Torch advice

[Mortblanc]

I was confronted with the need for a new "torch", as you call them, a few weeks back. My trusty Ray-o-Vac Roughneck AAA light lost control of its switch and stuck permanently in the on position, then fell apart when I attempted to fix it.

I bought that light in 1994 and it had endured thousands of miles of travel, hiked the Appellation Trail, and provided emergency lighting at hundreds of reenactment camps and modern camps for its 20 year life.

Needless to say, they do not make the same model any more.

Being slightly old school I replaced it with a D-cell Maglite rather than some LED gizmo. I have several of the LED lights and I consider none of them rugged enough, at a reasonable price point, to do the job or provide the steady light that I need.

Additionally, the Maglite is still the world standard for "whooping upside the head" use. I found that very comforting while camping with the bears this past weekend. They tend to poke their noses against the tent sides and it is pretty easy to crack them on the snout, but it takes a good light to do it.

I wrapped a strip of luminous tape around the barrel to aid finding it in the dark.