Cool Flashlights and Bulbs


I luv flashlights!

The Pelican Pro-lights are going to be discontinued!!!!

The best lights on the market are the "Streamlights"!!!!! The SL20X being top notch as are all the
different "stingers" by Streamlight.

I have a smaller Pelican , not great light output. Pelican multiplies it's actual candle power for
advertising reasons. Therefore they are deceptive (marketing). I hate liars!

The "Maglites" are as good as it gets for non-rechargeables. The mini-Maglites suck bad. Get a
Streamlight Jr or a Stinger instead.

Very important difference! The re-chargeable flashlights will always be "brighter" therefore have much
"higher candlepower" than the non-rechargeables.

Try to get a "re-chargeable" light with ac/dc "rapid" chargers. For the Home and the vehicle/car
cigarette lighter slot.

"Surefire" lights made by Laser products are good but way to expensive.


1) Buy a "re-chargeable" for greater "candlepower" output.

2) Buy "STREAMLIGHT" flashlights , THEY ARE THE BEST LIGHT ON THE MARKET!!!
 
David -

Great tip on the xenon bulbs from brinkman. I tried one tonight, even with some marginal batteries, the light was incredibly better.

------------------
-j-
Boise, Idaho


 
Thanks for all the great info and help, guys!!

I like the older Q40 for a few reasons, I guess. I have both types and the older rectangular ones fit better in the Swisstool sheath I modified to fit it. I have been meaning to see if they will fit in a mag pouch...

The Sure-Fires are expensive but excellent. I see them as almost pure tactical lights, not so much for utility. I would love to have one of the new 9Ns, but doubt I can ever justify the expense. Any forumites here have one?

I have been looking at the Streamlight Stingers for a while. Thought it would be a good companion to the 4D Mag with Carley Lamp (Thanks, Walt!) that rides in the truck with me. I figure teh best way to overcome teh shortcomings of rechargeables and alkalines is to have one of each!

------------------
Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
Indianapolis, IN (but still a true-blooded Tennesseean!)

"Be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi


[This message has been edited by CD Fleischer (edited 16 November 1999).]
 
ANother quick tidbit: Radio Shack sells Xenon bulbs for C or D cell lights...Then numbering is "XPR-..." Look for them in the bulb section...In my 3D cell Mag, the Xenon is brighter then the stock bulb and the "MAG-NUM Star" bulb...and they cost about 2 bucks..

--dan
 
Hey. Thanks for the heads-up dano
smile.gif


dirtsqueezer,

I'm glad you liked the suggestion. I'm fresh out of xenons for Mini-Mag and have to order some more. I'm using plain ol' vacuum bulbs right now and forgot how quickly they burn out. Funny how I use my Mini-Mag more than my premium flashlights.

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb
 
Great thread! I've been looking at catalog or web site pix and descriptions of several of these and never seem to want to get off my tail and order them without actually seeing them. At least having some descriptions from real people is a lot better than just specs on a web page when they don't even try to give a comparison of the various possibilities.

I'm going to print out this thread and refer to it later.

One of the things that the pix rarely show and the specs virtually never talk about is the switch mechanism -- whether it is a twist head or a slide or a button or what. David Williams mentioned the Pelican MityLite Magnum, which looks pretty interesting among the small (e.g. 2AA) lights. It wasn't clear if David has one or not. Can anybody say for sure what kinds of switches the various Pelicans use. I really don't like the twist heads and would much prefer a sealed button or the like. I'd be thrilled for any first-hand reports of performance, ergonomics materials and manufacture or whatever regarding the smaller Pelicans, especially the Pelican MityLite Magnum. I'm sure the lithium lights are higher performance, but I don't know by how much and I am suspicious of the price difference for my purposes.


------------------
Paul Neubauer
prn@bsu.edu
Join the NSSSA (Nationial Short-Sleeve Shirt Association) -- Support the right to bare arms!

 
Paul,

Here are the Pelican switch types:

Small flashlights:
MityLite - twist
Super MityLite - twist
MityLite Magnum - twist
VersaBrite - twist
Mini MityLite - twist
Tracker- twist

Medium flashlights:
Super PeliLite - twist
Super SabreLite - twist
StealthLite - switch
ProLite 4C - switch*
LaserFlex 2D - switch*

Large worklights:
BriteLite - switch*
LaserPro 4D - switch*
King Pelican Lite 8D - switch*

Black Knight
M7 - Twist/momentary
M9 - Switch
M11 - Switch
M13 - Switch* (rechargable LaserPro 4D w/SLA batteries)

*Has dual filaments. If first filament goes out switch on other one without changing bulbs.

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb

[This message has been edited by David Williams (edited 16 November 1999).]
 
Browning also markets Pelican products under their own name, in the same way Buck markets UK lights under the name BuckLite (at least they used to).

I have also seen other brands that were either Pelican-licensed or total ripoffs, mostly their headlamps.

