AR Sponsor
Posted: 8/28/2009 4:57:40 AM EDT
|
I am quite confused as to what flashlight would suit my purposes. I'm asking for advice. I have an older SF 6Z light that I hardly use, as it's too bulky for keeping in my pocket. Now that my son broke it, I am looking for a smaller replacement.
I want a general use flashlight to keep on my person for working on equipment, power outage, finding my way in the dark. Use with a pistol not likely. I'll get a dedicated flashlight for that use. Requirements: 1-2 AA cell, either alkaline/lithium or rechargeable capable. Smaller than a SF 6Z. AMERICAN made, no Chinese stuff. LED, at least 3-4 hours runtime at full power. Neutral or warm color beam. Multi-output levels a bonus. Say low for closeup work, high for navigating or finding my way. Momentary-on not really needed. Prefer quiet click on and off, no twist on/off. I looked around here and Candlepower forum and only ended up really overwhelmed with info. |
|
Quoted:
Requirements: 1-2 AA cell, either alkaline/lithium or rechargeable capable. Smaller than a SF 6Z. AMERICAN made, no Chinese stuff. LED, at least 3-4 hours runtime at full power. Neutral or warm color beam. Multi-output levels a bonus. Say low for closeup work, high for navigating or finding my way. Momentary-on not really needed. Prefer quiet click on and off, no twist on/off. Sorry, if you don't want Chinese, wait five years then MAYBE an American manufacturer will have what you want. Flashlight innovation is either Custom stuff (Candlepowerforums) or "Offshore"! IF you can bring yourself to consider "off shore", I'd highly recommend the Fenix P1D Premium, it uses one CR123 battery but the light output vs size is INCREDIBLE! 
A few specs: 5 Output Levels: 96 lumens (2.8hrs) -> 180 lumens (1hrs) -> 16 lumens (21hrs) -> Strobe -> SOS Size - Length 2.8 in, Diameter 0.8 in Durable Type III hard anodized finish Water-resistant (dunkable) (I accidentally ran mine through the washer & dryer and it still works!) PursuitSS |
|
I have yet to jump on the fenix bandwagon. Surefire is my prefered light mfg choice. However check out this.
American made. AAA light by Maratac. http://countycomm.com/aaastainless.html mine is on order. that is the stainless version. they make an aluminum version. By any chance, what did you do with the 6Z? wanna get rid of it? Gander mountain also has a AA light, that I just picked up. cheap at only $30. supposedly 120 lumens but when compared to my SF E2DL 120 lm, it is not quite the same. |
|
Well I try to avoid Chinese stuff on principle - it's usually crap, made by slaves, and I certainly don't want to fund a future enemy. However, being realistic, it's about impossible to not buy Chinese due to lack of available choices from American companies. Maybe idealistic of me, but there it is.
I really don't want a CR123 light. I want to be able to use more commonly available AA cells, especially since I'm well stocked on rechargeable AAs. |
|
Quoted:
I have yet to jump on the fenix bandwagon. Surefire is my prefered light mfg choice. However check out this. American made. AAA light by Maratac. http://countycomm.com/aaastainless.html mine is on order. that is the stainless version. they make an aluminum version. By any chance, what did you do with the 6Z? wanna get rid of it? Gander mountain also has a AA light, that I just picked up. cheap at only $30. supposedly 120 lumens but when compared to my SF E2DL 120 lm, it is not quite the same. Son threw it into the empty bathtub one time too many, killed the lamp module. It's got a fair amount of wear on it, due to being carried in a pocket full of other stuff. It's marked "NTI", since I got it at the "National Tactical Invitational" back in the mid-90s. Frankly, I got pretty tired of it - it's really too large for convenient pocket use, and I need a light that isn't burdensome to carry everyday. But if you want to buy it, IM me...we can work something out. |
|
Chinese lights are crap. I've ordered half a dozen over the past year or so and they always end up breaking or not functioning correctly.
