Flashlights: What Am I Missing?

J

JNieporte

Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
3,352
I'm trying to cover all bases in terms of lighting; everything from inside my dark car at night to looking at a watch in the movies without blinding everybody to seeing 200 feet into the woods. I've listed everything I have in terms of lights. Please let me know if there's some great light that I'm missing. (See the list and you'll get my price range)
Listed by battery type.

AAAA
Streamlight Stylus

AAA
Fenix E01
Rayovac pen light with cli and clicky (cheap, but works well)
Streamlight Microstream
Gerber Recon-X (four AAAs)
Princeton Tech Blast (two AAAs)
Streamlight Stylus Pro (two AAAs)
Inova X1. I have an older titanium one and a newer black one.
Dozens of Mag-Lite Solitaires
Gerber Sonic
Gerber Tempo
Garrity 9 LED (three AAAs)
Dorcy 80-lumens LED (three AAAs)
Garrity 9-LED light (three AAAs)
Dorcy LED (three AAAs)
Energizer anodized pen light (two AAAs)

AA
4Sevens Quark MiNi AA
Standard Mag-Lite 2AA with LED upgrade
Inova Bolt 4.6 watt (two AAs)
Inova X2 (two AAs)

Other
Streamlight Nano
Streamlight Key-Mate
Photon MicroLight 2
Princeton Tech Pulsar II
Mag-Lite four D-cell (no LED upgrade yet)
NexTorch T6A (two CR123s)
NexTorch T9 (three CR123s)
 
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You'll find that in a room that is completely dark you don't need that much light for the area to seem bright.

I would recommend the Quarks (I personally EDC a 1x123a tactical). The moon mode is super low and would be great for those times in the theaters. Meanwhile on high it'll illuminate things 60 yards away quite well. It all depends on how much light you want at 200 feet. It's like 20 dollars more than the MiNis though.

I got to play around with my friend's Quark MiNi 123 this weekend and it was impressive as well. I would get one myself if it had a moon mode as well. You'll find that the low on it will probably still be too bright in a theater. I guess you could cover the light with your hand and only let out some light between your fingers.
 
Looks like an Icon Rogue 2 would fit nicely into your collection. Two modes with excellent regulation. It'll start to slowly dim after running it for about ten minutes to conserve battery life, which, for most people, isn't very easy to detect.
 
You can spend lots of money buying cheap lights to find the one you like best or you can get a surefire.
 
knifenut1013 said:
You can spend lots of money buying cheap lights to find the one you like best or you can get a surefire.
Click to expand...

Not to get too far off-topic, but you planning on picking up the E2L-AA? It looks like a pretty neat light. Don't know about the price for a 2xAA light, but it sure is nice to see Surefire coming out with a light that uses AA batteries.
 
Its not here we go again its words of experience. Their is a reason my fenix lights see seldom use and why my surefires are always in my pocket.
 
I love my Jetbeam military.You can adjust the lumans from just over zero to 225 OTF.
Great for movies or tactical use.Very rugged and very good looking.

[youtube]82JLxaRvAAQ[/youtube]
 
You're missing the AAA maratac or ITP A3 eos upgrade (basically same lights). If you use a 3.6v rechargeable in them you can have all your lighting needs on your keychain. 3 modes, low is dim enough for movie theaters etc. High is 80 lumens with a normal AAA but probably double that with the 3.6v batt. For under $30 delivered you have to get one.
 
There are tons of great lights out there and many of them do not cost a ton of cash.

Countycomm's Maratac AAA for starters. 3 modes , nice runtime , very pocket friendly , easy to use and a hair over $20.

You mentioned the Gerber Sonic , man.... I have one , I think it is just about the coolest looking light ever , I love the shape but I hate the dismal light it puts out !! I wish there was a way to mod it , not that I'm a modding expert by any means.


also if you have a dusty old Maglite 2-AA sittin around unloved , check out the tailcap/led upgrade from Nite Ize , 5 modes , nice and bright main mode ( a hellofa lot better than your standard maglite AA for sure ! ) , cool red led that blinks on the tailcap so you can find it in the dark.

Check out the Maratac though , at a little over 20 you will not be disappointed :)


Tostig


edit - My girlfriend got a "Black Cat" AAA at 100 lumens on the bay for like $12, it should be here soon , I am very interested to see if it really is that bright , it looks sorta like the Arc AAA but black and maybe a tiny bit bigger. They also have a single CR123 at 100 lumens , I will do a review when it gets here.
 
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Next time you are at Costco they have these "tactical" flashlights two for $20 they are AAA I think and are 160 lumens. They are nice for the price and the strobe is cool
 
knifenut1013 said:
You can spend lots of money buying cheap lights to find the one you like best or you can get a surefire.
Click to expand...


I agree, to a point. I would NOT be happy if my E2L was lost during a trip or even just during daily carry. My EDC, a Fenix L0D, would hurt a bit less. I got no problems with the CR123 batts, although they may be slightly tougher to find in a pinch. Hard to beat AA and AAA in that respect!
 
Actually, I know what you're missing to your lineup. Have you picked up a set of Eneloops and a decent charger yet? Alkalines with high drawing lights can result in acid leaking into the light. Nothing worse than having a nice light ruined due to using batteries that can't handle the current draw.
 
Grab a Surefire G2 to stick in the glove box or BOB. That will cover your CR123 bases. :)
 
You have a few AA lights...

Ever looked at a Fenix TK-40?
8xAA 630 lumen

Maybe youtube H.I.D.

cheers

:)
 
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