ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Nov 20, 2019 13:56:14 GMT -8
i don't know if the BD Storm has this but the Spot has a lock feature (hold down two of the buttons for a few seconds) so it can't get turned on the pack.
I like the option of being able swap out batteries, rechargeable or not. Sealed in rechargeables are a no start for me.
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Nov 20, 2019 14:22:17 GMT -8
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 20, 2019 14:22:17 GMT -8
The Storm does have a lock feature to also prevent battery drain.
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driftwoody
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Nov 20, 2019 18:38:45 GMT -8
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Post by driftwoody on Nov 20, 2019 18:38:45 GMT -8
The Storm does have a lock feature to also prevent battery drain. So does the Nitecore.
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Post by hikerjer on Nov 21, 2019 20:11:34 GMT -8
Thanks everyone. I've settled on a BD Spot. Appreciate your advice.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 22, 2019 8:21:01 GMT -8
Thanks everyone. I've settled on a BD Spot. Appreciate your advice. That’s what I think I’ll put on my Xmas list
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Nov 22, 2019 8:25:57 GMT -8
I've settled on a BD Spot. Appreciate your advice. Love my Spot, but the controls are wonky. In this ultimate historical headlamp thread I break down how to use the different options on the Spot. I never remember all this and usually have to futz with it to get what I want.
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driftwoody
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Nov 22, 2019 11:41:10 GMT -8
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Post by driftwoody on Nov 22, 2019 11:41:10 GMT -8
Before I bought the Nitecore I was leaning very heavily towards the BD Spot, but I went for ultralight and ease of use.
If I was to go on a weeklong excursion I'd carry a backup, but I'm not worried about the battery life for 3-4 day trips.
The Nitecore would make a great backup, as it weighs next to nothing.
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Nov 22, 2019 17:03:47 GMT -8
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 22, 2019 17:03:47 GMT -8
The Storm does have a lock feature to also prevent battery drain. So does the Nitecore. It’s a good feature: superior to taping a slide switch or resorting to removing the battery(s); though anything is better than pulling out a dead light and fumbling to locate your spare batteries in the dark. LEDs are so reliable backups are getting scarce: but I’ve a tiny Fenix only a little bigger than the AA that powers it that was my work edc and now rides in my first aid kit, so if my headlamp showed up dead I’d gave a readily available option to get me some light for getting the headlamp back up and running. I may have to poke a bit for the batteries but I ALWAYS know where my first aid kit is. This ones predecessor (e11): www.fenix-store.com/fenix-e12-led-flashlight/
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Nov 22, 2019 18:12:25 GMT -8
Thanks everyone. I've settled on a BD Spot. Appreciate your advice. I hope you like it. I have two generations of Spots, both of which I really like. My old Zipka doesn't see much action any more.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2019 18:44:08 GMT -8
I have been carrying a USB charger / LED flashlight thingy as my spare illumination device. In my testing, the USB charger / LED flashlight can power the GPS unit for 2+ hours of continuous operation, can power a cellphone with a dead battery, or put a charge into each of our headlamps, and, of course, works as a spare illumination device.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Nov 23, 2019 6:53:24 GMT -8
LEDs are so reliable backups are getting scarce: but I’ve a tiny Fenix only a little bigger than the AA that powers it that was my work edc and now rides in my first aid kit, so if my headlamp showed up dead I’d gave a readily available option to get me some light for getting the headlamp back up and running. I may have to poke a bit for the batteries but I ALWAYS know where my first aid kit is. Basically the same idea but I carry a very small keychain light that takes a watch battery with my first aid. Very small but if I need some light in an emergency with headlamp somehow AOL it is there.
If what I have heard is true that flashlights got their their name from early batteries being so limited that you would turn the light on briefly, flash, to see a little then move until you needed to flash again. I guess I could use this emergency light in that mode to move on the trail at night if really needed.
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Post by dayhiker on Nov 23, 2019 9:15:57 GMT -8
Another BD Storm user here. Lots of nice features, but it always takes me awhile to remember how to access them. This and the fact it would turn on even when locked made me stop using it. I have a Coast very simple to use, so far hasn't come on my accident. My spot was a version they claimed they fixed the problem with it coming on, but probably not the latest so hopefully they fixed that. I think mine had two levels of locking but mine would still come on in a tight pouch of 10 essentials inside a pack.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Nov 23, 2019 10:13:09 GMT -8
This and the fact it would turn on even when locked made me stop using it. I have a Coast very simple to use, so far hasn't come on my accident. What accident did you have? And how could it ... nevermind! My spot was a version they claimed they fixed the problem with it coming on, but probably not the latest so hopefully they fixed that. I think mine had two levels of locking but mine would still come on in a tight pouch ... Let me be the first to suggest that all this suggestive stuff will show up in OOC. A lot depends on how you interpret "my spot". Guess we could be talking about a dog, but I don't really think so ...
