As part of my Seattle GHB preparations, I wanted to test out how different flashlights would perform in a simulated disaster zone. In this case I was trying to test a really rough approximation of a collapsed downtown following an earthquake.

The simplest approximation I could think of was a rocky talus slope up in the mountains. A talus slope is a large hillside covered in broken rock. There is plenty of that up in the mountains above Seattle, Washington.

Last night was the height of the Perseids Meteor Shower and I usually head up to Snoqualmie Pass to enjoy this annual spectacle. Since I would be up there at night and there was a large talus slope near my viewing location, I decided this would be a good opportunity to run my flashlight tests.

So, before I headed out, I gathered up the flashlights I had which I would have or would consider for a GHB. Note this was limited to flashlights I already had, so the selection of flashlights is very limited.

The flashlights I tested were:

Fenix E01 - 1xAAA - http://www.fenixlight.com ($15)
Photon Micro-light II - 1xcoin - http://www.photonlight.com ($15)
Tank 007 TK566 - 1xAA (earlier single mode version) - http://www.tank007.com ($15)
Tank 007 TK566 - 2xAA (newer five mode version) ($20)
Petzl Tikka Plus - 3xAAA (headlamp) - http://www.petzl.com ($30)
Generic Incandescent - 2xAA ($2)

All flashlights were using new Alkaline batteries. (except the Photon which came with its own coin-type battery). I used alkalines primarily because it was cheap to put new batteries in all the devices and this was not an endurance test.

The talus slope I used for testing was composed of rock ranging from fist size to washing machine size. Most were around breadbox size. The slope started out with a gentle incline but got progressively steeper toward the top.

This slope has been in place a long time so the rock is fairly stable. Individual stones will turn under your feet, but there is little danger of starting a rock slide. The exception is the last part of the slope where most of the rock is fist sized and stepping in the wrong spot can result in a small section of rock giving way beneath you. Much more care is needed at the top.

To cross the talus slope their are about eight cairns marking the path. They are about 30' feet apart and you need to be able to locate them in order to follow the trail. Picking them out at night with a flashlight is particularly tricky.

The general methodology for using cairns is to locate one, hike up to it, then from that cairn, find the next cairn. You then repeat the cycle. This is a good test to see how well you can pick out a smile pile of rock amongst a large pile of rock in the dark of night.

The path I used for this test started out at my truck. It then went through roughly 50 yards of waist-high brush. This in turn was followed by about 100 yards of talus slope, which became progressively steeper the farther you went. When I got to the top of the talus slope, I turned around and followed the same path back to my truck. Total distance round trip was roughly 300 yards. That doesn't sound that far, but I was going to repeat this test ten times resulting in almost two miles of hiking.

Before leaving on each of my test runs, I started a stopwatch. Once I got back, I noted down the elapsed time as well as anything I learned or impressions I had from that test.

Since I was up there for the Perseids meteor shower, I typically would do a test hike, record my notes, then sit for 10-20 minutes and enjoy the Perseids. Then do another test. This helped keep the test from becoming a drudge and also helped insure I had some rest between tests.

The weather was perfect for the Perseids which made it pretty good for this test as well. Temperature was about 50 falling to about 45 by the end of the last test. The sky was cloudless and there was no moon. The Perseids were wonderful!

While this is only a rough approximation of what a downtown area of city might be like after an earthquake, it was the simplest and most readily accessible thing I could think of. Certainly there was no re-bar, broken glass, crushed cars, fires, gas, sewage, people, etc. However I think some of what I learned would be applicable. If nothing else it helps me think about things.

Without further ado, here are the results:


<b>Test 1: Fenix E01 1xAAA</b>

Time: 14min 15sec
Walking light: very good
Beam light: fair
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: very good
Overall: good

The Fenix E01 is 1xAAA flashlight small enough to fit on a key-chain. It is a single mode on/off flashlight operated by twisting the bezel of the head.

This was the very first test. While I have walked this path several times during the day, I have never hiked it at night and the last time I did during the day was about a month ago. For this reason I think this first test took me longer than any other. Certainly the route itself became more familiar as my testing continued.

Using the Fenix E01, I found the light output to be good for picking my way across the rocks. However I could just barely make out the cairns. They were just on the edge useful beam range. I missed one cairn completely and consequently got lost for a while. Keep in mind this was my first time across at night.

