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Went in with a cheap headlamp versus a real work light and it nearly cost me

I was checking out the old Sunrise Mall in Corpus Christi last month, focusing on the lower food court area which is pitch black. My first trip, I just had a basic headlamp from a hardware store. It cast a narrow beam and made shadows jump everywhere, completely missing the broken floor tiles near the old Orange Julius. I almost took a bad step into a service pit. Went back a few days later with a proper 1000 lumen work light on a tripod stand. The difference was night and day, literally. It flooded the whole space with even light, letting me see the full layout, all the trip hazards, and even some cool old signage I'd missed. Don't cheap out on your light source in these places. What's the most reliable light setup you all bring into the really dark sections?
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noah326
noah32624d ago
Honestly, I had a similar thing happen but with batteries instead of lights. I was in this old drainage tunnel under Austin and brought a cheap headlamp that kept flickering. It nearly made me miss a rusted grate covering a deep drop-off, and I only caught it because I crouched low and saw my shadow change, which @cole_miller would probably say is a real amateur mistake. So now I carry a backup light that's a small flood beam lantern on a short stick, way better than that single beam nonsense. Two lights minimum, always.
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cole_miller
A caving forum swears by dual headlamps with flood beams.
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leo603
leo6031mo ago
Flood beams are a battery killer though.
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