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sp00ki
Jun 27, 2010, 6:56 PM
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Does anyone know of a good flashlight/directional lantern/low level spotlight for gently flooding a large boulder face?
Headlamps will likely be used so it doesn't have to be too powerful (probably better that it's not ultra strong), but something versatile enough to do the job when there's no or few headlamps, isn't a pain to position (like flashlights are), is durable and has decent enough battery efficiency not to die in the middle of a camping trip is what i'm looking for.
Thanks!
PS, directional is definitely a must. Don't want to unnecessarily flood extra light in 360°...
(This post was edited by sp00ki on Jun 27, 2010, 7:10 PM)
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clc
Jun 28, 2010, 5:19 AM
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my brother duct tapes his fancy bike lights onto a camera tripod. good light and directional and stable anywhere. He does bother with the headlamp.
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jbone
Jun 28, 2010, 9:06 AM
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Highball?
Ok then, its been done before and can be done again better. What your looking for is a 200-300 watt generator and 3 standing halogen bulb lighting fixtures. With these you will be able to effectively cancel out the shadows for full exposure of the line and its features.
If your looking to hit many different problems in a evening you will need a wagon of some sort for portability but it has been done before and you can do it too.
The good thing about doing this all at night is that the roar of the generator will only bother you, so if you bring a couple extra extension cords and splitters you can hide it around some other boulders or features and muffle much of the sound that way. You could also use a couple marine batteries and just recharge them throughout the night with the generator but this may only need to be an option if noise is a factor where your at.
A cheap generator can go for as little as $100 and super quiet Honda one could go as much as $800 either way you will have your own generator when its all said and done so take that into consideration. The lights can be found for $20-$45 each based on ruggedness and durability. All in all you can go as cheap as $250 with cords and all or really get fancy with a nice setup and spend a few hundred more.
As stated before, all this has been done so the method is a proven win. The methods and means can always be improved upon so feel free to find your way of getting this done.
One of the benefits of night sessions are the awesome conditions, hardly any wind, no crowds, and temps are consistent over a longer period of time. Just one of these reasons has motivated the willing to haul that rig to some pretty hardcore places, lol.
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sp00ki
Jul 1, 2010, 2:07 PM
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Went with this:
http://www.amazon.com/...antern/dp/B002GXKBD0
It's surprisingly bright, the dome (in directional mode) diffuses the light to create a very broad area of illumination, (supposedly) runs 25 hours on high setting, has carabiners and stuff to rig little mounts, etc.
Taking it to Rumney tonight through Monday, going to do a bit of night bouldering with the crew while i'm there; i'll update the thread for the search engines.
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billcoe_
Jul 1, 2010, 3:06 PM
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The classics always work. The old standby, buy an inexpensive used one and cheap to operate too.
Coleman lantern.
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sp00ki
Jul 1, 2010, 3:07 PM
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That's a horrible idea.
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el_layclimber
Jul 1, 2010, 3:25 PM
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Pull car up to boulder.
Turn on headlights.
Turn on System of a Down CD.
Put on beanie.
Crack open Natty Ice.
Brush chalk off first hold.
Smear chalk on first hold.
Send it.
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maldaly
Jul 1, 2010, 4:31 PM
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Before you do any of this, ask yourself, What would the neighbors think? Or what would the land managers think? Or what would the landowners think?
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sp00ki
Jul 1, 2010, 4:32 PM
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I did. It's exactly why i want something smaller scale and directional.
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acorneau
Jul 1, 2010, 5:04 PM
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el_layclimber wrote: Pull car up to boulder. Turn on headlights. Turn on System of a Down CD. Put on beanie. Crack open Natty Ice. Brush chalk off first hold. Smear chalk on first hold. Send it.
You forgot:
Take off shirt
Spray about how you're going to crush.
Blame your failure on not being able to see the holds.
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KirbyC
Jul 1, 2010, 5:54 PM
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Why is it a horrible idea? Last time I was at horse pens, we used a rechargeable LED contraption, and took it out at night--we ended up not using it at all because some folks we ran into had a propane lantern that illuminated the boulders about 10 times as well.
Hope yours works out well!
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sp00ki
Jul 1, 2010, 6:22 PM
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My main concern is too much light pollution. Instead of a 360 degree light source, i opted for something directional.
Also, something really portable (the flip lantern i got is the size of a short fat flashlight) is ideal as approaches can be a pain (not to mention dealing with fluid).
I shouldn't have said horrible idea, but rather not quite what i'm looking for.
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KirbyC
Jul 1, 2010, 7:17 PM
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Gotcha. Most places aren't like HP, with zero car-to-rocks.. Which may be a good thing.
Enjoy.
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sidepull
Jul 1, 2010, 7:25 PM
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Is it just me? I'm reading tons of "I don't want people to know where I'm climbing" and "I don't want people to know I'm doing it" signals here. If the land is off limits or if what you're doing will cause access issues then please don't do it. If I'm just reading something into the thread that isn't there then I'm sorry and, for what it's worth, coleman lanterns and headlamps have always worked well for me (although I'm intrigued by Jbone's crazy set up).
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sp00ki
Jul 1, 2010, 8:05 PM
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Not at all. I boulder in legal bouldering areas.
This isn't about breaking the law, it's about minding those around me.
My thing is, i don't want to disturb other people/wildlife more than i already will by just climbing.
There are nocturnal animals that don't need 360 degrees of light shining through the woods, campers or late night hikers that don't want the same...
If you have to take a phone call in a public place, you keep your volume at a minimum, right? It's just about being courteous to others. No reason not to climb at night if you can do it without completely disregarding everything around you.
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bill413
Jul 2, 2010, 2:02 PM
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sp00ki wrote: Not at all. I boulder in legal bouldering areas. This isn't about breaking the law, it's about minding those around me. My thing is, i don't want to disturb other people/wildlife more than i already will by just climbing. There are nocturnal animals that don't need 360 degrees of light shining through the woods, campers or late night hikers that don't want the same... If you have to take a phone call in a public place, you keep your volume at a minimum, right? It's just about being courteous to others. No reason not to climb at night if you can do it without completely disregarding everything around you.
Excellent!
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sidepull
Jul 2, 2010, 2:11 PM
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bill413 wrote: sp00ki wrote: Not at all. I boulder in legal bouldering areas. This isn't about breaking the law, it's about minding those around me. My thing is, i don't want to disturb other people/wildlife more than i already will by just climbing. There are nocturnal animals that don't need 360 degrees of light shining through the woods, campers or late night hikers that don't want the same... If you have to take a phone call in a public place, you keep your volume at a minimum, right? It's just about being courteous to others. No reason not to climb at night if you can do it without completely disregarding everything around you. Excellent!
Agreed!!
In that case, if you already have a Coleman lantern, you could use tin foil to restrict the range of the light. It's hard to find directional lighting that is more cost effective and luminous than a Coleman. Good luck!
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