The "hot stuff" light over at Candlepower Forums right now is the Quark series. I got one the other day, a single AA battery model, because I too want to use cheap AA batteries. It flickers terribly and there's no difference between "high" and "max" settings. Also, it's way dimmer than the claimed 90 lumens on max. And if I click the light on, then touch the button a few times without clicking it, the light will flicker and turn off. Customer service told me that the flickering was normal.  Their solution for the light shutting off was to tighten a "locking ring" on the body with pliers. It didn't work, and the marks on the body will probably void my ability to return it. Since I told them that it didn't work, they haven't responded.
If you want a POS light then go ahead and buy Chinese. If you want to buy something that will work no matter what, but still meet your needs, buy a smaller LED Surefire. Here is a 45 lumen Surefire E1L on the left, a "90 Lumen" Quark on the right. 
|
| I use a Fenix AA and have been VERY happy with it. I am the kind of person who has multi hundred dollar lights and likes good stuff. I would try the Fenix. Its well made, its very reliable. The older lights had a bright to dim flicker when activating the low output mode but the new ones dont. It is by far the light I have used the most in my entire life and the light I like the most as I run it with AA Eneloops so its "FREE" vs things that use 123 cells. I use it almost daily. China or not I HIGHLY reccomend it. I have seen lots of China made lights that suck... the Fenix is VERY nice in both function and looks. Its not as bright as they claim but its close. For example my Seouled Gladius is supposed to have similar output with both on max but the Gladius is visibly brighter. It still works out to 50+ yards on turbo and has a wider beam than the Gladius. I want to buy like 10 and give them away to family members for Christmas they have impressed me so much over the life of my personal light. |
|
Here is a post I made in a earlier thread:
FENIX produces an OUTSTANDING light. I have well over a thousand dollars worth of Surefire's (Not hard to do) and here is a comparison between a Centurion C3 ($139.00) with a KL5A LED Head (ANOTHER $150) for a total of $289.00 for the Surefire and a Fenix P1D Premium Q5 at $49.95 I'll let the beam shots speak for themselves, the Surefire is on the left the Fenix is on the right. I drank the Surefire "Koolaid" WAY TOO LONG! 
The following is a list of the Surefire lights and cost that I have purchased: C3 Centurion w/ KL5A Led Head $289.00 M6 Guardian $425.00 M900A $625.00 + a Larue LT-170 Mount $79.00 + the Surefire FM17 beamcover at $39.00 TOTAL $743.00 6P $62.00 So I think I can safely say I have bought my share of American made flashlights! SO FAR I have only purchased ONE Fenix Light, the Fenix P1D Premium Q5 at $49.95. If you look at my beam shot photos I posted it has a BETTER beam than the $289 Surefire Centurion C3. PursuitSS |
|
South African made:
Intelligent Flashlight I also have an 'intelligent switch' for my mini-maglight. It gives me 3 levels of brightness, plus fast/slow flashing. |
|
You may consider our new Elzetta ZFL-M60. It is Made in the USA with Malkoff Devices technology.
It runs on two 123A batteries but is very short for a 2 cell Light (under 5 inches long). 
www.ELZETTA.com |
|
You can go to Candlepower forums and read all the hype. I think a lot of posts there are placed by the importers / manufacturers of substandard products. I've tried a lot of lights. The latest wonder light on candlepower forums usually turns out to be junk.
I am very discerning. I find that Fenix lights are excellent. Other brands I consider good are Inova and Surefire. Streamlight have some good models, but output never seems to be as good as claimed (not far off though, about on a par wth Fenix in the output claims). All the Fenix lights offer an excellent combination of light output, quality of beam, quality of construction, and runtime. They also come with spare parts, which is nice. I like Inova T Series fo general use, and Streamlight TLR1 for a pistol light. My AR wears a Fenix TK10. I have a Surefire E2D (LED) which is very good (not sure I have the correct designation there). I also have a couple of Fenix small pocket lights and they are great too. Bottom line - stick with Fenix, Inova, Surefire, and you will be OK. Streamlight can be good too. Avoid the latest hyped Chinese wonder light touted on Candleforums.com (that includes the ones that look like US lights and turn out to be Chinese imports) |
|
Quoted:
... I am very discerning. I find that Fenix lights are excellent ... ... Avoid the latest hyped Chinese wonder light touted on Candleforums.com (that includes the ones that look like US lights and turn out to be Chinese imports) Mr. Discernment, Fenix lights ARE Chinese "wonder lights". 
