Just curious what purpose the "covert" light source (beta light) fulfills for you - I'm interested in hearing "the rest of the story".<br><br>I've not seen or used a "beta light" (I assume that refers to beta radiation), but I have a more than passing familiarity with tritium-powered light sources - some of which are VERY bright (there are tritium-powered runway lights, for example). I gather that beta lights produce a very low level of visible light?<br><br>Personally, I prefer no artificial illumination most of the time, but I have "logged" thousands of hours doing that professionally, so maybe that's just a habit. If I do need artificial illumination, it needs to suit my task, and so far I have not found a use for a low level source to illuminate objects. I confess to a STRONG preference for red light, though. (Exception: when spelunking, I use artificial illumination and I prefer white for that - red is a so-so color then and offers no advantage to me.)<br><br>Before you reply - I posted this to the Campfire forum "just in case" it's not Survival forum conversation. With that in mind... IF indeed the main rationale is to avoid detection, I take it you are not personally familiar with light-amplification devices ("starlight scopes", Night vision goggles, etc.)? Hard to hide any artificial illumination from those, especially the big boys (LREO) that are specifically designed to find "the bad guys" even when they are NOT using any artificial illumination. Not a criticism, just a thought IF that's the objective.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Scouter Tom

Hey, here's a question for the group at large - I absolutely cannot navigate in the dark if someone in my group (or me) is using a light to illuminate the way. All I can do then is follow the path (if there is one), but absent a micro landmark that I recognize, walking at night with a light disorients me. Lights off, I easily keep track of where I am and which way I'm heading - horizon and environ matters to me.<br><br>Anyone else have that problem? If so, any tips? Sometimes I'm with folks that have virtually no night vision (like, my wife, who has learned to use every little bit she has, but...) and for THEIR sake, I sometimes must endure artificial illumination "on the trail".<br><br>The only thing I have found that helps is to keep one eye shut so I can use that eye to check my surroundings from time to time, but the lack of depth perception takes time and effort for me to adjust to. (I have this old, hard-to-eradicate reflex of closing one eye when a light comes on, which is how I hit upon the method). But I'd be very interested to hear of other effective techniques.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Scouter Tom

I recall being told that it takes a dark adapted eye thirty minutes to recover from the flare of a one lighted match. Night vision is sensitive! The best way to get it is to simply walk into the twilight. Most trails stand out more under natural night light than they do under illumination. It is amazing how much you can see by starlight, away from the city, at least. By a full moon, you can read the newspaper.<br><br>Still, there are times when you have to accept the "tunnel of light" brought on by lamps - precipitous terrain for one. I find that when I do use a headlamp, it is best carried in the hand. Ground relief stand out more and I have better depth perception. My preferred light for night use is the now virtually obsolete carbide lamp. It provides a broader beam with less spotlight effect and is perhaps somewhat less destructive of night vision than the typical electric job. Makes a dandy hand warmer and fire starter as well.<br><br>What to do when other require a light and you don't?<br>One solution is to put the person requiring the light toward the back of the group. You will retain a little of your night vision in this manner. Closing one eye has worked, rather awkwardly, for me as well.

I avoid using flashlights at night. It's a habit I picked up at Scout camp when I was on staff. We rarely carried flashlights as we walked from camp site to camp site. If your familiar with the terrain, a path is easy to follow on all but the darkest night. <br><br>In fact, light beams waving in the woods at night is a sure sign of a new camper. In our troop, cat calls of "Rookie!" were let lose whenever a new scout started flashing his light about. The peer preasure worked well to curb the habit, but you had to start all over again when the new Scouts joined the troop in the spring. Sigh...

The "temporary" lose of night vision reminded me of an incident that occured at the scout camp I mentioned in my previous post.<br><br>A group of us were walking back from an opening night campfire when a group of young scouts ambled, everyone of them using a flashlight. As the approached us, the shone their lights, all of them, into the face of a fellow staff. It blinded him of course and he replied with several non-scouting words. <br><br>About two minutes later, as we continued our way back to camp, he walked rightinto a narrow oak stump that had been cut off about 3 feet off the ground. He howled in pain and said even a few more colorful non-scout words as the top of the stump drove into his crotch. He never saw it coming.