More Flashlights...

A year and a half ago, I bought my first 'premium' flashlight from Tropical Equipment...the Longbow ECO...20.7 lumens, powered by 2 AA batteries with a run time of about 3 hours... hydrostatically tested to 250 feet (which makes if waterproof...I carry it along for my night dives and it is like the sun underwater). The ECO's heart is the Luxeon 1-W LED (Light Emitting Diode). Constructed by CNC (Computer Numerical Control) from aircraft-grade aluminium... and finished with an olive drab Type III Mil-Spec anodization...you could scratch the body with a key and not scuff it (I've tried it...).

As a good buddy of mine noticed, I've grown accustomed to carrying my flashligts almost anywhere I go... believe me, out of our five senses, sight is the most relied on... so, when things get a little dark or if we can't see into crevices and corners, an illumination tool is always most helpful...

It is evident that my obsession for these devices is seeing an upward growth. Just a couple of days ago, I got the ECO's smaller brother, the Longbow MINI, measuring about 4.5 inches, about 2 inches shorter than the ECO... now this baby is powered by 2 CR123A batteries (a little costly than AAs...)... however, this fits nicely in my pocket and burns at 45 lumes, with a run time of about 4 hours... good thing that LED lights have thousands of hours of burntime, as opposed to incandescents...

But don't get me wrong... incans are excellent for throwing the beam... but there's nothing like an LED light to rely on for longer burn time...