List the BEST/WORST flashlight purchases you have made.

[Ksailork]

Best purchases would include my Surefire G2, Olight T20, and a Petzl Arctic headlamp. Many years ago, Maglite brought a robustness and quality into the flashlight world so I have to add my first Maglite, a 2C.

Worst would have to be any and all of the Princeton Tec lights that I purchased. They hold the record for the only flashlights that I've actually thrown in the garbage. Three complete failures out of four.

 

[Black Rose]

I am a frugal flashaholic so my list doesn't contain the higher priced, big name players.

Best:
Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 2xAA 1-watt.
iTP A3 EOS Upgrade & iTP A2 EOS
Solarforce L2*
Surefire G2
MG L-Mini II
Gerber Infinity Ultra
2D Rebel Mag (a $20 thrower)

Worst:
The utterly useless Mag Solitaire
2D incans bought from closeout bins that can't be modded.

 

[Brian321]

Best:
Romisen RC-N3 NW: Awesome light for the money, plus you can use AA or 123a's.
Surefire 6P w/ M61: Awesome light,good throw and spill.
All my other Surfire's
Zebralight H501: Great all around light.

Worst:
Dereelight DBS V3: The light output is good but i cant stand the threads and o-rings on this light(they just feel cheap).
Mag solitare: Was my first light and is garbage.

 

[McAllan]

Best:
Fenix LD20 (1. version) without doubt. My most used light so far with great balance between output, run time and size :thumbsup:

Worst:
Mini MagLite 2AA LED non mode (2006) version. Nothing really wrong with it technically I'd just expect it's output to be far more considered the horrendous price and the "3 watt" advertising on the package. Yeah right it doesn't even deliver 1 w to the emitter. So price/performance is really bad. I feel robbed :scowl:
MTE C3-1 Stainless from DX. But only the 2. one I bought. The first one very nice but 2. one was noticeably lower quality :thumbsdow

 

[rookiedaddy]

Best purchases so far:
SureFire E2DL - Simply awesome
ZebraLight H501/w - Simply useful
EagleTac T100C2 - Simply KISS

Worst purchase:
Fenix LD05 - this was purchased to compare with Preon II, heavy, green tint, PWM and tight clip, simply one of the worst release from Fenix!

 

[ejot]

Which light is that? Looks great for working on the car.

Yes, x2. Where did you get that?

Speaking of lights I regret, I have the exact same host as this, except it's the multi-angry-blue-5mm version and it really *sentence terminated to avoid vulgarity*. Purchased before my CPF days. Hmm, mod time I guess. :thinking:

I haven't been truly disappointed in anything since learning of CPF. Closest candidates would be:
Ti Quark - :green: tint really spoiled an otherwise nice offering. Would have gladly given up some efficacy for a reasonable stock tint @ low drive.
EX10 - It's so close to being fantastic, but behaves erratically on occasion, even well maintained.
Illuminati - Dunno why, but just didn't have any appeal when I opened the box. Not sure if I even turned it on. I'll stick with my LD01 SS, thank you.
iTP A3 - F'n useless split ring hole. I'll stick with my LD01 SS, thank you.
Maratac AAA - Meh. Uninspiring. I'll stick with my ... OK, you get the point.


The true gems [FONT=&quot]—[/FONT] with respect to value:
Zebralights (several varieties) - What needs to be said? More useful than my left thumb.
"User" classic 6P with 7A LED drop in - Timeless, elegant design. Perhaps the prettiest mass-produced light of all time. A little rough around the edges, not afraid to put it through some hard use. Awesome, useful tint. (Thanks carbine15).
SureFire U2 with tailstanding tailcap - The best UI, bar none. 18650 + SureFire goodness. Yep, put 'er on the list.
LD01 - There are fancier, smaller, lighter, brighter, and far more expensive keychain lights. But there's just something about this light, next to a micra with my keys... can't put a finger on it.
JetBeam M1X - Versatility, ridiculously useful beam pattern

I feel terrible leaving so many other lights off the list. I almost always feel they're worth more than I pay.

 

[Launch Mini]

Excluding my SPY's

Best
Surefire E1B. Really amazed at the light out of this guy.


Worst
Streamlight 4AA. Bought this a few years ago, thought it was great at the time.

 

[325addict]

ooomphh... this is gonna be a hard one

The better lights:

Surefire C3 Centurion HAIII (with P90, I LOVE it!!)
Megalennium (the way the SF M6 should have been... on 3X 18650s!)
Wolf Eyes M90 Rattlesnake (2-cell, standard lamp, as well as 3-cell)
MagCharger (good throw, bright, rechargeable...)
Wolf Eyes Sniper MC-E (BRIGHT! Bright! Did I mention it is BRIGHT??)
Surefire C2 Centurion HAIII (smaller brother of the C3)
Modified Surefire A2 (REAL warm white LEDs, match incan perfectly)
Surefire U2, new version (one of the most versatile lights I have)
Maglite AA incan: the PERFECT light for in a tent... neither too bright, nor too dim
Fenix LD01: a very versatile EDC. It is always on me.
Fenix P3D: even RCR123s work forever in this light. Bright and small.
Modified SF E1E: with LF LA, guilt free lumens and BRIGHT for the size!

The ones that disappointed me more or less:

Surefire L1 LumaMax (new version): really NO spill at all!! TIR is not for me.
Ultrafire WF501B, C or D: either bent body(!), loose threads, switch that broke down, or JUST too narrow to house 18650s... or just too LONG to make contact with unprotected 18650s!!