While the E01 is tiny 1xAAA flashlight, I had no problems carrying it in my hand and keeping it pointed where I wanted to go. Since it was a hand-held, it was easy and fast to point at anything I wanted to look at. While it is a twist on/off switch design, the fact that I simply turned it on and left it on made for simple ease of use.

Overall I rated the Fenix E01 "good". More beam throw would have helped.


<b>Test 2: Photon Micro-light II - 1xcoin</b>

Time: 13min 55sec
Walking light: good
Beam light: fair
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: fair
Overall: fair

Having been over the path once, I felt more confident about where I was going on this and subsequent tests.

The Micro-light II is a classic coin-type flashlight for your key-chain. It is operated by pushing in a large button on side of the flashlight. This particular model has a small switch that can hold the button down so you don't have to keep holding it down manually.

For a coin-type flashlight the Micro-light II seemed to produce just as much light as the Fenix E01. Furthermore, since the LED is exposed it produced a much wider beam. This had the potential to making walking easier. However, I found the exposed LED also glared into my own eyes which I found highly irritating. On several occasion I attempted to hold a finger in such a way to block the light to my eyes, but could not find a comfortable position to accomplish that.

The Micro-light II also seemed to throw its beam just as far as the Fenix E01. Consequently, like the E01, I could just barely make out the next cairn. However, the glare back into my eyes made it harder to concentrate on what I was seeing and I ended up blocking this glare with my other hand whenever I needed to try to see distant objects. This was inconvenient. Like the E01, I could not see at least one cairn. However, since I knew roughly where it should be on this second trip, and didn't get lost.

I was somewhat worried about holding the Micro-light II. As stated it is your classic coin-type flashlight for your key-chain. However, I found it was just as comfortable to hold as the E01. Again, the fact that I simply turned it on and left it on made for simple ease of use. Since the beam was broad, there was less need to move it around as well.

While, I didn't need to hold the button down and the switch was easy to engage, that glare from the exposed LED was very bothersome. This is the only light where I repeatedly lost my balance and then had to fight to keep from falling over. I don't know if the glare was what caused this, but it only happened with this flashlight.

Overall I rated the Photon Micro-light II "fair" mostly due to the exposed LED glare issue.


<b>Test 3: Tank 007 TK-566 - 1xAA (single mode)</b>

Time: 13min 12sec
Walking light: poor
Beam light: excellent
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: very good
Overall: fair

This is an early model of the TK-566 and is a single mode on/off flashlight. The switch is a push-button in the tail cap. A nice feature is the button glows in the dark. I found it helpful for locating the entire flashlight in the back of a dark truck.

This flashlight produced a really bright beam. It felt like 3-4 times as bright as the EO1. Most of this light is concentrated in a narrow spot making for a good spotlight. However, this light was really poor for lighting your way through rocks. The center was really bright and the peripheral was really dim. This meant that my eyes had to keep switching from bright to dim light based on where I moved the flashlight. When I was watching the spotlight, I couldn't really see much peripheral area due to the extreme difference in brightness. I found it much harder to pick my way without being able to see a broad area easily.

The TK-566 was a great spotlight though. I could easily pick out distant cairns. I was able to see one cairn through the branches of a tree. With other lights I had to change position so the tree was not in the way to see that cairn.

This was another hand-held flashlight. I found it just as easy to carry in my hand as any of the other hand-helds. Even though it was bigger than the E01 and Micro-light II, I found it no harder or easier to carry. In general I quickly forgot about holding all the hand-held flashlights.

As with the other hand-held lights, it was easy and fast to point it at anything I wanted to look at. The tail-mounted push-button on/off switch was simple and easy. Again, the fact that I simply turned it on and left it on made for simple ease of use.

One other note. At the end of the test when I switched off the light, I found it had been so bright that it left a long-lasting retinal ghost image that interfered significantly with my night-vision (and meteor watching). This lasted for quite a while. This could be a security issue. If you were using this light and suddenly turned it off to avoid detection, it would be really hard to see anything in the resulting darkness.

Overall I rated the Tank 007 TK-566 (single mode) "fair". It was a great spotlight but very poor for general walking. The affect on night-vision was a minus as well.


<b>Test 4: Generic incandescent - 2xAA</b>

Time: 14min 42sec
Walking light: poor
Beam light: poor
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: excellent
Overall: poor

This flashlight is a simple rubber bodied 2xAA incandescent flashlight I had lying around. I thought it would be an interesting comparison. This particular model has a forward-mounted push-button switch on the body. It has a standard old-fashioned incandescent flashlight bulb. It is not any type of mini-mag or knock-off.

