Best Flashlight?

V

Vess

Joined
Oct 2, 2001
Messages
583
Okay, I'll admit that I know nothing about flashlights out on the market now.

Nothing, zip, zilch, zero, nada... :D

So, in terms of bang for your buck or lumens per Canadian dollar, what it the best flashlight that is affordable, useable and won't die permanently after 10 years. I need something with replaceable batteries, and fairly powerful, but not something that'll cost a fortune. How bright is 60 lumens, by the way? I saw something that had a 120 lumen bulb, how bright would that be? :O

What brought on this question: I'm in Toronto, and last summer we had a three-day blackout. I was without a flashlight, and had a few adventures in the dark subway and then in the condominium staircase (no elevators, 23rd floor, sigh) in pitch-black darkness. Got my face slapped more than once on my way up... :P

Sooo, since I don't want a repeat of that incident, I'd like to get a flashlight that will a) let me get home in one piece and find the keyhole b) will last a very long time c) won't cost as much as a Sebenza

Suggestions? :) Keep in mind, I know nothing about flashlights, so be kind and educate me.
 
havent tried one yet but Surfire is spoken very highly of but they can be expensive. I just use a plane ol maglite, heavy but works for me, actually I have a 3D mag in my hand right now looking for a lost pet snake
 
For bright light in a small package you can't beat the typical Surefire.Mine ,5" long will illuminate out to 100 yds ! But that has a 1 hour battery life.For blackouts and similar uses you can't beat LED lights with, depending on number of LEDs, can have 50 hours battery life. Check www.surefire.com and www.ccrane.com .
 
One of my personal favorites is the Streamlight (TT) Twin Task line. Their version with 2 lithiums is very affordable and handy, plus you get the benefits of a bright regular bulb with LEDs for longer run time. Here's a link.

http://www.newgraham.com/streamlight.htm

(it's the 6th or 7th one down the page, depending on color preference)

- Mark
 
If you are looking for a flashlight to carry all the time a Streamlight Scorpion or a SureFire 6P is the way to go, but both only have a "run time" of only an hour on a fresh set of two Lithium batteries. If you are looking for a good flashlight to have "handy" in your house or car, the 2 C-cell Mag-Lite is a very good one. It also might be wise to get a Photon II (or III) to carry...(I carry one in my watch-pocket, along with my SOG CrossCut all the time, and it has come in handy more than once.).
 
The Streamlight Twin Task is a good suggestion, I have a couple of them and they work really well. If, however, you want the best, you have to go with Surefire. To start, go to Surefire's site (www.surefire.com), go to the pulldown menu, select "Catalogs and PDFs", and download the 2004 catalog in PDF form.

A good, useful light to start with is a E2e. It takes 2 CR123 batteries, and puts out 60 lumens for 75 minutes or so. Add to that a KL1 LED conversion head, and you have a very useful EDC flashlight. The KL1 will put out 17 lumens for 4 hours, followed by 11 hours of moderate output, followed by over 50 hours of minimal output. It's a good light to have in an emergency situation, where having a little bit of light is better than no light at all.

As far as lumen comparison goes, I have forgotten what 60 lumens compared to, but I believe that it is much more light than a 4D cell Maglite. As dano suggested, Candlepower forums is a good place to ask questions and read up on the state of the art in personal lighting. It is just as laid back as BF, no one will flame you unless you are really, really asking for it.

The one caveat here is that Surefire is still restructuring its retail operations, so product is scarce. You may have difficulty finding just the light you want; even Ebay is barren. Before the shuffling, you could probably get an E2e for around $70 and a KL1 for $40 or so. Check the "Lights for Sale" section of CPF frequently, you may find a good deal there.

