[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Recommend a flashlight (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 8/26/2010 8:28:11 PM EDT
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I recently moved....and well, I can't find the flashlight I used to love.
I had an off-brand 85 Lumen small flashlight that I truly enjoyed. Looking to seek out a replacement for it sometime soon. So... what do you guys like or use? Not looking for a weapon-light, just a regular flashlight that's somewhat compact and rugged. |
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Correction.
I had a cheap offbrand $30 "120" lumen flashlight. It's the one on the homepage of the nightsiters |
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My Surefire LX2 and G2 have served me well, I carry my LX2 with me at all times (comes in handy for my job) and the G2 stays in the wife's car and gets the occasional use in the house. With that said, they use the CR123 batteries which is nowhere near as plentiful as AA or AAA. The G2 can be had for $30-50, which is a steal imo. |
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Surefire E2D LED Defender. Light, wicked bright, a very useful low mode, and the strike bezel can really lay down some hurt if you need. I really like the strike bezel. Any clue on a price range for these, as well as lumen output? I paid about $130 for mine. Surefire MSRP is a little more. There are two versions of the light. The very early run E2DLs had a 120lm high/5lm low. The newer (current) version is 200/5 FWIW, I have the 120/5 version, and it really lights up the night. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Surefire E2D LED Defender. Light, wicked bright, a very useful low mode, and the strike bezel can really lay down some hurt if you need. I really like the strike bezel. Any clue on a price range for these, as well as lumen output? Get it from brightflashlights.com, he's a vendor here and sells all sorts of flashlights. Very happy with his pricing and service. http://www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?b=2&f=142 |
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Costco sells a three pack of Chinese made flashlights that basically kick ass for $17.99. Use 3-AA batteries, has a Cree LED and supposedly puts out 100 lumens. Batteries last a good while. Has a low battery warning. I like them better than my Surefire and Streamlight Scorpion (both CR123 lights). A good $6.00 utility light that puts out a decent amount of light. |
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I love my Nitcore Defender. I also use a Fenix TK11. If you are looking for cheap, but good. Check out Dealextreme.com. They have quite a few flashlights that would work very well for you around $15-$20. Thats what I was going to come in to type. I had a Surefire E2D LED. Great flashlight! cost $120. was stolen out my desk I had a surefire 6p LED. Also Great flashlight! Cost about $85. Lost it. After that I bought a couple fairly inexpensive lights from deal extreme. Such as below http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14027 so far I'm pleased. And if I lose it, not a huge deal. |
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If you can spend 150 bucks the Ra clicky is arguably the best flashlight made. The Chinese ones others have mentioned are decent but there is nothing like the Ra clicky. Better than surefire as well.
I have told a couple others on this site about them and they bought them...they love em. |
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Streamlight Stinger LED.
http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=123 Bought one about the first of the year, & love it. Comes with 1 light 2 chargers. I think it is a trap to get you to buy the second light later> It worked for me. Got one mounted in my truck, & one mounted to the wall in the shop. |
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How about very compact and bright? http://www.techtoolsupply.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ITP-A3-EOS ITP 80 lumen ok?  |
| Fenix LD10. I love being able to just grab a commonly available AA in a pinch and rock on. I leave a set of rechargable batts ready to go and swap when the one in the light seems to need it. I swap batts with daily (albiet brief durations) use about once every 3-5 months depending on amount of use. |
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I bought an off-brand flashlight for myself from a warehouse store in 2007. The company is called Coast, the flashlight is an LEDLenser. There's a number below the name––598894.
Ah...Found it! Back then, it was $79 dollars...Now, they're about $54 (our Ho'Depot carries them). Very, very bright flashlight for the money. Single LED (CREE? Not sure), focusable (is that a word?) lens, runs off of three AAA batteries. I have used mine nightly (I work either nights or mids) on the flightline, minimum of an hour's worth of burn time per night. I get about 6 weeks of light out of it before I change batteries (and the light is still usable, I just like a bright beam). Has lived in my pocket since I bought it, even carry it when I'm not at work. Absolutely the best flashlight I've ever bought. I use Mag-Lite LEDs too...but have been having some issues with the last two I bought lately. I've got the newer Mag-Lite LEDs (no spare incandescent bulb in the tube under the spring), and they have a tendency to flicker, dim, or just plain not work. I've got one that seems to be OK if I smack the head into my thigh, but the problems start again after shutoff or abrupt movement. I thought I had a bad 'un, so bought another...the second flashlight does the same thing, so it might be a problem with the newer Mag-Lite LEDs. My older Mag-Lites that I've upgraded with LED "bulbs" do not give me this problem. I have friends with Surefires...but they only use them when the .gov gives them batteries. None of us make enough to buy those CR123 (right number?) batteries for as long as they last... |
I love my Surefires, but for everyday use I use my Fenix or Nitecores more, mailny because they run on AA batteries. With the LEDs available today, you can get some incredible light from a palm sized light running on AAs, as opposed to the more expensive 123s. I'd love to get a Quark. 
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Im old school. I still like mag lights in all calibers. I have the AA ones in my truck and a 4C one in the nightstand. This generally.. But I got a couple of those LED 2 d cell streamlight ones, they work good too.. I also have some truckstop brand red led light that I found cheap that works great for picking nightcrawlers 
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on a budget I really like fenix lights, they're in the industry forum! Their small 1 cell lights outperform a lot of bigger lights and they're pretty rugged. I've used one for years as my everyday pocket light.
Also, you can't beat a surefire. I have the E2DL (older 120/5 lumen version) and its fantastic. Really throws well and performs way better than 120 lumens (they under-rate their lights). But the strike bezel really chews up your pockets and clothes if you're carrying it with casual wear. Just a warning there! The E1B is a tempting choice as well, I would love to get one of those at somepoint. Great size and output. I would love an LX2 because of the 200/15lumen output, but I don't have the $$ for that anytime soon. Also check out Jetbeam flashlights. I have a couple and I've been pretty impressed with performance and throw. Good luck! |
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Get a surefire
The 6p led is a real good flashlight; also the surefire l1 lumamax is also a good, and has a long battery life. I also have a original 6p that I bought the led conversion for, and rechargeable battery. I have used very hard for 5 years never let me down. Well it did if I for got to charge it. Stay away for inforce flashlights I brought one; 3 mouths later it died. |
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I had one of these. Going to order another 3, just incase I lose it again.
220 Lumen Flashlight It's bright just on the AA's. I'm thinking I may get a few 14500 and see how those work. 
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4Sevens Quark AA (or 123) Tactical. Cadillac of pocket lights. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uE0wtsbZdVk/StTU7A1ivII/AAAAAAAACHM/SeYKqAY61xE/s320/QAA.jpg This, it is my favorite pocket light. |