This flashlight produced a fairly weak yellow beam. At least in comparison to the white lights all the LED flashlights produced. I did verify the batteries were fresh by measuring them with a volt-meter and putting them into an un-regulated LED flashlight where they worked fine.

The beam on this flashlight seemed to be about as bright as the low mode on the TK-566 (five mode). At least it started out that way. It became noticeably dimmer throughout the hike. Like the Tank 007 TK-566, Most of this light is concentrated in a narrow spot with a halo of dimmer light around it. There was also a number of odd shaped rings. The difference between center and peripheral brightness was not as great, but I still had problems adjusting between the two. The yellowish cast made judging the edges of rocks more difficult as well.

The dim yellowish heavily ringed light proved really poor for lighting my way through the rocks. It was the only light that I actually stumbled badly enough to fall down. Twice!

The Generic Incandescent beam had a fair throw. It was about the same as the E01 and Micro-light II. However, the yellowish cast again made it more difficult to make out what I was seeing.

Like the other hand-held flashlights I found it just as easy to carry in my hand. Also like the other hand-held lights, it was easy and fast to point it at anything I wanted to look at. The forward mounted push-button on/off switch was actually the easiest of all the flashlights to use. As I simply turned it on and left it on, ease of use was simple.

Overall I rated the Generic Incandescent "poor". It had a weak yellowish light that dimmed over the course of the test. The light pattern was very uneven as well.

It is possible that this was either a poor example of an incandescent or that there was something wrong with this sample. The flashlight came out of a drawer and I am not sure how old it is. It is also possible that this is simply what some of us put up with for years before the advent of modern LED's!


<b>Test 5: Tank 007 TK-566 - 1xAA (five mode)</b>

Operation Mode: low

Time: 16min 03sec
Walking light: poor
Beam light: poor
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: very good
Overall: poor

This is a newer model of the TK-566 and is a five mode (med, low, hi, flash, SOS) flashlight. The switch is a push-button in the tail cap. You depress the switch slightly to change modes. A nice feature is the button glows in the dark. I found it helpful for locating the entire flashlight in the back of a dark truck.

For this test this flashlight was operated on low only. This was to simulate conserving power, a low battery, or an attempt to keep a low profile. The beam pattern was good, but pretty dim. In fact I found it too dim to easily navigate across the talus slope. I had a much harder time judging where to put my feet at this low level.

When it came to picking out cairns, the TK-566 on low mode was terrible. Several cairns I could not see at all. If I hadn't already known what direction they were in, I could easily have become completely lost.

This is the same flashlight from other reviews, so I will simply repeat the following information for consistencies sake.

This was another hand-held flashlight. I found it just as easy to carry in my hand as any of the other hand-helds. Even though it was bigger than the E01 and Micro-light II, I found it no harder or easier to carry. In general I quickly forgot about holding all the hand-held flashlights.

As with the other hand-held lights, it was easy and fast to point it at anything I wanted to look at. The tail-mounted push-button on/off switch was simple and easy. Again, the fact that I simply turned it on and left it on made for simple ease of use.

Overall I rated the Tank 007 TK-566 (five mode) "poor" when operated on low only. The light was simply too dim to make it good for these conditions. I recorded the worst time out of all the flashlights in this mode.


<b>Test 6: Tank 007 TK-566 - 1xAA (five mode)</b>

Operation Mode: med

Time: 14min 17sec
Walking light: very good
Beam light: fair
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: very good
Overall: good

This is a newer model of the TK-566 and is a five mode (med, low, hi, flash, SOS) flashlight. The switch is a push-button in the tail cap. You depress the switch slightly to change modes. A nice feature is the button glows in the dark. I found it helpful for locating the entire flashlight in the back of a dark truck.

For this test this flashlight was operated on medium only. This was to simulate a compromise between battery consumption and light output. The beam pattern was good, roughly the same as the Fenix E01. Possibly slightly dimmer.

Like the Fenix E01, I found the light output to be nicely uniform and good for picking my way across the rocks. However the I could just barely make out the cairns. They were just on the edge useful beam range.

This is the same flashlight from other reviews, so I will simply repeat the following information for consistencies sake.

As another hand-held flashlight, I found it just as easy to carry in my hand as any of the other hand-helds. Even though it was bigger than the E01 and Micro-light II, I found it no harder or easier to carry. In general I quickly forgot about holding all the hand-held flashlights.

