Help needed to start my collection properly...

Hello All.

My name's Andrew and i'm a (newly formed) flashaholic

If I dug around my shed/garage/under the bed/shelves/storage room etc I could probably lay my hands on half a dozen maglites of various sizes, and the same again of cheap LED variants. The worst culprits come from an inter-office competition I had to see who could find the torch with the most LED's fitted, I won with 101... I also have a couple of the big 300millionmeltingcandlepower monsters!

I've just ordered an ORB raw, and also drop in LED kits for one of my AA mags and a 3D mag.

I really fancy one of Macs custom mini-Hid mags, but he seems very busy.

What suggestions can people make in the up to $100 (£60) range for my next purchase? I feel left out because I dont have a fenix, streamlight, or surefire...!

Cheers from Blighty!

Drew

i would recomend an surefire A2, with the CPF20 discount at www.tacticalsupply.com it will take 20% off your order. or if that is to much then i would get a surefire E2E.

may i ask, do you live on the US or out of the counrty?

I'm in the UK, not sure what the flashlight community is like here! I'm hoping to spend about six months in the US later this year, might save expensive purchases till then to avoid the dreaded VAT!

i would recomend an surefire A2

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Do you mean the A2 aviator? couldn't see anything else.

I might have to look for a different supplier, they won't ship surefire products to the UK!

Empyfree said:

I might have to look for a different supplier, they won't ship surefire products to the UK!

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that is why i aksed if you were in the US or not. and yes i meant the surefire A2 Aviator.

I'll have a shop around, I'm trying to find a good Uk supplier, my air rifle shop says they can get hold of surefires for me, but they're at a serious premium!

Empy

Hello from a UK flash a holic.

Try lighthound in the US (just google lighthound) first class service and ships to the UK. He usually puts a low value on the package label so you stand a better than average chance with the vat man.

Have a look on the B/S/T part of of the forum if your after an A2 there seem to be loads going at the moment.

Hope this helps with what I can assure you will be a very expensive hobby.

Cheers

ggaarryy

Empy

Just had another thought for you.

If you are after a a real "whoa" factor have a look at essential adventure gear and go to torches-strobes, they are a UK tigerlight seller, I have never used them. I bought a tiger on e-bay and they are amazing. Lot of money but a LOT of torch.

Cheers

Nice one. I've just ordered a Fenix P1 CE from fenix-store, Not used all my budget so that I can convince myself I can buy again!

For Sale: 1 Empty wallet, badly worn, used condition!

The Fenix and Jetbeam lights are quite impressive

welcome to cpf...

traditionally, Surefire, ARC's for production light and McGizmo lights for custom hold the highest resale values.

Empyfree said:

Nice one. I've just ordered a Fenix P1 CE from fenix-store, Not used all my budget so that I can convince myself I can buy again!

For Sale: 1 Empty wallet, badly worn, used condition!

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Good choice, you will not be sorry.

For your next light, how about a Lighthound 18650 Scorpion Flashlight with a Strion bulb. http://lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2620

It's the same size as a regular Scorpion, but it's brighter and runs longer thanks to the 18650 battery and Strion bulb. :rock: You can also buy an AW brand 18650 battery and charger from Lighthound to go with it.

Any good reviews of this anywhere? I googled it and got a lot of shops, but no decent reviews.

I think I probably should calm down a bit, I need to wait for the two lights I've ordered, (Orb Raw and Fenix) to arrive before splashing out again. It's just soooo tempting at the moment with the exchange rate so good!

Empyfree said:

Any good reviews of this anywhere?

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My favorite review sites are http://flashlightreviews.com and http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledleft.htm.

I'm a newbie and made my first serious flashlight purchase. After careful consideration I bought the Streamlight UltraStinger and am very pleased. I went through AOlights.com. Just over $100 with the fast A/C charger. Don't know if u have dealers over there but check the reviews in the reply above. I am going to be buying more now that I'm a flashaholic. I am going to post a thread of considerations. Good luck.

Empyfree said:

Any good reviews of this anywhere? I googled it and got a lot of shops, but no decent reviews.

I think I probably should calm down a bit, I need to wait for the two lights I've ordered, (Orb Raw and Fenix) to arrive before splashing out again. It's just soooo tempting at the moment with the exchange rate so good!

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The Lighthound model is a custom job. Most people that would review the SL Scorpion already did so years ago, but those were stock models.

On second thought, you might want a LumaPower M1 Hunter (Cree). http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/lumapower_m1.htm

Empyfree said:

I think I probably should calm down a bit, I need to wait for the two lights I've ordered, (Orb Raw and Fenix) to arrive before splashing out again.

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When they both arrive, I would keep them in good condition. I have a feeling you will want to resell one of them. The Orb Raw and Fenix P1D-CE are very similar lights in most aspects. You will either like the style and size of the Raw, or the multistage functionality and regulation of the P1D.

After seeing a P1D-CE from a friend, I chose the Raw NS. I'm not a huge fan of the multistage interface, even though it is very intuitive. I like the simplicity of the two stage Raw NS.

Hi Empyfree,

I'm another UK member without too much of a headstart on you. You might want to consider modifying one or two of your Maglites for something a bit different.

My first was to make a ROP out of a 3C and it stays in the car now for emergencies (where is has proved useful for exactly that) the runtime is fairly short but it is quite encouraging to see that much light coming out of a smaller Maglite. I have all the parts for a regulated Mag85 as well, I'm hoping that will be a little more impressive. Alternatively there are heatsinks, crees, reflectors and regulators available to make a decent LED Maglite.

Do you have any particular uses in mind or are you just after a nice collection of bright lights?

Andrew

I've actually ordered LED upgrade kits for a 3D cell maglite and one of my 2AA mags...

Not got specific uses in mind for any of these lights, I work as a lighting technician for conferences/concerts etc so my EDC comes in very handy there. I'm also involved in scouting, so I get out and about the countryside quite a bit.

The scouty bit is one of the main reasons I was after a mini-Hid, for the incredible wow factor around the camp-fire!

I just read about the ROP projects last night, I'm definatly considering that option!