What flashlight to get for the house

Sr Tyler

Sr Tyler

Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
57
Im looking for a bright flashlight for the house. Not one that i would edc or backpack with. Im looking for something i can see out into the street with for if a shady car was outside. I would proably need at least 800 lumens. Im not looking for anything more than $300 And size is not an issue. If anyone has any ideas on what to get let me know
 
I really like the Fenix TK35 for my "home" flashlight. It is a nice handheld size and throws a good distance for scoping out to the street and is super bright when it needs to be. Or use it on lower settings if you just need a flashlight for looking under the couch for something. 860 Lumens, and around $100. Takes 4x CR123A or 2x 18650.
There may be others that fit your requirements, but the TK35 is the one I own and can recommend.
 
Surefire M6 and a Malkoff MD60 drop in. Very bright and well focused beam with a decent amount of side spill.

Being Surefire and Malkoff, the quality is superb and everything is rock solid. Also, both are made in the USA and have great lifetime warranties.

The MD60 is not 800 lumens but Gene Malkoff takes a realistic measure of lumens so I am sure it is just about the same as any fenix in the 800 lumen category. I have 2 of these setups and I highly recommend them. My 2 cents.
 
The Maelstrom MMU-HD from 4Sevens with some 1200 Lumens would be a nice little flashlight and its only $259
 
Maglight with LED upgrade. I've sued them for YEARS and dad has carried one on him since his days in the service. They are virtually indestructible and they are rather powerful. I have 4 lights around my house for security purposes and they carry a beam clear across my 2 acre lot no problem. I also carry a MiniMag w/ LED upgrade (2 AA batteries) on my side for smaller jobs and they have lasted 5 times longer than any other light I've owned.

So far they're the cheapest light that compete with high end lights such as SureFire. I'd spend $40 on a light that can compete with a $400 light any day.

http://www.maglite.com/productline.asp
 
I second the maglite idea. The current 2D mags with LED's perform much better than the older incandescent ones. The batteries last longer, you don't have a bulb to burn out, and they have a much better beam. They can focus to a good spot and throw a beam a long way.

I have a lot of various lights- Streamlight, Fenix, Pelican, Inova, Nuwaii. My current EDC lights are a Fenix LD01 in my pocket and a PD32 in my briefcase. The PD32 uses 2 CR123 batteries and is very bright, I think something over 300 Lumens, but the 2D maglite will throw a beam farther. I think it is a bad idea to recommend a CR123 light for casual home use because of the expense and/or difficulty of getting batteries, but if someone is willing to go through with that and pay for the much more expensive light then the big lights such as the Fenix TK35 might be a good idea.
 
Third for maglite. The led versions are nice. The 4D version makes a good whoop ass stick too.

My 'house lights' are maglite led, and Thrunite Catapult v3.
 
Personally, I'm considering the 5.11 Light for Life for a home light. It's only around 200 lumens, but it charges in 90 seconds and you dont ever have to buy batteries. It's ideal for being ready to go when you need it and for frequent use. Realistically you never need the crazy amount of lumens around the house, even outdoors it's typically obnoxious.

Sounds like you're looking for more of a home defense type light - I like the Jetbeam BC40 because you could afford to get a few, but if you want to push the limits of your budget the Olight SR91 is about 300.
 
Another vote for a 3 or 4 D LED maglite.According to maglite they rate it at 133 lumens, however, I think your 800+ lumen standard is a bit high all things considered. The police have used the maglites for a long time. YMMV but just my 2 cents.
 
ajbuckelew said:
Another vote for a 3 or 4 D LED maglite.According to maglite they rate it at 133 lumens, however, I think your 800+ lumen standard is a bit high all things considered. The police have used the maglites for a long time. YMMV but just my 2 cents.
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In mn most use the rechargeable SL20x. It is a tank of a light. Also the jet beam is becoming more popular .2
 
How about a Surefire Fury? 500 lumens on high with a wide spill and nice throw, and 15 usable lumens for inside house duties. The difference between 800 and 500 L is not that much. The Fury will seriously light up an area such as a back or front yard, You won't miss much. I agree on the Mag 2D LED's, Great throw and decent beam for a $20 something flashlight.
 
I have a fenix tk45 good throw of light and 4 levels of intensity the highest being 760 lumens and the lowest being 8 and its has a strobe, SOS, and basic flash mode
 
Another vote for the LED Maglight. You could also get a rechargeable spotlight style. I bought one from Sam's, rated at some silly number like 1,000,000 candle power, for about $40. It is bright as hell and illuminated the road from my house - approx 500 feet. Its nice not having to buy batteries every weekend too.
 
An advantage that MagLight has is the LED bulb. The higher end lights do have more candle power, but they drain batteries faster and they're bulbs burn hotter. Most of the to pend lights use xenon bulbs which burn super hot and bright. But when burning that hot they need glass lenses. And what happens wen you get glass hot and you get it wet ( say you go outside in the rain )? Now they have come up with new glass that isn't really glass and it can take the heat, but why go that rout when you can go LED. Plus LED is WAY more shock resistant than any other bulb out there.
 
Sorry, I have a correction to my previous post. The spotlight came from Walmart and it was $18 - Stanley 1M series spotlight. It comes with both an AC and DC chargers so you can keep it in the truck as well.
 
I would say the 3d Maglite - I have three of them in the house, and they never have let me down.

I am not sure if this is still true, but it was that LED would not throw a beam as far as a filament bulb - I remember that on CPF being a frequent topic.

Might be different now though - I have been curious lately about trying the Maglite LED conversion on one of my 3d's to see for myself if there is a profound difference.

best

mqqn
 
mqqn said:
I would say the 3d Maglite - I have three of them in the house, and they never have let me down.

I am not sure if this is still true, but it was that LED would not throw a beam as far as a filament bulb - I remember that on CPF being a frequent topic.

Might be different now though - I have been curious lately about trying the Maglite LED conversion on one of my 3d's to see for myself if there is a profound difference.
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The new maglites have a 250m throw. As far as I can find, they're the best bang for your buck light on the market. Don't bother upgrading an old one - the new ones are only like $25 anyways, and you get the mini with it.
 
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