As with the other hand-held lights, it was easy and fast to point it at anything I wanted to look at. The tail-mounted push-button on/off switch was simple and easy. Again, the fact that I simply turned it on and left it on made for simple ease of use.

Overall I rated the Tank 007 TK-566 (five mode) when operated on medium as "good". The light was output was good for walking, but only fair for seeing the cairns. The difference between low and med did not appear to be much, but it seemed to make a big difference.


<b>Test 7: Tank 007 TK-566 - 2xAA (five mode)</b>

Operation Mode: med and high

Time: 16min 02sec
Walking light: very good
Beam light: good
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: fair
Overall: fair

This is a newer model of the TK-566 and is a five mode (med, low, hi, flash, SOS) flashlight. I have a battery extension tube for this flashlight and decided to give it a try for this test. This extension converts it to a 2xAA. Since the light is regulated, I did not expect any change in brightness, but wanted to se if there was anything good or bad about having a longer and heavier flashlight.

As before, the switch on the TK-566 is a push-button in the tail cap. You depress the switch slightly to change modes. A nice feature is the button glows in the dark. I found it helpful for locating the entire flashlight in the back of a dark truck.

For this test I operated this flashlight on medium for walking, but I switched to high when I needed to find a cairn. This was to simulate how you might use a multi-mode flashlight. The beam pattern on medium was good, roughly the same as the Fenix E01. Possibly slightly dimmer. The beam pattern on high was also good, slightly brighter than the E01.

Surprisingly the "high" mode on this five mode TK-566 was not nearly as bright as the "on" on the single mode TK-566. I would estimate the single mode was 2-3 times brighter.

Like the Fenix E01, I found the light output to be nicely uniform and good for picking my way across the rocks. Switching to high made it slightly easier to pick out cairns. The difference between medium and high was not very great though.

While this is the same flashlight from other tests, in this case I was using an extension tube so it was longer and heavier. I am also switching modes and this made a big difference.

With the extension tube allowing 2xAA, the TK-566 was both longer and heavier. However, again, I didn't really notice the difference. It just as easy to carry in my hand as any of the other hand-helds. As with the other hand-helds, I quickly forgot about holding it entirely.

As with the other hand-held lights, it was easy and fast to point it at anything I wanted to look at. The tail-mounted push-button on/off switch was simple and easy for turning the flashlight on and off, however was very poor for switching modes.

Switching modes on the TK-566 was frustrating. I spent a lot of time during this test trying to switch to the correct mode. Inevitably, since I had been turning this flashlight on and off for previous tests, I would push the button to hard and turn the light off. I would then need to turn it back on, and then attempt to switch modes. Since I was never quite sure which mode it came back on in, I also would then sequence through all the modes in order to insure I had the right mode. Part of the problem was that there was so little difference between low, med, and high.

As the test progressed I became more proficient at switching modes, but the time I spent initially on this really slowed me down. In the end, I did not think the small difference in light output was worth the time to switch modes and in the real world would probably just use either medium or high.

A final note, security could be really compromised by cycling through the flashing and SOS modes when attempting to change the light output.

Overall I rated the Tank 007 TK-566 (five mode) "fair" when operated on medium and switching to high as needed. The light was output was good for walking, but high was only marginally better for seeing the cairns. Switching modes was a pain and slowed me down considerably.


<b>Test 8: Petzl Tikka Plus - 3xAAA (four mode)</b>

Operation Mode: high

Time: 14min 13sec
Walking light: excellent
Beam light: fair
Comfort: excellent
Ease of use: very good
Overall: very good

The Tikka Plus is a four mode (low, med, hi, flash) headlamp. It is the only headlamp I tested. It runs on 3xAAA that are contained in the lamp assembly. The switch is a rubber button in top middle of the lamp. As with other multi-mode flashlights, you switch modes by depressing the on/off switch slightly. This flashlight will also tilt up and down on a pivoting mount. I found I left all the way most of the time.

This flashlight has 4 LED's. Different brightness levels are achieved by changing the intensity of all the LED's, not turning individual LED's on or off. The resulting light is both bright and diffuse. Walking with this light was easy. Easier than any other flashlight. The light was brighter than the E01 and the light was evenly spread over a wide area. I felt the most confident walking with this light.

With the Tikka Plus, it was somewhat easier to pick out cairns. I believe this was a combination of a slightly brighter, but also a much wider beam. This allowed me to see a wider area and consequently locate the cairn faster. While somewhat brighter than the E01, it was not even close to the single mode TK-566.

