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sea_sick
Samba Member
Joined: July 21, 2012
Posts: 113
Location: West Coast
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 Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| I've put a few miles on a Snow Peak SnowMiner and give it a thumbs up with a couple caveats. It functions fine as an around camp headlamp and very well as a lantern. I've taken it on a couple of backpacking outings and a few times in the van as supplemental lighting. The two main items that may be a concern for some are that it is not close to being waterproof and it doesn't have a red light option. My Petzel has both of these features making it superior for nighttime reading up in the Westy loft with the crew asleep in the lower bed and for wet weather outings. That said, the versatility of the SnowMiner lantern option is fantastic. |
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singler3360
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2009
Posts: 1191
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Jon,
It doesn't look from the video the Lightcap produces that much useable light through the water bottle. What is your actual experience? Like the idea, especially of it recharging on the dash. |
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Jon_slider
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007
Posts: 5091
Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| syncrodoka wrote: |
Yup
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LOL!
Thats not a Homeless Shelter, thats a BabeCatcher. It just needs a shower enclosure.
| singler3360 wrote: |
Jon,
It doesn't look from the video the Lightcap produces that much useable light through the water bottle. What is your actual experience? Like the idea, especially of it recharging on the dash. |
Its a nice soft mood light. Placed on a picnic table, it makes it easy to walk around or towards, without banging my shins into the bench seats. Its not a spotlight by any means, but I can see my plate of food next to it.
I also find the cap, even by itself, not even in a Nalgene, makes a great ambient light inside the van. I put it on the top bunk pointing up, when the westy pop top is up, and it illuminates the canopy nicely, and lets me see who Im talking to in the van. The recharge feature is particularly valuable to me. For more light intensive needs I have a headlamp, and also a small LED Flashlight that I can clip to my baseball cap, or carry in a pocket as needed..
I can't stand bright lights shining directly in my eyes, can't live with things like a Coleman Lantern. I like subdued lighting. Which is why that Japanese lantern interested me, until I figured out I would have to carry spare batteries.
I like Abels Xmas lights too, especially if I was camping with a Babe, an awning, a real fridge, BBQ, table and chairs, kids, etc. But at the moment Im empty nest and single. I carry a chair, but no table and no BBQ. I do have a Dutch Oven that makes a mean steak on my Westy stove, but sometimes I travel without steak or perishable foods that require refrigeration. I have an awning, but seldom stay put long enough to deploy it. Different lighting and camping gear for different needs.
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My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco |
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HoustonPhotog
Samba Member
Joined: February 20, 2013
Posts: 1514
Location: Houston, TX
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:03 am Post subject: |
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| syncrodoka wrote: |
Yup
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haha! I'm glad others like my meme... That's Libby, my '87 Westy
here's another...
I hope to ditch those 12v christmas lights and move onto a more permanent solution for my Fiamma awning. The 12v strings lights arent bad if youre camping for 2+ days but if youre traveling daily I want something that much easier to manage. Thats one reason i ditched the EZY Awning for a Fiamma awning in the first place... I wanted something easy to deploy for situations where im camping in a different spot/city daily.
I like this setup a lot. They're strip leds, this is the best solution in my mind to my lighting requirements... permanently mounted, well not totally permanent since its mounted with just some 3m adhesive backing.
This will be my project list to complete this winter sometime...
_________________
Abel Longoria
VanAlert App for Vanagons/Buses | Texas Vanagons | My Vanagon Build Thread | Follow Me On Instagram | Vanagon-centric Stickers Available Now |
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debbiej
Samba Member
Joined: December 14, 2008
Posts: 1554
Location: las cruces, nm
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:27 am Post subject: |
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Lighting makes a big difference. Inside, I have 5 battery powered LED lights of various design stuck around. I replace batteries as needed, but don't use most of these lights much. The exception is a battery led light that swivels around, it is very bright and useful. An led bulb in the OEM 12v fixture over the sink and a second double led (pancake style) 12 v fixture is mounted over the sink a few inches back.
I found a nice solar powered led rope light that I clip to the front edge of the awning and down the supports. Very festive, but I need to take some pics.
Got the swivel led at harbor freight, the bar LEDs at sams club in a pack of 3. I got 6 double fixtures including the LED bulbs from Amazon. $100 for all 6. What a deal! I put 5 in my Sunrader and one in the westy. |
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geo_tonz
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2012
Posts: 1472
Location: Courtenay, BC, CANADA
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:20 am Post subject: Re: No batteries required |
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| Emmitt wrote: |
Sorry did you say
Batteries?
Check out this website.
http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=262
I use this light in so many applications and functions.
It really is unreal how long the stuff stays luminescent.
Your Welcome |
My favourite quote for a camping light from the link above:
| Quote: |
| As you can see it is on a night stand with a firearm laying on it. If in the middle of the night someone were to enter your home you would not need to fumble in the dark. Even before you night vision kicked in you would know exactly where the fire arm was. |
I thought it was just a stereotype that all people south of the 49th parallel were gun crazy? Too dark to see the gun in normal circumstances but you need to start firing rounds off blindly?