|
|
I got a new Surefire LX2 off of fleabay for 160 bucks shipped. It takes 123a batteries though. 200 lumens for 2 hours, 15 lumens for 47 hours.
http://www.surefire.com/LX2-LumaMax |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
... I am very discerning. I find that Fenix lights are excellent ... ... Avoid the latest hyped Chinese wonder light touted on Candleforums.com (that includes the ones that look like US lights and turn out to be Chinese imports) Mr. Discernment, Fenix lights ARE Chinese "wonder lights". http://www.fenixlight.com/UploadFiles/2008116103346756.jpg Yes, but my pointis that Fenix are genuine wonder lights, as opposed to hyped wonderlights - big difference |
|
Quoted:
Requirements: 1-2 AA cell, either alkaline/lithium or rechargeable capable. Smaller than a SF 6Z. AMERICAN made, no Chinese stuff. LED, at least 3-4 hours runtime at full power. Neutral or warm color beam. Multi-output levels a bonus. Say low for closeup work, high for navigating or finding my way. Momentary-on not really needed. Prefer quiet click on and off, no twist on/off. The deal buster is American made, otherwise you can find what you want. I have numerous Surefires but they've all been upgraded with Malkoff M60s. It is sad to see Surefire react so slow to technology. In my pocket i have a Fenix L1t. It takes one AA and puts out 98 lumens for over an hour. It also puts out a very useable 16 lumens for 15 hours. It blows my 65 lumen Surefires away, some of which are 2 and 3 times the cost and size. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Requirements: 1-2 AA cell, either alkaline/lithium or rechargeable capable. Smaller than a SF 6Z. AMERICAN made, no Chinese stuff. LED, at least 3-4 hours runtime at full power. Neutral or warm color beam. Multi-output levels a bonus. Say low for closeup work, high for navigating or finding my way. Momentary-on not really needed. Prefer quiet click on and off, no twist on/off. The deal buster is American made, otherwise you can find what you want. I have numerous Surefires but they've all been upgraded with Malkoff M60s. It is sad to see Surefire react so slow to technology. In my pocket i have a Fenix L1t. It takes one AA and puts out 98 lumens for over an hour. It also puts out a very useable 16 lumens for 15 hours. It blows my 65 lumen Surefires away, some of which are 2 and 3 times the cost and size. I've been really researching the fancy flashlights that are supposedly better than Surefire over the past few days, with the intention of dropping some money on whatever was worthwhile. Other than the Fenix TK40, I can't find anything that significantly outperforms the newer LED offerings from Surefire, and in some cases, the Surefire options are better. Sure, they're more expensive, but what do you expect for something machined in America vs machined in China? Frankly even when looking at the Malkoff drop ins, the standard G2 LED is pretty awesome, 80 lumens for 11-12 hours. Yeah I could get something with 200 or 500 lumens for a few hours or less, but as a weaponlight the regular 80 lumen bulb does quite well and has much better battery life... I would take the G2 LEDs I currently use as weaponlights over the 225 lumen M3 I used in Iraq for room clearing any day, and it's not just a battery life issue, or even a size issue...that 80 lumens is just about perfect for room clearing. I see a lot of claims from Fenix and others, have owned them, did not find that they lived up to those claims, scroll up for a photo of my "90 lumen" Quark compared to a 45 lumen Surefire. |
| I've got an Olight AA light that is made as well or better than my Fenix TK-11. I've got a lot of lights, and it is my go-to light for everything. Olight also makes some impressive tactical lights. Their I25 Infinitum light takes 2 AA's and is rated for 205 lumens for 2.5 hours and the website says it's built to meet Mil-spec MIL-STD-810F. Maybe that is a bunch of hype, but my little T-15 has taken a bunch of abuse with no problems. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Requirements: 1-2 AA cell, either alkaline/lithium or rechargeable capable. Smaller than a SF 6Z. AMERICAN made, no Chinese stuff. LED, at least 3-4 hours runtime at full power. Neutral or warm color beam. Multi-output levels a bonus. Say low for closeup work, high for navigating or finding my way. Momentary-on not really needed. Prefer quiet click on and off, no twist on/off. Sorry, if you don't want Chinese, wait five years then MAYBE an American manufacturer will have what you want. Flashlight innovation is either Custom stuff (Candlepowerforums) or "Offshore"! IF you can bring yourself to consider "off shore", I'd highly recommend the Fenix P1D Premium, it uses one CR123 battery but the light output vs size is INCREDIBLE! http://knives.cx/store/images/p1dq5-1.jpg http://www.march-rabbit.jp/images/fenixp1d.jpg A few specs: 5 Output Levels: 96 lumens (2.8hrs) -> 180 lumens (1hrs) -> 16 lumens (21hrs) -> Strobe -> SOS Size - Length 2.8 in, Diameter 0.8 in Durable Type III hard anodized finish Water-resistant (dunkable) (I accidentally ran mine through the washer & dryer and it still works!) PursuitSS what are you dudes using to mount that sucker on a picatanny rail? |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Requirements: 1-2 AA cell, either alkaline/lithium or rechargeable capable. Smaller than a SF 6Z. AMERICAN made, no Chinese stuff. LED, at least 3-4 hours runtime at full power. Neutral or warm color beam. Multi-output levels a bonus. Say low for closeup work, high for navigating or finding my way. Momentary-on not really needed. Prefer quiet click on and off, no twist on/off. The deal buster is American made, otherwise you can find what you want. I have numerous Surefires but they've all been upgraded with Malkoff M60s. It is sad to see Surefire react so slow to technology. In my pocket i have a Fenix L1t. It takes one AA and puts out 98 lumens for over an hour. It also puts out a very useable 16 lumens for 15 hours. It blows my 65 lumen Surefires away, some of which are 2 and 3 times the cost and size. I've been really researching the fancy flashlights that are supposedly better than Surefire over the past few days, with the intention of dropping some money on whatever was worthwhile. Other than the Fenix TK40, I can't find anything that significantly outperforms the newer LED offerings from Surefire, and in some cases, the Surefire options are better. Sure, they're more expensive, but what do you expect for something machined in America vs machined in China? Frankly even when looking at the Malkoff drop ins, the standard G2 LED is pretty awesome, 80 lumens for 11-12 hours. Yeah I could get something with 200 or 500 lumens for a few hours or less, but as a weaponlight the regular 80 lumen bulb does quite well and has much better battery life... I would take the G2 LEDs I currently use as weaponlights over the 225 lumen M3 I used in Iraq for room clearing any day, and it's not just a battery life issue, or even a size issue...that 80 lumens is just about perfect for room clearing. I see a lot of claims from Fenix and others, have owned them, did not find that they lived up to those claims, scroll up for a photo of my "90 lumen" Quark compared to a 45 lumen Surefire. Well surefire tends to underrate their lights, giving a minimum guaranteed lumen rating instead of the actual lumen rating, they have started to change this, the LX2 for example is rated by them at 200 lumens, and from what most people have measured is between 200-250, IIRC. I personally stayed away from the quarks, even though I heard good things about them of CPF, I went through a Chinese light phase, but realized pretty quick that while more affordable you do get what you pay for, although there are defiantly some gems in the rough that I am glad I bought. The eagletac M2, malkoff MD4 wildcat, the eagletac M2, and the olight M30, are all 400-600 true lumen lights, beating any of surefire's LED offerings. (so far, the M3 LED they have been promising for something like 3 years now? should be at least 400 OTF lumens, and have an awesome beam with the surefire TIR optic, but I have my doubts we will see it this year) One thing about surefire's P60 LED is that, from my understanding, it lacks regulation and will drop in brightness over its runtime, so while it will run for 11-12 hours how bright is it gonna be at those last few hours vs. the beginning. |
|
Ummm, if your Surefire broke, don't they have a Lifetime No-Hassle Guarantee???
