Favorite Buget light.

[swan]

One of my cheapies is a Tank E09 [nice brown colour] which i paid $13 for about 2 years ago- its a tiny AAA light, throwy ,tough and very reliable about 90 lumens It has been dropped on concrete scuffed up but still works as good as ever.

 

[BobbyMK]

For me it has to be my Convoy M1, love it, had survived everything Ive done to it, has been dropped from 1.5m, submerged, left on high for 30min tail standing, it was so hot u couldn't even hold it for more than 5 sec in hand. Then i modified it a bit, added qlite rev.a driver with 10 7135 chips, changed wires to led and added xml-2 u4 emitter on noctigon mcpcb, now love it even more, amazing light for the price.

 

[john-paul]

I bought a CREE Super Light off the bay for 2.99 shipped. It's a AA/14500 light. I actually find myself showing it to quite a few people just because of how cheep it was and how much throw it has.
I'm not sure if it even has a CREE LED or if it's just China trickery, but even if it dies today I had a heck of a lot of fun with it.

 

[KeepingItLight]

I'm not sure if it even has a CREE LED or if it's just China trickery, but even if it dies today I had a heck of a lot of fun with it.

A lot of the newer Chinese budget lights are using emitters made by LatticeBright. They are often falsely advertised as being "Cree" flashlights. You can be fooled by an honest advert as well. That's because LatticeBright uses model numbers that are similar to the Cree emitters from which they are copied. So you might see an "XG2" flashlight that does not say "Cree," and fool yourself in thinking it is a "Cree XP-G2."

The emitters from LatticeBright are not, in general, as capable as their Cree counterparts. I have read speculation, however, that Chinese manufacturers are catching up. If we are not there yet, we are approaching a time when the cheap knockoffs will be appropriate for budget flashlights.

 

[Jash]

Personally I consider anything under $30 a budget light, so I'm gonna say the three mode EO5 is my favourite. Toss up between that and a Philips branded 3xAAA light I got for $10 that throws it's 50 lumens a long way. Reasonable build quality for the money.

 

[Fireclaw18]

The Coast HP1 seems to be a rival to the sipik 68...but for $10, much better built and makes for daylight in the darkness as well as a lot of more expensive numbers. And the quality aint bad at all.

I just entered into the budget Sure Fire category and eagerly anticipate their arrival. The G2X Pro.
Definitely not your big box store check out aisle priced numbers. Yet weather proof, and drop friendly for $55...
I bought them because setting 1 is 15 lumens. Same as my old mini mag incan.

I was impressed with the Coast HP1. For a $10 light it had a lot of nice features: LED Lenser style zooming TIR optic, copper star, flawless anodizing, very wide flood, etc. It isn't the brightest of lights, but it's certainly well built and designed for what it does. Construction quality is loads better than a Sipik 68 even if it has less throw.

 

[dc38]

I was impressed with the Coast HP1. For a $10 light it had a lot of nice features: LED Lenser style zooming TIR optic, copper star, flawless anodizing, very wide flood, etc. It isn't the brightest of lights, but it's certainly well built and designed for what it does. Construction quality is loads better than a Sipik 68 even if it has less throw.

Dont forget perfectly centered led

 

[dc38]

Dont forget perfectly centered led

I also wouldnt forget the atom a0...quite a formidable marathon runner on aaa

 

[Andybibbville]

I've really enjoyed my Thorfire tg06, it's about 300 lumens on a 14500 battery for under $20.

 

[flatline]

I've been getting tons of use out of my Rayus C01. 20+ lumens for 4+ hours is way more appealing to me than all this AAA lights that give 80+ lumens but die after 45 minutes.

 

[ChibiM]

I like my Convoy lights. S5, S2+
and solarforce L2m, which you can lego with many different parts... although they wont always stay within budget limits then

 

[Fireclaw18]

My favorite budget light is the one that's my current EDC: The Aleto N8 zoomie.

