Recommendations for a good flashlight?

[azhunter23]

A year ago I would of said Surefire but after trying out the Trustfire 900 lumen that I bought on ebay I was blown away by how much better it was than my sure fire. Its well built (water proof) and comes with a rechargeable battery (18650). I liked it so much I bought 4 more for each of my vehicles and RV. I have also purchased the 3800 lumen and the 8500 lumen that they make. Crazy bright.. although they are a heavier and not made for your pack the are worth having..they all use the same batteries.

[rossislider]

I can't say enough about a good headlamp. Not only can you keep your hands free, but I keep mine around my neck when in the field, usually even during daylight hours. Feels a little weird having it around your kneck, but you'll soon forget its there and it will always be handy if you need it in a pinch.

 

Example:

 

This spring I was camping with my family. About 10:00 at night I had to run several miles up the road on my ATV to get cell service. Long story short, I was in a pretty bad accident in which I went a ways from the road. I was thrown so hard from the ATV that my shoes, keys, wallet, etc all went flying off of me. Fortunately I had the headlamp still around my kneck. I was able to see how badly injured my leg was, monitor the bleeding, and signal toward the road for help.

 

The lesson I learned was fancy super bright flashlights are great, and I keep one of those in my pack too. But always keep something on your body that is easily accessible and that you won't be easily separated from. Packs can be lost, ripped open, etc and few things are of more value in the dark forest, woods, desert, etc than light.