I need some help choosing!

[pobox1475]

Nitecore NEX = 200 lumens
A couple protected AW's = $ saved
A Pila IBC to juice them

I could not be happier with the above items :twothumbs

 

[MikeGoob]

As I said before my last light just stopped working reliably after a leaving it on for an extended time--Is it my standard CR123s that causes that? Is every light suseptable to frying with standard batts?

 

[sappyg]

hmm Im beginning to wonder if there is any clear choice besides just buying one at a time till I can eventually compare them all on my own lol

this is the best option. failing that i would recommend flipping a coin.
the e1b is the one i would pick though and i don't need a coin to decide. it will not let you down. SF customer service will see to that.

 

[deranged_coder]

As I said before my last light just stopped working reliably after a leaving it on for an extended time--Is it my standard CR123s that causes that? Is every light suseptable to frying with standard batts?

It really depends how hard the LED is being driven. Some lights are designed so that they can be driven on their high mode full time. Others have a "burst" mode i.e. in "burst" mode they drive the LED really hard and it produces quite a bit of heat so if you leave it on that "burst" mode for too long the LED will suffer thermal damage. The Ra lights, for example, have a high mode of 100 lumens with a burst of 140 lumens i.e. it is designed to be safely driven full time at 100 lumens and can temporarily boost it up to 140 lumens for a short period of time before it automatically drops the output back down to prevent the LED from overheating.

Some of the better designed lights have thermal protection built in i.e. it will automatically lower the output when the LED gets too hot to prevent thermal damage.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

As I said before my last light just stopped working reliably after a leaving it on for an extended time--Is it my standard CR123s that causes that? Is every light suseptable to frying with standard batts?

Your dead light probably had really poor heatsinking. Get a SureFire and worry no more.

 

[Big_Ed]

Of the lights I have, I recommend the Surefire E1B. I also like the Surefire E1L (just got it today!) or Surefire L1. If you order through LAPolicegear.com, they give you free batteries with most lights.
The RA lights look really good, too, although I don't own any.....yet!

 

[fenix-rules]

Fenix P2D its awesome just got mine :welcome:

 

[richardcpf]

I own the extreme and the P2D Q5, great lights, and the extreme is almost as bright as my Jet III pro ibs.

1. Nitecore extreme
2. Jet II Pro IBS
3. P2D/PD20
4. T10C

I don't really know how bright is the SF E1B in real life, but 80 lumens doesn't sound like the "seriously bright" you're looking for.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

I own the extreme and the P2D Q5, great lights, and the extreme is almost as bright as my Jet III pro ibs.

1. Nitecore extreme
2. Jet II Pro IBS
3. P2D/PD20
4. T10C

I don't really know how bright is the SF E1B in real life, but 80 lumens doesn't sound like the "seriously bright" you're looking for.

Do you even know how SureFire measure lumens?

 

[deranged_coder]

I don't really know how bright is the SF E1B in real life, but 80 lumens doesn't sound like the "seriously bright" you're looking for.

SureFire almost certainly understates their lumen ratings. I own a bunch of 1xCR123 powered lights so believe me when I say that IMHO the E1B certainly qualifies as "seriously bright". :thumbsup:

 

[carrot]

Since when was 80 lumens not seriously bright? My EDC is ~45-60 lumens.

 

[Gunner12]

From what I see around here, Some E1Bs have been around the same output(maybe a bit less for a few) as a new L1, so either the L1 was really bright, or the E1B was at the lower end. I'm guessing the first one but either way, 80 Surefire lumen is still less(even after the way Surefire measures lumen) then 130 lumen from a good company like Nitecore and such.

It is still much brighter then what most people need and the optic makes it throw more then almost all other lights around the same output range.

His Amilight, presuming it was a T5, was probably 100-120 lumen OTF. It was not recommended to run with a RCR123.

Either way, you have some really good suggestions here, and probably doesn't help you pick at all.