The AA version of this light is very common on Ebay and DX. Its main distinguishing feature is it's the smallest AA-sized zoomie available. It's shorter than a Sipik 68 and much slimmer, while still having respectable throw and decent flood.

The Aleto N8 is the very rare 18650 version of that light. In stock form it is 25mm x 107mm making it the smallest 18650 zoomie ever sold. It came with cheesie gold anodizing. Sadly, I only ever found one supplier for this light on Ebay, and haven't seen it sold for about a year now. It appears to no longer be available. It came with a 5-mode driver, cool white XML and 18mm aspheric lens.

What I really like about the N8 is what I was able to do with it when I modded it. I currently have 2 completed modded versions:

For both modded lights:
* Replaced the driver with a 17mm FET driver from Mountain Electronics with moppydrv e-switch firmware.
* Removed tailcap switch and shortened body and head.
* Light came with hollow pill. Added copper heatsink and Noctigon star. Star attaches to heatsink with screws.
* Emitter swap to 5000K XPL HI
* Removed anodizing and painted exterior with tactical black Duracoat paint.
* Added side electronic switch.
* Filed down top of pill and back of bezel to allow lens to retract within 1 mm of top of LED. This allows for a much wider flood than a stock unmodded light.

Modded Aleto N8 number 1:
* Replaced stock lens with Fresnel lens from Edmund Optics behind a protective glass lens.
* Added metal side switch button cover.
* Light is 25mm x 92mm ... the same size as a Sipik 68 even though it runs on a much larger 18650 battery.
* Very wide beam angle in flood mode: over 90 degrees.
* Respectable 25k lux in spot mode.

Modded Aleto N8 number 2:
* Replaced stock 18mm aspheric lens with a 20mm aspheric lens.
* Added rubber sideswitch button cover
* Added rubber grip sleeve around body tube.
* Light is 25mm x 94mm, just slightly longer than the fresnel version. Battery compartment is slightly shorter though. Fresnel version could be a couple mm shorter if I shortened the battery compartment.
* Brightest flood and throw of all my EDC size zoom lights.
* 38k lux in spot mode. Puts out a wall of light in flood mode, but can still focus enough to light something up 1000' away. Not bad for a small EDC-sized tube light.

 

[Crazyeddiethefirst]

For keychain lights I do the Nitecore Tube. $6 each if you wait for a sale at GearBest or Banggood. For an all around penlight I do the Terralux Lightstar 80 at $20. Battery Junction used to do those at two for $25, but not any more. For a nice penlight I have the MT06. Classy looking and nice light stages. Usually around $30. For an all around light look at Lumens Factory Seraph 6 at around $40. Very nice utility light with good mode levels. I consider it a poor man's 6P.

PS: A year or so ago there was a discussion about what made a 'budget light'. The general consensus was any light under $50, regardless of quality could be considered a budget light.

FYI, they are phasing out the Seraph-6 and currently on sale at $10 each +$8 shipping. For $18 you get a great host, two tailcap switches and a host of freebies. Best budget light available!

 

[bykfixer]

Just bought a Coleman LED model 2000006852 (that's 5 zeros) High Power alluminum tactical light. Has a CREE LED.

It's a 90 lumen tactical light at Target for a little under $20. An alluminum body with a tactical head and reverse clicky that came with 3 aaa batteries.

Super lightweight parts with a good beam for finding firewood etc. Good hot spot 75-100' with a nearby flood as wide as your normal vision. A few areas of round have metal taken away for roll away reduction.

I guess if need be you can punch a bobcat in the face with the front end.

Came with a nice lanyard on a small split ring. It's tail standable as well. It's a dark silver color so wear shouldn't be obvious for a while.

So if you want to give an inexpensive flashlight to a camping or hiking family member this year, check out the Coleman 2000006852. Or if you wanna have a nice lightweight tactical light, get one for yourself.

Runtime is 9.5 hours to 9 lumens, drop rated for a meter, said to shine 300+' (112 meters) and IPX4 water resistant.

