Hi ETS community, i'm a long time reader, and have a question about LED lights in a personal survival kit. i know this is the place to ask and can trust your recommendations

basically, i'm looking for a small LED that will fit into my PSK. everything i have found so far has come up short of what i'm looking for. the biggest issue i've had is that alot of these smaller lights are the "squeeze to activate" type. this is no good, as i cram a lot of stuff into my psk, and having the light constantly activated will do me no good if the battery is dead when i need it. does anyone know of a small led, that has a removable battery, that would fit well into a psk? it would also be nice to have one that can be left on hands-free, so i can work on other things.

personally, i would feel much better with a light in my psk, as i am the kind of person who would obsess with building a perfect emergency shelter, only to find darkness creep up when i need to get a fire going. thanks in advance

I'd go for the Pelican L1 (Too tired and lazy to hunt down a link now, LOL, so if someone could help with that). Takes four 1.5V button cell batteries. A little obscure as far as a power source goes but should be small enough to fit in a PSK you had in mind. If you wanted to keep the keychain lights in a PSK another thing to try would be to open up the light, and flip the batteries to the opposite terminals so that they don't turn on when pushed.

Take a look at the photon micro-II. It has a continuous on-off switch and a squeeze switch. The squeeze switch is slightly recessed though, so it doesn't turn on too easily. I have one on my keys and in my pocket, rubbing up against my keys and pocket knife, it doesn't light up on its own.

Photon Micro II

Gerber Infinity Ultra if a AA light is not too big for your kit.

x2 for the gerber, or even the AAA maglight keychain model.

Welcome to the fire newguy! The choice of "just the right..." can be agonizing. Before I make a suggestion on a flashlight could you give me a better idea about the size you want? Are you looking for something that'll fit in an Altoids can or something larger like a Pelican case?

-Blast

Hi Steelie,


The Liteflux LF2 X Cree Q5 looks pretty good.

With a 10440 rechargeable cell the LF2 is twice as bright as a Maglite 3D flashlight.



http://www.lightreviews.info/liteflux_lf2_x/review.html

Welcome to the ETS Forum Steelie,

I have had a few small squeeze LED Lights on my keys (MEC Turtle, Inova Micro-light) but all have turned on in my pocket.

I was in a gas station about 6 months ago and saw a cheap small imported single LED light that had a stiff metal clip attached. I used the light for a while attached by the clip but the head was not adjustable for height so I replaced it with a Pelican. I then removed the metal clip from the first light and attached the light to my keys, it has worked great for this purpose because to turn it on you have to push directly on a large sliding switch, therefore it does not turn on in my pocket.

I would in no way call this a tough, waterproof, high-tech light but so far it has worked fine.

I saw this light on the internet advertised as a low-priced but quality unit, but I now cannot find the site, I will keep looking.

There is no name on this cheap little light, I think I paid $3.00 but on the net they were less than that.

Mike

From the human wave school of lighting philosophy, I got a couple dozen of these $1.50 lights from countycomm, in orange with the clip. They use 2032 (or 2016? can't remember) batts. Requires a small phillips screwdriver to change, but if you have a dozen, you're ok. they have a manual slide switch, not a squeeze switch. I stick several of them inside various bags for bag illumination.

http://www.countycomm.com/ARES%20SOLED.htm

Not that these take the place of a good, rugged light, but great for supplements.

Hey,

I found that little LED I mentioned on the internet at Country Comm seen here: http://www.countycomm.com/light10.htm

They have a few versions; with metal clips and without, or with different colour bodies/lights.

The one I bought at the Northern Ontario Gas Station was not called a Special Ops-LED like these but is identical.

As I said before these are not high-tech at all, they are just plain LED's for a dollar, but they do not turn on unless you want them to and they throw a beam as good as my Inova Micro-light.

Mike

The Photon Freedom comes with a neck lanyard clip that also protects the switch. Just remove the lanyard string and you've got a fool proof button guard.

im suprised no-one's mentioned, my persenol favorite... THE doug Ritter led. One of my coments is that the little black tube to prevent side-scatter can be both a blessing and a curse... One time I went impromptu cave exploring and after about a minute of use I decided to switch to my county comm led... the side scatter helps light up da walls better... I bumoed my head into the wall once or twice with the DR one.

