Posts Tagged portable light
Really Bright Icon Lights
Some kind of flashlight is a critical piece of gear for almost every traveler — you never know when the power is going to go out, your car might break down, and if you’re doing any camping or outdoors after dark, you need portable light. Icon makes sturdy little lights that are small enough to hold in your hand but cast enough light for you to find critters lurking in the distance when you step out of your tent in the middle of a moonless night.
Consider, when you’re shopping for a flashlight, if a little handheld light is enough or you want a headlamp. Headlamps are great for camping; hands free means you can cook dinner, pitch a tent, read a book… A little standard flashlight requires you hold it in your hand. This is fine if you’re using it too look for your keys or finding the way back to your bungalow and some off the grid hotel, or just packing it in case of emergency. The season is coming, so consider, a headlamp or a flashlight makes a really great stocking stuffer type gift for the traveler in your life (or yourself). Think about use and go from there. Headlamps for campers, outdoorsy types, a flashlight for everyone else.
I know this because I wish I’d packed a headlamp for my last trip. I used a hand held flashlight and it was awkward. I wished for a headlamp often, especially while sitting in a camp chair with my dinner plate perched on my knee. That said, I really liked the Irix Link light that I did pack. With one AA battery, I was able to light up my tent (and my hotel room, when the power went out) for two weeks — and there’s still plenty of juice left in it. It’s a cool looking gadget with a nice aluminum finish and a carabiner style clip integrated into the body. This turned out to be really useful, I’m always trying to lose my gear and because I’d clip the flashlight on to my belt loops or a tie down on my pack, it stayed put. Icon says that the light is waterproof to one meter for 30 minutes, I didn’t test this but what it means is should you drop it out of the boat, it will still work if you’re quick about retrieving it.
Icon’s Irix headlamp is also a great little light. It’s made from plastic so it’s a bit lighter than the Link, and it’s weatherproof rather than waterproof, meaning you’ll be okay using it in the rain but don’t drop it in the lake. It’s got a brightness dial; you can turn it down so you don’t blind your camp-mates when you look at them. You’ll get lots of use out of one AA with this light too. The light itself can be removed from the headband so you can use it as a handheld light. With my tendency to lose small bits of gear, I’d probably leave the light clip to the headband.
Both lights are small and lightweight; you can easily find space for them in your kit. The Link is listed for 27.99, but I saw it for as low as 17.00 on Amazon. At around 50.00, the Irix headlamp is a bit pricier, also on Amazon.
Posted by Pam in Business Gear, General Gear on October 28th, 2011
Camping Light: Kelty’s Lumapivot Lantern
I don’t know why we’ve taken so long to upgrade our camping kit with decent lighting. Sure, we carry candles and flashlights and a headlamp, but typically, we just shut down our efforts with the close of day. This has meant an early dinner, a bit of reading in the tent as the light fades, and, well, that’s about it for the evening. I used to have one of those old propane lanterns, the kind that used the ever fragile mantle. The light was great, but they were kind of high maintenance plus, you don’t want a propane fueled fire in your tent. No way.
Kelty’s Lumapivot Lantern is going to open up a whole new world of cooking after dark and reading in bed for our summer camping trips. This cute, versatile little light could have been designed in an almost answer to my camp light wish list.
I’ll mention the one thing I found less than ideal about it first. It takes six AA batteries. I wish it had been designed with an AC rechargeable power supply. An outlet just isn’t that hard to find — we’ve got one in our car, even. Sure, I can stock it with rechargeable batteries, but then, I’ve got to also pack a recharger. This isn’t a backpacker’s device, it’s for car/trailer campers who don’t worry so much about weight, so I’m not convinced it couldn’t be rechargeable. You’ll get about six hours of light, total, using the lantern on full power, so if you’re cooking dinner in the dark every night, you’ll probably burn through the batteries fairly quickly. Power source aside, there’s lots of stuff to like about this well designed little lantern.
It’s light enough to hang up inside your tent, for starters. We’re always Gerry-rigging a flashlight or a headlamp to hang from the “ceiling” and then, the light is never where you want it to be. But the adjustable wings (check the picture, you’ll see what I mean) allow you to point the light in any direction you want. The lamp has a three way switch: off, both wings, one wing — so you can decide how much light you need. It’s bright, really bright — the specs say you get 35 feet of usable light. The design is really clever — 360 degrees of rotation, a sturdy base that’s unlikely to knock over (our old propane lamp was kind of top heavy), bright LEDs as the light source, a handle so you can carry it around camp easily. It’s white, which seems like a weird choice for a campground product, but that makes it easy to find in the dark. It’s weatherproof, meaning yes, you can use it outdoors in the rain — a Pacific Northwest camper’s bonus — though I’d avoid dropping it off the side of a boat or pushing this too much. And did I mention? It’s cute. I like it.
