Lighting Overview

One of the things you can almost be sure of is that if a hurricane hits your area, the commercial power grid is going to fail.  Depending on where you live and how bad the infrastructure is damaged by the storm, it may be days, weeks or months before power is restored.  Even one night in total darkness can be scary, or even very dangerous.  There are several lighting options to choose from as you prepare your emergency kit.

You will notice that none of the lights I have listed on my web site include those with an open flame.  This includes candles, "hurricane lamps", and gas or kerosene lanterns.  There is just too great of a potential for fire with these types of illumination.  And remember, if you set your house on fire in the middle of a hurricane, you've got yourself a very serious problem!  So my advice is to avoid open flame light sources for emergency lighting.

Spot Lights

Those lights that concentrate their rays into a narrow beam are called spot lights.  Most conventional flashlights fit this category.  These lights are especially suited for emergency work for several reasons.  First, they tend to cast their beam a relatively long distance.  This is useful when trying to see objects far away, such when inspecting the roof of your residence for storm damage, looking out to see rising water, or to look for a lost pet. 

Like most things, you tend to get the quality you pay for.  Maglites are certainly an example of this rule.  I paid about $16 for my Maglite, which was a significant amount of money when I purchased it over ten years ago.  However, after these many years of use, it's still in great shape and can be counted on in an emergency.

The "D" cell Maglites are available with either a conventional light bulb or a high intensity LED.  The LED-style flashlights have an almost unlimited bulb life and are immune to the shock and impact that you would subject them to under normal use.  This makes them especially suitable for emergency use because the odds are much lower that you'll ever experience a bulb failure.  Additionally, LED light sources tend to be much more efficient, which means the batteries should last longer.  Though the LED version of this light is roughly twice as expensive as the conventional bulb version, it may be a good long term investment for your emergency supply kit.  

Finally, it's worth noting that the Maglite flashlights are widely used by police, fire and EMS responders nationwide.  This is further testimony to their ruggedness and reliability.  If I could only have one flashlight for emergency use, it would be a three "D" cell Maglite.

Rechargeable Lights

Though I don't recommend them as your only emergency light, self-powered lights are a great supplement to your emergency lighting kit.  The reason I don't depend on them is the unpredictable nature of the battery charge, and the potential for the moving parts to break in and emergency.  Even though you don't have to install batteries in them, they all have some type of internal rechargeable battery which will eventually fail.  In the middle of a hurricane is a bad time to have your sole light source die on you!  

I do like these lights for children to play with when the lights go out.  The crank makes gives them something to do (and helps burn excess energy), and they can play with them as much as they like without burning through the emergency batteries.  But as I mentioned above, these should be used as a supplemental light and not your primary light source.

Area Lights - Small

A small area light such as the Coleman LED MicroPacker^TM is an excellent little light for illuminating a small or confined space.  These lamps are excellent for lighting up a toilet area, child's room, home stairwell, or other limited area. This high-efficiency LED lamp will run for several days on a single set of three AAA batteries, and provides a surprising amount of light.  At a retail price of $9.95, you can afford to have several on hand.

Area Lights - Large

I've tried several of the fluorescent lanterns and the best I've found is the Ray-O-Vac Sportsman Lantern.  It's well constructed and provides a significant amount of light for the size.  These lights can be highly beneficial in  a power outage because they illuminate such a large area.  This can not only provide adequate lighting for home repairs, preparing meals, and reading, but also provides a psychological boost by allowing activities that give some semblance of normalcy.  The biggest disadvantage of these lights are number of batteries required for operation.  Eight D cell batteries will set you back about $10 or more, and will power the light for about eight to twelve hours (depending on the high or low setting).  So if you decide to purchase one of these lanterns, be sure to have an ample supply of D cell batteries on hand.   

The "D" cell MagLite is one of the best all-around lights for emergency use.  Not only is it a great spot light, but can be used as a defensive weapon in an emergency. 

              
The Energizer Quick Switch is a two cell spotlight that can run on AA, C or D cells.      

        
This Dorcy emergency light doesn't use conventional batteries.  Instead, it can be recharged repeatedly by spinning the crank.

 
This Coleman LED MicroPacker ^(TM) is a great light for limited areas.  It will run for several days on three "A batteries. 

The Ray-O-Vac Sportsman lantern is great  for illuminating a large area of your home.

Ray-O-Vac Sportsman Light

Coleman Battery Powered Lights 

Maglite Flashlights