Daylight Saving Time: How to continue your bivouacs and hikes despite the shorter days?

On October 26, 2025, our region switched to winter time. The sun now sets before 6 p.m., and this downward trend won't reverse for several weeks. In six weeks, evenings at 8:30 p.m. have given way to twilights at 5:15 p.m. This light compression radically transforms bushcraft and bivouacking. The classic mistake? Clinging to old habits until you find yourself in the dark, ill-equipped. At WildTactic, we consider this light transition a fundamental safety issue.

The winter time trap: when 5 p.m. becomes the new night

The switch to winter time creates a misleading illusion. Psychologically, 5:30 p.m. still evokes the afternoon, but physically, civil twilight ends and darkness sets in. This cognitive dissonance leads us to underestimate the time remaining before complete darkness. A hike started at 2 p.m., thinking we had "several hours" of daylight, ends in total darkness at 5:45 p.m., whereas the same hike in July would have still offered six hours of usable daylight.

The speed of the transition accelerates dramatically. In June, twilight lingers lazily over 90 minutes. In November, the switch from day to night takes place in a mere 45 minutes. This compression leaves little room for error: as soon as you notice the light fading, you have a maximum of 20-30 minutes before you need artificial light for any specific activity. Setting up camp, cooking, or even simply packing your bag becomes impossible without a lamp.

Halloween, just a few days away, perfectly symbolizes this period of transition when darkness reclaims its place. But unlike decorative pumpkins, your bushcraft outing requires functional and reliable lights.

Time planning becomes as critical as the map and compass: systematically calculate the sunset time for your area (easily accessible via weather apps or ephemerides), subtract 30 minutes to get the deadline for setting up camp , and add a safety margin of an additional 45 minutes.

Lighting equipment: your nighttime life insurance

A headlamp is the essential piece of equipment this season. Unlike a handheld torch, it frees up both hands for more complex tasks like setting up camp, handling the stove, or preparing food. Our high-performance Nitecore LED headlamps can deliver up to 1000 lumens at maximum brightness, transforming the forest night into artificial daylight. But this raw power matters less than battery life and the versatility of the lighting modes.

Choose models that offer at least three modes :

• Maximum power for night navigation or tasks requiring precise vision (min. 200-500 lumens is more than sufficient),
• medium mode for common camping activities (min. 200 lumens),
• and economy mode which preserves night vision while maintaining functional visibility (min. 100 lumens).

Red mode deserves special mention for nighttime bushcraft. This red light preserves your eyes' adaptation to darkness, allowing you to instantly switch from artificial light to natural night vision . This is essential for observing wildlife, maintaining orientation by the stars, or simply avoiding dazzling your camping companions. The transition from white light to darkness requires 10-15 minutes of complete readjustment, a period during which you are vulnerable. Red mode eliminates this limitation.

Tactical flashlights are an ideal complement to a headlamp. Their focused beam reaches 200-300 meters, transforming nighttime exploration or route finding into a safe exercise. Our robust models withstand shocks, rain, and sub-zero temperatures without failure. Their 800-1200 lumen output also provides an emergency signaling function visible from several kilometers away. Always carry a flashlight in addition to your headlamp: redundancy in lighting systems is not a luxury but a basic safety precaution.

Energy management: when autonomy becomes critical

The invisible enemy of all winter lighting: the cold that devours batteries . A lithium-ion battery that provides 8 hours of runtime at 20°C drops to 4-5 hours at 0°C, and can fall below 2 hours at -10°C. This drastic degradation transforms a planned outing into a race against time for energy. The professional solution: store batteries and lights in an inside jacket pocket, close to the body, where the temperature remains acceptable.

Always keep a stock of spare batteries proportional to the length of your trip. For a two-night weekend (approximately 26 hours of total darkness), plan for three complete sets of batteries, even though theoretically one should suffice. This redundancy compensates for losses due to cold weather, unexpected uses (searching for a dropped object, an animal prowling around the campsite), and random failures. Our rechargeable AAA and AA lithium battery packs offer superior performance compared to standard alkaline batteries in cold conditions.