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---------------------------------------------------
 "Ron Burgundy": 1991 Vanagon Multivan (Weekender) 2.1L Auto - Driver/Camper
Last edited by geo_tonz on Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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rockfish
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2007
Posts: 740
Location: Palo Alto, Calif.
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:21 am Post subject: |
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Picked up one of these LED flashlights recently - love the red LED/night vision option. On sale for $15 and free shipping from LL Bean:
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/81086?feat=flashlig...Id=1249563
Sorry that I can't post images - gif format.
_________________
89 Westy
GW 2.5 5-speed trans
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."
- John Wooden |
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sea_sick
Samba Member
Joined: July 21, 2012
Posts: 113
Location: West Coast
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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| rockfish wrote: |
| Picked up one of these LED flashlights recently - love the red LED/night vision option. |
Yes to the red LED option. Great for reading without disturbing others and for evening strolls to answer the call of nature. |
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Jbeverly1
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2013
Posts: 53
Location: Portland
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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I can choose pretty much any color with our 300 LED strip but usually choose red.
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http://1981vwcamper.blogspot.com/ |
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Jon_slider
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007
Posts: 5091
Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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dhaavers
Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010
Posts: 7756
Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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| Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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^^^
I'm starting to warm up to the Luci & may have to get one before summer!
I like the color-changing option plus it's $5 - $15 cheaper & solar powered...
Kewl - thanks for the review!
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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Darren2dream
Samba Member
Joined: April 12, 2011
Posts: 162
Location: Redwood City, CA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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My lady got us two Luci's for this past xmas for the van and we dig them.. Super light weight, really compact, great light output, charge well on the dash while driving to the campground.
Ours don't change color but, that's not really my thing.
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84' Wolfsburg Westy GL 1.9 Manual |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32592
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Jon_slider
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007
Posts: 5091
Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Darren2dream wrote: |
| Ours don't change color but, that's not really my thing. |
Glad youre enjoying your clear Luci's
Do yours have dimmable brightness.. there are 4 models, not sure which you have.
About the Aura model, with colors and frosted cover. I dont necessarily advocate for Rave mode with changing colors, its a novelty. But I do advocate for the very rich individual color choices. And I really really like the frosted cover. I do not like being blinded by looking at bare led's. The Luci Aura is more of a Mood light, but gives plenty of illumination to see what Im doing, when choosing one of the brighter colors, particularly the pictured candle color.
One disclaimer, I have not yet been able to put a full charge on my Luci. Its been grey and raining, and I keep playing with it, so I have not yet seen it achieve its rated capacity of 12 hour run time from a full charge.. I also tried charging indoors, but my house lamps are LED (Phillips Hue.. highly recommended), or fluorescent, but Luci spec sheet says she needs incandescent light to charge well indoors.. ymmv
tangent, while researching lighting threads, I found some nonsolar LED candles discussed.. here you go
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7537708&highlight=#7537708
| IdahoDoug wrote: |
| those artificial vanilla smelling LED candles. Have you seen the latter? We have a couple of these candles in our Vanagon. They fit perfectly in the cup holders back there. They have a setting where you turn them on and they stay on for 5 hours every day at the same time. Genious. Every day, ours turn on at about 7pm and off at midnight. So when traveling, you come back to the vanagon from a restaurant and the back sleeping area is gently illuminated with the flickering of a couple candles. It's cool - highly recommended. |
| Jon_slider wrote: |
theres a colored version..
Link
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My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco |
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figborg
Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2015
Posts: 338
Location: Northeast
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Jon_slider
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007
Posts: 5091
Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:11 pm Post subject: Re: camp lighting |
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| figborg wrote: |
| Has anyone purchased this solar/DC5~8V USB camp light and used it inside the van hooked to the pop top push bar? |
I have not, maybe you will share your review 
here are some thoughts
the light weighs about 7/8 of a pound, and puts out about 130 lumens for about 3 hours. Cost <$10
my latest batch of camp lighting tools are AAA flashlights with rechargeable batteries.. example:
I use an AAA flashlight that has 3 brightness levels, 3 lumen, 30 lumens, 110 lumens. It weighs 1/16th of a pound, and I mostly use it at 30 lumens, which lasts 7 hours. Cost <$10 but no solar panel included..
I can clip the flashlight to my hat for hands free use. or stick it to a magnet inside the westy… very versatile
Sooo, this has become my most useful camplight, an AAA flashlight.. I have a special all copper version with Nichia High CRI LED that costs $60 usually, on sale now for $25..
Lumintop Copper Tool w Nichia
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1WFihwduTJtSJcbR...39-h852-no
here is where you can get that deal:
http://www.banggood.com/LUMINTOP-Copper-Tool-XP-G2...mds=search
select the model Nichia 219
here is the coupon code to get the $25 price
e8b575
note because these lights will stick to a magnet, it makes them super easy to place in a Van, here is an example of one being used over the westy table
(sorry samba does not support the new google photo format, so I can only post a link to the pic)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PmujeCNaNhxKISUI...36-h852-no
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My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco |
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figborg
Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2015
Posts: 338
Location: Northeast
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danfromsyr
Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004
Posts: 15144
Location: Syracuse, NY
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:10 pm Post subject: Re: camp lighting |
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I've grown to love the usefulness of these little cylindrical lights.
they have a magnetic base are compact, recharegable, and have 4 brightness settings. with one setting being 1% which is a great night light. or find your camper in the dark light.. on the 1% it'll run near 14days continuous from a full charge..
they are bright enough to use while making roadside repairs and with the magnet and shielded back, they will even stick upside down underneath the chassis.. I keep mine stuck to the ceiling while travelling and they've only fallen off from bumping into with my head when passing to the back..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Flashlight-Camping-Lig...1890771146
| Quote: |
Measuring at only 4.3 inches long and 1.3 inches thick, this mini camping light is very handy, easy to store and carry. With 5 modes: 4 levels of dimmable brightness settings and a blinking flash mode. Easy to operate and convenient to carry, two holes for lanyard and one magnetic end for easy mounting on metallic surface. Energy saving, simple design, great for camping, hiking, fishing, reading, night walking, home emergency, etc.
Features:
Cooling plate of aluminium material gives you a nice touching feeling.
Compact and portable, with two holes on each side for lanyard, convenient to carry.
One side placed with permanent magnet makes it a good attachment to most metallic surface.
Built-in 1800mA rechargeable battery with mini USB cable, persistent lighting last for 5-400 hours.
Easy to operate, press the black button to adjust lighting grade and press 2 seconds to switch off.
With 5 adjustable brightness modes: 1% brightness light, 50% brightness light, 70% brightness light, 100% brightness light and strobe light.
Easy to recharge, it can be charged via a mini-USB cable, just charges it via the USB port on a computer, a power adapter(5V / 1000mA), or a power bank battery.
With a power indicator: a red light flash regularly means it is during charging, red light stop flashing and always on means it is full charged.
Energy saving, simple design, great for camping, hiking, fishing, reading, night walking, home emergency, etc.
Specifications:
Material: Aluminium + PC + ABS
Light source: LED
Charge port: Micro USB
Color temperature: 5700K
Battery: 3.7V 1800mAh rechargeable battery
Input: 5V 700mA(MAX)
Wattage: 1.6W(MAX)
Luminous flux: 100 lumens(MAX)
Working time: 5-400 hours (depend on brightness level)
Charging time: Approx.4-5 hours
Dimension: 10.8 * 3.3cm / 4.3 * 1.3in (H * D)
Item weight: 82g / 2.9oz
Package size: 4.3 * 3.6 * 14.4cm / 1.7 * 1.4 * 5.7in (L * W * H)
Package weight: Approx.107g / 3.79oz |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| These are the reasons we have words like “wanker” |
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Jon_slider
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007
Posts: 5091
Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:29 pm Post subject: Re: camp lighting |
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| danfromsyr wrote: |
I've grown to love the usefulness of these little cylindrical lights.
…
Color temperature: 5700K |
Looks very practical, I like the rechargeable feature, magnets and form
the color is very cool, useful for work
warmer also interests me, here is a range of LED colors I use for camp lighting under different scenarios, 6000k, 4500k, 3000k.. I like the warmer color at dimmer settings and the cooler color at the highest brightness levels.. mosty I use the 4500k at medium levels..
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QeS9Qidp7sgb16H5...36-h852-no
If someone asked me to recommend a single AA 4500k flashlight to keep in the Van, I would probably suggest the L11c in 4 mode with the 4500k Nichia LED..
heres a link
http://www.sbflashlights.com/L3-Illumination-L11C-Nichia-219B-p373.html
I have no affiliation with any of these flashlights companies, just a personal niche interest
heres a pic of my L11c, and one of my AAA lights, for size reference
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ou3eONsotDr8hkHX...36-h852-no
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My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco |
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Sodo
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007
Posts: 9605
Location: Western WA
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Darren2dream wrote: |
My lady got us two Luci's for this past xmas for the van and we dig them.. Super light weight, really compact, great light output, charge well on the dash while driving to the campground.
Ours don't change color but, that's not really my thing. |
I have a color changing Luci. You have to push the button 7 times to turn it off. I have never once needed another color enough, to have to push a button 7 times to turn off the light. I've had this special upgrade of a good idea for almost 3 years and have never used it. All I have ever done - is demonstrate to others how many times you have to push the button to turn the dang thing off. I would gladly exchange it for a normal Luci of anyone wants to "upgrade".
Grinch out.......
_________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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