In article <[email hidden]>, Chris Malcolm
url=''URL:/url said:Reid said:Quoted message said:If you need a long throw beam then with current technology a focused halogen is better than any
sort of LED, assuming equal and appropriate levels of ooomph available for power.
Quoted message said:What I'm trying to say is are they OK for walking on hills at night? (why didn't I say that in
the first place?)
Depends how fussy you are, and how good your night vision is. A few years ago wife and I had to
catch a very early lift, which meant walking a few miles through crags, bogs, and streams in
total midwinter not-even-stars darkness, and all I had was an AA Maglite. This became problematic
when we had to walk single file, as we often did, so I tried giving wife the Maglite and using a
green LED keychain press-for-light thing I happened to have. To my surprise, once I'd got used to
it, which meant improving my dark adaptation and keeping my eyes away from the Maglite beam, I
was able to see as well as with the Maglite, because although it wasn't as bright in the bright
bits, it was much more evenly spread, and was good enough to plan the next several steps in
awkward bits.
A modern white LED torch of almost any kind is hugely more powerful than that.
So I would say they're quite definitely more than adequate for night walking in hills, which I've
confirmed for myself by using a Petzl Tikka head torch and never feeling the need for the much
more pwoerful torch in my pocket, except to satisfy curiosity about something "out there".
But then I don't think you need full beam car headlights for driving in the city either :-)
In a similar vein I tend to use a Petzl Tikka for most of my ski-touring now because it is light-
weight and perfectly adequate for wandering around huts at night, or sorting out equipment, or
following on a well defined trail, particularly when behind someone else. They are fine for micro-
navigation and throw out a very even light.
However it does help if at least one person in the party also has a halogen lamp in case it is
necessary to look into the distance for macronavigation. A good halogen lamp will light up features
100s of metres away.
There are several head-torches around now which combine both types of lamp in one unit so that you
can choose which is appropriate. I have a black diamond head torch which has an LED and a halogen
lamp powered by two different battery sources. This means you can't accidentally run down the
battery for both lamps at the same time.
Mike Clark, <URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/>
--
o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark <\__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, "> ||
_`\<,_ |__\ \> | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user"