To the mod squad, the head is fixed on. Which CREE? Got me. I'm sure some would know by looking into the plastic lens with slight orange peel reflector.

Mine is gonna look cool as an expensive looking shelf queen with lithiums in it juuuuuust in case I need it.

 

[RickZ]

I was impressed with the Coast HP1. For a $10 light it had a lot of nice features: LED Lenser style zooming TIR optic, copper star, flawless anodizing, very wide flood, etc. It isn't the brightest of lights, but it's certainly well built and designed for what it does. Construction quality is loads better than a Sipik 68 even if it has less throw.

It's one of the brightiest, 345 lumens is a lot of power. Poor throw though, it just doesn't zoom out far enough.

 

[bykfixer]

I like LED Lenser lights. Trouble is you don't know until it arrives if it's genuine or a knockoff.

 

[Fireclaw18]

It's one of the brightiest, 345 lumens is a lot of power. Poor throw though, it just doesn't zoom out far enough.

Actually that's not quite the problem. An LED Lenser's zooming TIR optic contains 2 sections: (1) the outer TIR portion, and (2) the central aspheric lens. Both portions have the same focal length, so that in spot mode all of the light is focused and you get maximum possible throw.

The HP1 uses an LED Lenser style zooming TIR optic, but unlike an LED Lenser, it has 2 different focal lengths for the TIR and the aspheric. In spot mode, the outer TIR portion is in focus, but the central aspheric portion is not. The result is that in spot mode, you have a generous amount of spill from the portion not in focus. This also results in a beam with very little throw compared to comparable LED Lenser optic or even a Sipik 68.

Because the optic has 2 different focal lengths, merely extending an HP1's bezel further won't increase throw. If you try it, the central aspheric will come into focus, but the outer TIR portion will be out of focus.

I think this beam pattern was an intentional decision on the part of Coast's engineers. One advantage is the longer focal length for the central aspheric means that central portion isn't as thick. This allows for a wider flood beam, though personally I think I would have preferred a more conventional fully focused LED Lenser style beam.

 

[KeepingItLight]

The HP1 uses an LED Lenser style zooming TIR optic, but unlike an LED Lenser, it has 2 different focal lengths for the TIR and the aspheric. In spot mode, the outer TIR portion is in focus, but the central aspheric portion is not. The result is that in spot mode, you have a generous amount of spill from the portion not in focus. This also results in a beam with very little throw compared to comparable LED Lenser optic or even a Sipik 68.

Thanks for another great lesson about zooming flashlights. Everything I know about zoomies I learned from you!

 

[burkevalocks]

Just bought a Coleman LED model 2000006852 (that's 5 zeros) High Power alluminum tactical light. Has a CREE LED.

It's a 90 lumen tactical light at Target for a little under $20. An alluminum body with a tactical head and reverse clicky that came with 3 aaa batteries.

Super lightweight parts with a good beam for finding firewood etc. Good hot spot 75-100' with a nearby flood as wide as your normal vision. A few areas of round have metal taken away for roll away reduction.

I guess if need be you can punch a bobcat in the face with the front end.

Came with a nice lanyard on a small split ring. It's tail standable as well. It's a dark silver color so wear shouldn't be obvious for a while.

So if you want to give an inexpensive flashlight to a camping or hiking family member this year, check out the Coleman 2000006852. Or if you wanna have a nice lightweight tactical light, get one for yourself.

Runtime is 9.5 hours to 9 lumens, drop rated for a meter, said to shine 300+' (112 meters) and IPX4 water resistant.

To the mod squad, the head is fixed on. Which CREE? Got me. I'm sure some would know by looking into the plastic lens with slight orange peel reflector.

Mine is gonna look cool as an expensive looking shelf queen with lithiums in it juuuuuust in case I need it.

that is nice and worth it. where did you purchase that one from? I have something like that one but not as good.

 

[bykfixer]

^^ at a local Target store.

Welcome to CPF burk.