The Camping Gadgets

As soon as I saw the title of John's last post I assumed it was a pop at my impulsive ways ( He is absolutely right though) but he has given me some idea's if nothing else. I seem to be gathering quite a collection of impulse buys some good, some bad which I am sure most of which will end up on Ebay at some point. So as we have had a few comments on the blog I might as well share what we like and don't like plus some of my bargain hunting skills as people are obviously reading it. So tonight's subject will be lighting ! by the way we have no links to any of the manufacturers so these are just my personal views ( however if any of the manufacturers are reading this we are open to any donations especially for a future project in a couple of years when John is 30 and I am 40 )

To date we have

2 Mini LED lanterns - These were about £2 each off ebay , I cant remember the brand (silver something) , They run for 25 hours from 2 CR2032 watch batteries , Maplin sell them for £4.99 each ( prod code A51FJ). These are tiny and great for hanging up inside the hammocks- Definitely one to keep

Single LED head torch - Came from Decathlon for about £5 , Good battery life, simple but a bit cheap and heavy but something to keep until it gets lost/stood on/ breaks on its own

Zebralight H30-Q5 head torch - Fantastic high quality light with a CREE LED and 3 output settings , high 80 lumens- 2.5 hours, med 20 lumens-21 hours, low 4 lumens - 3.7 days all from a single CR123 battery only problem with this one is the power button must have been hit in my bag so the battery only lasted about 20 seconds when i came to use it so will have to be more careful next time - This was direct from Hong Kong (when the pound was actually worth something) - If i come to use it again and the battery is flat from the button getting hit its going on ebay

Ultrafire WF-500- This is supposed to have a 500 lumen output from 2 weird 18500 batteries. This was a replacement for the 6 D Cell maglight i used to keep in the car , I got this from dealextreme in HK for less than it would cost to replace the 6 D cells in the maglight. Its bright with quite a wide beam but not exceptional given the weight - One to leave in the car I think

Fenix P1 CREE edition - Another bargain light as it was discontinued stock, Runs from a single CR123 battery and its absolutely fantastic and at only 90 lumens feels as powerful as the Ultrafire just not as wide angle. I got the diffuser that fits on the end which looks like some sort of glowing sex aid so it has been affectionately named the "probeulator" that aside its one to definitely hang on to especially as its only about the size of a cigarette lighter

Coleman F1 Lantern - This runs on the same propane cartridges as the stoves , Its ultralight and looks pretty robust ( I do carry a couple of spare mantles just in case) the down size of this is having to carry the gas to run it. As we have not figured out exactly how much gas we need to carry to cook we dont want to sacrifice warm food for campside mood lighting so unfortunately thats probably one for Ebay. Great light just we are not that organised

Coleman dual fuel dual mantle petrol lamp- This was a definite impulse buy as it was in the bargin bin at my local caravan shop. Running these and the coleman stoves on unleaded petrol makes them burn dirty and the coleman fuel is expensive to I bought a 5lt tub of Aspen 4T synthetic petrol from a garden machinery supplier which is the best of both worlds. Very heavy in comparison to the other lights but by far the cheapest to run - We used this in Kielder last time and it works great , I just wouldnt want to carry it any distance. Another one to keep for car camping with the kids or in case we have a power cut

I believe there is a battery lantern in the house somewhere , but as i am too tight to keep buying batteries for it , it will be staying there. I guess I should find it really as it wont be much use if we do ever have a power cut

One final note - John and I follow the "leave no trace" idea, not that we are fanatical we just dont deliberately damage something and carry all our rubbish out with us, it was disappointing to find that someone had recently been to a location close to us in Kielder and left plastic knifes and forks and foil ration pack wrappers all over the ground. When we camped at loch lochy it was a similar story with litter all over the place and while there was plenty of fire wood around live trees had been ripped apart and partially burnt - We spend most of the evening tidying up other peoples mess. You would think the type of people who would camp at these places would have a passion for the outdoors and leave the site tidy

http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php

Something to think about