I'm sure I forgot loads of lights, let this be my start

Timmo.

 

[jugornot]

I have no regrets for any of the lights I have bought. I use CPF to research before I buy. Even the lights I bought before CPF have lasted well and served the needs of the times. Including 3d, 2c and mini mags. Favorites for me include q mini aa and 123 for edc. ITP C8R for work. Love the TK20s for a great all around 2xaa lights. A Dereelight Javelin a favorite for trying stuff out. Do the research make wise choices and have realistic expectations.

 

[rooster.5]

Best: Surefire E1e, my EDC for several years now. Surefire E2e,Surefire G2, Surefire G2L, Minimag after LED upgrade. Worst:Minimag before LED upgrade,Mag soli before and after LED upgrade,eGear PDL-1,this light was o.k. but I paid too much for it.

 

[Locoboy5150]

Best - Fenix TK40 - I was leery about spending that much on a flashlight but all it took was turning it on in high mode for the first time and then I knew that it was money well spent. Then I kicked it up a notch into turbo.

Worst - Yep, add me to the list of Maglite Solitaire haters. I bought one when they first came out and even back then as a kid I was less than impressed with its dim, yellow light output. Keep in mind that this when my 2 AA incandescent Mini-Maglite was my light output measuring standard! The Solitaire looked so cool too. It was and still is the king of the poser lights because it still looks great...until the power is turned on.

At least the Solitaire was cheap for me. Those things are *so* bad, even my mom, the furthest thing from a flashaholic - believe me, doesn't like them!

 

[kramer5150]

Which light is that? Looks great for working on the car.

My sister in law got it at REI I think. link HERE

Its way too throwey, but I use scotch tape to diffuse the beam a little. I stick it on my drill press to light up my workpiece. I kind of wish it were brighter though. An XPE can do 100L easy without overheating.

 

[GarageBoy]

That mag clamp light is made by Joby, the makers of the gorilla pod camera tripod

Best: Nautilus - love the looks, the UI, the construction, the output levels. It rides with me daily

Worst: Surefire G2- only cause I paid $50 for it...

 

[Robin24k]

Best - Maglite XL100: Lots of features for $40, rather smooth beam (after fiddling with the head), just a little iffy on AAA, although it gave me an excuse to buy 4 AAA Duraloops so I could put the 2 AAA that I had to use.

Worst - Nite-Ize 3-LED Mini Maglite upgrade, very blue in color, but it was the only LED upgrade available at the time. At least my old Mini Maglite is somewhat usable as a loaner/spare now.

 

[saabgoblin]

Actually, I think that I need to thank Doug, AKA Quickbeam once again for putting the Flashlightreviews website together because his information helped me not spend a lot of money on lights that I might not like. I must say the he didn't really save me any actual money in the long run because it led me here but my spending is my own fault and Doug can't really be blamed for my lack of control.

Even though it is a little outdated by today's standards, I still love my Nuwai Qlll!:twothumbs

Actually, I have a Maglite Solitare as well but but since I don't remember buying it, I guess that I can't claim it as a regret.

 

[Cataract]

:thumbsup: BEST (I don't use half of them half as much as they deserve)
M1X
TK40
TK11
TK20 (apparently wanting a neutral is a pre-requisite)
PD30
HP10 (combined with the Fenix Headband)
Quark RGB
Quark AA neutral
Malkoff M60 MCE W
Strion

:ironic: WORST
Gerber ... squidlamp?? It's got 8 leds, each on foldable appendages (3 red LEDs) for a grand total of about 5 lumen at a price of 50$ (thank god I got it at half price)

Anything Dorcy (2 years ago, I returned 3 of them for my money back) :shakehead

ZebraLight H50 (sorry fans, this one attracts bugs like it says "Bug Zapper" on my forehead, but I do use it for reading in the tent and finishing off old batteries, it's at least good for that. I might change my mind if I ever put my hands on the neutral version)

 

[vtunderground]

Best: Surefire L4 with a few of AW's 17670 Li-Ion batteries. I've had the light for almost five years, and it still impresses me.

Worst: Princeton Tec Impact XL, when it was first released. What a dim, purple beam it had! I threw the LED module in the trash the day I got it, and have used a 3-cell Maglite bulb on 4xAA NiMH in it ever since.

 

[DimeRazorback]

Best:
McGizmo; Haiku XP-G, Haiku XP-G BB, SunDrop XR-U.
Surefire; M6's, LX2's, E2DL, Z3, Z2 & C2.

Worst:
Anything that wasn't made by the above manufacturers.
Worst being that of the Olight T10.

 

[space-time]

Best:
* Mag 3-AA LED (underpowered now, but great buy at the time)
* iTP A1 E0S SS upgrade. It just works.
* The cheap-o 9 LED 3-AAA lights 2/$3 at Harbor Freight and Northern Tool, for mechanical work lights. Bright as heck - don't have to worry about loosing or destroying them - and one is even rubber-covered waterproof.


Worst:
* Streamlight Twin-Task 1 cell lithium. What was I thinking? The light didn't do either LED or incandescent well. And what made me think LEDs mounted on the side of the reflector would be a good idea. :shakehead This thing is now taking up space in the city landfill.
* The only thing worse than buying one Mag Solitaire over the years is buying 3 when I couldn't remember where I put them. I'm so ashamed.

 

[HeadCSO]

Best

Nitecore DI
Fenix LD10
Olight T25


Worst

Eagletac P10A2