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| Don Alexander We test the Stanley 3000 Lumens HID SPOTLIGT Difficult situations in daylight are bad enough; without light they become nearly impossible. When you end up stuck in the backcountry, in the snow, without the gear you need to get unstuck, and daylight is rapidly diminishing, it’s time to pray. In the dead of winter, with deep, hopelessly rutted snow in the San Bernardino National Forest, I got an emergency phone call for a local tour operator. He was stuck in his Suburban about 10 miles into the forest. But that wasn’t the serious part of the story. He was trying to rescue a Pinzgauer out on a tour with his driver and a family of five, including young kids. I got the call about 4:00 PM; the tour left at 10:00 AM. A vehicle recovery quickly became a rescue, one with little daylight left and temperatures dropping like rock. It’s never wise to head out in these conditions without a backup, but no one was available, so a neighbor rode along to provide help, and several people were notified of the situation, including the local Forest Service Rangers. I grabbed some water and snack bars for the family and hit the road. And I had earlier loaded the Stanely HID Spotlight that I planned to test in the next couple of days. Little did I know how helpful this simple spotlight would prove. The conditions were extreme. We made it past the stuck and now stranded Suburban about 8 miles from the pavement. Just getting past the Suburban proved a major challenge. The last two miles to the stranded Pinz was more of a roller coaster ride than a drive through the snow, ice and slush. Ruts steered the Xterra, with the driver unable to influence directional changes with any consistency. But we made it to the Pinz and the cold and hungry family, the tour driver and the Suburban driver who hiked in about one and half miles to the Pinz. After checking on the family and distributing water and food to the hungry clan, we went to work on winching the Pinzgauer out of Caribou Creek which was flowing across the trail. Light was fading quickly, but got the rig freed from the muck, turned around and began the difficult drive back to civilization. That’s when the real fun began. By the time we were heading back to Big Bear, It was dark, but the Xterra’s KC HiLites driving lights provide good illumination on the dark trail. After less than a mile, the Pinz disappeared from the rear view mirrors. Unfortunately we covered over a quarter of mile before realizing that the Pinz was stuck again. The trail had four foot high berms on either side, deep ruts and no place to turn around. That meant backing through the treacherous conditions to retrieve the Pinz. Backup lights are completely inadequate in these situations, but the Stanley HID Spotlight saved the day, or in the is case, turned night into day. With the help of my co-driver, the HID Spotlight illuminated the trail completely behind the Xterra, and with its light weight and portability, the edges of the trail could easily be highlighted to avoid getting sucked into the snow banks by the nasty, deep ruts. The Stanley HID Spotlight also made hooking tow straps and shackles much easier. We got the Pinz and the family back to an intersection of trails where they could get back to town without too much difficulty and headed back to retrieve the Suburban. It took a while, but the Stanley Spotlight again help us see the way and make a tough job much easier. Everyone made it back to Big Bear and safety after a long day, and night in the backcountry. Stanley's new HID light emits up to 3000 lumens of intense, bright, white light. It has an integrated 12-volt rechargeable battery that will last up to 45 minutes per charge. This runtime is approximately three times longer than a standard spotlight, while emitting light that is sevev times brighter. Maximum brightness takes less than 10 seconds. The Stanley HID Spotlight runs off its battery or continuously from a vehicle's 12- volt DC port. It's made of tough, durable, high-impact plastic and has a metal roll bar, shatter resistant lens, three LED area lights, a 35-watt HID bulb, ., a 2-way dimmer for extending battery life, a CEC AC charger, and a carry lanyard and AC charger. It has an MSRP of $79.99 and is sold at most major retailers including Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Meijer FEATURES: o Up to 7x Brighter than standard spotlights o Up to 2.5x longer runtime than standard spotlights o 35 Watt High Intensity Discharge bulb o (3) LED area lights o DC plug powers and recharges from vehicle o Rubber bezel and handle o Rechargeable 12 Volt 3Ah SLA battery o Poly carbonate impact resistant lense o Carry lanyard Includes AC and DC charging |