I like both the larger Pelicans better than the larger UKs, but in the smaller arena, they are pretty evenly matched.

You don't hear much around here about Princeton Tec. I never cared for them myself, as I like the Pelican and Uk lights better. Anyone going to champion their cause?

I just realized I need another 3-Cell Maglite so I won't have extra batteries lying around. Always looking for justification to buy another flashlight...



------------------
Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
Indianapolis, IN (but still a true-blooded Tennesseean!)

"Be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
 
Hey, David! Thanks!!! That was very kind of you. There is no doubt that I will keep a copy of this thread. Great info. I do have a bunch of twist on/off lights, but I always hate fiddling with focus, etc. when I just want them to be on. Still, I may break down anyway. I'm blown away by the amount of knowledge we can share here.
smile.gif



------------------
Paul Neubauer
prn@bsu.edu
Join the NSSSA (Nationial Short-Sleeve Shirt Association) -- Support the right to bare arms!

 
The UnderWater Kinetics SL4 and SL6 have switches. You might check them out. Here is a link to BrightGuy that has the SL4 (sorry guys, a direct link would not work):

BrightGuy

These are C Cell lights. I have a one of each. Pretty nice lights.

------------------
Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
Indianapolis, IN (but still a true-blooded Tennesseean!)

"Be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi

[This message has been edited by CD Fleischer (edited 17 November 1999).]

[This message has been edited by CD Fleischer (edited 18 November 1999).]
 
David - thanks for the tip regarding Brinkmann 2AA NexStar Xenon bulbs. It definately added some muscle to my mini-maglite!
Jeff
 
I'm suprised no one's mentioned Princeton Tec. flashlights.

The quad double-A flashlight goes for around $15, has a halogen bulb, lasts 6-7 hours on fresh batteries, is waterproof to 2,000 feet, is made out of BOMB PROOF plastic, and without batteries weighs in at, say, an ounce.

No kiddin' guys! Once I found these babies I was hooked, now I own 3 of em, plus a head lamp.
http://www.ptsportlights.com/


------------------
Yeah! Drop the chalupa...


 
Jeff,

You're welcome.


Stompy,

I have a Tec-20, Tec-40 and Blast. Does that count?
smile.gif
I'm going to get the new Rage to replace the Blast.

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb
 
I've stayed away from Princeton Tec because I've seen a number of threads here and on rec.backcountry where people had quality complaints about their Princeton Tecs. You guys haven't had any?

I have a buddy who has bought 2 or 3 of the Pelican 2-AA lights and has had all of them stop working within 2 battery changes. I haven't heard of any other Pelican problems.

Anyone else? I'd love to get a small sampling of quality-of-manufacture.

Joe
 
Joe,

The only problems I've had with Princeton Tec is my fault. I took out the halogen bulbs and replaced them with a Carley Lamp Krypton Star Rechargeable. The 1.3 amp for Tec-20 and 1.2 amp for Tec-40. Being over half an amp they burn a lot hotter than the Halogens. The rubber cover on the Tec-20 loosened enough I can take it off and a single crack showed up in the lens. The Tec-40 burns even hotter and has the same symptoms only worse. Multiple cracks to the point I don't think it will last much longer.

I have 5 pelicans and had no problems with lamp life. The only one that has quality problems is my Versa Brite II. The swivel head is loose but still functional. I could see it failing someday. I didn't like the soft beam that came with it so I bought a Mitylite Magnum lamp and changed the springs around to fit the Versa brite. That didn't last long so there might be a problem with lamp life on that one. Although I chalked it up to soldering iron heat reducing the lamp life. Not sure now. I had the Mitylite Magnum but like all flashlights I loan has dissappeared. It showed no problems while I had it.

I have the 2AAA version with the Hubbel brand name on it. It still has the original lamp. I just bought the 1AAA so can't comment on that.

My Stealthlite and Sabrelight are just phenominal. Not as bright as a Sure-Fire but with alkaline batteries much cheaper to use on a regular basis. I use the Stealthlite the most and it still has original lamp in it. I estimate I have used 6+ sets of batteries through it.

I think of PT, Pelican and UK brands that UK is the better designed and built lights. JMHO

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb


[This message has been edited by David Williams (edited 16 December 1999).]
 
David,

It's a good thing you cautioned about the Carley KSR's in the Princeton Tec's. I was about to put a 1.7 amp KSR into a Tec-40. Not advisable uh? But just wondering how long was the light on until this happened? And also, will putting the KSR's in Maglites also cause the same cracking?

------------------
ET

 
I have used a surefire6R for 4 years and it's a really good light.I just got a 2D cell maglite and am using rechargeable alkalines.It is very dim compared to the smaller surefire.What would be my best choice for a better bulb on the maglite using the rechargeable alkalines.(sorry I'm sure this question was answered earlier in this thread but I got lost in the math)thank you
troy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top