If you're a hardcore outdoorsman then you're going to need a good flashlite. Most game moves at daylight/dark which means you'll be hiking out of the mountains in the pitch black. That's where the flashlite comes in. You'll also need one if you're hiking to the top of a mountain two hours before daylight to go elk hunting.
When I was a kid, a nine-volt flashlite was a show stopping deal. Then Maglites came out. These were all great at the time but used a lot of batteries and compared to modern lights, produced little light. Then the LED's hit. They produce a lot of light but don't drain batteries as fast.
So in a nutshell, we have some amazing choices nowadays. I've been testing some cool BSA and Inova lights. They offer a lot of great options. Now you have to decide what style you want. For my adventures, I want a light that will light up the world in case a bear comes into camp at midnight or I'm packing out an elk in the dark in wolf, bear and cougar country. Year before last my daughter woke me up at 1:30 and told me a bear was rubbing against our tent. A month later I was up elk hunting by myself and a bear was on the other side of my tent wall. I want a good light then so I can see a "BLACK" bear in the dark.
So when you actually need it you'll want the biggest flashlite in the world! But if it's too big and heavy I'm not going to carry it. So that means that I favor one that's no more than 8-inches long. And due to new innovation, they will produce a good amount of light.
Next big thing to look for is to make sure that it doesn't have an on/off switch that can be easily activated while jostling around in your backpack or else when you need it the batteries will be dead. Not good. On some of the earlier model LED's I'd slightly unscrew them so this couldn't happen.
Many lights now have rechargeable batteries which is a great option. In the beginning they worked great...until you needed them. I was hiking seven miles into the wilderness one night to meet up with my buddies at elk camp. I got about ΒΌ mile and my rechargeable light died. At first they weren't too reliable but now there are some good ones.
Being the eternal tightwad I don't want to waste money on batteries so I'm all for good quality rechargeable. But what if you're up on a 10-day elk hunt and the battery dies? For this reason I'd recommend carrying two lights, one rechargeable and one that uses batteries. You can carry extra batteries. You can't run an extension cord 40 miles to elk camp. On life saving items I always recommend carrying two and I consider a flashlite a lifesaving item.
If you're on a tight budget you don't necessarily have to buy two high dollar lights. In fact, I always carry a little cheap one to read at night in the tent, cook with etc. so that way if my main one breaks I'm ok. Then of course on top of those I also carry a headlamp.
And as you know, I do a lot of bear hunting. When do bears come out? 90% of the time right near dark. I also take a lot of kids bear hunting so who do you think has to do the tracking if one gets wounded? They always run into the thickest chaparral in the country.
Even with a good light there can be shadows and bears being black can be super hard to see in the dark. And remember, action is always quicker than reaction. Here's what I mean by that. If he is lying in wait, he's going to get the jump before you even know what's going on.
One year we had a huge sow and two cubs on our bait station 70 yards away. It was pitch black when I got out of the blind to go grab the truck and come back to pick up 12-yr. old John and my buddy. I figured that she'd spook but she didn't. I kept my light on here as I was leaving and about all that I could really see was 6 eyeballs. And I knew that they were there.
In fact, I was so focused on her that I about stepped on top of another bear coming in from the other direction. Luckily he blew outta there but not until I was only about 20 feet from him. I like a good light during those experiences![[In-content Ad]]
