I mentioned last week that there was a new LED flashlight I wanted to test:
http://www.woodsmonkey.com/images/stories/Pictures/BrowningHuntMaster/HuntMaster005.JPG http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/images/3711236l.jpg I got my hands on one tonight, and I was surprised. I had a hunch it was going to be good. The light pattern of this light is by far better than any light of any kind that I have ever held in my hand. It is a perfectly round circle and all areas are exactly the same brightness. It is almost as beautiful as staring at a full moon. The other unique feature is that the light adjust from flood to spot better than any other flashlight I have ever seen. On flood setting, it could light up a large room in a cave, for instance Cottonwood Cave in the Guads at night-time. Most cavers in a borehole passage would use the light on the dimmest setting which I guess is 120 lumens. They would only switch it on the max 400 lumens briefly to shine down the passage or up into a high dome. [ I believe it was designed to run continuously only on the low setting and the high setting is what is called "over-driving the LED." Apparently, if you tried to run it continuously on the high setting it would automatically dim down to the low setting after just 10 minutes. ] The picture below claims to be taken from about 65 feet away from the trees: http://www.woodsmonkey.com/images/stories/Pictures/BrowningHuntMaster/HuntMaster004.JPG That claim is accurate. The light with tax is $ 108, which is more than most cavers are going to want to spend on a flashlight. However, maybe in a few years there will be lights like this more reasonably priced. The other problem with this light, is that if you dunk it underwater, it appears water can seep into the chamber through the lens adjusting mechanism. You have to have slack in order for it to adjust freely. I didn't see any easy way to dry out the flashlight. It is possible you could duct-tape over the adjuster which might help. Or you could carry the light in a water-proof pouch, or lexan wide-mouth water bottle. I am fairly certain this light would light up the whole formation in Kickapoo Caverns from across the room, but I can't think of any other cave in Texas where this flashlight would be suitable for caving. If I ever go back to Precipicio, this is the light I am taking. If you were going to some really big cave, and couldn't afford a Stenlight headlamp, You could temporarily mount this light on the side of your caving helmet, and then mount a dimmer light on the other side to offset the weight, and then you would have a full range of light patterns on your helmet. In the center you could have a Petzl Tikka or some other compact LED headlamp. It is important to note that this light would not be as bright as a single bulb putting out 400 lumens, but instead more like 3 bulbs each putting out 133 lumens overlapping one another to create a smooth beam. This is much more practical for hiking, camping, caving, etc. In this case the low setting, is more like 3 bulbs putting out 40 lumens each, which is still pretty bright. Here is one for only $ 75 plus tax ( ? ) and $ 8 shipping: http://www.knifeoutlet.com/shop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=BRO1236 I would like to see the light come in anodized color options, like the mag-lites do. I would like to see an additional dim setting low enough to use to conserve light in an emergency, like being stuck beyond a sump for a few days. I would like to see the light more readily available like at Academy or some discount department store. And the price needs to go down to around $ 49 plus tax, or sold at Sam's Club in a two-pack. I would like to see rechargeable CR123A batteries improve and become less expensive. Then this flashlight would be more practical for cavers. In the meantime, go to Gander Mountain to get one and go to Fry's to get the rechargeable batteries, or go on-line to get it. I would like to see a headlamp constructed with this design. A creative caver might just be able to modify it, by sawing the head off the barrell, and rigging something to hold the head on the front of the helmet and the barrel on the side. David Locklear caver in Fort Bend County, Texas --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
