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  1. #1
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    Very Simple DIY - Ridgeline Flashlight mod

    This almost isn't worth sharing since it is so simple, but if a few people find it handy it was worth posting.

    I'm in a constant state of misplacing my headlamp during the evening and early morning hours. When I sleep with it on, it often comes off and winds up under me somewhere. When I put it on the shelf in my WB XLC, I sometimes lose track of it among the various other things stuffed in the shelf. I don't currently use a peak bag or ridgeline organizer, so long story short, I'm not consistent with how I stow my light at night.

    I occasionally do a simple larks head of the headlamp head band around my ridgeline at night. That makes it easy to find the flashlight, and it lets me use my tyvek throw bag over it to diffuse the light and make it more pleasing to the eye, but it always takes a few seconds of fumbling to remove the headlamp from the ridgeline when nature calls.

    To simplify my illumination needs during the wee hours and to minimize fussing during bedtime, I've taken to permanently attaching a small light to my ridgeline that is dedicated entirely to being my "hammock light". It gets stowed in my hammock and it is always right where I left it when I set back up. This is what it looks like when it isn't living in my hammock:

    Ridgeline Flashlight.jpg

    Dutch sells the ridge light here for a very reasonable price. I just removed the o-ring(s) and substituted a small zing-it continuous loop, which I prusik knot over my ridgeline so I can slide the light where I want it and it stays put. Total weight: 7g.

    The small stock o-ring attached to the mini flashlight is so light and flimsy that the first time you grab the light a little too hard it will deform open into a sharp U-shape, it might fall away from the light, and carve its way into your hammock before you find it. I had a close call like that, so am speaking from experience. The o-rings also don't keep the light in place on the ridgeline. The minor mod of removal of the rings and a prusik loop has given this light a permanent home on my ridgeline. It's always exactly where I can find it. Having a secondary small backup light isn't a bad idea either.

    TL;DR: Now I have a flashlight to help me find my flashlight...

  2. #2
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    got one on every hammock I own, love em

  3. #3
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    I prefer the SpotLit with it's built in biner for a ridgeline light...http://dutchwaregear.com/spotlit-led...-light-en.html

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by gmcttr View Post
    I prefer the SpotLit with it's built in biner for a ridgeline light...http://dutchwaregear.com/spotlit-led...-light-en.html
    How come? I haven't seen that light in person. It's two or three times heavier and would slide around on the ridgeline as-is, so what makes it a better choice for you? Light quality? Versatility?

  5. #5
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    Handy! The one I have, though, I keep attached to me - handy for navigating around the camp at night. I attach this to my ridgeline with some wire twist ties if I've got the tarp up; else I might swing it over some nearby tree limbs: http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.c.../TWILIGHT.html After I'd gotten that, I noticed a cottage vendor had something similar for $7.50 :/

  6. #6
    Senior Member Wkerber's Avatar
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    I just take my headlamp and kind of larkshead it to the ridge line.
    Bill

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanglingModifier View Post
    How come? I haven't seen that light in person. It's two or three times heavier and would slide around on the ridgeline as-is, so what makes it a better choice for you? Light quality? Versatility?
    It's more of a softer diffused light and when hung on the ridgeline over or behind your head, it shines down the length of the hammock instead of down and in my eyes.

  8. #8
    Senior Member SirMarkos's Avatar
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    I too use a light on my ridgline. Soft, diffused, white light with the added benefit of being able to pop open my beers


  9. #9
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    I like those lights - very handy for reading and such. However, I also larkshead the headlamp onto the ridgeline as well - makes it easy to find if I need to venture outside the hammock.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  10. #10
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    On the subject of softer light, I've found the small Tyvek bag with drawstring top that I made for my bear hang works great to soften the light from either my headlamp or the 7 gram ridgeline light. Credit for that multipurpose idea goes to whoever posted the "glowing pigsnout of awesome" thread several months ago. I'm carrying that throw bag anyway, and it is free from its normal duties in the evening after I've set up my hang. I just cinch it around whatever light is too bright in the hammock when needed. My light can't open beers though, so that is clearly a major weakness with the product.

    That said, it seems like the arrangement I'm using is generally lighter than the alternatives presented so far, it is more likely to stay where I put it, and it just stays attached and packed up in the hammock where it lives as my bedroom light (except in emergencies, when it can be detached). For me, anything that unclips and slides around easily will be prone to get misplaced. Then I will need another flashlight, to find my missing ridgeline flashlight, that lets me find my REAL flashlight.

    Throw Bag.jpg

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