Flashlight Experience and questions from a Retired Cop

[waddup]

T

1. What is the best 18650 LED light out there?
2. What is the best single AA LED light out there?
3. What is the best single AAA LED light out there?

1. no company can alter physics, all the good companies use the same available technology.all the lights in this catagory are about the same.... EXCELLENT!

2.nightcore d10

3.for $30 the martac/itp, for $250 anything you want.(but performance is very similar and it will hurt much more if you lose it)

 

[berry580]

So a warm side emitter is not as bright as a cool side emitter?
I am looking at:
1. Jetbeam JET-I PRO V3.0 CREE R2 LED Flashlight for $62.99 delivered.
2. JETBeam RRT-2 Raptor Cree R2 LED with Ultrafire 3000 Protected Battery+Charger for $140.00 delivered.
3. Fenix LD01 Q5 for $39.99 delivered.
Are these good deals?

I think many people from CPF wouldn't suggest Ultrafire batteries, and neither do I, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Ultrafire 18650 3000, reason being that it may have higher rated capacity, but some people have reported that it may only be true for low currents (i.e. when you use low modes). When you use it on high/max, the runtime would actually be worse than UF 18650's with lower rated mAH.

Use the AW 18650, and you can't go wrong. But of course it comes at a premium. Either way, I don't recommend UF 18650 3000. If you really wanna save some dough, get the "normal" UF protected 18650's instead, ones that are rated ~2500mAH.

 

[Ogg Vorbis]

So a warm side emitter is not as bright as a cool side emitter?

Technically yeah, they're rated at a lower overall output, but many of us now opt for the nicer tint at the loss of calculated lumens, but feel that the tint makes the beam appear just as bright when outdoors. I dont want to get too involved into the whole tint battle but look at some of the exsisting threads and beamshots and choose for yourself.

I personally doubt you can go far wrong with any suggestions mentioned, most lights are great, it's down to personal prefarence that comes with having experience of a few lights. Which is mainly down to modes, battery, emittor, body design and reflector choices (thrower/flood) etc...

Dan

 

[pseudoblue]

No comment on the JetBeam's and the Fenix's choices you made, they are very good lights. But regarding the 18650 battery, I would also recommend AW 18650 batteries over Ultrafire. The charger you mentioned might be the Ultrafire WF-139? still okay and I'm using it too. But you need to know that they have trickle charge. Perhaps you can get some info about it here. Learnt lots from Silverfox.

You can also get AW 14500 for the JET-I PRO, and can use the same charger.

Have you taken a look at the Quark AA tactical? They take 14500 as well. I think there are many Quark AA owners here in CPF!

 

[Badbeams3]

Regarding the 18650...47`s is suppose to come out with a single 18650 one, around 500 lumen. Maybe not that far away..might be just around the corner. His target price is $100. I expect this to be a great bang for the buck light.

I think in general we are siting at the doorstep of change. Many new led`s are going to be going into lights soon. My guess would be manufactures are scrambling to get the improved stuff out by Christmas. If you can hold off just a bit...

 

[DoctaDink]

I've not used them myself, but the EagleTac T110C2 or the P version, sure look like a great light/value for the 18650 size.
You can get cool or neutral tints.

Re:
AA lights there are lots of good choices. The Quarks look like the best deal going now. Also, the Nitecore D10 is favored by many. And, check out EagleTac AA versions as well.

AAA:
I'm liking the SS Maratac (see Maratac thread) as a great light for the money. I got my daughter a SS Fenix LDO1, but they are hard to come by now.

Have you considered C123 or C2 lights?

