Monday, March 19, 2018

Going ultra-light: Verne Trekking Pad and Flextail Gear Helio Camping Light

Saving weight is a never ending process.

Here are my latest upgrade:


The Verne trekking pad is so light that it weights only 244g, and my trusty Alcos mini-table weights 406g...



But notice that it comes with a plastic case which pumps up its weight!  So, better leave it at home.

And next is the Helio is only 42g and it has the size of an egg.  Compare with my 18650 camping light at 159g and another small one from Nature Hike (powered by 3AA battery) at 101g.


Let's have some comparisons:



So, the Alcos is heavier and the Verne is lighter even with the plastic case.  But in fact, the Alchos is both thicker and bigger as you can see below:


The Verne is much faster and easier to setup, and it's lighter... and the Alcos is far cheaper, like one third of the price of the Verne.

Let's go to compare the tent lights:


I've compared all three lights in a dark room.  In terms of Range, the 18650 and the Helio is similar, and the one from Nature Hike is by far smallest.   I am very much surprised since the Helio is much smaller in size!  In terms of brightness, the 18650 one is brighter  at its brightest setting, but the Helio is just a hair dimmer at its burst mode. 

The 18650 one heavier and bigger than the Helio.  The Nature Hike lies between these two, but then the brightness level is no comparison.