29 days ’till Paratus

The free ice cream machine, as Tam calls it, has been a little empty lately. Sometimes real life gets in the way, m’friends.

It is worthwhile to note (or at least I think it is) that Paratus is rapidly approaching. I know what you’re thinking…”But, Zero, it seems like I just put away all the Paratus trimmings from last season!”. Hey, man….that’s how holidays work.

For your full Paratus shopping needs, I recommend this list of Festivus items I put together a few years back. For the budget minded they are broken down into the cheap, middling, and dang-you-really-like-me price range.

Given the nature of the crappy storm we had recently that resulted in power outages that, in some areas, are still going on, I think this year a lot of the local people will be getting the LED MagLites as gifts. I am stunned at how many people dont have a good, quality, flashlight around the house. Stunned, I tell you. Me, I loves me some MagLite…..sure the Pelican lights are nice, and sure its hard to beat SureFire on a lot of stuff….but for a $25 flashlight that will take abuse like Clinton’s wedding vows, you can’t do better than the LED MagLite.

Anyway…Paratus approaches! Get out there and shop!

10 thoughts on “29 days ’till Paratus

  1. We had a storm down here early Thursday night that knocked off power for seven hours, starting at 1 a.m. I keep a couple of Paq Lite units hanging off of the bedroom light / fan hanging all the time. These units do not ever run out of batteries – they glow rather than shine. Good enough to keep you from bumping into things at night.

    But flashlights are needed to get things found and the LED Mini-Mag filled in well.

  2. I’ll easily +1 on 3D LED Maglites; my bunker has one adjacent to each exterior door, wall-mounted in the Maglite brackets. One advantage of that is one can be turned on in the bracket and the light bouncing off the ceiling (assuming it’s a light color) reflects sufficiently to allow navigation (another is something my ex- taught me: “if you don’t have an obvious and permanent place for a tool you will have no idea where she left it”. Not that I’ve ever set something down and forgotten where…..).

    Amazon recently had a sale ($10.99) on Chinese copies of the $25 Ray-O-Vac LED 3 D-cell lantern. They work, and at $11/ea it made sense to buy several. If that deal pops up again I’ll get more. Not a Streamlight Siege by any means, but photons are photons, and trade fodder is trade fodder.

    Pro tip: Some reflective tape on photon dispensing devices makes them easier to find in the dark, especially if it’s a black Maglite you set down outside at night. The best deal on good reflective tape is roll ends from distributors who sell materials to sign making shops. Stick with the brighter stuff – white or yellow, rather than red. Reflective sheeting comes in all the colors of the rainbow, so if you have identifying needs, blue, green, red, orange, etc. are available. A couple 1.5″ – 2″ bands around a D-cell Maglite also make it a handheld recognition/signaling device (leave a 1/2″ slot for the switch).

    Pro tip: The odd reflective sheeting colors can also be handy. For example, I used forest green (a little darker than highway signs) to mark a path through the woods for hunting season. Apply some to a fender washer, nail the washer to a tree 12 feet up. Everyone will be focused down because that’s where the trip hazards are, since you know the markers are higher up you can find them by aiming your light higher. Not common, but reflective sheeting also comes in brown and gray (there is even black, it reflects a dim white) which are really hard to see during daylight.

  3. Update; I called it “reflective tape” then suggested seeking sign material distributors. They call it ‘reflective sheeting” and it’s usually available in 12″ and 24″ widths, so a roll end will be several square feet of it.

  4. Around here – NW WA – everyone is focused on fire suppression & being prepared to bug out if necessary. Yesterday I bought a couple extra hoses. If they aren’t needed I’ll wrap them in festive newspaper & give them to my husband. 🙂

  5. No reason to buy a mag lite these days unless you want to replicate a baseball bat that gives off light. But if you’re requirement is just illum, there are MUCH better options. Mag liters are overpriced and oversized. Best light is the one you have with you and a d-cell light isn’t going in your pocket.

    • Some live in a place that a “baseball bat that gives off light” may be a better idea than a bat and CZ is talking about AA lights.

  6. I,ve been buying a lot of “10 Pack 22000MCD Mini LED Flashlight Torch Light Lamp Keychain” at ten for under $4 there great to give away and have on every key you own.

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