|
|
Um yes, but 1) it's an old flashlight, and it's been subject to what I consider abuse, so I am not going to ask Surefire to pay for fixing it. 
|
|
Quoted:
Chinese lights are crap. I've ordered half a dozen over the past year or so and they always end up breaking or not functioning correctly. The "hot stuff" light over at Candlepower Forums right now is the Quark series. I got one the other day, a single AA battery model, because I too want to use cheap AA batteries. It flickers terribly and there's no difference between "high" and "max" settings. Also, it's way dimmer than the claimed 90 lumens on max. And if I click the light on, then touch the button a few times without clicking it, the light will flicker and turn off. Customer service told me that the flickering was normal. Their solution for the light shutting off was to tighten a "locking ring" on the body with pliers. It didn't work, and the marks on the body will probably void my ability to return it. Since I told them that it didn't work, they haven't responded.
If you want a POS light then go ahead and buy Chinese. If you want to buy something that will work no matter what, but still meet your needs, buy a smaller LED Surefire. Here is a 45 lumen Surefire E1L on the left, a "90 Lumen" Quark on the right. http://www.545ar.com/SFQuark.jpg I'm shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you, to find out that a lot of the lights on the market suck balls. SHOCKED. I guess next you'll try to tell me that there's a difference in the service life and reliability of the average Olympic AR as compared to the average Colt 6920. |
|
For a general-purpose, made-in-USA light that can fit in your pocket comfortably, I'd recommend the SF L1, E1B, or the E1L. Unfortunately (per your specs), they use CR123s, but they're tougher than crap, work great, and have great beams. They're also pretty comfortable to carry.
Otherwise, the Fenix lights are the only other viable options that I've found. BTW––it sounds like all your 6Z needs is a new lamp. You might try one of the new LED drop-ins, like a Malkoff. For just a little cash, you'll have an incredible new house light. |
|
Quoted:
I'm shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you, to find out that a lot of the lights on the market suck balls. SHOCKED. I guess next you'll try to tell me that there's a difference in the service life and reliability of the average Olympic AR as compared to the average Colt 6920. They're sending it back - they say the cap needed to be tightened - not sure how that's possible since after their email telling me to tighten the lock ring and cap I did so in a vise... |
|
Quoted:
For a general-purpose, made-in-USA light that can fit in your pocket comfortably, I'd recommend the SF L1, E1B, or the E1L. Unfortunately (per your specs), they use CR123s, but they're tougher than crap, work great, and have great beams. They're also pretty comfortable to carry. Otherwise, the Fenix lights are the only other viable options that I've found. BTW––it sounds like all your 6Z needs is a new lamp. You might try one of the new LED drop-ins, like a Malkoff. For just a little cash, you'll have an incredible new house light. I found that the 6Z was a tad large to carry in my already crowded pockets. I also really wanted to switch over to AA batteries. The Fenix light arrived, and seems to be okay. |
|
Quoted:
I see a lot of claims from Fenix and others, have owned them, did not find that they lived up to those claims, scroll up for a photo of my "90 lumen" Quark compared to a 45 lumen Surefire. Something is wrong with your Quark, send it back. I have a 120 lumen Surefire lamp in my G2 and I think it fairly equal to my 98 lumen Fenix L1T. The Surefire takes 2 cr123 and the Fenix takes only 1 AA. I'll see if i can get some pictures tonight. Come on Surefire, get in the game. I want to buy from you. |
|
Received the Quark yesterday...works fine now. Still way dimmer than the 45 lumen E1L.
They claim that they did nothing but tighten the tailcap. I know this to be a lie because 1) there were marks from when I tried to get a keychain ring to attach to the tailcap, yet this tailcap has no marks whatsoever; and 2) the flashlight works fine even if I loosen the lock ring, tailcap and head all 1 complete turn (360 degrees) or more. My guess is there was a tailcap problem and they replaced the tailcap, but they don't want to admit it. |
AR Sponsor