Look at a Peak 3 LED Matterhorn AAA light. Twist on/twist off. About the same size ans a Mag Solitaire. Great little light, robust. If 1 of the 3 LED's quit, you still have 2 more. I EDC one, and love it.

It really depends on what size of a light you are looking for. If a AAA will do, look at the Fenix lights. Super bright but expensive.

If you want a pinch light and want to store it without it turning on when pinched, open it up and add something thin that won't tear in between the battery and the contact wire. Make sure it is large enough to stick out of the pinch light casing. Then pinch it back together. Now it won't turn on at all. When you want to use it, simply pull on the part extending from the light to pull it completely out. Then the wire will contact the battery and you can use it like normal. That is the way I store a pinch light in a modified version of Doug's PSP.

Good luck!

I am surprised no one mentioned the ARC AAA

The light has to be one of the most durable lights out there. It has a proven track record.

It is also the perfect survival light it is small and works on dead or poor quality batteries you can salvage.

Photon Freedom is a great choice and if I were going any bigger I would go with a Petzl E-Light.
By the way many low energy lights (voltage?) don't need to be waterproof. I have seen several Photon models stay on while in a glass of water.
I saw a lot of these at SHOT show;
http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=141
they are very small.
Bill

Doug has his own design of photon. Click on the link to his knives on this sites home page to get you to the company that sells them.
The Sock

sorry climberslacker missed the fact you'd already mentioned Dougs design. I thought I was the only one on the site who refered people to Dougs designs and advice, (which makes me wonder why everyone else uses the site.

Is it true you can remove the side scatter barrier from Dougs light with a tug and then replace it?
The Sock

The photon used to be my favorite light, however after two incidents in the outdoors I switched to the ARC. One time while whitewater rafting the water killed the light and the other time when the battery went dead it was hard to find a replacement battery and when I did find them they cost a fortune and where a pain to replace. Nothing worse than a light crapping out on you when you need it the most.

wow! thanks for all the suggestions, i'll have to check them out. i have a pretty small psk, so the smaller the LED the better. the photon seems to get a lot of mixed reviews... but the ARC seems good too. swampdonkey's "light10" are along the lines of what i was looking for, but for only a buck a light, i tend to believe the "get what you pay for" philosophy. i'm willing to pay more for quality and durability. i want to be able to put in my kit and forget it, and not have to worry that it's broken when i need it. i'll let you know what i decide. thanks again for all the input

I like Doug's recommendation for his version of the Photon. If worried about the pushbutton being accidentally activated, tape a coin over the button that is slightly oversized, and bridged in such a way that the button can't be squeezed or pressed upon. If worried about moisture getting to it, coat it with a thin layer of RTV silicone, then trim away the part just over the lens. Dang near waterproof sucker then.

I have a photon freedom on my keychain because it's lightweight and non-obtrusive, but I rarely use it. There's a Peak Matterhorn 1xAAA (similar to Arc AAA) which I EDC in a Mission Wallet. The Peak is what I use when I need a light; the battery is common, inexpensive and easily replaced.

does it have a hands-free switch?

Mine does. It ain't quite the same as Doug's version, but it's close.

But why even have to worry about that. If the squeeze lights have their limitations in a regular outdoor environment why would you want to depend your life on it during a survival situation.

Plus a light like the Arc takes common batteries that can be easily found and its circuitry can take advantage of dead batteries or poor quality batteries that you salvage from other equipment or find laying around.

Here is a video demonstrating that

http://www.arcflashlight.com/media/Arcvsmag.wmv


plus it is waterproof to 200 feet and has a proven durability record


here is one that was found in the bottom of a river after 5 years and still works




here is one that fell of a mountain





And the best part is that ARC is one of the few flashlights still made in the USA!!!!!!!!


I am sorry if I sound like a commercial, but I think depending on a push button coin cell light for survival is a bad idea.




.

