Need advice for buying bright flashlight

[jlg]

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[smith625]

Nolacop is getting together a second fenix order, i bought one and i love it 109 lumens, aa batteries, you got to love it.

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

I will admit. I am a Surefire whore. E2DLED kicks but. I am a flashlight bitch anyway. Fenix is great. I buy them all.

But still I can not find the $170 difference between a Surefire and an Ultrafire. Maybe the warranty.

 

[bulldog]

Browning Hunter 210....$65.00 at most stores.
Three lenses included. Runs on (2) 123 batteries...

 

[smith625]

I have a borealis. It is pretty bright at 1050 lumens. The only problem is it will set fire to things.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=308805

Jesus Christ Paul, you like burning ants don't you, Does it take a twelve volt truck battery or what.lol.

 

[WiLieR]

I run a Terrlux led replacement bulb in my 3D and my 6D maglite. Love it!
Huge difference between the standard bulb and the Terralux led replacement.
I am tempted to get the Terralux 3led conversion kits for my 6D and see what all it can do.

 

[smith625]

The borealis takes the battery carrier on the right. It melts faces.

You don't need a gun, you can just blind the perp, of course that would be cruel and unusual punishment. Sorry for drifting.

 

[gsneff]

If anyone wants to buy a high end Surefire I get pretty good discounts at Midway on them.

i may have to get with you next month. i'm looking to get a better flashligh.

 

[welco425]

http://www.lapolicegear.com/sug2ledhiouf.html

This is a great buy
Surefire G2L LED High Output Flashlight + 6 FREE Batteries
Max Output: 80 Lumens
Runtime: 12 hours
I have two of these
This small flashlight put out more light than my 3 cell D MagLight

LA Police gear has good prices on the 123 lithiums batteries

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

The $30 Ultrafire I have uses 2 CR123s and puts out 250 lumens according to the mfr.

 

[yamatitan]

The $30 Ultrafire I have uses 2 CR123s and puts out 250 lumens according to the mfr.

Yea I have one from ultrafire that claims 210 lumens but when compared to my surefire back up which claims 80 lumens its not even close to as bright as the surefire. The surefire looks twice as bright both with brand new surefire brand batteries.

Oh and the surefire only takes one battery where my ultrafire takes two.

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

Yea I have one from ultrafire that claims 210 lumens but when compared to my surefire back up which claims 80 lumens its not even close to as bright as the surefire. The surefire looks twice as bright both with brand new surefire brand batteries.

Oh and the surefire only takes one battery where my ultrafire takes two.

You did run it up to "high" right? The UHs usually have three levels and strobe/SOS. LOL Compared to my 80 Lumen Stream Light it's much brighter.

 

[yamatitan]

You did run it up to "high" right? The UHs usually have three levels and strobe/SOS. LOL Compared to my 80 Lumen Stream Light it's much brighter.

Yep they were both on high.

 

[mnop308]

For an around the house light, I use a Streamlight Stinger, I used to carry it but found the Strion. It is as bright or brighter, and was MUCH small on my belt. I had regular Surefire G2s and a 6P as outdoor/hunting lights since if they went dead, I only had to replace the batteries. Rechargable is nice, if you can stop and recharge them. I got the LED lamps for one of the G2s, and the 6P which are 80 lumens for 11 or 12 hours vs. 60 lumens for 1 hour. The 6P LED is now my duty light, and the LED G2 is my woods light. I also bought a Surefire Backup light which is 5/80 lumens on one battery. That one goes with me to town.

I keep my second G2 with 120 lumen lamp as bedside light since it gets used very little. and the Stinger is now my household light replacing my old MagLights, which the wife and kids can use whenever they need them.

One thing for sure I have noticed about the LED lamps, is they do not illuminate as far as the old regular Surefire bulbs. The light just does not seem to go as far, or be as white. They do run a whole lot cooler, and the added life is a big selling point in a light for carrying.

Just my 2 cents from another unashamed flashlight whore.

 

[goteron]

Take a look at the jetbeam lights. I phased out all but one of my surefire lights for them. Brighter, longer lasting, excellent construction, more features, and cheaper.

Www.bugoutgearusa.com

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

Its just another 123A-powered light, when you get right down to it. An excellent tool, I'm sure... but some of us are moving to AA lights for general purpose use.

I'm holding out until someone makes a single AA cell light that has the features of the A2 Aviator. The Fenix LD-10 may be close... need to look at Spanky's.

