Flashlights?

On an inexpensive note, I bought a 2 pack of LED flashlights with batteries at Sam's Club a few years ago for about $22.....they are damn bright! I wanna say they were 1 or 2 watts.
Now they have an even more powerful 2 pack for $28 that are like 3 or 4 watt!!! I have been tempted to get them.
 
D10! This thing is a beast. My first really good flashlight. It's been in my pocket since the day I got it, and I'm still on my first AA. I love the low-low-low setting, and the high beam is wicked too. Just wish it had a strobe.
 
After another thread on here, I went and bought a Nitecore myself...although instead of the D10, I bought the Defender Infinity.

It's now in my pocket ALWAYS. It's very simple - a high setting and a low setting - and it disappears in your pocket. Powered by a single AA battery, the bright setting is STUPID bright - at least as bright as my Surefire P6 Defender which EATS cr123s, two at a time.

And the crenellations are cool. I have never hit anyone with a crenellated flashlight but I have been hit with lots of different things over the course of my ill-advised life and I can tell you that anything with a machined edge on it will damage you! So I think taking a crenellated flashlight to somebody would rank fairly high on their "moments I have not enjoyed much" list.
 
I cannot claim my choices are the "best" or are the best to suit anyone's particular needs, but I can list what I have and why.

ARC AAA+P in my pocket all the time.
A more affordable option is the Fenix E01 and I believe it's brighter based on just using both. Either one is small, light-weight, provides more light than you want to read a map and have good run-times.

Gerber Infinity Ultra on the nightstand for regular nightly forays about the room without blinding myself. I calculated that this light has been switched on and off approximately 8 times a night, 365 night for about four years (well over 10,000 times) and I change the AA about every six months. Built like a brick.

Surefire L1, Gen II (not the Cree) in the "go-bag" for the economy of single CR123A use at low, low and more than adequate "high" for general use. Great all around light but expensive. I cannot say it's worth $135, but it's deffinitely worth $100, which is what I recently found them for.

Fenix L2T w/ CR123A body in the basket with the 2-way, cell, and wireless I leave for my wife in the AM when I leave. Two levels, convenient size for her and light weight. Two levels, both useful.

Fenix TK20 in the Jeep's glove box. Holy crap, Batman! This thing is BUILT! Very good "high beam," exceptional color rendition, very useful "low beam" for general use. Tac-switch, blah, blah... New one but I am liking it a lot.

Fenix TK11 - WOW! I still can't believe this is an LED light! Well built, good size/weight, tac-switch. My wife and daughter just say "that's ridiculous" when I turn all the lights off and fill the room with light for giggles. What they are refering to when they say "ridiculous" is how bright it is, not that I do that for kicks. They have come to accept that I have three "problelms;" a knife problem, a bag problem and a flashlight problem. This one is on the nightstand for "oh-sh!t" moments and to "sweep" the yard for coyotes before turning her lap dogs out for a whiz after dark.

I have owned a number of other lights and have considered quite a few more which I feel are excellent lights (like the Nigtcores) but try to keep it "sane." If you need something to overwhelm a bipedal invader from a distance, I am not certain any of the super-bright Cree LED offerings are necessarily the best bet, especially if it does not have to be super portable (pocktable) and you wish to maintain that distance-advantage. They are, however, a serious leap in technology for brightness and runtime over what was available just a couple years ago and are "something else" inside a building or for identifying distant objects. Up close, I wouldn't want one pointed at me. Olight looks good too and there is one rated right up there in the "lumen department." Surefire G2 seems to be a good value in this type of light as well.

All my "incandecents" and c-cells/d-cells are gone. With what I am getting out of the TK11 for brightness and some others for their very low-"low," I am not missing a thing.
 
mymindisamob said:
What do you have and why? How is it used as part of your critical kit?

I ask because I have had several encounters lately that a good light would be useful. For defense and for outdoor activities. Maglites just don't cut it and I have had to let my Surefires go. I am now looking at some better options, but wanted to hear from you folks before I make decisions. I am very partial to the Olight M20, but is is pretty expensive. After being woke up by strangers in my driveway this morning and a Maglite barely reaching through the dark and mist, I feel the need for more lumens.

So, let 'er rip. What do you use?
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Why do you say the maglites don't cut it? If you get the led ones they aren't bad plus lifetime warranty no question asked, the coating on them aren't as good as shall we say surefire, fenix, or inova. I'm a flashlight junkie, I have probably over 20 plus flashlights people just give them to me for xmas and stuff like that. If you have the budget go with surefire which makes nice flashlight even though they are overprice compared to other quality manufactures. If you go to candlepower forum they test about every single flashlight known to man, in every detail from water proof to battery run time. As for myself I would recommend you have one powerful led flashlight "remember to make a compromise between the amount of light you really need and the run time, you don't want to be shtf without a torch thats going to keep going. I would also get a multiple led torch that ran on regular batteries that you could recharge. While these may not be as bright, they have great run times and you can recharge them. They may not have the throwing power of the big boys, but they work well for close up work.
 
I just sat through the videos on the Nitecore site for the D1 and the Defender. WOW! Those things are spectacular! They can be as simple or complicated as you want, but holy crap do the run the gambit. As far as pricing at 4sevens.com, these are better priced than any Surefire I've owned and with way more versatility. I do like things simple and cheap (even though I like Busse;)), but I think one of these may be an answer.

Now I just need to put a gate up on my approx. 1/4 mile driveway. I get more than edgy when a loud car with cranked bass pulls up next to my kids bedrooms @ 1:30 in the morning.:mad::thumbdn:
 
BTW, Thank you everyone! This has been very insightful and helpful. Keep up the incoming opinions and experience.
 
If I needed one for defense, I'd still opt for a full sized MagLite (a real skull cracker) but in LED. On the smaller side, a Streamlight Scorpion.
 
mymindisamob said:
What's your feelings on crenelations and actually using a flashlight for defense? I know this probably would generally go in the tactical forum, but I am not posing this as a pure defense thread.
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I really think this is uneccesary. I would caution on using them under the whole idea that 'if it's designed to be a weapon (crennelations serve no other purpose) it can be treated as a weapon by LEO, etc'

As far as my recommendation, I would echo the spotlight for home. For a maximum of $50 you can have a light that will put out all the candlepower you and your neighbors ;) need. I would also suggest a smaller light like the Streamlight Scorpion, LED or not, for EDC/truck/BOB.


PeACE
 
My vote has to go to Fenix, I dont even know how Surfires still going, aside from being made in the states (fenix is china made, but they have a direct street location and contact with them is great.)

My TK10 has 60 lumens for ten hours and 225 for 1.5 hours, I just find the price/output/runtime ratio from surfire is a joke, no way Im payin $175 for a 100 lume light that runs 2.5 hours, sorry.
 
What are you going to use your light for??? For outdoors use i got an converted MAGlight that used 3LEDs. Its not the most bright light but more then enough for around the camp. Or even for hiking Back to the car when it gets dark on an extra long hike. The reason i like it are its bomb proof. Most of the lights including the 3-5w leds eat batteries. This light can last easy for one week of backpacking. Now if you are planing on blinding people there are much better lights.

Hey welcom back Skammer long time...

Sasha
 
surefire e2dl outdoorsman

fenix L2D

pentagon lights

in that order are my edc
 
If you want to spend, get a Ra Twisty or Clicky.

But, I've found that I keep coming back to a few cheaper lights.

Home use, walking dog, etc: Surefire G2 with a Malkoff warm drop-in. Bright, 5+ hours runtime, indestructable, light. The warm drop-in approximates incandescent color rendition. With drop-in it's about $80 if you get the parts used on candlepowerforums. You can just get a G2 LED for probably $50 and get similar performance, with not as good, but perfectly acceptable tint.

Truck use, car camping, long-distance checking out: Surefire G3 with P90 bulb, or Lumens Factory highoutput bulbs. Like a goddam car headlight. Short runtime so I use rechargeables. Great color rendition.

Backpacking: Fenix E01, or Princeton Tec EOS. The E01 gives 10 hours of regulated light on 1 AAA battery. For on-trail hiking, it's sufficient and I've used it for long night hikes. For camp use it's more than enough. Very light, indestructable, $12! The EOS is a great headlamp, made much better by recent addition of a Rebel LED and frosted optic. Spreads out the beam.

If I had to pick 2, I'd get the Fenix E01 and Surefire G2 LED, total cost $75 assuming you're not buying used on the forums. Pretty much all the functionality I'd ever need right there.
 
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candlelight001 said:
Surefire G3 with P90 bulb, or Lumens Factory highoutput bulbs. Like a goddam car headlight. Short runtime so I use rechargeables. Great color rendition
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You like that, you should try out one of the TK models from fenix, imagin 225 lemuns. 105 lumens is nice, but 225 is nothing short of amazing.:thumbup:

btw, you should try the p91 lamp, gives an extra 100 lumens, haha only runs for 20 mintues, but its bright.
 
mymindisamob said:
What do you have and why? How is it used as part of your critical kit?

I ask because I have had several encounters lately that a good light would be useful. For defense and for outdoor activities. Maglites just don't cut it and I have had to let my Surefires go. I am now looking at some better options, but wanted to hear from you folks before I make decisions. I am very partial to the Olight M20, but is is pretty expensive. After being woke up by strangers in my driveway this morning and a Maglite barely reaching through the dark and mist, I feel the need for more lumens.

So, let 'er rip. What do you use?
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Don't dis the mag yet, a very easy LED mod can make it around 800 lumens in no time. The surefires are your best lights don't give up on them either. The mag can be modded with a P7 led giving you amazing output and long runtime, only takes about 20min for the mod. Surefires best upgrade is Malkoff dropins, I use a M60LL in a SF G2, gives 8 hours of 80lm output and one of the most usefull beams I have ever seen. Very good for camping, around the house, and general use.

http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_8&sort=20a&page=1
 
candlelight001 said:
If I had to pick 2, I'd get the Fenix E01 and Surefire G2 LED, total cost $75 assuming you're not buying used on the forums. Pretty much all the functionality I'd ever need right there.
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Great rec on the E01, I just picked a couple of those up, they're handy little lights :thumbup:
 
mymindisamob said:
Yea, the raccoons, coyotes and punks that seem to be checking my place out don't seem to like any amount of light shined on them. More lumens is good lumens me thinks.:D
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Have you thought of investing in some bright motion-activated flood lights for your house? As you say, evildoers don't like to be illuminated, and with a motion sensor you don't have to be there for them to get lit up.

As for flashlights, I bought a Jetbeam Jet II IBS about 6 months ago. It's a single CR123 cell light that is regulated, has three levels of output that you can program, and will go from ~12 lumens up to 220 lumens. Plus it can be focused down tight for a spot light, or widened out for a great flood light.

I like this light so much I bought another one, because for some reason they're not made anymore. It's great for around the house, checking on the kids at night, for hiking, camping, road side use, etc.

The Jet II IBS also can be programmed to strobe between 1 and 15 hertz, if you need that sort of thing. I don't have much use for it, but when I checked it out at 15 Hz (it only strobes at the full 220 lumens), it was blinding and dizzying.
 
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