Best compact flashlight for $50

I think that the Peak Mckinley Series flashlight fits your needs very well. It is about as bright as the X5, and half as big. It is also regulated for a long runtime at full brightness. The peak is small enough to carry at all times, for example in the watch pocket of a pair of jeans. Anything too much bigger than that may be difficult to carry with you as a true EDC.

If you are looking for something bigger and brighter, something you can put in the glove compartment or something, I would say a Surefire G2 would be excellent, and it can be upgraded to LED now anyway. Another good bright LED light is the Inova XO3. All the above run on cr123a cells, which should work in low temperatures.
 
Hey James, would you be able to direct me to any reviews or discussion of that drop-in replacement for the P60/90 LAs?
I haven't been keeping up with CPF, and wouldn't even know where to start looking, or what terms to search for.
Thanks:)
 
jmxcpter said:
Nathan, if my L4 is a true 60 lumens, then the Nuwai is probably around 40-45. They claim 75 but in all my comparisons, its not quite as bright as several 60 lumen rated Surefires. Still plenty of light in a small package.

John
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OK, that's helpful, thanks John. I have an L4, and simply couldn't (and can't) imagine something that was brighter on a single CR123.
 
farmboy said:
I usually buy Pelican Pelilites for the guys. My good God, those things are tough. I do have to replace 'em, but not because they're broken. It's because they're stolen.
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Dont they do some LED versions now too?

My current flashlight carry is my old mini maglite with a high power luxeon conversion kit. I love the reaction from people 'why is your mag lite so much brighter than mine :grumpy: '
 
The Q-III cannot have 75 lumens and 1.5 hour runtime at full brightness. First of all they all contain s-binned LEDs that have a maximum brightness at 750 mA(the most a single 123 cell can deliver after the voltage is stepped up) of 60 lumens. To get 1.5 hour runtime you would need to drive the LED at ~700 mA, asuming no voltage loss under load, no internal resistance, and a 100% efficient converter. You get ~56 lumens a full brightness with this much current, and 123 cells drop to ~2.5 v after ~5 minutes. Oh yeah and not to mention losses through the reflector and lense. Oh yeah and lumelids tests their luxeons at 25 degrees celsius and keeps then at that so they are more efficient.

Long story short(you all say "Too late"), there is no way in h*ll a Q-III can have 75 lumens out the front end until the new luxeons are released.
 
i have a Q III and never said they have 75 lumens, nor have i heard of many other owners say this.....we just think its a great light for the money.

the only company that seems to be honest in their lumen rating is Surefire.

eyeballing the Q III against other lights i own, i guess that its putting out about 55 lumens...........but thats just a guess
 
I think the best deal going on a flashlight is the Surefire G2. Size, durability, and brightness can't be beat at $37! If you want a light that's gonna let you see into an empty container or under a trailer, the G2 will definately work for you (60 lumens ~3 hour runtime, or 120 lumens at 1.5 hour run with bulb swap!).

The lithium batteries are also cheaper on the web than at the drugstore, making the 'expense' of batteries less of a factor.

Regards,

Jeremy
 
Jerok said:
I think the best deal going on a flashlight is the Surefire G2. Size, durability, and brightness can't be beat at $37! If you want a light that's gonna let you see into an empty container or under a trailer, the G2 will definately work for you (60 lumens ~3 hour runtime, or 120 lumens at 1.5 hour run with bulb swap!).

The lithium batteries are also cheaper on the web than at the drugstore, making the 'expense' of batteries less of a factor.

Regards,

Jeremy
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www.batterystation.com has G2s for thirty dollars.
 
Hey Jerok, I thought it was 60 Lumens for 60 minutes, or 120 Lumens for 20 minutes with the P61 Lamp. :?:
 
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