I'm a fan of the Arc AAA (EDC on keyring) and DR Photon (EDC on other keyring). It makes sense to pay close attention to what people carry EDC because those lights (or tools or whatever) are the ones getting used most frequently and getting knocked around the most. The ones that can take the most daily use abuse are the ones more likely to be ready after being stored in a PSK. If your PSK is there for survival only (some people combine EDC items and PSK items) then make sure whatever light you have uses lithium batteries...better shelf life than other types. Remember that a AA light will have the best chance of you scrounging for batteries from other things (remote controls, etc.) if need be. I would not suggest relying solely on countycomm.com lights. They have a lot of advantages, but if you're carrying one or two of those, and they happened to be the bad ones in the batch... Then again, buy a few and put them through the paces. Carry one in you pocket for a few months. Or two...one to use EDC and one to just sit...see how it holds up. It might be just the thing for you. Or carry one in your PSK (space allowing) and go for that first in a situation. But have something else as a back up. Here again, the Star Trek philosopy applies...triple redundancy. At this moment, I've got an Arc AAA on the keychain my flash drive is on (in this computer right now), and Inova X1 in my PSK (in cargo pocket) and Inova X5 in the other cargo pocket. Worked well the other night...driving in really bad weather after dark on a school trip no less, the person navigating was using the Arc to read the Mapquest directions (put us about 5 miles off course btw)then when it came to reading dark road signs in the middle of nowhere, the X5 was quite handy...

Going off topic now, but whatever you choose, put it through every possible pace you can think of...test it out and see how it works for you.

I have one on my key chain. It has been kicked around for YEARS and is fairly indestructable. It has only been turned on by accident once in my pocket.

the batteries can be a bit of a b$%&h to find at times. and the light appears to dim after a shorter time than expected, but you most likely wont find a tougher little flashlight than the L1

it comes with colored lenses as well. a good way to preserve night vision for reading maps in the dark if you need it for that purpose.

something to consider.

Hi dd619999,


The Fenix T1 is a pretty tough flashlight;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WvhJWE3_Oc&feature=related

A flashlight crushing obsession I suspect.

The Fenix T1 is an awesome flashlight.

The drawback is that it is a bit too large to put in a PSK

Well, you are correct, there are much more suitable light sources out there for various tasks and conditions. My recommendation is based on having carried both the flat pushbutton lithium powered single LED lights and the AAA and AA powered aluminum tube light with one or more LEDs. I can swing either way, but for now I have two of the photon type lights in my pocket, and they've been there for a couple years now working just fine for what I need. I haven't had to replace batteries despite almost daily use, and they are no more encumbering than my keyring is without them, not that the little AAA light I carried before that was any moreso. From a size perspective, the photon type are both smaller and lighter than the tube type flashlights. They may not be as durable, but they work, and will do what I need them to do in both day to day use and postulated likely survival situations. If I really thought I would need more light than this, I would of course pack along one of my 3 watt Luxeon flashlights, or my G2 Nitrolon, or my 1 watt Luxeon headlight.

If your pack has the room for a tube light, go for it. Really they aren't that much more encumbering than the photon style anyways. I think Doug's point was that the light he recommends is reasonably dependable, easily packable, and fairly useful, all of which contribute to it's overall effectiveness as a survival tool. Certainly there are a number of other items in his kit that can be upgraded to more durable, more powerful components, size not being so much the issue. Doug's choices have proven effective, and more is only better if it can be easily accomodated.

I would much prefer to pack my bob around with me than my edc, but for the encumberance it would generate.

With the flashlight you mean, right? ha ha

Before you get mad, I am only kidding. The door was open so I had to take advantage of getting a good jab in.

steelie,

Welcome to the forum!

Doug Ritter's Photon Freedom is great. The neck Lanyard atachment/push button cover should prevent the light from turning on. Or use the recomened coin switch cover. the Photon Freedom also comes with a clip atachment, allowing you to wear it as a headlamp, although I have on occasion used it as a lapel/shirt collar attachment. This allowed hands-fee lighting whear I needed it.

The Surfire G2 LED lights are very nice ifyou don't mind CR123A batteries. They are slightly shorter than a AA Mimi Maglite and a bit larger around.