I’m a fan of sturdy, well designed camping gear that’s genuinely useful. The Kelty Lumapivot Lantern is going into our car camping kit as standard gear. Car campers, folks with trailers, or even after dark back yard diners might find they like having this little lantern join them in their evening outdoor activities.
Get yours directly from Kelty or check the latest prices on Amazon.
Posted by Pam in Adventure Gear, General Gear on April 8th, 2011
Must-Have Portable Light: Joby Gorillatorch Flare
It takes a lot for me to consider a gadget a must-have. But occasionally, I’ll run across something so incredibly useful it falls into that category.
Such is the case with the Joby Gorillatorch Flare, a hands-free flashlight with a world of uses for travelers.
The Gorillatorch Flare is a new and improved model of Joby’s original Gorillatorch light. The Gorillatorch Flare takes it to the next level with a light that’s more than 50 percent brighter (up to 100 lumens vs. 65) and includes red lights for emergency signaling.
First, the Flare is an incredibly bright light with all the advantages of LED technology—running cool and consuming battery power in tiny sips instead of big gulps. Three AA batteries last up to 80 hours in normal use, depending on the brightness.
The light is so bright, it’s difficult to look directly at it on the brightest setting. Plus, there are six different ways to use the light.
Pushing a button cycles the Flare through three different brightness levels of steady, white light; a white strobe light; a steady red light; or a red strobe light.
The light will sit on or attach to just about anything. Joby uses the same type of flexible, bendable legs found on its camera tripods, with magnetic feet that will latch on to a car or other metal surfaces. The legs can form a tripod to hold the light, or bend and twist to attach to poles or other objects. (My colleague, Tim, has used one of Joby’s portable tripods in his travels.)
The Gorillatorch Flare is an essential for the car. The light could be used to help change a flat or signal for help in the event of a breakdown.
Campers should find it useful. And having one around the house would be very handy for power outages. Those are just a few ways the Gorillatorch Flare can be used.
The color temperature of the light is very close to pure daylight, without the yellow cast associated with tungsten lights. The beam is very focused, as opposed to a floodlight. I can even think of ways to use this for video work for lighting interviews or backlighting in the field.
The Torch is built tough, designed to keep working even after being dropped six feet. It’s also water-resistant to keep shining in the rain.
The price is reasonable, considering all the different ways this light can be used. The Gorillatorch Flare sells for $34.95 from Amazon or Joby’s website.
The Joby Gorillatorch Flare is well-designed and very handy. With the latest LED technology, it’s light years ahead of the ordinary flashlight.
Posted by JohnG in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, General Gear on June 21st, 2010
Review: AltusLumen Lightgear Gre Light
A battery-operated light is an essential tool for every traveler. And AltusLumen’s Lightgear Gre 18-in-1 LED Flashlight, which also includes a handy survival tool, could easily be crowned the Swiss Army Knife of lights.
LEDs are making a huge difference in lighting. They’re compact and bright, plus the bulbs remain cool and save energy. The Lightgear Gre shows what can be done with a creative design useful for all types of travelers, from business road warriors to camping families to mountaineers. It’s also handy to have around the house when storms knock out electricity, which happened to me just a few days ago.
First, the Lightgear Gre doesn’t look like a conventional flashlight. Folded in a hard plastic and recycled aluminum case, it’s made to slip into a pocket or backpack for easy carrying. A patented swivel cover works as a stand for the light and allows it to be used, hands-free, six different ways—shining up, down or sideways, or even hanging from a tree as an area light.
The four LEDs are surprisingly bright. In fact, the user guide warns against looking directly at the light.
The light is powered by four AAA batteries. The manufacturer says one set of batteries will last six hours. My testing showed slightly more than six hours of continuous operation was no problem. A warning light near the on-off switch flashes when the batteries are getting low.
The light throws a broad beam, very different from a flashlight. There are dozens of possible uses and I could even see some applications for making videos.
The Lightgear Gre is weatherproof for use even in the rain. A carrying case is included.
But there’s more. Also tucked into the light case are an aluminum whistle and a 10-in-1 stainless steel survival tool. The survival tool includes a can opener, knife, screwdriver, ruler, cap opener, wrenches, saw and a direction indicator.
My colleague, Tim, reviewed a slight different version of this light and questioned its eco-friendly claims in our recent end-of-the-year roundup. If I could change one thing—and this is a minor point—it would be the battery cover. I’d prefer a snap-on cover instead of one requiring a screwdriver to open. But if you don’t have a screwdriver handy when the batteries need replacing, you can always use the survival tool.
The Lightgear Gre sells for $29.90 on AltusLumen’s website. It’s available in three colors—green, yellow and semi-transparent—and is covered by a one-year limited warranty.
If the company’s environmental claims are important in your purchasing decision, weigh them carefully. But from a performance standpoint, this light could be useful to many travelers.
Other lights reviewed on Practical Travel Gear:
Posted by JohnG in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, Travel Light on February 16th, 2010
