Affordable flashlight quality / longevity

[FullMetalJackass]

Pelican and Fenix are functional and reasonably priced.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I guess that I am easily satisfied; I have a LED Maglite Solitaire as my EDC light. I just want something that I can turn on and it comes on full power. I don't care about having a light with low, medium and high settings. I favor simplicity and the Solitaire gives it to me. I do wish it put out more that 47 lumens but it does the job. I am not too worried about it lasting a long time; the one I currently have has lasted approximately 5 years so far and even if it died or I lost it tomorrow I can get a new one for under $20.

It's a good light and I carried mine at least a year.
My only real issue got to be not having a pocket clip which made it less easy for me to carry, I added one off the led AAA minimag but it didn't really stay on the light very well.

I have found that it's very easy to get used to a particular light level and the 57 lumens of the solitaire was perfectly adequate.

 

[Lenny]

trust me i felt the same way you guys did
but the low candlelight mode is stupid convenient to have

 

[dialton]

Lights lights lights. I tell ya, they are as addictive as knives. I have had mostly Fenix lights for the last few years but Surefire Streamlight and Olight are a few that are hard to beat and I’m sure there are more that I haven’t tried. I have used Fenix customer service for warranty and had an excellent experience. I do like and utilize multiple brightness levels. Stupid bright is fantastic and fun but the low level around 3-5 lumens is very useful for looking in a bag, inside the car or a late night trip to the bathroom or through the house taking the dog out without bothering the spouse. My PD35 has held up really well and has many features I really like.
If they would stop improving them, I have myself convinced that I would be satisfied with what I have.

 

[unwisefool]

The best flashlight I've had is the Reylight Pineapple. Toss a 14500 in there and you are getting 470 to 800 lumens depending on which LED module you have in there. About $55

Edit to add: it also has a super low moonlight mode which I use a lot.

 

[scdub]

I’ve had a couple of Fenix lights that developed switch issues over time. They were promptly fixed by the company, but still.
I’ve used many Surefires and never seen one fail. I have also EDCed a Photon Microlight on a ball chain around my neck for a decade with no issues.
Two other brands I’ve used and like but don’t have as much time with are Zebra Light and Army Tech (the Tiara C1 has my favorite interface - very simple and the warm tint is very nice on the eyes if you use a flashlight often).

 

[Benbrooks]

One of the big things when you start spending money on lights, is to focus on the quality of the light not the output. Olight makes nice looking lights, which work well, but enthusiasts (myself included) generally feel the light quality is average at best. Whereas the Reylight above, that has a great LED which has a better (warmer) color temp and a higher CRI (making it easier to render accurate colors).

Convoy which was mentioned above is a great brand from China which allows you to get a lot of good stuff for a low price, but they aren’t the sexiest designs.

Reylight also makes great stuff, the Pineapple Mini is absolutely great. Two others to consider:

- Malkoff: excellent value, excellent durability. Just great stuff, look at the MDC line.
- Wurkkos: they make some killer lights that prefer really well for low prices. FC11 and TS21 are ones to look at.

There’s nothing wrong with SureFire, they are great and _always_ work. However they have a tactical focus and are harder to use for EDC tasks given the cool white light and low CRI offerings.

 

[12345678910]

One of the big things when you start spending money on lights, is to focus on the quality of the light not the output. Olight makes nice looking lights, which work well, but enthusiasts (myself included) generally feel the light quality is average at best. Whereas the Reylight above, that has a great LED which has a better (warmer) color temp and a higher CRI (making it easier to render accurate colors).

Convoy which was mentioned above is a great brand from China which allows you to get a lot of good stuff for a low price, but they aren’t the sexiest designs.

Reylight also makes great stuff, the Pineapple Mini is absolutely great. Two others to consider:

- Malkoff: excellent value, excellent durability. Just great stuff, look at the MDC line.
- Wurkkos: they make some killer lights that prefer really well for low prices. FC11 and TS21 are ones to look at.

There’s nothing wrong with SureFire, they are great and _always_ work. However they have a tactical focus and are harder to use for EDC tasks given the cool white light and low CRI offerings.

I prefer the cool light. It's why I am willing to switch to LED's .

If I wanted dim yellow lights, I'd stick with incandescent lamps.

5000 to 6500K is like majic for these aging eyes

 

[unwisefool]

I prefer the cool light. It's why I am willing to switch to LED's .

If I wanted dim yellow lights, I'd stick with incandescent lamps.