Since this was a head-mounted headlamp, the light projected in whatever direction I was facing. This was good for general use, but was not nearly as flexible or fast as a hand-held. When looking for cairns up-slope, I often found myself lifting my chin and then looking down. This felt unnatural and probably would not have worked at all for looking into the upper floors of buildings.

The light itself was comfortable and secure. Like the hand-helds, I generally quit noticing I was wearing it. Since it freed both of my hands, I found myself several times purposely using my hands to steady myself against rocks. This was due to both having the hands free and the wider brighter field of view. I didn't use my hands steadying myself with any of the hand-helds unless I had to.

The switch located on the top of the headlamp body was easy to access and use. It suffers from the same problem of cycling through all the different modes, but since I only used one mode, this wasn't a problem.

One thing I did notice was, more bugs flying around my face. I am not sure if this was due the bright wide beam or I just hadn't noticed the same bugs flying around the hand-helds. Not particularly bothersome in this case, but could be in other circumstances.

Overall I rated the Tikka Plus "very good" when operated on high. This was mainly due to the wide uniform light spread, though the extra brightness helped as well. A better long distance beam would have made it better yet.


<b>Test 9: Petzl Tikka Plus - 3xAAA (four mode) AND
Tank 007 TK-566 - 1xAA (single mode)</b>

Operation Mode: high (Tikka Plus)

Time: 12min 46sec
Walking light: excellent
Beam light: excellent
Comfort: excellent
Ease of use: very good
Overall: excellent

For this test, I tried using the Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp in combination with the Tank 007 TK-566 single mode. I was attempting to combine the ease of walking the Tikka Plus yielded with the superior beam power of the TK-566 single mode.

The way I used these two lamps was to have the headlamp on all the time and turn the TK-566 on whenever I needed to search for a cairn. Once I had located the cairn, I turned the TK-566 back off.

This combination was excellent! As previously noted the Tikka Plus provided great visibility for walking and the TK-566 quickly and easily located cairns. This combination turned in the fastest time as well.

Also as noted before, both devices were comfortable and this remained true in combination.

Both devices were easy to use as I left the Tikka Plus on all the time and used the Tikka Plus push button to easily turn it on/off. The only improvement would have been a forward mounted switch on the body of the TK-566. I found this the most convenient location of all for hand-held lights.

The only downside to this combination was not having both hands free. The other benefits were great enough, I consider this merely a slight inconvenience.

Overall I rated the Tikka Plus when operated on high in combination with the Tank 007 TK-566 single mode as "excellent". If I ever need to travel across rough country at night, this is the combination I will use if possible.


<b>Test 10: Fenix E01 1xAAA</b>

Time: 13min 03sec
Walking light: very good
Beam light: fair
Comfort: very good
Ease of use: very good
Overall: good

I decided to run one last test with the Fenix E01 again. The first time, I was not familiar with the route and that slowed me down. Since I quickly became more familiar with the route for the other tests, I felt this unduly punished the E01 for the time factor.

On re-testing the E01, I was particularly impressed with the uniformity of its beam. It was quite smooth. Smoother than the TK-566 on medium.

I still had the same issues picking out cairns which were at the limit of its reach.

Overall I still rated the Fenix E01 "good". I think I would actually prefer it over the TK-566 on medium. Note that being more familiar with the route improved my time from 14min 15sec to 13m 30s.

I may consider switching out my Photo Micro-light II for a Fenix E01 on my key-chain.


Final notes:

All in all, I am glad I ran these tests. I felt they yielded useful information and I hope others can benefit from them.

If I get a chance to, I'll try it again in the rain. However, it will need to be bad luck for this to happen. I don't see myself driving four hours round-trip to deliberately camp in the rain. Much less hike in it.

I wish I had remembered to bring one of my solar powered flashlights. They are my work horses around the house and would have liked to compare them more directly.

Two hours of hiking on talus was really tiring. No surprisingly, the rocks are just as hard as pavement. I did all these tests in my GHB boots (but not with my GHB pack) and I am again feeling footsore today. Definitely need to get insoles or different boots.

I think I am feeling more soreness in my legs after 2 hours of talus than I did after 6 miles of walking pavement in my previous GHB test.

One other thing to note for all the flashlight tests I ran. The weather was good, there were no distractions, the route was pretty well known, and the I only had rocks to deal with. With all this, I only averaged about .8 miles per hour. Pretty slow.

Let me know your thoughts (for the few of you that actually made it all the way to the end of this mini-novel)