# What's the most durable "portable" strobe around?



## TheSharpshooter (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm looking for something powerful and versatile, I usually shoot with a single light and several reflectors. Why a single light? Because I like it that way and there's only one sun/moon after all. At the moment I am working with Speedlights, before that I used the equipment made available to us at my former studio school so I'm not much of a gear geek. Ideally I want something that isn't too heavy but I can take heavy if it is really durable, I'd favour metal (aluminium or something) casing over plastic. I have never been a big fan of plastic. I like my stuff to be really tough and long lasting. Ideally the perfect strobe will be easy to travel with on international flights, will last a lifetime, accepts Mola beauty dishes and has bulbs that will always be available for replacement.

Any wisdom, oh gear geeks?


----------



## 2WheelPhoto (Nov 9, 2012)

My ebay elinchrom strobe paired with a cheap vegabond III battery (allowing about 600 pops per charge) has been INDESTRUCTABLE for outdoor on location shoots.


----------



## Big Mike (Nov 9, 2012)

Check out the Elinchrom Ranger gear.  A Pack & head system can be very robust because most of the electronics are in the box, not with the light up on a stand or waving around in the air.  I don't know which model it is, but I work with a photographer who uses one.  It's a small pack (with battery) and a small head.  Easy for someone to carry around and it puts out lots of power.


----------



## Mike_E (Nov 9, 2012)

Also check out ankle weights and tent stakes with parachute cord.  Not getting them knocked over in the first place goes a long way towards keeping them operating.


----------



## TheSharpshooter (Nov 9, 2012)

Thanks guys. These batteries seem pretty expensive, how long do they last? I mean do you throw them away every couple of years?

The Ranger is tiny! Won't it break under the weight of the old Mola? Does it have modelling lights?


----------



## TheSharpshooter (Nov 15, 2012)

Anyone?


----------



## Village Idiot (Nov 19, 2012)

TheSharpshooter said:


> Thanks guys. These batteries seem pretty expensive, how long do they last? I mean do you throw them away every couple of years?
> 
> The Ranger is tiny! Won't it break under the weight of the old Mola? Does it have modelling lights?



They make two rangers, a regular larger ranger and a ranger quadra. The Quadra is 400w/s per pack and IIRC the big ranger is 1200w/s, so it'a a stop and a half more light. The big ranger is also weather resistant and weighs more. The Quadra has a mount that's sold separately that will let it attach larger modifiers and it's not a matter of breaking under the weight at that point but having a large enough stand with enough support to make sure it's steady and won't fall over.

I use Dynalite packs and heads which are light weight and fairly durable and one of the guys on the POTN forum uses pretty much nothing but mola dishes on his heads.


----------

