery  Hmm i need to make a copper tube for my arc, accepting 4-5 "protected potatoes" or lemons. Wonder what the runtime would be?
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufoOJfzro2c


Jorn,
I missed this first time around. Very cute!


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## jamie.91 (Jul 21, 2013)

I suppose it depends on the situation, if the world descends into chaos I don't want to be seen!

I think I'd like a 9P with a 3V drop in so I could run 2 AA's and a single AAA light, none in particular they're all pretty similar.

A small solar charger and some enloops would also be good


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## Dave D (Jul 22, 2013)

The below thread may be of interest to you all.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...mergency-SHTF-flashlight-setup&highlight=SHTF


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## Quiksilver (Jul 22, 2013)

cxax said:


> Hello.
> Weeks ago I started with a post in headlamps section to choose a headlamp fitting my demands. Meanwhile I decided to biud a 3-pieces set of lights:
> 
> 1. A headlamp, flood or flood/throw. I'm choosing between Zebras' H51Fw and H502d.
> ...




Two (single-cell & durable) lights for each battery type you can think of, is a good start. Incl a headlight for a few of the main battery types.



There's a philosophy on here about specializing in a certain battery type ... i don't believe in limiting your options to one or two fuel sources. better to be able to use all fuel sources to produce light.


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