Flashlight recommendation?

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Kirk_Ferentz

Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
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Sorry to make this sort of lazy post, but there are so many lights out there and, unlike with most cool gear, I just have no interest in researching and learning about them. I know that you flashlight gurus are out there, so please help me out.

I have just been using cheapos and they keep failing, so time to get a quality flashlight that I can rely on. More features is icing on the cake, but what I need is something that is durable and reliable, and one where I can get spare bulbs etc. so I can use it for years to come. I'd like it to be compact and somewhat light. I guess if all else is equal, I'd like something that takes AAA batteries.

I have also seen that you can spend hundreds of bucks on these things. I have to think I can get something good for substantially less. Give me something like the becker of flashlights, i.e. great bang for your buck.
 
I don't have one yet but from what i can tell the Nebo CSI Edge seems to be an excellent flashlight.
Its super bright at 50 lumens,
Its an LED which means you will never have to replace the bulb,
Its pretty much solid aluminum,
Its water resistant and its only $10 so it cant hurt to give it a try.
 
All else is never equal.
AAA batteries offer the shortest runtimes and don't really cost much less than AA's. However, they keep things small and light.
I'm partial to 2xCR123 lights, but that's not what you asked for.
In AAA lights, I have a Mag Solitaire, a couple Maratac AAA, a Fenix LD01, and 4Sevens Preon2; as well as a ThruNite TI on the way.
The Preon offers multiple modes, a friendly UI, and is available in 1xAAA or 2xAAA; there are currently neutral-white and high color rendition versions, as well. The maker offers free shipping, and supports the products well.
In your shoes, I'd go with the neutral-white Preon 2. It should make you happy for a long time, and if it doesn't you can upgrade it and will learn a lot about what you like and don't like.
 
I'm not married to AAA batteries. From what you say, I guess I will change it to AAs.
 
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I would advise you to google lighthound AA tactical flashlight. I just received that one for Christmas from my paps, who is one of those flashlight gurus. Before, I had the earlier-mentioned CSI edge, which i liked for the pocket clip that could be used as an attachment to the brim of a baseball cap, but that's it.

As for the durability of the light, neither have broken yet on me, like my Mini-maglite did (exploded on me after a month in a cold car). The lighthound wins in durability on paper due to it's HAIII anodized aircraft aluminum frame (all the rage in flashlight world I hear because the black coating won't chip/flake off like my CSI Edge has). Both are waterproof.

The CSI is only ten bucks, but it only has one mode. The lighthound is $20 and has three modes - high, med, and low. I find the three modes much more useful, and it is tremendously brighter than the CSI edge. If you're moving from non-LED flashlights, I think you'll be amazed at what an LED can do with a AA. I was.

I'm going to advise you against getting a streamlight protac AA from personal experience. My flashlight guru father has one (they are about $40), and his is very finicky with batteries. It is not a "vampire" light - which means it does not run on a very low voltage battery. It's kind of like a television remote. I don't know if you've ever tried, but a TV remote can run on AA batteries that are considered "dead" according to another electronic, such as a digital camera. Both the lighthound and the CSI edge are vampire lights, a feature that is very nice in my opinion.

I'm sorry for the long post and such, but I'm just really excited that I have a flashlight that is so great that I can recommend it to others, because I honestly don't know much about flashlights other than this post. And that Surefire is kind of overpriced. It's pretty hard to beat the CSI edge at bang for ($10) bucks, but I think you would be much happier with the Lighthound. It's more durable, brighter, has three modes, feels better in the hand, and is just nicer feeling for only $20. The only advantage the CSI edge has is the pocket clip can be used to attach it to the brim of a cap like a headlamp.

I'm glad I could give some advice, let us know what you get.

Edit - Aw dang it, I forgot that the Lighthound is momentary on, which means you can just press the tailcap switch to get a momentary on, or you can click the switch all the way in for a constant on. The Edge doesn't have that. Another great feature.

Also, the Lighthound has no SOS and Strobe modes, which makes getting to the more useful ones (low, med, high) a pain.

Last thing, I promise, the lighthound has a tailcap clicky switch - a one-handed operation. Most Fenix AA/AAA lights (another popular brand) have a twist operation, more of a two-handed operation.

After looking at how long this post is, I feel like a nerd... NICE!
 
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For AA lights, I have an olight T25, runs off of 2 AA's, and I like it a lot. Plenty bright, 190lumen max output I think, and plenty of modes(too many IMO, I'd rather it just have low, med, high but whatever, I can live with the strobe and SOS), and a simple interface.

Your probably not interested in cr123 lights, but just in case, I love my Surefire G2X pro. Simple operation with just a low and a high mode, and super bright at 200lumens max(15 lumens on low) with good runtimes.

For a single cell light, I too am on the market for one of those. Mostly I'm looking at the Fenix LD15(AA) or the LD01(AAA), to be used as a keychain/edc/lightweight backup to my headlamp while hiking. I'm also thinking about the olight I1 eos single cell cr123, but I'm leaning towards the others just due to battery price/availability.

Fenix, olight and 4sevens are all good brands, among many others, to look at for quality lights.
 
There are so many options now, I stick with surefire,fenix and princeton tec
 
Take a good look at the whole Fenix line. I have two. The TK 15 delivers a lot of bang for the buck.
Cheers...
 
I've been carrying and using a Fenix LD10 for almost six months and haven't had any problems with it yet. It uses AA batteries and has a max output of around 100 +/- lumens and four different settings.
 
