Posted: 7/24/2007 5:11:38 PM EDT
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I'm looking for some small flashlights for my BoB. I was looking at the Pelican Mitylite. Its a basic light but claims 130 hours on the batteries. Anybody use one of these? Anybody got any other recommendations? I would like something small, long battery life taking a few batteries. I use Surefires as backup at work and they eat batteries after a few hours. TIA |
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Theres been a few threads on flashlights around here. BoB lights - Priority twards long battery life, common battery type, durability. I think the only real choice here is LED lights, preferably using CREE or SSCP4 LEDs. The CREE LEDs are currently the newest technology, and offer the most efficient brightness to power usage available. The SSCP4 is a licenced version of the CREE, and is sometimes brighter. My current favorite for the BoB light is the Fenix L2D ce. It has several brightness levels, ranging from 9 lumens (dim, but runs 50+ hours), to 135 lumens (2 hours). I have one in my BoB, but "stress and abuse" tested it at work for a few weeks, and it survived, which is a very good sign. I am very hard on lights  While I havent used that particular pelican light, I have had a few in the past, and they are durable. The Pelican Mitylite is a Xenon, which will give you a decent amount of light, and of good color. The only downside will be battery life, and bulbs burning out. If you choose the mitylite, make sure to pack some spare bulbs and batteries. There are also some lights at Dealextreme.com that look pretty decent. I have some on order, but they havent arrived yet, so I cant review for ya yet. |
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I have a Cree light I got from DealExtreme.com; and, I love it. It has a crenelated bezel like a Surefire E2D. It only uses one CR123 battery; but, it puts out a lot of light. It easily fits in a pocket. Also, it is about 1/6th the price of a Surefire E2D. Here is a link if you want to check it out. Gree Cree P4 |
Ive used the Streamlight Stinger every day for little over a year now , without a problem . I have the one with a piggy back battery and a charger . you will always have a charged battery . the flash light itself is very good for lighting up the night. it cost around 100$ for the set up . IMPO worth every penny
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When it comes to battery life, the LED flashlights have a huge advantage, because many of them offer several brightness settings. Dimming an incandescent flashlight is hideously inefficient (since almost all of the battery power is wasted as heat at low brightness settings). However, dimming is child's play for a LED flashlight (which is equally efficient at low and high brightness settings). This is why you'll often see LED flashlights that are capable of producing 120+ lumens on the highest brightness setting, yet will run for several days non-stop on the dimmest setting. As for brands and models, I can't say enough good things about the Fenix products. Nobody else offers a comparable mix of build quality (rugged type 3 anodization), design sophistication (fully regulated, for constant brightness until the batteries are almost completely dead), and affordable prices (60 bucks or less buys you a VERY nice flashlight). They are currently the best flashlights for the money, IMO. |
Surefire is a very high quality brand, and they make some very durable, bright tactical lights. The only thing I dont like about them is that they use Xenon bulbs, which will burn out at some point, and will drain your batteries much faster than LEDs. If you choose one for your BOB, you will need to pack extra bulbs and more batteries. Surefire has a huge following on these forums as a tactical light. For a BOB light, I still recomend the Fenix L2D ce https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_55&products_id=195&osCsid=b852fefd4d4c4af58ef00967723ebbba |
Surefire is high quality but they eat batteries. I have 2 as back up on duty, a G2 and a 6P. I swear by them both. Thanks for all of the other answers. I'll be checking out the LED Lights. |
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Well i've converted all my lights just about over to led's...... Put a cree in my mini mag lite 2AA wow makes it a totally diffrent light (note this wasn't a cheap conversion 24.95) but i now use the light a lot more than i did before... I converted my surefire g2 over to a cree drop in for 13.95 ....some of the best money i spent in a while if it holds up... My handheld light sabre is a MRV Tactical (link) for a relatively small hanheld light holy crap does this thing have throw   headlamp i like the energizer with the red and white led's that china mart sales i also like the little led tubes (look kinda like a chemlight) for around the tent |
