Flashlights

Hey Guys!
Mini Mag now sells some of their flashlights with LED's in them no need to upgrade. No Dorcy... Bought cheap LED's not good! I cant believe NOONE mentioned Streamlight! IN MY opinion they are the BEST! Bought one for my brother and I years ago. Streamlight Jr. luxeon- 2AA. We are both steamfitters (welders) use them for grinding inside of pipe and inspecting penetration of welds. These are indestructible. About the 200th time I dropped it on the concrete I broke the tail cap switch. Quick email to streamlight- new one in my hands 2 days later no charge. Cant beat that!
Also I would only buy one that uses common batteries! AA AAA C D etc.
You can still buy AA lithiums if you prefer But the LED's last a long time on standard batteries also. Longer than an incandescent bulb mini mag of the same battery size. Good luck in your search.
 
Kevin the grey said:
I took most of my electronics in french .
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Tout comme moi, je suis à Laval en ce moment. Troixième année. Mon jonc n'est pas encore acquis.
 
Mon francais est moin bon que toi . Laval ? Je suis en Verdun .

It was a lot of hard work to take those technician courses . I did a lot of after hours lab work and I had already taken an Electricians course in English which gave me a good base knowledge .
 
If your were to post your question at CandlePowerForums.com the stock answer is, "no need to choose, buy both".:)

The Inova X5 for $10.00 is a steal, as they sell for about $30-$35 at Targets. They have a superb long run time and are a good flood light. They use the more expensive 123 batteries, that although they are available on-line for a buck apiece, can cost five times that at some retail stores. Also, they represent top notch American made quality with great customer service and warranty.

The Fenix lights are also highly rated, offer an advanced regulation system and use common AA batteries in most of their lights. I think that their two stage lights, L1T and L2T, offer many advantages. Fenix lights are made in China, have had some quality control issues and a iffy warranty service.

Buying a quality flashlight used to be easy, in that you just took what ever MagLight had to offer. Today, there are far more choices, so many that the average buyer can get totally confused.

I have and use lights from Fenix and Inova, but when I decided to upgrade my EDC work light I chose SureFire. Pelican and StreamLight were contenders, but the SureFire won in the end.
 
SureFire is best known for their tactical lights, but has a full line up of lights. Their marketing slogan is, "Whatever your profession or interest, SureFire makes......" I've always wished that they would change that to, "whatever your budget, SureFire makes...":D
 
All Surefire needs to do is maintain their very high QC and market an LED flashlight that runs on AA lithiums, alkaline or NiMH rechargables. Now that AA are made in lithium, there's no need to stay with the 123 batteries.
 
I've always liked the old GI issue angled head flashlight, But I aggree with the LED fans here. I picked up a Brinkmann 2 LED headlight almost years ago. To this day, I have not had to replace the batteries, and it's still just as bright as when I bought it. I even left it on all night once. It makes a great little backup light, or when I need hands free use.
 
Gladius.

I know it is pretty expensive, and not marketed as an outdoors light, but the Night-Ops Gadius really shines ;) in the wilderness.

It is a 2-CR123-cell LED flashlight that basically is intended for combat. It has a momentary "channel," a strobe channel, and a constant-on channel. The brightness in constant on varies from honest-to-goodness tactical bright to a very low-level dim.

Some things that I like about it:
- waterproof
- easy to operate with gloved hands
- tough
- long runtime on low (400+ hrs)
- anti-roll tailcap

I tested the strobe as a beacon-type signaling device out to ~4 miles, works great.

Here is a review:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/night-ops_gladius.htm

If I could only have one flashlight, this would be a major contender. You can get them for as low as $160 some places.