 

[Hwy115]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the input on the 18650's. I will stay away form the UltraFire Batteries. As for the 123 battery question posed by Doctadink. I have learned one very important lesson about access to things one needs. AA and AAA batteies are much more available and cheaper than the others. You can get those batteries anywhere at anytime for a low price. Unless you keep lots of spares you could get stuck without batteries one day. Go to a retail giant like Costco. You can get 40 AA's for 10 bucks. They don't even sell the 123's. If they do, they are not in the battery section. An Officer asked me one time why I carried 2 Glocks. My simple answer was that I could always pop a 19 mag into my 26 and have a higher capapcity versus having 2 guns with non interchangeable mags. During 911 you couldn't find a 123 battery anywhere. There were thousands of AA AAA C's D's available to us. Donors where delivering thousands of batteries to us and they were being used and replaced at will. I used my 6P's 123 batteries up and went to several stores where they were all sold out. Took me a week to get some from the internet. Back to my trusty rechargeable I went. If something bad ever happens I don't want to be left in the dark. You can get AA's at the cheapest dime store or out of the highest end business. I would venture to say that 80% of every household in the country has had a AA or AAA battery in the last 12 months.

 

[DoctaDink]

I agree with having lights (and weapons) that can be easily fed and AA/AAA/C/D are definitely more widely available. , I also, like having a variety, so that if one version is unavailable, then another may be. I happen to like the C123 (or rechargable) as a nice compromise of size/capacity/availabiltiy, though I can image during a "9/11" type incident, then they may be very difficult to come by.
And, Thank you for your service during that very difficult time.

 

[berry580]

AAA:
I'm liking the SS Maratac (see Maratac thread) as a great light for the money. I got my daughter a SS Fenix LDO1, but they are hard to come by now.

Not really.
Go ebay, look for seller "genpower123" You can rest assure its not me and I'm not in anyway (besides a customer of his) related to him.
You can buy it via "best offer" @ USD$40 + $3.95 worldwide shipping!! :twothumbs (Yes i can tell you that's cheap) Be quick before anything changes, I have no control over it whatsoever.

Try:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Fenix-LD01-S...in_0?hash=item3ef84d4f0e&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

Not sure if you're allowed to post a sales link, but I'm risking it for you guys.

 

[Roland the Headless]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the input on the 18650's. I will stay away form the UltraFire Batteries. As for the 123 battery question posed by Doctadink. I have learned one very important lesson about access to things one needs. AA and AAA batteies are much more available and cheaper than the others. You can get those batteries anywhere at anytime for a low price. Unless you keep lots of spares you could get stuck without batteries one day. Go to a retail giant like Costco. You can get 40 AA's for 10 bucks. They don't even sell the 123's. If they do, they are not in the battery section. An Officer asked me one time why I carried 2 Glocks. My simple answer was that I could always pop a 19 mag into my 26 and have a higher capapcity versus having 2 guns with non interchangeable mags. During 911 you couldn't find a 123 battery anywhere. There were thousands of AA AAA C's D's available to us. Donors where delivering thousands of batteries to us and they were being used and replaced at will. I used my 6P's 123 batteries up and went to several stores where they were all sold out. Took me a week to get some from the internet. Back to my trusty rechargeable I went. If something bad ever happens I don't want to be left in the dark. You can get AA's at the cheapest dime store or out of the highest end business. I would venture to say that 80% of every household in the country has had a AA or AAA battery in the last 12 months.

I really liked the Fenix P1D and thought it would make a great EDC. But then I decided to check out a few of the local convenience stores to see if they had C123 batteries and none of them did. Since I travel a medium amount, I figured I could get caught pretty easily without a replacement battery and decided to stick with AAA or AA lights.

I have an ED01 for my EDC and it is a nice light. I prefer pushbuttons though and may try a LED lenser P2 for a while and see what I think even though it doesn't put out as much light and is a little longer.

 

[Hwy115]

By no means am I trying to put down one battery type over another. From what I have read on here, all of the different types have their advantages and disadvantages. I am just seeing the advantages of having readliy available sources of power in case something realy bad happens. I know a Police Officer whose batteries (he went with extras) ran out during the Katrina disaster. He ran out of batteries 123's and he had no choice but to use his mini mag and told me that 1/2 flooded stores had AA's behind the counters. Just think emergency or catasrophe, a storm, earthquake, civil disorder, blackout, terrorist attack, flood. In any of those circumstances, I am sure one could eventually find those good old AA's!
PS I am still undecided on the 1AA I should get. Please keep the opinions coming in!

