A reliable light source is essential for the outdoorsman. Lights can be used for so many reasons. It helps us find our way at night, helps with nighttime camp activities, can be used to aid in navigation, signaling for help or rescue, light can also be used as a friend/foe identifier.
Light can come from many sources including flashlights, headlamps, glow sticks, strobe lights, fire, and more.
-Headlamps: hands free light makes hiking and camp chores easier by freeing up your hands. They usually have an adjustable elastic head band and a tilt housing for the light itself.
-Handheld Flashlights: by far the most common lights out there. From tiny keychain lights to large work lights. Many handhelds have a pocket clip for carrying in your pocket and have either a tail cap button or side button.
-Hat Clip Lights: these lights are like a small handheld but with a clip for attaching to a baseball bat bill.
-Glow sticks/Chem lights: great secondary light source for area marking, tents, emergency lighting, signaling, etc... Hang one on the latrine at night for easy identification. Use different colors for playing capture the flag at night or for orienteering courses.
-Weapon lights: I'm a believer that every battle rifle or defensive rifle should have a light on it (a sling too). Depending on your grip and setup you can either have a pressure pad switch or a press button setup. Learn how to properly use a weapons light.
-Rescue Strobes/Beacons: these specialty lights have been used by backcountry users and the military for years. They can be seen miles away and are designed to run for multiple days. They are also useful for nighttime bike rides for safety. Some models will flash SOS and others have an IR (infrared) feature for use under night vision devices. Great for night training and ftx's...
The last point of consideration is the power source for your light. Standard batteries are the most common but you need to bring spare batteries. Rechargeable lights are becoming more common but still require a power source to charge from which means bringing along some sort of battery bank to plug into.
Finally, learn proper light discipline and practice it.
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