Scott
 
coote said:
I use my LED headlamps a lot.
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Same here. I always thought they were a silly idea, until I actually tried one. Now I use my Petzl Tikka XP more than all the rest combined. In fact, as soon as I finish reading a few more posts, I'll use it to take the dog for a walk...

coote said:
If I were going to get another one, I would be more likely to get one that takes the common AA or AAA batteries. Then I would get rechargable batteries.
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I'm doing the same thing these days. When I first got into high-performance lights, it seemed everything I bought used CR123As, but lately I've come to appreciate the benefits of readily-available cheap AA batteries. It helps, of course, that companies like Fenix and Peak are getting as much output out of a single AA as we used to get out of the earlier 1xCR123A LED lights.

Rechargables are easier with AA's, too. NiMH batteries run at a little lower voltage than "nominal" alkalines, but maintain that voltage for a lot longer; rechargable CR123A batteries run at a higher voltage that the primaries, and can damage your lights if they weren't designed for them. :eek:
 
At $10 for the Inova...definately get it first...and then get the Fenix later:)

As with knives, I'm also a flashlight-aholic. The Inova 5X is typically my EDC when in uniform. Since I can get versions in the military-approved red and green, it can go with me to the field. This is not a spot beam, but a short range flood light and works well at that.

I also have the L1T Fenix, which is a great little light also, and my civlilan clothes EDC (along with an ARC and Photon on the key chain).

Almost any "tactical" light with high output is going to be a battery-burner. However, the two I like the most in that category are Surefire's Aviator and the Gladius. As already mentioned, the Gladius is a great multi-use LED, and the dual bulb feature of the Aviator really comes in handy for various needs.

Lastly, GET A PETZLE!!!! These little headlamps are simply outstanding, I own several and have found them the most-used lights I own. Having both hands free with light is great. They don't put out a ton of light, but for close in projects, they're a must have. They also have a strobe function, another reason I put one in each of my kids' kits.

ROCK6
 
I would like to offer a word of caution about batteries here. The rechargeables are great around the home and camp. When they near the end of their charge, they go from bright to dead in seconds. I got caught in the woods on a particularly dark night when it happened to me. I had to listen for semi-truck noises on the highway, miles away, to find my way back to the road and my truck.
 
There are those that won't agree, as previously stated in this thread, but I picked up a Dorcy super 1 watt w/luxeon and it's an excellent light. Here's a review of the light. Dorcy Super 1 Watt
 
Johnsonrd brought up a good point about rechargables dying quickly at the end of their life. Rechargables are good for the "predictable" work I do, but I would much rather have a set of top grade alkalines (or better) if there is some uncertainty. Even conventional carbon zinc batteries are better sometimes because they are inclined to fade rather than drop dead...but their shelf life isn't marvellous.

I have a headlamp with eight LEDs and three brightness options. When the batteries die on the brightest option, I can leave it for a bit then switch to the least brightest option and can sometimes get enough light to get by on for a while.

I will often have a second light with me, even if it is just a cheapo LED keyring flashlight. These little fellas provide bright light for ages. I still have the first one that I got maybe three years ago, and it still gives good light even if one of the switching options is a bit dodgy. My missus has a little Photon keychain light that still goes well after about five years of occasional use. I have a few that I obtained through Trademe (our equivalent of Ebay). These cost less than NZ$2 each and most of them work really well (some duds came in the bulk buy, but I'm still happy). They are very small and you can have one on every key ring and in a pocket of every jacket.
 
I recently purchased one of Inova's mini LED lights and for the 7.00 I paid for it, the high power setting, low power setting and strobe setting make it a very good choice for a backup, or primary in a mini emergency kit.
 
I finally got a Fenix L2P, and the seller gave me the tube to turn it into a L1P. Good deal :)
 
Go to this site and then click "Reviews", then click on "Top picks".

www.flashlightreviews.com

The flashlight in the thread is well rated, the Fenix, but not the best. They have different categories of flashlights tested, i.e. headlights, keychain lights, hybrid lighst(led and filament), multi led lights, incandescent, etc.

The best pocket/keychain there is the Arc AAA Premium. It uses a AAA battery and at 5 hours still has 50% light output. But, you get what you pay for, it's about $50 bucks.

cliff
 
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