Have fun, Surefires can be addictive, but at least you can tell your significant other that you REALLY needed a good flashlight - "remember the blackout we had?" :D
 
agree the twin task are good, but not as bright as a surefire, i would get the E2e surefire myself, smaller than the Z2/6P/C2/M2 but almost as bright.

really like the twin task though, mine in LED mode is brighter than my inova. i would get a twin task ($25 or so) vs another head for the surefire, easier to pack around/handier/probably cheaper than the head, ya dont wanna be changing heads when ya need light.

but the E2e is my numero uno fav light, the E1e is almost too small for me, and the C2 centurion is my #2, have an emerson marked one i got w/my EKI CQC8 that is hard black anod'ed, looks coool

the G2 nitrolon are good also, but prefer the steel ones


greg
 
Hi !

May I also suggest an Arc Flashlight ?

I always have on my belt, inside its pouch, an ARC LSH-P. This little gem puts between 22 and 25 lumens of light from a Luxeon Led (1Watt). Many people consider it is the perfect EDC.

- It's very small and lightweight (better than a surefire, but the LSHP produces less light)
- It will go more than 2 hours on one CR123 and gives several other hours of usefull light.
- The LED cannot be broken unless you use nuclear weapon :)
- The construction is bombproof, made of hard anodized aluminium type III (like surefires)
- waterproof to 50 feets

Of course, it's not a "self-defense" flashlight and you cannot really blind someone with it. It is also too powerfull for close-up work (get a Arc AAA for that, my wife loves her !). But it will handle everything else perfectly.

There's no "the one light". IMHO, it's best to have 2 or 3 lights with each his own action range. A small led for close-up and general orientation indoor. A 1W/3W Luxeon for a wider range of application. And if you need it, a blinding device like the Surefires.

You'll find a lot of informations on www.candlepowerforums.com, like suggested by other forumites. There's a dedicated Arc forum over there.

Hope this help ...
 
Sounds like you need runtime, reliability, and convenient size over sheer brightness.
I'd check out the Arc AAA, and the CMG Infinity Ultra for compact size and long runtime. The Arc AAA is great for the keyring, while the Ultra uses a AA, and runs longer and has a more usable beam (wider/brighter spill).
The Ultra is a great light, and only $14.50 from www.countycomm.com on their candlepowerforums member's special page (links on CPF).
The Arc LSH is a much brighter light, but is very compact, and still runs for a couple of hours off a 123 battery, and can use 2 AA batteries with a different body. Very practical light.
SureFire's L4 is my favorite, and a joy to use, but probably not the best choice, since it's runtime is just a little over an hour on 2x123, and it gets hot quickly.
Definitely check out CPF.
Careful, though, flashlights are as addictive as knives.
Maybe more so:o
 
I'll echo others with Candlepower being a good source of info.

From personal experience, my big flashlight used to be a Mag 4C. A few years ago I decided to splurge and buy a Streamlight Scorpion (about $60 in Canada). The Scorpion puts out about 60 lumens. When I turned it on, I couldn't believe how much light it put out! The mag is nowhere near in terms of brightness, and I won't even talk about quality of the beam :p

Vess: I saw your post on the Spyderco forum a while back when you were asking for ideas for those awsome cases you make. A nice case that would hold a knife and a small flashlight could be cool. For that though, you might want to look into very small flashlights. The Arc AAA and AA would be good choices. Those are excellent backup and indoor lights. The Arc 4 would also be a good idea. It's a bit larger, but much more versatile.

Guy
 
If you want something on your person all the time, I have found three lights that work very well:
  1. Photon Microlight
  2. ARC AAA
  3. SureFire E2e

Where did all the text go :mad:



For the glove box in the car, nightstand at home, etc.
  • Streamlight Twin Task 3C
  • Streamight TwinTask 3AA LED
  • Mag-lite 4-C or 4-D
The TwinTask (TT) 3C is a very versatile light in that it has LED modes and an adequate high power mode. The LEDs give you long run times and usuable light. High beam will let you find kitty in the tallest tree around with decrease run time. LED mode is great for walking along an unlit sidewalk at night. The 3AA TT is a great little light for glove box or breifcase carry. Not terribly powerful but, powerful enough. Batteries are cheap and plentiful with a good runtime.

