James:
The subject of handheld lights is as long as it is wide. Ask 20 people what is best, get 40 answers and recommendations! As with many things, today we live in a great time for flashlight technology. My recommendation is to immerse yourself in www.candlepowerforums.com. Some guys there are truly on the cutting edge of lights.
Some of the modified lights are incredible. Have fun and enjoy a winter’s worth of reading. – Straightblast
Jim:
Just enjoying a last respite prior to retiring in my mountaintop isolated home and read the letter on Prowlers and Lighting at SurvivalBlog. Since this is still pre-TEOTWAWKI, I use car headlights [with my retreat DC power system.] I got them for free from a couple of salvage yards. Not just the lights, but the entire fixture. They mount rather nicely to trees and such and can be aimed. ( I might mention that if done right, they don’t draw attention or look tacky). I use military WD-1 [Army field tele]phone wire and the lights seem to function ok even at the distance I’ve strung the wire (surprised me?) I can turn them on selectively or all at once (panic switch). I set them so they backlighted the intruders (The intruders were between me and the lights). Only had to use it once and it turned out to be a neighbor (Boy, was he surprised!) He’d been over a lot and never noticed the lights before. He said it sort of took his breath away when the woods behind him lit up like a football field.
For four legged varmints, I use a surefire whit light and a red laser on the rifle.
For two legged varmints, I use an infrared laser, night vision goggles and a really good flash suppressor.
BTW, the latter works great on coyotes, which should tell you something.
Oh, it was the seismic intrusion detector set that told me somebody or something big was in the woods.
On another note: When you’re doing everything all by yourself, you’re bound to forget something. You might want to remind everybody who is using batteries and inverters that it’s Fall headed into Winter. I checked the water in my batteries and was feeling good about everything being fully charged and ready for winter and then, just happened to wiggle all the battery connection wires. Whew! Only a minor spark on one connection (batteries were on charge) and lo and behold! A loose connection. I was just lucky to have seen it. I took the volt meter and checked each and every battery and sure enough, two were lower than the others. Cleaned the connections, and the batteries started bubbling as they took a charge. The batteries are all series and paralleled in my 24 Volt system using L-16, 6 volt [deep cycle marine] batteries. If I hadn’t caught that, two of my sixteen L-16 batteries probably would have frozen and burst this winter.
Best regards to you and yours. Check Six! – The Army Aviator
Jim:
I bought one of the Thor-X lights at Costco last year for about $25. There great and have a high and low setting. High is 10,000.000 [candle power]. It also can be run off a 12 volt car hookup or charged and used off the battery. Great light and rugged. I found the light on this page so you could see a picture. I have seen them at Costco since I got mine but I don’t know if they still carry them
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/third/thor.htm
As you say there are times for light and many times the night is my best friend, use it to your advantage. – D.M.
Hi Jim,
I was reading the inquiry L.K. made regarding spotlights and I thought of the Maxa Beam. Perhaps you’re already familiar with it, but if not it is very powerful and versatile, and can be used covertly with NVD. I haven’t priced them yet, but they do look pricey (no prices listed on their web site). A short video showing the capabilities is can be found here –
http://www.peakbeam.com/video.html
I thought you might be interested in knowing about this product if you weren’t already aware of it. Take care, – Tom
JWR Adds: Beware when using handheld spotlights. They draw a lot of current and can drain a car battery in a hurry. Be sure to leave your engine running if using a spotlight for more than a minute.