So, as many know we purchased a house and are making the transition to fixing it up and moving in. Well, during this transition we've had power on/off at the house and have not had time (priorities) to install outside flood lights. So, a couple observations from someone moving to the middle of no where.

Being able to see is VERY important... so with that said light is everything. When it gets dark, even with a moon it is DARK. The trees cover EVERYTHING. You will not be able to see from your car to your house.

With no light you can't get anything done, it makes it 100x harder to load your vehicle, it makes it harder to even change your shoes outside.

That's for around your house... it can be fixed, add some flood lights (I have many to install), motion sensors, and key fob activated lights... all are being installed to fix this problem.

However, I also learned that light while driving to and from (not in the city) the lights your vehicle shine on the road are important. To low of a beam and your eyes tire and you look down to much. I`ve upgraded lights in one vehicle already to remedy this solution, and fog lights in my other have solved that too.

Flashlights are VERY important. If something goes wrong or you need to look at something outside or make an emergency stop you can not see w/out a light. Also, a 200 lumen flash light does little for reading a manual or looking under your hood... it blinds you, even aimed at your target.

My opinion on lights that go IN a vehicle that routinely sees 1+hr of rural driving. Head lamp, multi-LED. Long lasting, if one burns out you can still see and use it. Lithium batteries to pro-long life and IMHO are built to higher standards. Hand-Held light, again LED, and multi-LEDs incase something goes wrong.

What we use... Zipka Tika Plus (4 LED) w/retractable head strap. Stays in glove box. Easy to use, super bright, and lasts a LONG LONG time on one set of batteries.

My next light WAS the Streamlight Ultra Stinger because it's powerful (INSANE) and rechargeable... but like I said it's WAY to bright to be useful for anything but searching for a prisoner or blinding on coming traffic to stop them (by causing an accident). Not to mention this light dies in ~1hr of usage, not to good for walking through the woods or on a road finding your way along.

I've replaced the Streamlight with an Inova X5. Multi-Led, lasts a VERY long time, well made, and relatively cheap.

What's funny is I've always been a flashlight guy. I have a bunch of streamlights, surefires, and inova's, fenix's, etc... BUT I mainly used them camping or to take the dog out at night.

I never used them over and over, day after day... this is how I learned what kind/type/brightness light I needed. I needed a soft-glow that spread to illuminate my work area, and also something reliable and that would burn a long long time.

Selecting the proper light for the job is VERY important.

I also have an Inova X0 (I believe that's it) it's an LED but is more of a spot-light than the X5 flood, another good choice or 3rd light to add to your car.

I hope what I've learned can help someone.

-Todd