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LED Flashlights
Daniel Rutter writes: "LED flashlights are better than incandescent, but not for the reasons you might think. I've done a couple of hefty LED flashlight comparisons, now. The latest one, just finished, is here. It covers the neat little Streamlight Stylus 3, five Tektite lights (four of which are waterproof to 1000 feet...), and a couple of old-fashioned filament-bulb Maglites, so you can see how the new technology stacks up. My first comparison is here; it covers a few of LEDCorp's cheap but tough lights, and some of the very, very Star-Trekky EternaLights. They've got microprocessor control, baby!" Nifty. Birthday presents galore.
A friend of mine has made several flashlights out of LEDs, potentiometers (as dimmers), and short lengths of PVC. They're great for providing very low levels of light during star watching parties; you can read maps, tweak screws, etc., without destroying your night vision (or that of the people around you). Some people prefer red (lowest energy wavelength); some prefer green (dim light goes further).
Stupid job ads, weird spam, occasional insight at
An important safety tip about LED flashlights, learned through experience.
If you're driving in an unfamiliar area, e.g., the Olympic Penisula, and pull over to the side of the road to figure out where everything else is (since you know exactly where you are, so many miles south of the National Park on the only major street in the area), do NOT use a red LED flashlight.
It makes major roads disappear from the map.
I got *very* confused, since I knew I had driven on some of those missing roads just days earlier. I swear I started to hear the music from the _Twilight Zone_. But turning on the overhead lights revealed the missing road. Red lines illuminated by a red light disappear, and presumably the same thing happens with the other colors as well.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
When I fly, I tend to use a white LED Photon Micro light to read the multi-colored charts. Its not too bright and I haven't replaced its battery yet after 3 years.
I also carry a Eveready 2AA light with lith Lithium batteries. Its light and very bright. It will light up reflectors at over a 1.5 miles. I also carry a one that has normal Alkaline batteries if I need a semi-bright light.
I've given up on the mag light junk. Sure the case is strong but any little bump and the light bulbs go out. You can't hold them in your teeth (sometimes you need to do that in a small plane). I'm not impressed with their switches and if you have a problem, you can't fix them in the dark. Once they get wet inside, they die. Other than use as weapon, I can't see any good. I have had several maglights and they all failed. The plastic everready is something like 10 years old.
For Diving, I like the Underwater Kenetics 4D cell model and have an 8 AA dual circut light bade by Technisub. Most dive lights use magnetic reed switches so they are completely sealed but if they don't have transistor switches, you burn out the reeds but if you have transistors, they are never off.
Out in the bush, the photon is great. It is easy to carry around (just clip to to your shirt) and it lights up about a 1m circle in complete darkness. Its not too bright so you don't lose your night vision.
And most importantly, it is outside of the range of the un-dyed cells, called the rods ;-). Night-vision is mostly done with the rods, whereas color-vision is done with the cones. That's the reason why, in low-lit conditions, you see everything in shades of grey
> (If it weren't, we would see infrared and call *it* "red").
Actually, the reason why red is near the edge of the receptivity of red cones, is because there is a significant overlap between the ranges of the red and green cones. The wavelength at the maximum of the red cone's sensitivity (564 nm) is also well within the green's range, and is thus seen as yellow (red+green) rather than "pure" red. If sensitity ranges were more evenly spread (i.e. the green range closer to the blue, but further away from the red), we would see 564nm as red, and still not see any infrared...
This picture nicely shows the receptivity of the four kinds of receivers in the human eye.
Say no to software patents.
A reason that LED lamps are great that is often not mentioned is that they have a very uniform illumination pattern. This is great for reading books in the tent, maps, etc. Most incandescent bulbs simply cannot focus as cleanly. Mine's quite adequate for what I use it for (see my review of the Princeton Tec Matrix on http://www.outdoorreview.com/reviews/Headlamps/pro duct_2333.asp) and it runs around 40 hours on 2 AA's. I never use my Petzl Micro or Zoom these days (anybody want them cheap?)
Dara
Having purchased a ton of flashlights myself, here are some things you should realize before making a LED light purchse. Most flashlight review sites fail to point out the disadvantages of LED lights:
- Cannot focus the beam, as the reflector is inside the LED itself
- Thus... the beam must be either non-focused, or too focused. Short focus LED lights have a very small range of 30 feet or so, while exceptions (like the PAL light) have such a focused beam that it is useless in close range)
- The "white" light, while impressive and cool, is not that great for night-time viewing. It can ruin your night vision, and does not display contrast as well as the yellow light. (of course, no one wants to put a yellow LED in their flashlight, even if they exist, because it's not "cool")
- pricey. (new technology is always pricey)
So.. my advice is to find a local outdoors retailer that has these lights, or better yet -- look for a flashlight freak like me that has these lights, borrow them, and try them out before you plonk down $20+. Personally, I find that the headlamp Tekka (from Petzl) works wonderfully for proximity lighting, and combined with a conventional Xenon lamp like the Bison, you have your long range covered as well.Just my 2 cents.
I'm referring to the big, heavy kind. Just so that I can club "Daniel Rutter" in the head, for having that damned popup ad on his site.
-k.