LED Lights

The LEDLight.com has been generous in offering several different LED light sources for the Serum Run. I am looking forward to putting their products to the test on the trail and will be posting field notes on performance after the Serum Run. LED light bulbs are durable and long lasting. LED light sources generally consume much less energy thereby providing longer burn times on smaller battery sources than other type lights. Thank You Patrick & theLEDlight.com
Quark LED Flashers- Red LEDs that can be clipped to dog collars. This small multi LED light has three modes, steady, flash, and chase. It is becoming more and more common for mushers to attach this type of light to their lead dogs or the entire team so they can be seen by approaching snowmobilers or dog teams. Weight 1.6oz with batteries. Burn time: 30 hours on steady, up to 100 hours in chase mode on 2 AAA batteries. Size 2" x 11/2" x 1" thick.
Bonfire - Use as a tent light instead of the standard candle lanterns. No flames or hot light source to worry about in the tent. This light is 4 inches high and has 3 amber LED lights, which operate on high or low settings. Weight 3.5oz. (Half that of a candle lantern) Burn time: 18-30 hours on 2 AA batteries.
eternaLight Ergo - Small multi LED white light with a variety of intensity and strobe settings. This small light can be slipped in a pocket or hung from a lanyard. It should be useful as a camp light, marker, or signaling light. Weighs only 4 ozs. 2 5/8"w x 3 5/8"h x 1"d - 3 AA Alkaline Cells Included. Burn Time from 48-100 hours depending on settings.
Photon Fusions Headlamp - This newer multi LED headlamp can be detached from the headband for use as a flashlight or table lamp. It has three levels of brightness and strobe. An optional bracket is available to attach to a bike. Weight, approx 163 grams with 3 AA Alkaline batteries. On high, the expected burn time is 12 hours, on medium the burn time will about double.
FrontaLED Trekker - Multi LED headlamp. This headlamp has a unique magnetic switch that should prove to be easy to operate wearing mittens. Weight : 250g (8.8oz) (includes headlamp, batteries and storage bag). Burn time with 4 ea. AA alkaline batteries: about 8 hours in MAXI mode, 48 hours in ECO mode. It appears theledlight.com no longer carries this light, however you can purchase it direct from Fonta at www.frontaled.com
Illuminator Headlamp -

Let me first note, white LED lights tend to have a slight blue tint to them, but does not detract from the illumination ability of the light. It generates a light similar to a hospital surgical lamp, very bight! LED lights generally illuminate a wide area instead of the general focused light of conventional lights. Often most of our camp and dog tasks were done by artificial light in temperatures between +20 to -25. We made extensive use of these lights on the trip.
EternalErgo - Black Body, white LED Quark Red LED Flasher Nebula LED Flasher Photon Fusion Headlamp FrontaLED Trekker 144 Headlamp BonFire Tent Light
EternalErgo - Black Body, white LED
We had 16 of these lights on the trail, and all them used them agreed that they were great. I think it is safe to say that the EternalErgo would be voted number one handheld light for the trail! Those that didn't have them wanted them! The small light emits a wide, bright bluish light, similar to that of hospital surgical lights, making them ideal for check dog paws, and performing camp tasks. The ability to dim the light also made it ideal for sneaking to the bathroom among sleeping bodies at night. Only one light required a battery change during the 17 days on the trail, and that light was used extensively, often being one of the last lights turned off at night and the first turned on in the morning. These lights were used as tent lights, reading lights, work lights, and more. Everyone who received one of these lights pretty much kept them around their necks on the lanyard day and night. The only drawback we could find with them was the inability to hold them in your teeth. (At times the ability to hold a light in your teeth to direct the light while performing two hand tasks is desirable.) The shape and size does not permit a secure bite on the body of the light. That is the only improvement we could come up with for these lights. This is an amazing little light. About the size of a cigarette pack, it is a hefty and bight. The flat design makes it easy to hang on to, but difficult to hold in your teeth. With the built in lanyard attachment point, the light can be hung shinning downward which offers many possibilities. The 3 control buttons on top are easy to operated to achieve a variety of lighting options. I can see using this light for general camp and trail tasks, signaling, and even to hang as a tent light, or for reading light in camp. One draw back is the need to unscrew 4 small screws to remove the cover for battery replacement. But using the energy saving features should yield long battery life, so changes should be seldom. It will be interesting to see how this little light performs in the cold and how it withstands the rigors of the trail. I'm sure this light will be an excellent signaling light with it's bright strobe, flash, and dazzle modes!
Quark Red LED Flasher
We had 10 of these lights available, which the dog mushers quickly snatched up. Since there was very little snowmobile traffic on the trails as we traveled and most of our travel was during the day, we didn't use these lights on a regular bases. We did pull into the village of Tanana late in the evening, and several of these lights were used due to the traffic we encountered. The lights quickly and simply clipped onto the lead dogs collars and made it easy to see the approaching team. I'm sure the mushers will be using these lights when running at night on the more crowded home trails. The Quark is the smallest of the red LED flashers. (Smaller than the standard Zippo lighter.) It is small and light, and operates by a simple slide switch using the attached belt clip. This light is ideal for attaching to lead dogs to increase being seen at night. (One fear of dog mushers is that a speeding snowmobiler may not see them or there dogs, resulting in a collision. Having a flashing red light on at least the lead dogs will hopefully increase the chance of being seen well in advance, and give and indication of the length of the team.) I except these little lights will function well on the trail, and will post any notes after the trip.