5000 to 6500K is like majic for these aging eyes

The nichia 219c are not dim or yellow, they render colors really well and makes it a lot easier to pick things out.

 

[Planterz]

I prefer the cool light. It's why I am willing to switch to LED's .

If I wanted dim yellow lights, I'd stick with incandescent lamps.

5000 to 6500K is like majic for these aging eyes

I can't argue with preference, but if you haven't tried a high CRI Nichia 219C or Luminus. SST-20 at 4000K, you owe it to yourself to try it out.

 

[TheChunk91]

One thing I have realized will probably be harder to find when / if I go looking next is going to be a light that focused 100% on durability and reliability for the money, completely throwing features out the window.
I don't care if I can easily skip and or ignore the modes or I can program the light to operate simply, it's not about being " simple " it's about being barebones and basic.

Call me crazy but I don't want those extra modes / features to be there at all, regardless of how easy they are to deal with and or ignore/ bypass I just don't want them to be there in the first place.

Just on and off maybe with a low mode tossed in, that's all I need / want in a pocket light period.

They may be more expensive that what you’d prefer, but being a guy who appreciates quality tools you would probably like malkoff. Simple, extremely robust, made to last a lifetime and USA made. Worth the money, and really a good value for the quality and durability you get compared to the competition. Check out the MDC 1AA or 2AA.

 

[Hickory n steel]

They may be more expensive that what you’d prefer, but being a guy who appreciates quality tools you would probably like malkoff. Simple, extremely robust, made to last a lifetime and USA made. Worth the money, and really a good value for the quality and durability you get compared to the competition. Check out the MDC 1AA or 2AA.

They look nice and I'm not necessarily turned off by the quality if it'll last and last, but I'm afraid they don't seem to fit my needs.
It seems to be a bit bigger than I like for an EDC pocket light, not really bright enough to replace my work flashlight, and at home I want a large flashlight that's easy to keep track of it it's not in my pocket.

Maybe I'll eventually look into getting one just to experience the quality, but I'm not sure where I'd use it.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Probably the most noticeable thing looking at the Eiger is the potted electronics in the head. after the light engine is built and installed in the head, they fill it with shock and water resistant epoxy (the one on the right).

You can choose the body style (pocket, keychain or lug), optics and led.
Also the method of operation; twisty or plunger (which does both) and single mode or QTC (Quantum Tunneling Composite (which you will have to look up as way too complex to discuss here) the allow for variable increasing output.
Obviously the simplest is single mode; on or off. These lights also use either regular or lithium ion batteries for approximately twice the output.
As you can see, the light is rather simple; choosing all the options, not so much.
Here is the plunger option for quick on and off.

My maratac copper is pretty much shot at this point, so I've been looking into getting a new flashlight in brass and I think I might get the peak eiger.

Based on you're post and the info on their website it seemed really complicated, but then I watched a review which threw out the technical jargon and it makes perfect sense.

Just twist the head, the further you twist the brighter it gets.

I don't like that I have to spend an additional 20+ shipping on an aftermarket pocket clip from Prometheus, but I think it'll be worth it.

Overall I like the appearance too, it reminds me of something NASA or cold war era...ect.

I was going to go with a Maratac brass, but honestly can't stand that little key loop and it looks weird when you remove it because you can tell something is missing.
I looked into the massdrop AAA brass which seemed to be like a better version, but I'm not signing up or waiting till they're available...ect and don't want to overpay through an Ebay vendor.
Lumintop has something but it's not the simplicity I want.


It seems the Peak eiger in brass with the cool white LED and a clip from Prometheus might be just what I'm after.

 

[Venice]

My maratac copper is pretty much shot at this point, so I've been looking into getting a new flashlight in brass and I think I might get the peak eiger.

Based on you're post and the info on their website it seemed really complicated, but then I watched a review which threw out the technical jargon and it makes perfect sense.

Just twist the head, the further you twist the brighter it gets.

I don't like that I have to spend an additional 20+ shipping on an aftermarket pocket clip from Prometheus, but I think it'll be worth it.

Overall I like the appearance too, it reminds me of something NASA or cold war era...ect.

I was going to go with a Maratac brass, but honestly can't stand that little key loop and it looks weird when you remove it because you can tell something is missing.
I looked into the massdrop AAA brass which seemed to be like a better version, but I'm not signing up or waiting till they're available...ect and don't want to overpay through an Ebay vendor.
Lumintop has something but it's not the simplicity I want.


