backup light

[John Eyles]

I used to carry, in addition to my headlight, a tiny little plastic flashlight.   I believe it was Princeton Tec brand.   It weighed almost nothing, except for the  3 AAA batteries required.   Those batteries could also serve as backup batteries for the headlight.   So it could serve as a backup light, or as backup batteries for my primary light – for a weight cost of less than an ounce.

It’s gone and I need a replacement.  Unfortunately virtually all the small flashlights now are made of metal and just aren’t very light.

Does anyone know a candidate, that’s plastic and uses 3 AAAs (like most headlights) and doesn’t cost too much ?   Or do you have other suggestions for a backup light ?

 

[David Hartley]

Fenix E01. Uses a single AAA battery, 3 brightness settings with 100 lumens max setting. Only weighs 1/2 an ounce. $15 on Amazon. Sounds like you are already committed to bringing the 3 extra AAA batteries for your headlamp anyway.

There are many “light” nerds out there in internet land so I think you will hear many suggestions.

I have gone rechargeable for my headlamp and no longer need to pack extra headlamp batteries – just an Anker 10k battery to recharge the lamp, my phone, and my inReach – easily covers 6-7 night trip for me.

[Jerry Adams]

I use a button battery light as a backup.  One that has a mechanical switch so that the battery doesn’t slowly discharge.  I think the one I have now was a chotski from some company.

[John B]

you might consider petzl E-light +  (weighs 26g) and uses watch battery.  Can find it on amazon for $28.95.   p.s. I have one I no longer use which I’m willing to sell for $15 plus shipping.  PM me if interested.

[David Thomas]

NiteCore Tube. 1/3 ounce. $11. Rechargeable so you start every trip with full capacity. 50+ hours on low which is plenty for reading, looking for something in a pack or walking on an established trail. There’s also medium and high (for about an hour) for the occasional looking further down the trail or scouting an area.

It’s always my backup and sometimes my one and only light.

3 AAAs is so 1990s!  For that much weight, NiteCore’s NU25 is more capable. Rechargeable Li-ion are higher performance and eliminate the bother/anxiety of not knowing how used your primary AAA batteries are.

[Steve M]

Another vote for the NiteCore tube:

PS  Not many mini lights that are also rechargeable.

[Bill Budney]

@johneyles: Walmart sells plastic 3x AAA flashlights for $1. Harbor Freight sells two for $3 (aluminum). Amazon has an aluminum version for $3 and others starting at $5.

It’s an extremely popular and inexpensive LED light. The main difference between expensive variants and the cheap ones is the use of gold contacts. LED lights use so little current that it cannot burn through the tinniest (invisible) corrosion. If your flashlight stops working when you think you have OK batteries in it, remove the battery case and clean the contacts with a pencil eraser. If you don’t have a pencil eraser with you, just rub them on whatever rough clothing you have.

Gold contacts avoid the problem because gold cannot corrode. That is mostly what you are paying for when you buy a $30+ flashlight. (Plus generally better materials).

Ozark Trail (Walmart, Amazon) sells a full headlamp for ~$17. It comes with an 092931 rechargeable battery (Petzl calls it their “Core” battery), and it will also take 3x AAA’s. Has a red light, too.

(I also made a red lens for the main LED from the lid of a lunch-meat Tupperware-style container. That gives me a brighter red light for seeing the trail. Red (or green or blue) lights preserve your night vision.)

[David Hartley]

I was not familiar with the NiteCore Tube. Can’t beat a rechargeable mini light. I am going to order one ASAP.

[John Eyles]

No, not necessarily committed to carrying 3 AAAs (even though my OP gave that impression).   Thanks for the many suggestions – I’m sure at least one will suit me perfectly.

 

[Bill Budney]

OK, so another alternative is Kootek single-cell tactical lights from Amazon. They are unusual in that they can handle dual voltages. It will work fine with a single AA battery or 18650/14500/16500 lithium rechargeables. An AA cell holds significantly more energy than a AAA, so you get longer battery life. The lithium rechargeables have even more energy density than alkalines.

