Night Caching - Gear Question

[+quadmommy]

Okay, so I've tried to find some night caches in my area with my small INova LED flashlight. For some reason (maybe it's too small), it doesn't help. I want to know what kind of lights other cachers use. I'm talking brand and power. And, is updating my Mag-light to LED worth it??

 

Thanks!!

Edited January 7, 2007 by quadmommy

[+Airmapper]

I upgraded my Mini-Mag (2 AA) with the 3 LED bulb insert. I am really happy with it. I do keep the standard bulb with me for a spot beam if I need it, but the LED's put off a good, bright, all over illumination. I have night cached with it, and it works great. Very dependable and the batteries last a long time.

[+Airmapper]

One more thing, If your doing a "Glow-Tack" style night cache, pack one flashlight that has a good spot beam to illuminate the markers. The LED's in the Mini-Mag will work, I've done 2 "Glow-Tack" hunts with it, but LED's aren't as good at a distance.

[Clan Riffster]

I upgraded my Mini-Mag as well, and I'm quite happy with the results. It's not bright enough for my liking, but the batteries last dang near forever. It stays in my backpack to be used as needed. If you want something brighter, you can spent a gazillion dollars on some high tech light, or spent $20 on a 4-D cell Mag-Lite. Practically indestructible and gives a good amount of light. That's what I use for night caches.

[adampierson]

Use what you have at hand. I have a is a 4D cell Maglight, that is what I perfer to use. You don't need the latest gizmo toy, if your flashlight throws enough light. Some follks don't like LEDs because their light may be bright, but it has a "dark quality" about it other conventional flashlights don't have. That's because thier light lacks certain colors of the spectrum and in some instances can make things difficult to find.

 

If you have money to burn, look into getting a head lamp. Get something that has both LED and conventional halogen light like a maglight. That way you can search and have both hands free to do something else, like poke around with a stick looking for the cache and still hold your GPS.

[+TetrAmigos]

I've found that six (6) count LED flashlights generate just enough light (they are much brighter than the standard flashlight) to make geocaching at night an easier pasttime. There's lots of 10-16-24 and even 30+ count LED flashlights, but if you need that much light you might as well bring the sun along with you.

 

Lots of folks on eBay sell lights like the ones below really cheap, with the LED lights protected by the casing. They use 1 AAA battery and last for many many nights of use before you need to switch in another battery. I own a much more expensive version, but it's a green LED flashlight which makes caching HARD. White ambient LED light is the best way to go, and a flashlight with 6-count LED lights in white is the best choice IMO.

 

These lights are $5.99 for the lot plus $10 to ship (typical for eBay):

[+TheDenvernators]

I have one of the 3 watt MAG LED lights, bright alrighy. But I wouldnt be caught dead night caching without some sort of headlamp. You're holding the gps, a flashlight, and negotiating trails? Not great.

Find a decent headlamp. Bright is great, but keep in mind it's really nice to have one that will adjust brightness/# of LED's, so if you're just gathering around a campsite you dont blind someone when you turn your head to listen to them.

 

John

[adampierson]

Bright is great, but keep in mind it's really nice to have one that will adjust brightness/# of LED's, so if you're just gathering around a campsite you dont blind someone when you turn your head to listen to them.

 

John

 

Hehe.. yeah.. that happens a lot. Funny how people instinctively do that. Make a mental note: People listen with their ears... not their eyes unless you read lips!

[+briansnat]

I have the Princeton Tec 40. Not too expensive and throws a ton of light. My wife uses a Princeton Tec Blast. That little thing (about an inch long) thows an amazing amount of light for something so small.

 

Neither light is very good on batteries, but if you need a lot of light for a few hours, those two models are excellent.

 

I wouldn't recommed upgrading to LED light unless you are concerned about battery life. LEDs generally don't throw nearly as much light as a good xenon or halogen bulb and to find one that does come close , you have to spend an arm and a leg.

[+NightPilot]

The little 3-LED mini-Mags are ok, but you can get a 1-watt LED to go in there and provide much more light. You can also get anything from a 1 to 5 watt LED replacement bulb for your full-size maglite, and really light things up, while having your batteries last longer. Dorcy sells a 1-watt light powered by 3 AAA batteries, with a decent reflector, that puts out a lot of light, and throws it a long way. I agree about the headlight. Get one of those also, and your hands are free to carry stuff and the light goes wherever you look. The Inova X5 lights are very good. I have a couple of them - one stays in the truck all the time, just in case, and the lithium batteries last forever in there. I carry the other one all the time at work. It's perfect for closer work, because there is no reflector, and it lights things up evenly. LED is the way to go. I don't buy incandescent lights for anything, including the lights in the house. They're just too wasteful and inefficient.

[+TrailGators]

I just one of these babies from . It is very small and throws out a ton of light with a single AA battery!

[+coreynjoey]

I use a 6 LED headlamp. It works great for night caching. You can see firetacks from very far away and it keeps your hands free.

[+Finster007]

I like to use a 1,000,000 candle power rechargeable spot light for spotting the reflectors. I then use a small maglite to walk to get there.

[+gof1]

Not exactly what the OP asked about, but it is a night cache need.

Wear safety glasses, a stick in the eye will wreck your night.

[+Mudfrog]

My favorite is to use is my Gerber 3 watt luxeon LED flashlight. It works great on night caches, both at seeing reflectors and for finding of the final cache. It's bright and runs for a couple of hours on AA batteries too.

 

 

Bought my wife a mini Maglite (3 AA cell) with 3 watt luxeon LED for Christmas and she loves it. It's lighter than mine and has an adjustable focus so i definitely recommend it as well!

 

[+GrnXnham]

Okay, so I've tried to find some night caches in my area with my small INova LED flashlight. For some reason (maybe it's too small), it doesn't help. I want to know what kind of lights other cachers use. I'm talking brand and power. And, is updating my Mag-light to LED worth it??

 

Thanks!!

 

Hey, quadmommy!

 

While having a bright flashlight is helpful for finding those glint tacks, it is equally helpful where you hold your flashlight while looking for those tacks.

 

If you don't have a headlight, hold your flashlight up next to your head at eye level while hunting for glint tacks. This way the light from the glint tacks will shine right back into your eyes and will appear much brighter. Doing this will make a HUGE difference as compared to holding your flashlight down at your waist (which is what people naturally do without thinking.) I think using this technique is as important as having a bright flashlight when hunting for glint tacks or fire tacks at night.

 

Happy night hunting