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I just recieved 2 LED flashlights from DealExtreme.com. I got them as possible alternatives for the Fenix light I have been using in my BoB. I bought 3 samples of each light to be tested. I dont have a camera at the moment, so sorry, no pics Linkage to the new lights: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4896 (MTE 5 SSCP4 mode) http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4949 (simply cree) they also have a CREE version of the MTE 5 mode, but they were out of stock. From what I understand, the SSCP4 is slightly brighter. The short of it: Simply cree sucked as a BOB light. Not much better as an EDC. Might be ok as a occasional light. I would not recomend this light overall. The MTE C2 5-Mode SSC 42180 was suprisingly decent. It would be good for a BOB light. Durability was excellent. Brightness on high is pretty good, its no tac light, but bright enough to blind. The strobe mode was VERY disorienting, much more so than the Fenix strobe mode. Brightness on low mode is good enough for trail work. I havent done proper run time tests yet, but it looks good so far. Would also be a good EDC, its a little big for pocket carry, but doable. Would be great on a belt, but it doesnt come with a holster. Its light weight enough that if you stole the clip from a mini-maglite, you could put it on your hat as a headlight. Overall, I would recomend this light as a BOB light if your on a budget. I will be sticking with the Fenix as my main BOB light. I prefer 2AA over 1AA because its slightly more efficient battery wise, and the TURBO mode on the Fenix is astoundingly bright. The color of the Fenix is also better. If for some reason I did not have my Fenix, I would be comfortable with the MTE 5 mode. The Fenix cost me about $60 shipped. The MTE 5 mode is $19 dollars shipped, and has volume discount so 3 of them was actually about $52 Tests include overall quality. Brightness. Beam quality. Durability. The durability test includes an 8' drop onto a hard surface 3 times, 30 seconds of vigorous shaking, and moderate tapping on a hard surface. I do not have the tools for proper run time and brightness tests, so those tests are just from my perception. My BoB light is a Fenix L2D ce, and is the standard that I compare all lights to. It has a fairly good beam, with good white color. The pattern has a good spot for distance throw, but enough spill for walking and working. Battery life is very good, with manufacturer rating of * General Mode: 9 lumens (55hrs) -> 40 lumens (10.5hrs) -> 80 lumens (4hrs) -> SOS * Turbo Mode: 135 lumens (2.4hrs) -> Strobe The L2D ce uses 2 AA batteries. Links: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1dce-l2dce.htm https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_55&products_id=195&osCsid=b852fefd4d4c4af58ef00967723ebbba The lights to be tested: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4949 This is the "simply cree" 1 AA single mode CREE based light. cost is about $9 including shipping. Brightness: about the same as the Fenix L2D ce on medium, just about perfect brightness for working/walking. Color: slightly purple, but definatly ok Beam: center spot is very wide, with little spill. great for trail and work, not great for distance. It is not very centered. Battery life: havent finished testing, but at the 2 hour mark, there is no noticable dimming. Build quality: O-ring seals are pretty crappy. Threads are just ok. very cheeply built. overall, not very good. One of the lights took some some time to get working right out of the box. The other two worked ok. Durability: very poor. All 3 failed the 8' drop test. I was able to rebuild one of them, which then survived the drop test and the other tests. Overall: NOT RECOMENDED FOR A BOB. If you have some skills at rebuilding flashlights, it might be worth buying for a pocket light or to keep around. I personally will not buy any more unless they improve the build quality. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4896 This is a 5 mode SSCP4 based light. (SSCP4 is a licenced copy of the CREE LED) cost is about $19 including shipping. Takes 1 AA battery Brightness: High, medium, and low are roughtly the same as the L2Dce. The L2Dce has a turbo mode which the tested light does not. The tested lights medium and low are slightly brighter than the L2D. Run time on high was about 30 minutes of very bright, then dimmed a lot. I am still checking the low mode. Color: center of the beam is yellowish, but color turns purple as you get farther from the center. Overall color is decent. Beam: Center spot is slightly wider thant he L2D, but overall beam is much smoother. Enough throw for checking out the neiborhood, enough spill for walking/working. Not quite as much throw as the L2D. Build quality: Pretty good. Front O-ring is pretty serious, back O-ring is a little wimpy, but adequate to keep rain out. Threads are all pretty good. Battery does not rattle, and the whole thing seams pretty solid. Very close to the Fenix lights. Durability: VERY GOOD. all 3 lights survived all tests. One light turned off on the drop test, but turned back on just by clicking the switch. I was actually pretty impressed, as I was actually trying to break them. |
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I didn't read through every post so someone might have already said it but in case not I'll give you my opinion. For survival/emergency purposes you need to have a AA light wether it's 2 AA or 8, I have both. Why? You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a AA battery, I'd bet a paycheck every household in your neighborhood has 4 or 5 AA's in remotes, radios etc.. All my critical gear is AA GMRS/Ham/CB/SSB/SW radios, GPS units, many flashlights etc... In the middle of no where when you finally find Floyds Bait/Ammo Fried Catfish and Chicken I'll bet they have AA batteries but no CR123's, if they do have CR123's they'll be 8 bucks a piece. My recomendation is the latest Cree Fenix 2AA, awesome light, simply awesome. |