The Kooteks also have a zoomable focus for the lens, which is terrific for spotting trail markers in the distance.

Combine with a Nite-Ize headband to make a headlamp. Make a red lens as described above.

Two Kooteks weigh less than your 3x AAA lights. This is an inexpensive and versatile setup with redundancy.

[McDowell Crook]

Since I almost always carry a small phone charger, I use one of these mini usb LED lights. It weighs just a few grams, is dimmable, and actually projects quite a lot of light.

Buy here: https://a.co/cqb8qtL

 

[David Thomas]

I’m not an EDC guy, but that NiteCore Tube goes with me an awful lot.  On day hikes just in case I’m still out when it gets dark.  It’s always in carry-on bag while traveling: to look under the airline seat for a dropped object, to see the keybox at an AirBnB, in the event of power failure while in a hotel, and for any hikes I do while on the road.

[Nick Gatel]

Photon Micro-Light II weighs 7 grams (1/2 ounce) and uses two CR016 batteries. I have two of these lights I take on trips. One on a lanyard that I wear like a necklace at night and the other with my first aid kit.

They are almost 15  years old. I bought them in 2008. In 2017 I changed the batteries because, well because they were almost 10 years old, but still working.

Here’s a link to an article I wrote on how to replace the batteries. Plenty of pictures to show the interior and how the light works.

http://popupbackpacker.com/throwaway-backpacking-gear-photon-micro-light-ii/

 

[JCH]

Bought a Tube the last time David recommended it :)  Now a permanent part of my kit.

Also have a button light like Nick shows, and a Petzl E-Light.  Still pack the former for redundancy as much as anything.  No longer use the E-Light.

[Jerry Adams]

yeah, I have one like Nick’s

as backup.  It’s in my first aid kit.  If my headlamp were to fail.

I’ve used it as primary light a little, but a headlamp is more useful

[obx hiker]

Well I’m glad to see mention of the photon microlights. Get a green one for night vision. there must enough people using them to total up hundreds of nights experience in the boonies with little photon micro lights. Maybe it’s one of those phobias; got to have lotsa light or yikes Sasquatch’ll get ya. Pack your fears.

7 grams. A quarter of an ounce. Bring 3 or 4. Give it a try on a ‘Safe’ hike. You might be surprised. How many hours will one operate on 2 2016’s or I believe you can also use a 2032 but too lazy to go look.

 

[Iago Vazquez]

Haven’t had to use it yet as a camping backup, but as an EDC in my keychain, I have been using the OLIGHT i1R 2 EOS for the past few months. Rechargeable, tiny, and twist on/off, under $20.

I have an older Petzl e+lite as an outdoors backup light. Prefer a headlamp for that application.

[Russ W]

++++1 on the Tube. Great for the stated purpose as a backup!

[Matthew / BPL]

Another Nightcore Tube fan. The V2 version is a nice upgrade.

I have a slightly different take on it though. I use it as my primary light and save my more powerful light as the backup. I find the Tube to be totally adequate for really everything.

I keep my Tube on a short length of 1/16” shockcord that I can put around my wrist, a trekking pole, through a belt loop… Very handy.

One could take the same approach of “secondary light as primary” with Nick’s Photon and I totally get the appeal of carrying a couple of button batteries but I like the near infinite life of the Tube since I do carry a battery charger.

[Dustin V]

+1 for Nitecore Tube. I keep mine attached to the house key. It’s just enough light for pre-dawn road running. I like that the brightness is adjustable.

[DWR D]

what is the upgrade of the Nitecore tube lite?

[DWR D]

and how do I know if I have the v2, or earlier version?

[JCH]

In a nutshell…

https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-TUBEv2-0-Keychain-Flashlight-p/fl-nite-tubev2.htm

[DWR D]

looks identical to nitecore tube have, but how to know if it is v2???

[Bill Budney]

Has anyone figured out a way to clip the Nitecore Tube to a hat?

Or make a red/green filter for it?

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