Oh, hell - I'll throw all these in too: Love my Spot, but the controls are wonky. I never remember all this and usually have to futz with it to get what I want. so it can't get turned on If I was to go on a weeklong excursion I'd carry a backup, but I'm not worried about the battery life for 3-4 day trip* I'm starting to think "sex toys" are in the "10 essentials".
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Nov 23, 2019 10:33:18 GMT -8
If I was to go on a weeklong excursion I'd carry a backup, but I'm not worried about the battery life for 3-4 day trip* I'm starting to think "sex toys" are in the "10 essentials". Just the one glommed onto me since birth. I was a very precocious infant.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Nov 23, 2019 11:43:32 GMT -8
I saw this thread from its inception, and was quietly betting that it'd develop almost exactly the same as the other one (the one cited). The problem is, as you know, driftwoody , that everyone's experience is somewhat limited (and I can see that as OOC, too), but I tend to do a "spreadsheet" of each item before choosing the one I want to use, but I buy them anyway, so I have a few headlamps and flashlights. (And a few other things.) Aside from actually knowing what you want and then doing extensive research online and at "bricks-and-mortar" places all over, there's no other way. Of course, WalMart and Target (as well as Amazon, a lot of the time!) don't provide adequate description of specs, so you're then forced to go to manufacturer's websites. Even they are often remiss with tech details. And, then, sometimes nothing substitutes for actual experience. I was running through the flashlight and headlamp list last night before going to sleep, trying to recall the output tech (LED, range, etc.) and light strength in lumens, and came up with "Fenixes": E01 (2:13 lumens - all the light I ever needed), E05 (2: 8/25/85 lumens - wife uses it at night; never switches to higher power levels), LD02 (2: 50/8/100 lumens; starts on 50, then 8 and 100, so not the light you want if you're at all "battery conscious"), E12 (2:8/50/130; too heavy, but I like it - sometimes - if it's in your pocket, you can't forget it's there), as well as a box full of those "backup lights" - a couple of old black photon ones that never really worked and about 2 dozen Xlight clear ones in white, blue and red I gave away to all and sundry for a wee bit a few years ago. (The switches go bad too fast.) At least one of each of the Fenixes live on the key hanger inside the front door, so we have ready access when going out to walk after dark. (Too hot to walk in daylight hours in the depths of summer here.) Then there's the old C and D cell Maglites (incandescent), a couple of smaller & older Maglites I "converted" to LED (not really successfully), a couple of LED Maglites (blue, I think) which came as LED, dozens of Everready headlamps I bought for friends but never used (one is on the shelf in the living room for handy use in the yard, alongside a newer BD Storm), dozens of "throwaway" LED lights all over the place I bought on various whims - some good, but mostly bad - and the lights I was given by various commercial interests over the last 2 or 3 decades. (MY plumber gave me an LED flashlight with his name and company logo on the side of it; there are at least a half dozen from various places I visited way back when I was ambitious enough to still work.) Then there's the dozen or so I got as I-have-no-idea-what-to-get-him-but-I-know-he-likes-flashlights Christmas stocking stuffers. There's still a CMG Infinity stuck in my box of lights (7 lumens, 100,000 hours), 2 Gerber copies of the Infinity made after they bought CMG (also 7 lumens, but not nearly as good as the original) and 6 Gerber Sonics (~7 lumens) I bought for $10 - $15 for the lot from STP (4 still "in package") These lived at bedside and went on a number of trips to various places, and were all the light I ever thought I needed unless I was walking in the dark, though they even sufficed for that if I was careful not to get off-trail. (in rattlesnake country) Then there's the headlamps: I have at least 3 generations of BD Storms and a single BD Spot whose switch went kerflooey, so ... I kept it to remind me to never get another. I do have a BD Spot Lite, however. (I'm weak when in REI.) And then there's the lanterns: three generations of BD Apollos, at least 2 Mojis and an Orbit. I also succumbed to buying a couple of River Rock lanterns back when they were still sold by Target in the "regular" size (1 still in package), and 2 miniatures (cute as a button; you turn them on and they burn steady, turn them off and back on quickly and they blink) Anyone want to hear about my lighter collection? Okay, I have a half dozen Zippos ... ETA: Oh, and, yes, all are "sex toys". (After a fashion.)
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