drharryg

we will be needing good flashlights for night walking in corcovado and manuel antonio-- and given our 25 lb weight limit for internal flights, wonder if anyone has good lightweigh types to recommend-- has anyone used headlamps? battery vs. rechargeable?

thanks for any advice

Santa_Claus

Santa will bring you a Petzl or equivalent headlamp. Keep your hands free for whatever else you may be doing: photography, taking notes, eating, swatting flies, etc.

Once you have a Petzl MYO or other model, you will find yourself using it around the house : When BBQing, taking out the trash, searching the basement, attic, garage for that certain something that is stored, fishing, automotive repair, camping...

Rechargeable batteries. It's a green thing.

dcmalia

Not sure what kind of head lamp I have, Petzl sounds familiar, but I brought it with us to CR and it was indispensable!

Actually, at first my boyfriend said it was dorky and refused to let me use it. THEN, we one night we absolutely needed a flashlight to find our way down the dark beach, so we took the headlamp -- And he never gave it back!

I got mine at Eastern Mountain Sports. Believe you can also get them at REI or any backpacking store. Since they are made for backpackers, they are lightweight.

Re batteries, mine takes two AAA batteries, but I haven't had to replace them yet. Have used the lamp for a 3-day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail & our CR trip. It's still in good shape.

Also, fyi, we had to comply with the under 25-pounds thing too, and here are a few tips:
-- Wear your heaviest hiking boots on the plane. Don't kill yourself layering, I wore shorts & tied my jacket around my waist.
-- Make sure you have two bags: A backpack and one to check. I put all the heavy stuff (books, shells, shoes, etc.) in our 2 backpacks and left only clothes & towel in the check bags. We passed with weight to spare!

RufusTFirefly

A flashlight is almost essential. We did fine with pocket Maglites. The beam can be focused or spread.

costaricaguide

Any good multi-led light, whether a head lamp or hand held will last about 5-10 times longer than a halogen or traditional incandescent bulb light (I agree with the above that a headlamp is best, you can always hold it in your hand if you want to) on the same batteries. Unless you're traveling for more than a month or planning on a lot of spelunking at Barra Honda or Venado you shouldn't need rechargeable if you go led.

Santa_Claus

HO! - HO! - HO!

Curious to know who is not using rechargeable batteries in these current times?

How many household items do you own which require batteries?

How many of Santa's toys these days require batteries?

Why would a person resist an ecologically and financially sound option to disposable batteries?

Santa Claus

Jessie_

I have my rechargeables charged and ready! They don't last as long as the regular batteries alas and often, when in CR, I am not in an area where I can recharge so I do have to bring along a set of regular ones. Sorry.

We have Petzl headlamps and they are great. Even come in handy walking the dogs in the winter with the shorter days. We even went so far as to buy night vision goggles. Our friend Orlando has them and uses them with his clients but they are ours when we are in the country.