Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Currently mine are:

Maglite ML300 3D cell - has a good amount of throw on high, runs near forever in ”eco”mode on alkaline D’s.

Maglite ML25 2C cell – great little light with a very useful beam pattern and a bunch of throw, the latest version has a low mode for lots of run time. A great value at $20.

Streamlight 1L-1AA – a practical EDC type light that runs on either a single CR123A or a AA and it will also run on a single AAA, all without adjustment or changing out parts. Has a S clip to turn it into a head lamp by clipping onto the brim of a ball cap.

Defiant Armor Max Headlamp – this is a 3 AAA cheapie, but I like it because it is simple to use and fairly rugged (9 M drop, IPX7 1M submersible).

Life Gear AR Tech Flashlight/Lantern – these are often sold in 3 packs for cheap, great for putting some light in different rooms using the lantern mode, runs on 3 AA’s. Not the most ruggedly constructed, but they are rated for 1 M impact and seem to be fairly water resistant in fact they float and have a water activated red flashing mode to help you find the light if you drop it in water.

Eveready 1D LED – Another cheapie (only $3 or so) not very rugged or water resistant but it runs a long time on a single D cell (will also run on C’s in a pinch or AA’s with an adapter) and it has the ability to run on “dead” batteries that will no longer power anything else.

After hurricane Maria caused extended outages in Puerto Rico, I decided to see how many different batteries I could run in my 2 and 3 cell C and D lights using 3D printed adapters. So far, I can run everything from AAA’s, AA’s, C cells, CR123A’s, 16340’s, 14500’s, 18650’s, 21700’s, and 26650’s in my 2 and 3 D cell LED lights in addition to the D cells that they are intended to use…..10 different cells in all. I can run all of these minus the 26650’s and D cells in 2 and 3 C cell lights as well.

Li-Ions have the advantage of being able to be recharged quickly if you have limited access to power (car charger/generator etc.).

I am still seeking 18650 adapters. The last bunch was defective, my money was returned, and I tossed them (having sent pictures of 5 flashlights with the adapters sitting on top because they would not fit.)

I've converted all of my Maglites from incandescent bulbs over to the Niteize LED conversion. Got them from HFT with the 20% coupon so they were only around $7. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be selling that product anymore. Haven't seen it in their stores or on the website. Too bad. It is the one that gives 55 lumens. That doesn't seem like a lot, however, it's more than what the incandescent bulbs gave off and it's a much brighter, fuller white spot rather than the ringy yellow spot. And it extends the battery life considerably. I'll have to conduct another test to see what kind of times I get.

I have several 2D cell maglites that I bought from Lowes on closeout. They were the old incandescent bulb type that I converted to LED. I have several 4D cell maglites. My favorite is a 4C cell maglite that is many decades old that was my grandfathers bed side light. I've converted that over and it always gives me fond memories.

bdc wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 9:20 pm I am still seeking 18650 adapters. The last bunch was defective, my money was returned, and I tossed them (having sent pictures of 5 flashlights with the adapters sitting on top because they would not fit.)

What lights are you using? What caused the adapters not to fit?

David wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 10:14 am I've converted all of my Maglites from incandescent bulbs over to the Niteize LED conversion. Got them from HFT with the 20% coupon so they were only around $7. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be selling that product anymore. Haven't seen it in their stores or on the website. Too bad. It is the one that gives 55 lumens. That doesn't seem like a lot, however, it's more than what the incandescent bulbs gave off and it's a much brighter, fuller white spot rather than the ringy yellow spot. And it extends the battery life considerably. I'll have to conduct another test to see what kind of times I get.

I have several 2D cell maglites that I bought from Lowes on closeout. They were the old incandescent bulb type that I converted to LED. I have several 4D cell maglites. My favorite is a 4C cell maglite that is many decades old that was my grandfathers bed side light. I've converted that over and it always gives me fond memories.

I have a couple of the nite ize drop ins for my old fulton moonbeam and 2D mag, home depot had them for $5 at one time (on sale) but now I think they sell them for $8-10.

I have a an adventure sports 280 lumen drop-in in my 35 year old 4D, really brought it back to life!

Anyone looking for long-running lantern should consider the BLF Lantern. You can buy it from a number of places but here's a link to the manufacturer where you can see what the specs are https://sofirnlight.com/products/blf-lt ... 3031355452

It will run for an 7-8 hours at full brightness (depending on battery) and in my opinion is the best lantern available for purchase.

If you have the time and inclination to do so you can read about its development at Budgetlightform http://budgetlightforum.com/node/44923

You can usually get it for around $50 without batteries and $60 with batteries since it goes on discount fairly often.

The batteries can be charged while in the lantern including from a solar panel; a good thing when power is out for one reason or another.

I have several long term lights. First, all my Olights have a candle setting that the lights will last for multiple days on one charge.

I won a lantern that is rechargeable and came with a solar panel that it plugs into it.

I have the older version of these https://smile.amazon.com/LuminAID-PackL ... 165&sr=8-7 which they charge well and I left one on over night and it lasted all night long. I have these in each GHB and one in the house.

I have a couple of these https://smile.amazon.com/BioLite-Sunlig ... 65&sr=8-29 they work nice, but the switch function with all the different options can be a pain.

Finally, I have several of these https://smile.amazon.com/ThorFire-Recha ... AVA1F9NKE1 When the sun is out and you need light, these allow you to hand crank to charge the battery. They hold a charge for a long time.

I picked up a Maglight ML25 yesterday at Wal-Mart. It was on clearance for $15 so I snatched it up (there was only one.) It does have the high and low modes. The low mode is quite generous lumen-wise (or so it seems) and is plenty for routine use in lights-out conditions. It is now the nightstand light for my wife. And if I can find another at that price I'll buy it post haste.

https://www.amazon.com/Stretchable-Wate ... 005&sr=8-8

I have some that are similar to the link above. They pull up to use and are solar powered. Very bright. Costco has them right now in a 3-pack. Don't recall if they were battery or solar powered off hand but they all work about the same. The solar ones are nice simply because it's easy to recharge in the day for night use.

ratf51 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 01, 2020 10:24 am I picked up a Maglight ML25 yesterday at Wal-Mart. It was on clearance for $15 so I snatched it up (there was only one.) It does have the high and low modes. The low mode is quite generous lumen-wise (or so it seems) and is plenty for routine use in lights-out conditions. It is now the nightstand light for my wife. And if I can find another at that price I'll buy it post haste.

Good score on the ML25. I saw that they dropped the price to $15 at my local wm, but they were already sold out....going to be hard to find the ML25's locally with wm clearing them out and local HD's having recently cleared out the 3 cell ML25's along with the rest of the Mags that they carried.

I have gifted and recommended ML25's (running on AA Eneloops in spacers) to a lot of people that I know and everyone seems to be happy with them.

The fine print on the instructions says the low mode is 15%, so about 29 lumens, but it looks brighter with the beam focused.