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Have you (or anyone you know) done any tests to see how long a light will last with AAs as opposed to rechargeable lithiums? I may try this myself, I know DX has some inexpensive lights that will run on all three of the popular types. In fact the light I have on my AR uses either 3 AAs or 1 CR123. That might be a good start.

The one thing I'm thinking about is that with as little as the one on my rifle gets used, a CR123 might be better as it will take years to lose a charge as apposed to NiMH or Alkaline.

 

[Nolacopusmc]

Couldn't tell you about the hybrid (multi-type battery compatibility) lights; never tried one.

The 123A cell was originally developed for use in cameras; a lot of energy packed into a small container, capable of dumping that energy quickly without over-heating or shorting out. John Matthews, founder of Laser Products (which became SureFire), was the first to figure out that a really compact, really powerful flashlight could be designed around these batteries.

Hot wires (the flashaholic term for incandescent bulbs) need a lot of power to be bright. The LED revolution, with their lower power requirements, has added another dimension, especially since the major players have finally snapped to the fact that reflector technology is what makes LEDs "throw" as good as incans- NOT raw power/size.

So you have regulated LED lights that are just as good as incans on the high setting (and with the same short battery life), yet will last for hours on low setting. The limited "testing" I have done tells me that certain 123A-powered lights will approach the run time of one using regular alkaline batteries; but the alkaline battery is still king for now. Of course, that costs you brightness and power. But for a general-purpose flashlight, one that uses alkaline cells is going to last longer on a set of batteries than a 123A-powered one.

Nickle cadmium, nickle-metal-hydride, and lithium ion rechargeables are another thing entirely, with different parameters. These you definitely want to avoid if you're looking for something to set aside for six months and have it ready to go when you pick it up and need it right NOW.

And the 123A cells definitely have a longer shelf life of all the different types. I don't buy the ten year claim, for reasons too detailed to go into here. But their usable storage life- AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT "ACTIVATED" BY USING THEM; HOWEVER BRIEFLY- is measured in years, whereas the others are measured in months. The relatively new lihtium "standard" cells (AA, C, & D) seem to be a lot more hardy than regular alkalines, for what that's worth.

My personal plan is to have a few 123A-powered lights available at all times, for when you need it now. I have three in my little "war bag" that goes everywhere with me, plus one that I carry. My carbine has a TLR-1 on it, with 123As, as do my pistol lights.

But the lights I use every day, around the house, will soon all be AA or D cell powered. The only rechargeable lights I own are the two I liberated from the state when I retired. Rechargeable lights are all fine and good... as long as you can recharge them. It never ceases to amaze me how many people do not consider what will happen when you CANNOT recharge them; such as during a power failure.

.

Very informative.


FWIW. During Katrina, we liberated all usable supplies from a couple of places with storm damage. Of course, batteries were a commodity. Katrina was right around the time when the Streamlight Stinger series was the bees knees. We all had them. As LSP972 pointed out, no power, when you need flashlights, is not friendly to rechargeable.

The CR123's were damn near impossible to come by, but the "AA" variants were well stocked.

Duty: I have a Streamlight Stinger DS LED on my belt, with another charging in the car for a swap. Have had to do that on DWI checkpoints.

I also have a Fenix PD20(soon to be LD10) in my pocket, and as soon as I get off my ass, it will be on a clip on my belt.

To date we are not allowed to carry weapon mounted lights on our firearms. i am working on a white paper, policy, and course outline to change that.

EDC- PD20 (soon to be LD10). I keep a surefire executive and some no name LE on my visor because I have them.

All vehicles have at least two lights in them for tire changing, suspicious circumstance investigating, and general dropped stuff under seat use.

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

Nickle cadmium, nickle-metal-hydride, and lithium ion rechargeables are another thing entirely, with different parameters. These you definitely want to avoid if you're looking for something to set aside for six months and have it ready to go when you pick it up and need it right NOW.

OK that kind of confuses me. The CR123's that I have are Li-ion rechargeable, and I switched my battery drill to a Li-ion battery solely so I don't have to charge it everytime I get ready to use it. Unlike Nickel batteries they lose very little charge on the shelf.

 

[dantheman]

I have an unlimited supply of AA,AAA,C cell and D cell batteries . I need a tough , bright , NON CONDUCTIVE , light . Right now I'm using a Pelican 3 - C cell light .
Very bright , but I want something a little smaller . Suggestions ?

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

If I absolutely had to have one non-conductive, I would cover one of my good aluminum lights with heatshrink tubing.