Lighting My Way

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In this episode we’ll talk about some of my lighting options I use when camping. While I won’t be covering ALL my lighting options I own, I will be covering the ones I use the most.

  • Bushnell LED Headlamp
  • LED wire lights from Harbor Freight
  • Stream Light Siege AA
  • Blackfire Tactical Flashlight
  • UCO Clarus Mini Lantern
  • Cyalume

BUSHNELL TRKR H250L

Love my Bushnell headlamp. It’s bright, it’s versitle with multiple functions, and it’s not that heavy. Between the various light settings, white high and low power, red light, and blue (blood tracker), this is a well rounded headlamp for every situation.

It’s definitely rugged enough to survive the typical bumps, bangs, and drops that can be expected for an outdoor enthusiast. Using 3 AA batteries I think adds unnecessary weight to the total package. I think AAA batteries would have been a better choice personally. Maybe newer models did make the switch, I don’t know.

  • Pros
    • Handsfree
    • Light weight
    • Multiple lighting modes
    • LED light
    • Securely fits your head
  • Cons
    • Batteries (3 AA)
    • Battery pack a little bulky for me

I’ve had mine for a few years now and take it on every camping and hiking trip I go on. It’s great simply because when I need to do a task with both hands, I just put it on my head, turn it on, and I’m ready to go. It may not be the lightest weight headlamp as you definitely know when it’s on your head. However, despite taking its share of bumps and drops, it still performs flawlessly every time I need it.

HARBOR FREIGHT LED WIRE LIGHTS

I picked up a set of these on a whim while at work one day. I remembered seeing someone else use something similar on their hammock and I wanted to try it out myself without spending a whole lot of money on something I didn’t know that would work out.

Much to my delight, not only do they work, but work out better than expected. I can totally justify the extra weight they add to my hammock setup. I am still playing around with the layout on how I want them on the hammock. However, at this time, they have become a permanent part of my setup.

They give off a soft yellowish glow while on that extends out to an approximate 50 feet from my hammock. Added bonus is the set I bought and linked below comes with a remote to turn them on and off with as well as change the flash setting and brightness level. I do not know exactly how long the batteries will last under my usage conditions, however, I did run them continually for about 6 hours on my last camping trip and the seem to still have plenty of life to go. Only real down fall I saw was the amount of flying insects they attracted after being on for a while.

  • Pros
    • Compact
    • Flexible
    • Long lasting
  • Cons
    • Requires 3 AA which can be weighty if you count your grams
    • Attracts unwanted bugs when on

Streamlight Siege AA

This lantern was a gift from my buddy Andrew. It’s a great option that happens to be versitle too. The top defuser can twist off to turn it into a stubby flashlight. It seems like it’s built tough, though I’ve not been that hard on it to test it’s toughness.

The Siege AA has 5 light modes and 2 colors of light to choose from, white and red. With the white light you have 3 options,high, medium, and low. Red gives you a steady on and sos flash.

For being such a small source of light, it gives off a tremendous amount of light especially on its high setting. With just that little lantern and 3 AA batteries, I can light up just about my whole camp area. I take the hood/defuser off and I have no trouble lighting up camp.

This lantern is small enough to make a great backpacking option. While I don’t backpack with it anymore because I have better options, I do still carry it while car camping.

Blackfire Tactical Flashlight

This little transformer runs off 3 AAA batteries. It can be used like a traditional straight flashlight or you can twist the head 90° and turn it into a angle flashlight. It’s bright for sure and gives you the choice of a white, red, or green light depending on your needs.

In addition, this flashlight has a magnetic base allowing you place it in a multitude of places for hands free use.

I will take this one with me once in a while especially on a longer trip or while car camping. However for my single night trips, I’ll typically leave it at home.

UCO Clarus Mini Lantern

This is another one of those multi use flashlights. When it’s pushed down and “compact” it’s just like a flashlight. Extend the handle and now you have a lantern. While it’s still a great option, I rarely use it anymore.

This light has become one I reserve to hand out if someone I’m going out camping with needs a flashlight or to my kids in an emergency. If I hadn’t received it as a gift, I think I’d still have bought it anyway. It continues to be a great flashlight in it’s own right.

Cyalume Light

Not much to really say about these. Lightweight, single use, and depending on the color, puts out a sufficient amount of light.

These were great fun and simple to use way back in the beginning of my Backcountry camping career.

Final Thoughts

What you use to light your way in the woods when the sun goes down is completely up to you. I would, of course, recommend any of my lighting options because they have been tried and true. The Bushnell headlamp is just straight up awesome. It’s taken its fair share of bumps through the years I have had it and it still performs like new every time. I don’t know if I have thanked my buddy Andrew enough for gifting it to me. So I now publicly for all to hear, “Andrew, Thank you for the gift of the headlamp. It has been one of my more used gifts from you.” The LED wire lights are still new and only used twice now, so the jury is still out on them thus far. However, they seem to be turning out to be a great investment. For the price paid for them, if I get this year’s camping out of them, I will consider it a successful concept test.

Links

2 Comments

  1. I surprised you didn’t have the Black Diamond in this, or hadn’t you used it yet?

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    1. At the time of writing this article, I believe I wasn’t using it regularly yet. It’ll be featured in a future article.

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