On Mon 14 June, JKA said > I followed your advice Paul ...and bought a Silva Ranger Thanks John - hope you enjoy it. In responding to your question last week, it caused me to bring my own knowledge of the LED headlamp scene up-to-date. I had done a lot of research 6 months ago and I was pleased to see (last week) that the Fenix HP-10 had recently been re-released (after the manufacturer had withdrawn it for about 6 months). I also discovered that it was available locally, which was a bonus. Got one on Saturday and it exceeds expectations. Just exemplifies how some areas of technology do gallop along. It has 4 brightness levels and the lowest is comparable to the max output of my 8 year-old LED light. That old light got a lot of attention when new - my paddling buddies said it could be seen from a great distance and was a distinctive 'cold' white. I realised it was a getting bit 'beyond it' last year, when I paddled late into the night - going round D'Urville Island - and nearly tripped over a small island. At the time, the three of us were paddling a course towards a distant light, a Nav beacon at French Pass that we had identified as dusk fell (using deck compass & chart). We had the tide with us, no wind, some starshine, a moon due at mid-night and two GPSs with spare batteries - so we felt very happy that we were paddling within our capabilities. We had our headlamps on our heads - in case of need, but it was very unlikely that any other vessel would came along. It's not a busy area even by day. We were enjoying the company of a dolphin who was lazily zooming around just beneath us - trailing phosphorescence. The bugger had scared us rigid by appearing just behind us with a loud exhalation... We then became aware of gentle noises of a beach and birdsong. We all switched on our headlamps and picked out a small islet (size of half a tennis court) with a few trees and some roosting birds. I still don't know why they were awake so long after dusk. As we had initially expected to be coming past the area in daylight (the following day - after camping for the night), I had expected this islet to be very obvious and I had carelessly written a note on my chart right on top of it. Thus obscured, it was able to sneak up on us. Anyway, mine was the only headlamp that couldn't 'throw' far enough to see the island - and from then on I was looking for a replacement light. The new HP-10 will throw a good beam twice the length of a football field and weighs 20 grams less than my old headlamp (which will now be retired to the car - replacing a truly prehistoric Petzl). For those interested, the French Pass / D'Urville Island area is a stunning paddle and (IMO) even more varied and scenic than the rest of the Marlborough Sounds. http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=french+pass,+new+ zealand&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=French+Pass,+Marlborough,+New+Zealand&ll=-40.88989 9,173.897438&spn=0.211007,0.373878&t=h&z=12 Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jun 14 2010 - 18:32:22 PDT
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