Survival guide: You can't do without light
16.8.2017
Translation: machine translated
Video: Manuel Wenk
A lamp is essential for finding your way in the dark. But which one should it be? A headlamp or a torch? Find out everything you need to know here.
Together with survival expert Gion Saluz, I spent a night in the forest. To avoid falling victim to the darkness, we had various lamps with us. Having a light offers many advantages, be it for orientation, illuminating the camp, searching for an object or even sending out an emergency signal. According to Gion, the three most important items for surviving in the wilderness are:
How many lumens should it be?
The luminous flux of torches and headlamps is specified in lumens. The higher this value is, the brighter the lamp shines. But how many lumens are actually needed?
According to Gion, just 0.5 lumens is enough for most situations. With this low light intensity, you will be able to see everything in your immediate vicinity. What's more, at 0.5 lumens you won't lose your night vision. If the light is too bright, your eyes will need up to 20 minutes before your night vision is restored. Lamps with a red light can also be an advantage here. This light is also easier on your eyes and is reflected less by the surroundings. This can be helpful if you don't want to be seen.
Many lumens are needed if you want to illuminate a large area or have to look far into the distance. A bright light with a high number of lumens can also be used as a defence. If an animal comes too close to you, you can scare it with the light and force it to retreat. A lamp with a high light intensity is also an advantage if you find yourself in an emergency situation. With its help, you can draw attention to yourself at greater distances.
How do I send a distress signal?
The international distress signal is called SOS. To be able to send such a distress signal with a lamp, we use Morse code. This also has an international standard and can therefore be used anywhere in the world.
The Morse code for SOS is: Three times short, three times long, three times short.
When sending the distress signal, make sure that it can be seen. If you can, try to get into a clearing. If there are too many trees around you, your SOS will be difficult to recognise. You can also use reflective surfaces such as rock faces or water. The rule is: the more visible your signal is, the better your chances of being rescued. Alternatively, you can draw attention to yourself with a fire. The fire should produce as much smoke as possible, as this makes it visible from a great distance and from the air. You may also not be able to start a fire or send out an SOS with your torch. In this case, you must draw attention to yourself acoustically. Call for help or, even better, use a whistle. These are small, lightweight and produce a high-pitched sound that can be heard a long way away.
Flashlight
Torches are available in a number of variants and range from expensive to inexpensive. There are certain factors that make one torch better than another. "The best torch is the one you have with you," says Gion. But back to the factors. Basically, it can be said that the more expensive the torch is, the more lumens it has. More lumen means that the light shines stronger and shines further.
In my opinion, what is more important for a torch than the number of lumens is the adjustment options. This means that the torch can be dimmed or already has built-in modes such as SOS or strobe. The fact that you can manually adjust the light intensity on your torch means that you are equipped for any situation. If you just want to read something, you don't need the full power of 1000 lumens. Even the lowest setting is sufficient. You can also save an enormous amount of battery power by not always running your torch in the strongest mode. However, if you want to see far into the distance or are in an emergency situation and need to draw attention to yourself, a high light intensity is essential.
We had the following torch with us that night:
Head torch
The advantage of a headlamp over a torch is that you have both hands free. Another advantage of a headlamp is that the light moves with your head. However, the headlamp has one disadvantage if you are travelling with a group. Because the lamp is on your head, you often shine the light into the eyes of those around you.
As with torches, some headlamps also have adjustment options. These also allow you to adjust the light intensity. Here too: the more expensive the lamp is, the higher its lumen value and the more modes are available to you.
We had the following headlamp with us that night:
Video by Manuel Wenk.