Solar power banks lose significant efficiency with the short days and low-angle sunlight of autumn. A panel that fully recharges a smartphone in 4 hours in July requires 8-10 hours in November, assuming the sun is actually shining.

The pragmatic solution: good quality conventional power banks, pre-charged before departure and kept warm .

Stored in an internal pocket close to the body or wrapped in an insulating garment at the bottom of the pack, these batteries maintain their optimal capacity even in sub-zero temperatures. Ansmann batteries , renowned for their excellent cold-weather performance and exceptional durability, maintain up to 85% of their efficiency at -10°C when properly protected. Their high-density lithium-ion technology ensures reliable multiple recharges, regardless of weather conditions. For greater power needs, such as during extended camping trips with multiple occupants, our EcoFlow DELTA 2 or DELTA 3 Plus portable power stations offer even greater capacity, ensuring your devices remain fully powered during prolonged periods of cloud cover.

Camp lighting techniques: creating your own light bubble

Effective lighting for a nighttime bivouac requires a layered approach that goes beyond simply placing a lamp on a rock. A camp lantern suspended from a branch or the ridge of the tarp creates diffused ambient lighting that transforms the space into a functional living area.

Combining downward lighting (a tall lantern) and directional lighting (a personal headlamp) creates a comprehensive system that avoids dangerous shadows. This dual approach also allows for sharing ambient light among several people while retaining individual directional light for specific tasks. The shared lantern also fosters a convivial atmosphere during group camping, creating a luminous focal point around which activities and conversations naturally revolve.

Chemical glow sticks (cyalumes) provide ultra-reliable emergency lighting: no batteries required, activated by a simple bend, lasting 6-8 hours, and completely weatherproof. Hanging a green cyalume at the entrance to your campsite makes it instantly visible during nighttime outings (when nature calls or you need to retrieve equipment), preventing disoriented wanderings that can turn ridiculous or dangerous. A few euros for peace of mind that transforms your nighttime experience.

Behavioral adaptation: reorganizing the outdoor day

The reduced daylight necessitates a complete reorganization of activity timing . The summer model of "departure at 10 a.m., setting up camp between 6 and 7 p.m." becomes impractical. The new autumn paradigm: departure at 8:30 or 9 a.m. at the latest, with camp setup completed by 4:30 p.m. at the latest. These two hours gained before nightfall allow for a calm setup of camp, preparation of firewood/cooking equipment, organization of gear, and even the enjoyment of a contemplative late afternoon before darkness.

This time constraint paradoxically reveals an unexpected advantage : long evenings at the campsite. Where summer kept you busy until 10 p.m. with various outdoor activities, autumn offers 5-6 hours of evening under the tarp or in the hammock, perfect for reading, deep conversations, stargazing, or simply the silent contemplation that modern life denies us. Bringing a good book, a notebook, or equipment repair supplies transforms these hours of darkness into quality time rather than an imposed constraint.

Gradual adaptation facilitates this transition. Starting with outings of a few hours that include a sunset and a return at night allows you to test your lighting equipment and become familiar with the sensations of nighttime without the commitment of a full bivouac. This step-by-step approach builds confidence and reveals necessary adjustments (insufficient battery life, unsuitable beam angle, need for an additional light) before embarking on longer outings.

Halloween and beyond: embracing the dark season

Halloween, just a few days away, culturally celebrates the shift towards the darker time of year. But for outdoor enthusiasts, this transition doesn't mark an end but rather a metamorphosis of their practice. The nocturnal forest reveals a dimension invisible in broad daylight: absolute silence broken only by natural creaks and crunches, the luminous eyes of animals caught in your beam, and countless stars freed from urban light pollution.

Mastering lighting transforms this seasonal constraint into a strategic advantage. Properly equipped and intelligently organized, you can extend your outdoor season by six months, while most people abandon their activities until spring. At WildTactic, we consider this nighttime skill as fundamental as navigation or fire-starting: a cornerstone of complete self-sufficiency.

Winter time is not a curse but an invitation to rediscover the outdoors in its fascinating nocturnal guise. Provided, of course, that you have the right lights to appreciate it.