Maglites are cheap reliable work lights. They will take a real beating and still function reliably. They are also easy to upgrade. I have a 4-D model that I put a Carley lamp in with high capacity ni-cad batteries and it is a really strong light. It is cheap to use too because of the ni-cad batteries.
 
Wow... Information overload... :) Thanks!

Well, I guess I should have specified that this will be something I'll need on me or in the bag with me during the day. At home I have some huge bulky flashlights, but this will be something that will get me out of a skyscraper building in total darkness through the windowless staircase, or out of the subway. So even a short-lived but relatively bright light will do.

Now after reading up on the subject I'm torn between the Surefire E2E, which just looks very nice to me, and bright too, and the Streamlight Twin Task, which has the LED/Xenon lamp combo which sounds really useful in case I get stuck someplace. But Surefire has a clip to it too, which for some reason really speaks to me, even though the price tag on Surefire is at least double that of the Twin Task.

Now I need to think about size and weight. Surefire sure looks cool, but Twin Taks is nifty... :) Sigh... Decisions, decisions...
 
i like it how the "streamlight" flashlight description at newgraham says
"100,000 hour LEDs never need replacing."


sigh...
 
Vess,
If it is something to keep with you all the time, look at the ARC AA, or CMG Infinity Ultra(like OwenM mentioned). I EDC a ARC AA, an ARC LSH-P, and 2 Photon II(white and green). I have them on me when I am out and about.
The Twintask lights are nice, I want to pick up one of the single 123a models myself(about $20-25.00) but I haven't yet. I don't know what I would do with it, I have plenty of lights, but they are addictive. :)
If I had to pick only one light to carry, it would probably be an AA model. The AA batteries are easy to find, the ARC AA, Infinity Ultra and Inova X1(some people don't like the spotlight of the X1.) can all suck some life out of a "dead" AA battery. I can put a lithium AA in it for long term storage, and if I had too, I could probably make an AAA battery work in it.
Good luck on your choices, let us know what you end up with. :)



Blades
 
I'm suprised no one has mentioned the L4 yet. Essentially the same body as the E2e only it uses luxeon leds. Its more efficient and you won't need to replace bulbs. Throw is going to be less than the E2e.

At 65 lumens though its going to make an X5 look like childs play.
 
My personal favorites:

1. Surefire E2-- "perfect"
2. Steamlight TL-3 xenon-- superbright
3. Arc AA-- superhandy

Stay away from Inova. :barf:
 
Vess, I carry three lights on me;

Surefire E2E
Arc AAA(white)
Photon II(red)

The Arc and Photon rest on my keychain for minor chores, while the E2 comes out only if the situation would really require it(i.e.--blackout, car trouble, etc.). I've had my E2 for quite a while now and it is ALOT brighter than my 4D Maglite, IMO. I have a couple of 4D Mags at home, but the E2 is the first light that I reach for when needed.

Oh, and by the way, the clip on the Surefire must remind you of another item of vital EDC gear....
37667-Spidie.gif
:D
 
If it's just for getting around in a black out i'd get something small like a petzl tikka or even a zipka.....cheap and quite bright for the size....
You'll be able to get out of anywhere no problems...the light is bright enough for walking....it's super light and you won't even notice it in your bag....
 
Well, depending on the finances I'll have to get everything... ARC AA and AAA are nice, TwinTasks are just so affordable they really make me itch, and the Surefire E2E still looks very inviting. And yes, with its clip it will ride very nicely alongside a Spyderco or two that I always carry. The price tag on Surefire E2E is hefty, but maybe I can find a deal here on the forums or online. But for immediate future I will probably settle for a small TwinTask, just have to pick which one, and then get the Surefire E2E later, I always wanted a portable sun in my pocket, especially if it can be used as a flashbang in a shall we say tactical situation... :)
 
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