Nebula LED Flasher
These lights were to large to attach to dog collars, but they did come in handy for many tasks. I clipped on to my windshield while leading dog teams into villages to alert other traffic. We also used them to clip to trees above resting dog teams when close to busy trails. We had 20 of these lights, which the mushers also grabbed quickly. The post mounting bracket that comes with them make them easy to attach to sleds, or the lights can be clipped to clothing or sled bags when traveling at night along busy trails. As with the Quark lights, I'm sure these will get much more use when the mushers are traveling their local trails at night! The Nebula is a larger red LED flasher. Turning the light on and off and changing modes is done by means of a small rubber covered button on back next to the attached belt clip. The belt clip can be replaced with a small bar bracket supplied with the light for attaching to bikes or other tubular objects. This light is brighter than the Quark lights, but is larger and slightly heavier. I will have to consult with dog drivers as to if it small enough to attach to individual dogs. However, this light may serve well being attached to sleds as a safety light. I'll let you know what we do with them and how they work after the trip.
Photon Fusion Headlamp
We had one of these headlamps that was used extensively by a dog musher when doing dog care and camp tasks. It was light and easy to put on, and emitted plenty of clean bright light for working around camp. The ability to switch from dim to hyper bight mode made it very friendly when around other people who you didn't want to blind with bright light. It was used a lot, and required one battery change during the trip. There were some issues that could use improvement for cold weather use. 1- the control buttons becomes stiff at colder temperatures making it more difficulty to turn on and off and change modes. Also after 14 days on the tail the battery compartment latch broke, requiring a little duct tape to keep the cover secure and the light working. All in all it is a great headlamp, to improved cold weather performance it would be nice to alter the material the buttons are made of and the latch assemble to keep them from getting stiff and/or brittle in the cold. This small headlamp is very versatile! It offers several modes and brightness levels, and then is easy to detach from the headband for use as a flashlight or table light. Not much heavier then the 3 AA batteries it uses, it is fairly light and very compact. Operation is by means of a rubber covered switch on top of the light that is easy to find and depress once you get us to it. Rotating the light over positions the switch between he light and the battery pack making it almost impossible to accidentally turn it on during storage. Battery replacement is a simple matter of popping open the holder and sliding a metal contact cover. I can't wait to put this little bright light to the test on the trail.
FrontaLED Trekker 144 Headlamp
I had one of these lights on the trail and it preformed flawlessly! The Trekker is my first choice for a camp headlamp. The bright broad light beam was perfect for illuminating large areas and at a good distances. It was easy to operate with the tilt switch, and the high and low settings were ideal for a variety of tasks. This light was used extensively during the 17 days on the trail and never required a battery change!!! (I used the Alkaline batteries that came with the light for the entire trip!) While there were several other LED headlamps on the trail, this was one of the most compact, easiest to use, and brightest! While this lamp would not be suitable for a dog musher driving a team down the trail, as it does not have the distance illumination ability of the headlamps most mushers use. However, it is great for camping, dog care, working on machines, and just about anything else! I do not see this lamp listed on www.theledlight.com any more, however you can visit FrontaLED at www.frontaled.com This lamp sells for about $150 US. This surprising small headlamp is smaller than the battery pack of 4 AA batteries that power it. (The light it's self is about the size of a Zippo lighter.) And amazing bright. The headset goes on quick and easy, and operation is a simple matter of tipping the light forward in it's bracket. It is very easy to operate, even wearing heavy mittens. (A small cord is attached which acts as a lock to prevent the light from turning on or off by accident. Simply slip the end of the cord into the hole in the bracket and it's done.) To change the brightness quickly turn it off and on, and the brightness level is either high or low. Battery replacement is simply a matter of sliding the battery holder out of it's fabric case and replacing the batteries. The entire light and battery pack fits in an ultra small stuff sack which is supplied. Walking around a dark house with the light on, I find it pretty well illuminates an entire room. (Again, as with most LED light, the light is not spot focused, while you do have a zone that is the center of the lighted area which is brighter, the light is diffuse throughout the entire area, making it great for performing tasking which require a larger field of view.)
BonFire Tent Light
We had one of these lights on the trail, and it survived the rigors of bouncing down the trial in the sled with the camp gear. It emitted a warm amber light, which is great when you want enough light in the tent to see, but not enough to ruin your night vision. We actually found that the Ergo lights where use as tent lights more than the BonFire. As a replacement to a candle lantern it is great, for reading or brighter light, I would suggest the Ergo lights! The BonFire is intended to be a tent light. It is surprising light, but slightly larger than a candle lantern. A rubber covered rocker switch is located on top of the light. It supplies a warm amber light, with high and low settings, which should illuminate a tent well. The supplied lanyard hangs the light nicely! This light would be well suited to backpacking being as light as it is, however it is not as bright as the Ergo EternalLight, or the headlamps by any means. We'll see how well it lights up the Arctic Oven on the trail.