Gunner wrote:
Ive been lead to believe that green is the most efficient color for
average human vision..ie fewer candlepower in green is needed to see
the same distance and with the same resolution, and is almost as good
as red for not knocking out ones nightvision. But green doesnt seem to
me..to focus very well and tends to wash out under dim ambient light.
It's not going to give you very good contrast in nature, either; too much
green stuff out there.
Most of us keep a keychain style handy, though many of them are of
poor quality and are not particularly rugged. Ive busted a couple of
the $10 ones this year alone. Something along the lines of a MiniMag,
double AA battery sized would be damned nice as would a larger
version that uses C batteries.
Try the new line from
http://www.PALight.com
I've had a bit of durability trouble with early models, but they seem to
have taken my suggestions, as the last set I ordered as gifts (2
Christmases ago and at least one generation of PALights ago, judging from
the current product list) are still working great.
The only potential hassles I see a
a) no off mode - you may want an opaque pouch or similar to hide better
b) 9V batteries - always tape the contacts of your spares before packing
them
(OTOH, the standby light is just about right for hitting the toilet at
night without hurting your eyes, so you might want to try a metal bracket
over the can, and the magnet band for the PAL holding it on target...and
it's a place most of us can find our way to instinctively in the dark)
Double C battery sized is about
the maximum size that can be held between the teeth for any length of
time
The PALights have rubber casings, and the rectangular shape is a lot more
comfortable on teeth, IMO.
Another light that would be handy..is a small area lantern. Something
you could set down and read by, or cook by etc etc. Fairly limited
range, and either 180 or 360 degrees in illumination arc.
For that, I use one of the headlamps that's switchable from red LED to
white LED or Xenon bulb. Good battery life, and if something happens
behind me, I don't have to grab for the light to turn and look.
I also noticed that Wally World has some $8 LED clip/head lights in red or
white that looked like potentially good backups for my current headlamp.
FWIW, I'm not getting paid to shill the PALights, I just find them to be a
pretty responsive company with a product that really exceeds my
expectations as a glovebox or general use low-power flashlight. I always
keep a high-candlepower light available, but for most tasks, I don't even
need the PAL's high beam.
I once used an older PALight Plus (before they had all these fancy models -
all mine are just high/low/slow strobe/standby types) for two weeks of very
heavy use. I had a supply of extra 9V batteries, so I wasn't going easy on
it, either. I was reading quite comfortably for 2-4 hrs a night on low
beam, using standby to keep the bathroom floor clean
and high beam
pointed at the ceiling to provide low-level area lighting. I still didn't
change out that (original) battery for almost a month of using it to read
at bus stops afterward. (The light will start changing modes at random
when new battery time hits, but that should take several months of normal
use, or a year or more on standby in the glovebox or BoB) Looks like
they're even shipping Energizers with them now. IIRC, the batteries that
came with mine were off-brand junk and still lasted for months.
Of course, if one of the PALight guys happened to read my posts and send me
a few of the new models to test and review, I wouldn't object too strongly
- the OneStar looks pretty neat, as do the e-Light, magnetic band, and
carrying case, none of which were available when I got my last PAL. How
'bout it guys? There's still time for me to get a couple onto this year's
Christmas list if you convince me soon enough
--
Joe Bramblett, KD5NRH