It seems the Peak eiger in brass with the cool white LED and a clip from Prometheus might be just what I'm after.

It is a bit difficult to order from Peak as they basically build the light to your specifications. You can choose the body style, body metal, optic (narrow, medium or Mule) and led.
My previous favorites were stainless keychain with momentary switch and QTC but found the pocket clip was not useful for me. I was just putting them on to keep the light from rolling off of a surface. My current favorites are a brass lug style and a raw aluminum lug with a Mule head; both high CRI.
If you need help deciding, we can go off-line and I will guide you through the process.
Brass lug Nichia high CRI narrow optic with QTC:

Raw aluminum Mule (the one on the right):

 

[Hickory n steel]

It is a bit difficult to order from Peak as they basically build the light to your specifications. You can choose the body style, body metal, optic (narrow, medium or Mule) and led.
My previous favorites were stainless keychain with momentary switch and QTC but found the pocket clip was not useful for me. I was just putting them on to keep the light from rolling off of a surface. My current favorites are a brass lug style and a raw aluminum lug with a Mule head; both high CRI.
If you need help deciding, we can go off-line and I will guide you through the process.
Brass lug Nichia high CRI narrow optic with QTC:

Raw aluminum Mule (the one on the right):

I may want to look elsewhere then , I'm not really wanting to wait much.
It also doesn't seem like they're quite as bright as I'd want.
Remember I'm not exactly a flashlight enthusiast here, so I would not be buying a lithium battery or anything for it.

Maybe paying a little more for the drop AAA brass from an Ebay vendor will be the way to go for me.

 

[scottc3]

Hickory n steel, reads like a life time EDC size flashlight might suite your needs:
Potted electronics is an excellent strategy for longevity, IPX68 rating is a minimum rating, weapons grade milspec qualified is always good- , temperature independent a must in some locations, will not break at the worst moment when absolutely needed;
plus my opinion is get something with really low setting, sometimes called moon light or candlelight, stay away from propriatary batteries, also multi-battery capable simplifies feeding the light, stay away from recharging ports other then magnetic coupling, by definition of above criteria, I love the Goldilocks or Muggle mode on programmable lights for safety n simplicity around the children and uninformed adults, and I like the LED / LEDS to have a tint close to the sun, about 4500 to 5,000 degrees:

105.00 Elzetta Alpha Gen2 one cell weapons grade
150.00 Elzetta Alpha Gen3 one cell weapons grade

https://elzetta.com/

Never bought one, always looking for used, but world class quality with rotary output control.
300.00 plus HDS Systems

HDS Systems: Products - EDC Executive Flashlight, EDC Tactical Flashlight, EDC Rotary, EDC LE, Everyday Carry Flashlight, EDC Flashlight, Ra Clicky

EDC Executive Flashlight, EDC Tactical Flashlight, EDC Rotary, EDC LE, Everyday Carry Flashlight, EDC Flashlight, Ra Clicky

www.hdssystems.com

Any light offered by Prometheus, who now owns Four-Sevens brand, but still makes his own lights in house - maker class; we love both reasonably priced Mini Mark III's and any Malkoff Devices light.
both of which I see you are familiar with.

Some family members love Streamlight offering meeting criteria.

We have several lights meeting above criteria from Wayne /Vinh54 at SkyLumen - maker / modder class. We have a Sky Lumen SL2 / SL2c, but there is a newer rev in the form factor, that might interest you, a Sky Lumen XXI - Compact SBT90.2. Gifted a used 4-D Maglite formfactor replacement that Wayne modded, measured to 2158 lumens, about 9 years ago, still works great.

Sky Lumen

skylumen.com

Can't say I have ever been happy with waste-stream lights, anything with less then 5 year warranty and not meeting above criteria, that when tested the lumen specification shrinks by at least a third with the worse offenders falling to one half spec.

 

[mbkr]

I'm glad to read the favorable comments regarding the Microstream USB. I just ordered one
I have two other Streamlights that use CR123s and they've been excellent. The older one is many years old (10?), has been used a lot, and is my favorite go to flashlight. I've also had stellar luck with Maglites over the years and can recommend them highly.

 

[Dogdrawz]

Nitecore products are worth a look

I'll 2nd that motion. Hell, I just bought another one a few days ago.

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

nitecore

 

[Hickory n steel]

I'm sure nitecore makes a quality product, but nothing I would buy.
They're just to futuristic and or tactical looking for me.