Another decent light is the Inova X1, it is a single AA light. Unfortunately according to the website it has a 2hr. runtime.

The Fenix lights are good, as well as Arc AAA, and the others mentioned on this thread.


Just a few suggestions, in addition toeveryone elses.

Joe

Another flashlight to consider would be ZebraLight H50-Q5 using a AA Lithium cell if wide area task lighting is prefered.

http://www.zebralight.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=183

The Zebralight is very small in comparision to the size of the AA cell it uses.

With a Lithium AA cell the Zebralight gives roughly the following;

66 lumen for about 4 hrs
18 Lumen for about 20 hours
4 Lumen for about 96 hours

This compares to a typical microlight at 8 Lumen for about 4 hours.

With the Arc AAA Premium giving about 11 Lumen for about 5 hrs.

The zebra light is another good light.

However the runtime on high is actually closer to 1 hour and even though it puts out more lumens it is extreme flood with little throw so you tend to keep it on high which can cause overheating damage. Depending on your kit size it may be to big for your kit.

Other than that its a good light as well

I bought mine for the flood. Lots of lights have throw and such a tight beam to get that throw that they're hard to use. The Zebra is a very good light for close-up work. I've never had to use mine above the low setting.

I agree 100%. I have mine around my neck at all times. I got mine just before my deployment here to Afghanistan and its done 15 months so far without a hitch. No matter what I'm doing or where I go I have my Doug Ritter special on my neck. When I show people all the stuff that it can do besides just on/off they are rather suprised.

This was not a paid advertisement. (not yet anyways)

this maybe worth considering ultrafire c3

stainless steel version 1 x aa $20.90

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11133

lasts about 90 minutes on an eneloop 2000 bloody good light i have 2 of them and 2 more on order

aluminum version 1 x aa $16.86

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1993

here is a review of the 1 x aa http://www.light-reviews.com/uf_c3/review.html

i have 7 of these

aluminum version 2 x aa $19.41

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4452

with the 2 x aa runtime is about 4 hours

there are other versions that are multi mode or use the q5 led.
q5 model draws more power and has a runtime of about 60 minutes with an eneloop 2000

here is a review of the multi mode version
http://www.light-reviews.com/uf_c3_5mode/review.html

If you have room for it, why not a Petzl e+Lite headlamp? It's small, durable, wearable in many ways, has very long run time, and makes a useful hand held or hands free lamp for all your camp needs.

Yes yes, quite right, I swing several ways, but in the context of material acquisition and application. From a personal perspective I am a happily married and faithful heterosexual. LOL

Your levity is much appreciated. Always welcome a chance to have a laugh at myself. Keeps me from having to buy new hats too often.

hi dd61999,



The review at http://www.lightreviews.info/zebralight_h50-q5/review.html gives 1.5 hrs on high (66 Lumen) using a 2000mA Eneloop Cell at 1.2V. The Zebralight website quotes High 66 lm for 2 hr 20 min using a 2700 mA Sanyo NiMh.

I would expect more than 3 hrs using a higher rated Energiser AA Lithium at 2900mA at 1.5V. (The Energiser Lithium AA and AAA cells would my choice for reliable long term storage together with the 2016 and 2032 lithium primaries) I suspect that 3.5 hours may be acheivable as the Zebralight uses very similar technology to the Fenix Digital L1D Black Premium Q5 quoted at 53 lumens at 5hrs.

But your certainly correct to be wary of manufacturers claims regarding runtimes. Some manufacturers claims are wildly optimistic.

i just purchased the doug ritter photon II, so far it looks like what i need. small, hands-free, and a decent way of keeping it from turning on by accident. my psk is too small for most of the tube style lights, so this smaller LED should do the trick. since i mostly camp and backpack, i always have a bigger light anyway, my psk is only for the unfortunate incident where i might be separated from my gear. since my psk is only intended for an absolute emergency, the photon should be perfect. thanks for all the suggestions, i know i would've wasted alot of money if it wasn't for this place.

the runtime of the zebralight with Energizer lithium is about 2 and half hours. Not to take anything away from the zebralight, I love that light. I just think an ARC would be a better fit for a PSK situation.