I used a Surefire for a while, but I'm back to a AA Maglite. It was $10, has a spare bulb in the tailcap, and works great.
 
I have had a fenix P2D for 2 years, which uses one 123 battery and it is far and away the best flashlight I have ever owned. I just upgraded 2 of my mini mags and am very, very happy with the results. I used a terralux 1.0 watt bulb and a nite ize IQ tail switch which cost about 20 bucks for both and the difference in performance is astounding. With that said, I am not suggesting that you go out and buy an old minimag AA just to upgrade it but If you have an old minimag laying around I highly recommend it. Chris
 
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Search "Monster Flashlight" on ebay. After weeks of researching high tech flashlights i gave up on trying to figure out which ones are the best value and bought a Monster LED 1200 lumens flashlight. That was about 10 weeks ago and i'm 100% pleased with it. Still on the original battery charge, still super bright with a long throw and it's very comfy, well balanced in hand.
I don't know if it's "the best" but it's worth what i paid and does a fine job of lighting up the outdoors on a dark night.
I also bought a much more expensive very large 3500 LM HID flashlight online from a bricks 'n mortar HID store in Florida. The light they sent me has no markings no instructions, no bill of sale so i have no idea if i got the flashlight i paid about $250 for. It's too big to carry for hours with ease and it needs re-charging more often than the LED one. But it is bright (understatement).
The world of flashlights is a high tech maze needing months of study and many purchases to even begin to figure it out and it changes by the month with supposedly new innovations and improvements.
Good luck !
roland
 
If you want a single AA model, I'd go with the Fenix LD10.

http://goinggear.com/fenix-ld10-r5-aa-led-flashlight-1.html

If you want a double, the Fenix LD20

http://goinggear.com/fenix-ld20-black-r5-2-aa-led-flashlight-w-clip-1.html

If you like a super low "low", go with a 4sevens Quark.

http://goinggear.com/4sevens-quark-aa-xp-g-s2-cool-white-1.html

http://goinggear.com/4sevens-quark-aa2-xp-g-r5-cool-white-1.html

I prefer the Quarks for their features. Especially that super low moonlight mode. The Fenix models I have seem to have a more blue tint than the 4sevens "greenish" tint in the lower modes. On high, all of mine seem to be more white.

Confused?

4sevens does offer a high CRI model that is more like traditional flashlights. A warmer "tint" similar to incandescent.

http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_456&products_id=2818

That one is a "twisty" though. The others I linked are "clickies" meaning they have a switch at the end. Twistys you "twist" the head to get them to come on.

Good luck.
 
I got a Fenix TK12 R5 for Christmas and love it. I would definitely look at the Fenix lights.
 
Another vote for a 2 AA Fenix. I bought one a few years ago on the recommendation of Rock and it has performed very well. It's an L2D CE with a maximum output of 135 lumens. I use this light every day as a service technician. It has never let me down. Something I can't say of any of the many Mini Mags I owned, with and without the LED upgrades. The Quark line by 4Sevens is also very good. I bought a Mini AA2 with a max output of 180 lumens.

I'd recommend staying with AA batteries because of the cost, availability and interchangeability with other equipment you may own.

Doc
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
I'm not married to AAA batteries. From what you say, I guess I will change it to AAs.
Click to expand...

To prevent leaking, I'd stay away from alkalines and go with lithium primaries or if you prefer rechargeable, get some Sanyo Eneloops to power whatever model you decide on.

The lithiums, while pricey, won't leak on you and have a great shelf life. The Eneloops are the go to rechargeable from what I read.
 
I realize one of your prerequisites was run on AAA's. What I will say is, sometimes that decision is based on misinformation.
Purchased right, CR123's are comparably priced and are far superior in performance (especially shelf life) I get quality CR123's for about $ 1.43 a piece.
Can't beat Surefire and Fenix for Quality IMO and they are way more affordable than they once were.
Again, shop around and you are in the $40-$50 range for a great, small, bright light.
Just be careful - another addictive Hobby awaits:)
 
the other thing you need to look into is rechargeables, I moved to them with my surefire, I use it for little things, looking for my keys, when i drop some thing, walking the dog. I bought two sets, keep on charged and rotate them out. I get about two weeks out of a set, just make sure the charger and extra set aren't far away, or keep an extra one time use set with you in your pack.

Also, aa's are great for the sheer availability, but cr's in my mind are the way to go, much better performance, especially when a light has multipul outputs. My E2DL has 200 and 15 lumen settings, the 15 gets used most, but my god the 200 is bright when in the woods and its pitch black, its my primary search light.:thumbup:
SDC14964.jpg
 
You all have got me starting to get interested in these lights ... now I'm looking at surefires for way more than I wanted to spend!

I think that I really want a 2 AA light. I may some day get into CR123s and rechargeables at some point, but I think that it is best to start with a 2 AA light.

The fenix and the 4stevens options look great, although maybe a little bit more than I was hoping to spend. Hey, if it is really worth it, I will shell out the extra cash. But what do you all think of the more ~ $40-ish fenix and 4stevens? Obviously they don't have all of the features and specs of the more expensive options, but in terms of basic stuff like durability, reliability, basic use-ability, etc., is there a big difference?

Also what do you all think of that $20 lightwood recommended above?
 
I have a Surefire Outdoorsman that uses the cr123 battery and two Fenix LD20 lights that use two AA batteries. Fenix lights are very good, a lot of bang for the buck, in my opinnion. I would definitely look at the Fenix line, just make sure to use the lithium batteries as someone mentioned because they will work better and last longer when the temperatures head south.
 
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