 

[Roland the Headless]

By no means am I trying to put down one battery type over another. From what I have read on here, all of the different types have their advantages and disadvantages. I am just seeing the advantages of having readliy available sources of power in case something realy bad happens. I know a Police Officer whose batteries (he went with extras) ran out during the Katrina disaster. He ran out of batteries 123's and he had no choice but to use his mini mag and told me that 1/2 flooded stores had AA's behind the counters. Just think emergency or catasrophe, a storm, earthquake, civil disorder, blackout, terrorist attack, flood. In any of those circumstances, I am sure one could eventually find those good old AA's!
PS I am still undecided on the 1AA I should get. Please keep the opinions coming in!

What's important to you in the 1xAA. Output? Simplicity or number of modes? Battery life? Size? Ruggedness? Cost? And of those which is the most important?

 

[LED Cool]

do check out this review site.

http://www.light-reviews.com/reviews.html

khoo

 

[Kurzon]

I can only find rechargeable CR123s online (most of which are poor quality), which is why I ditched my CR123 light for a AA model.

I recommend the Fenix LD10 for your single AA light. I hear the Cree Q5 LED is the brightest on the market right now. Most Fenix flashlights also have flat surfaces on them which are great for engraving your name - nobody will want to steal your pricey flashlight.

 

[Hwy115]

Hey Roland,
Output
Battery Life
Ruggedness are the most important to me. Modes, cost, simplicity, are not as important to me.

 

[Swedpat]

Hi Hwy115,

And :welcome:also from me!

I think you are right when you speak for AA batteries. Propably the world's most common battery, available in nearly every store and kiosk in the world. Personally I have lights with as well AAA, AA, CR123 and 6V (5x1,2V) D batteries. As you mention all batteries have their advantages and disadvantages. But if I bring with me some light(s) for a travel around the world or to countryside and will be sure I can get new batteries it will foremost be lights for AA batteries.

Regards, Patric

 

[Roland the Headless]

Hey Roland,
Output
Battery Life
Ruggedness are the most important to me. Modes, cost, simplicity, are not as important to me.

It's hard to go wrong with the Fenix LD10. There might be others out there that are better in one area or another, but it's a good all around light.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

For what purposes are you going to use your lights? Knowing this might give us some more ideas/choices for you. Also, of course, do some searching, and the google, cpf only, toolbar at the top of every page is a big help.

Bill

 

[Hwy115]

Hey Bullzeye,
I do construction site safety now in New York City. I would use the light(s) as car flashlights when not in use at work. So they would be multi purpose and small. Good for large empty underlit buildings and good for anything I might run into when driving. I have some really powerful lights at home so these would be primarly used away from home. A good AAA keychain light would be good as well.

 

[pseudoblue]

PS I am still undecided on the 1AA I should get. Please keep the opinions coming in!

I still stand on the Quark AA Tactical. You can look up with plenty of reviews.

But for my personal likings, you can program to have any 2 available modes immediately (1)bezel loosen and (2)tighten, from 8 different modes. The forward clickly gives you a momentary on function. Given any type of situation, just click to on with the mode you want immediately is good enough with the Quark AA.

You can re-program the Quark AA to have it ready for several situations:
- for work at the construction site: Medium/Turbo
- when going to the movies: Moonlight/Low
- camping, fishing: Moonlight/High
- Emergency situations: Beacon/High
- and many more programmable ideas depending on you.

It's relatively easy to program the Quark AA and you'll get used to it.

In addition, the knurling was well thought of, easy to hold and feels right, sufficient grip. There are just many more technical features that the Quark AA has that makes it a reliable light.

*EDIT
A friend, dropped his Quark twice on ceramic tile, 2 feet and 5 feet and the light still works perfectly, gotta thank him for that :kiss: