What is the best LED light? Opinions

Or if you want a non LED light, buy the Princeton Tec "Surge" for $30 and gee it kicks "ALL!" Surefire lights asses and takes plain ole AA batteries. Its cheap, durable, guaranteed and one of the brightest lights in production today.

Want a headlamp? get the Princeton Tec Apex, it too kicks serious butt in the headlamp dept.

$300 for a light is plain nuts when the above lights are available as an alternative.

Skam
 
I myself carry 3 lights on camping trips.

1) CMG Ultra for tent use

2) Inova XO for around camp

3)Inova XO3 for "what in the hell made that noise :eek: "
 
rnr:

Thanks for the suggestion. I did, in fact, own one of the Dorcy AAAs briefly. (Absolutely nothing wrong with it -- I gave it away as a gift.) It IS a great value, and I'm glad you pointed it out in this post.

I really liked the streamlined look of the ARCs, though. I wish MagLite would get on the stick and come out with an LED version of the Solitaire.

Bear
 
skammer said:
Or if you want a non LED light, buy the Princeton Tec "Surge" for $30 and gee it kicks "ALL!" Surefire lights asses and takes plain ole AA batteries. Its cheap, durable, guaranteed and one of the brightest lights in production today.

Want a headlamp? get the Princeton Tec Apex, it too kicks serious butt in the headlamp dept.

$300 for a light is plain nuts when the above lights are available as an alternative.

Skam
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A sensible point from a cost perspective, but neither of these lights listed on the Princeton Tec website. The Surge is widely available on eBay; the other appears not to be in production. Must wonder if the Surge is still made. In any case the Surge looks to be somewhat fat and takes a LOT of batteries to run.
 
Yes, but it does take the RIDs from GG&G, as does the Inova X5, which I think is the best LED 'big' light out there.
 
It depends on your intended use. For outdoor purposes (camping and hiking) the Photon is hard to beat. You can get great clones for $1.00 a piece if you buy 20 at County Comm.
 
featherstone45 said:
I myself carry 3 lights on camping trips.

1) CMG Ultra for tent use

2) Inova XO for around camp

3) Inova XO3 for "what in the hell made that noise :eek: "
Click to expand...

I have each of these lights and agree completely with your assessments, especially regarding number 3. I don't like being out at night without the XO3 now.
 
eda-koppo said:
A sensible point from a cost perspective, but neither of these lights listed on the Princeton Tec website. The Surge is widely available on eBay; the other appears not to be in production. Must wonder if the Surge is still made. In any case the Surge looks to be somewhat fat and takes a LOT of batteries to run.
Click to expand...


The Surge as far as I know is still in production. Its the light of choice for many many friends of mine in all kinds of activities. Is sold in many stores in my area. Granted its not a pocket light but it is certainly not "FAT" its about the size of a 2 D cell maglight and 6 inches long approx. 5 hr run time is reasonable, the batteries very cheap and easy to obtain in any corner store and you can use rechargables.
Fail to see a real negative yet realy.

If its retina burning brightness you are after without mortaging your house the Surge is a good bet.

Skam
 
I really like headlamps, and find they are mandatory for many things. I do lots of climbing and hiking in the dark, and climbing especially requires both hands to be free. The best LED headlamp I have found is the Petzl Zipka (or Zipka Plus if you prefer). Princeton Tec and Black Diamond make slightly smaller ones, but the Petzl takes AAA batteries which are cheap, readily available, and gives the choice of alkaline, rechargeable, or lithium batteries. The Princeton Tec Scout is tempting because it cheaper, but it takes 4 rather expensive coin batteries that don't last nearly as long as the AAAs in the Zipka. THe Black Diamond Ion takes some little weird alkaline battery that doesn't last long and is hard to find.

My first Zipka had problems with the switch, which I understand was a common problem on the first few. Petzl exchanged it, and I haven't had a problem with the new one. I wish someone would make a LED headlamp that has red and/or green LEDs as well as the white ones and a switch to toggle between them.

The Zipka is a little akward to carry comfortably in my pocket because of it's shape. I have been looking to get a small backup that I can carry as an EDC, and that will act as a backup in field for changing batteries, or walking back ot camp if the Zipka dies. (Becasue I use lithium battiers, I don't get much warning when they die. The light just goes out, unlike with alkalines.) I have been conscidering the Photon II, possibly with either red or green to preserve night vision, or the Gerber Sonic.

Bear, what is it about the Sonic you don't like?

Is getting a red or green LED a good idea, or are they not bright enough to find ones way back to camp? It seems the green is a little brighter than red, while still preserving night vision, so I guess it is a better choice. I assume it is just as bad as the red for distoring true color?

Princeton Tec make make a similar light to the Photon called the Pulsar. It is cheaper than the Photon. Anyone know if it is just as good?

Maybe I should get that AAA Dorcy LED. I noticed it at the supermarket a few weeks ago - Seemed to good to be true so I didn't bother, but a few of you seem to like it.

Will
 
Petzyl Tikka. I'm gonna replace the elastic band with some Olive Drab. Great light 2 AAA batteries and you get about 1000 hours of usage. Oh, one more thing. The bulbs will probably never need to be changed. I bought the red and green lens cover for mine. I think they cost like 4 bucks for a pack of 3. clear green, and red. great light!
 
Zip06 said:
It depends on your intended use. For outdoor purposes (camping and hiking) the Photon is hard to beat. You can get great clones for $1.00 a piece if you buy 20 at County Comm.
Click to expand...
I have bought 60 or so of the county comm light and just give them to people!
Everyone seems to love them!
They are cheaper than buying the batteries for my(MANY) photons!
 
i see in the new cutleryshoppe catalog that there is a new photon microlight out called the freedom.

they come with an awesome clip so you can position it on your hat :cool:
 
witchhunter said:
i see in the new cutleryshoppe catalog that there is a new photon microlight out called the freedom.

they come with an awesome clip so you can position it on your hat :cool:
Click to expand...
They just released a new version of the photon freedom...It is twice the brightness with the same runtime!
 
Will:

I don't like the way Gerber changed the design of the Sonic.

First, in the CMG version, the LED lens was completely inside the metal of the head. In the Gerber version it sticks out. So you get side-spill of the light, and the potential to scratch the lens.

Second, the Gerber tailcap has a 45 degree shoulder, rather than the deep concave curve of the CMG version. That means you can't fit just any split ring in there. It has to be the small diameter one they supply, and even that tends to catch and jam at odd angles.

Third, the action of the tailcap seems awfully rough and uneven on the Gerber model. The CMG was smooth and even.

I have a few of the CMG models that I'll keep and go through over the next few years, but I won't be buying any more of the Gerber Sonics.

Bear
 
I have a princeton tech corona headlamp, and a nuwai 5 watt torch(352)

The corona was 40.00including shipping

the nuwai was $77.00 these were won on ebay with a little patience

I`m not a flashlight expert, but, per dollars spent these both rock,

:D
 
Will said:
--
My first Zipka had problems with the switch, which I understand was a common problem on the first few. Petzl exchanged it, and I haven't had a problem with the new one. I wish someone would make a LED headlamp that has red and/or green LEDs as well as the white ones and a switch to toggle between them.
--
Is getting a red or green LED a good idea, or are they not bright enough to find ones way back to camp? It seems the green is a little brighter than red, while still preserving night vision, so I guess it is a better choice. I assume it is just as bad as the red for distoring true color?
--
Click to expand...
Petzl actually makes versions of their Tikka and Tikka Plus models which have a pivoting red filter that goes over the leds to produce red light. They are called Tactikka and Tactikka Plus. IIRC the Tikka and Zipka models are basically alike except for the headband.

Using a red light to preserve your night vision might be useful on some occasions. You'll lose color perception - everything will be in shades of red. The light should also be somewhat dim or strictly in a certain area of wavelength for preserving nv. I guess it's up to you if you find this option necessary. Green light does not preserve night vision (nor does blue, or any other color except red).
 
I'm pretty much settled on Inova's products. I have the X5T, X1, and Micro Light. All are serving me very well. I think there will be an XO3 in my future.

Paul
 
PWork said:
I'm pretty much settled on Inova's products. I have the X5T, X1, and Micro Light. All are serving me very well. I think there will be an XO3 in my future.

Paul
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I have, carry, use, love, and highly recommend the XO3. It rocks. Its beam competes neck-and-neck with my beloved SureFire E2e. I love the Inova product line.

Inova, however, has yet to produce a light with a body as compact as one of the SureFire Elites -- E1e or E2e -- and still throw a beam like no one's business. The XO3 might just edge out the E2e on overall beam whiteness and throw, but I can't slip the XO3 into the pocket of my blazer or my khakis. The E2e gets the top grade for carryability.

Sure I love my X1, X5T, and XO3, but I'm not leaving my E2e or E1e behind, either.
 
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