The battery life mentioned is on the high power setting. I used my zebralight this AM and was able to light up the entire living room on its low setting. You can use it to see the whole picture rather than just a small portion of it.

Hi dd61999,

Thanks for the runtime graphics for the Zebralight v Fenix using the Energizer e2 Lithium cell. The results are quite interesting. The Fenix L1D Q5 (Hi) is specified at around 107 Lumen according to the Fenix Store website at

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.ph...lat&fpart=5

Do you know if the Zebralight has a higher output higher than the specced 66 Lumen on the Zebralight website when using Lithium Cells. Comparing the two runtimes the Zebralight looks to have an output of around 80-85 Lumen (relatively speaking). This would make sense as a lot of flashlights run brighter with the Lithium Cell when compared to the NiMh cells. This would account for the shorter run times than I would have expected at 66 Lumen.

The Zebralight looks like an excellent performer and when looking at the numbers and comparing it to the Arc AAA premium we have the following;

Arc AAA Premium - 8.9 cm cubed - AAA Lithium Cell - 1250 mAh @ 1.5 V 1875 mAhV - 10.5 Lum 5 hrs

ZebraLight H50-Q5 - 16.8 cm cubed - AA Lithium Cell - 2900 mAh @ 1.5V 4350 mAhV - 18 lum 20 hrs

The ZebraLight is roughly twice the size but lasts 4 times as long at nearly twice the brightness on the medium output setting. That IMHO is pretty impressive compared to a already excellent product such as the Arc AAA Premium and especially when considering the Zebralight has the 3 different lighting level options as well.

The lithium is not really brighter in the zebralight over alkalines, but it does prevent it from going dimmer sooner, here is a graph with duracell alkaline.



I agree that the zebralight is brighter and runs longer.

However the reason I prefer the ARC for the psk are several reasons

1. It is smaller and it fits in most psk
2. It uses different regulation than the zebralight, it allows you to take advantage of dead or poor quality batteries and still have light.
3. The Durability has been proven time and time again. Do not get me wrong the zebralight is very well made but it is still relatively new. The zebralight would probably hold up very well, but I know the ARC is the least likely to fail.

Indoor is going to be a bit different the outdoors.

The flood light of the zebralight tends to get absorbed in the dark more in a outdoor setting.

To give you an example the three fashlights below have similar Lumen rating, However due to its beam pattern they are very different flashlights.

I've found that for quality/cheap, it's nearly impossible to beat these:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1253
Black Flashlight Keychain 22000mcd 10-pack (under $5 before shipping).

I was having problems with my inova coincell light being too easy to turn on in my pocket. These will squeeze as well, but the switch is momentary. You need to apply force and keep it there, and it's fairly focused force and take some squeezing to activate. Not too much mind you, but just enough to keep it from lighting in a pocket. Plus it has a little plastic on/off switch that can set it to hands-free mode.

Mine is still bright and I use it all the time. It's not a DR Photon, but for 50 cents a pop, you can lose them and never look back. I also give them away once in a while.

True, but we aren't always outdoors. Once your eyes are fully dark adjusted that low beam works much better.

I agree but when my eyes are fully night adapted I am hoping everything I need to get done is already done and the fire is going, so I no longer need the flashlight.

I have a Ritter Photon Freedom in one PSK.

A Princeton Tec Pulsar II in one PSK.

A Variety of cheap pushbutton Keychain LEDs in different PSKs and FAKs.

A MagLite Solitaire in one PSK

A MagLite 2AA with Night-Ize LED kit in my Large FAK.

And I EDC a Pelican M6 2330 (too big for a PSK) and an ARC-AAA Premium on my EDC keychain PSK.

Out of all of the PSK sized lights, my favorites are the ARC-AAA and the Ritter Photon. However, I have to admit that the Arc-AAA has the upper hand due to durability, it's waterproof up to 100', brightness, and battery. Really the only drawback for the Photon, and this is purely personal opinion, is that the clip for the Photon Freedom is an odd shape to pack in my hardcase PSKs (Otterbox 1000, Witz Keep-it-clear) and so often gets clipped to a lanyard on outside with my whistle.