What's the best flashlight + batteries + charger for under $30

Hey guys, I am looking to buy a flashlight and would like to know whats the best one out there for under $30 or around $30. If it uses anything other than AAA or AA then I would like to include batteries and charger plus flashlight for around the same price. Runtime doesn't matter that much to me as long it's 30 mins or higher but higher is better and Output is the biggest concern. The brighter the better. Thanks guys. Sorry to put the question out there but there's just so many flashlights out there its hard to know especially when the chinese ones are overrated.

DealExtreme, always has a few inexpensive ones.. There's always a 2AA MiniMag LED for just under $30, it has decent runtime. Although not sure rechargeable batteries are recommended. You could always use Lithiums, it should be brighter...

what are you gonna be using it for?

Yeah!
What do you need it for?
Do you need it just because ? [like a CPFr would]?

Mag 3 AA 3 watt is also about the same price, HD, Walwart....etc.

I don't really need it for anything. I use the flashlight around the house and outside as well in the backyard when its dark out. I have a 4D Mag and am tired of it because it kills my batteries which are alkalines and non rechargeable and not only the output drops a lot. I am just basically looking for the brightest in that price range and I don't really care about size. Just something with good output. I hear the SSC and the Cree's put out the most.

well, if you want a cradle charger, $30 is a little cheap for the total package.

have you looked at www.fenix-store.com. they've got the Cree lights you're talking about.

if you raised your price a little, you could get some nice cradle charged lights.

ok i got it: this light with these batteries and this charger for a total of 32.64 shipped. kaidomain has what appears to be the same light and they say its over 100 lumens.

I use that charger for 123s, and it works well.

I know it says that you can charge 14500 and 10440 in there, but you would have to do some tab-bending or spacers or something to get them to fit in the charging slots for the 18650s.

They have a charger for $3.31 more that is specifically for 14500/10440:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.973

johnny13oi said:

Hey guys, I am looking to buy a flashlight and would like to know whats the best one out there for under $30 or around $30. If it uses anything other than AAA or AA then I would like to include batteries and charger plus flashlight for around the same price. Runtime doesn't matter that much to me as long it's 30 mins or higher but higher is better and Output is the biggest concern. The brighter the better. Thanks guys. Sorry to put the question out there but there's just so many flashlights out there its hard to know especially when the chinese ones are overrated.

Click to expand...

You should probably check out this offer.
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=1255

Streamlight Propoly Lux 4AA is a CPF favorite and is on sale at Brightguy for ~$25...

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_ProPolymer_4AA_LUXEON_LED_Flashlight.php

Since it uses AA, you might not need a charger right away per your initial post. A set of NiMH's and a cheap charger will work for the time being, although I'd recommend a smart charger eventually, something like a Maha or Lacrosse, etc, but those run $30+ by themselves...

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/mhc401fs.htm

SL PP Lux or 3AA mag LED, Both uses AA cells and they are cheap enough.
Brighter then most, [no exotic's here]

It will be more expense if looking to cree/Cr123 lights and li-on chargers. They can be dangerous as well.

"Kiss" is what I would recommand at least until you have studied "LI-ON" issues.

Regards.

Seeing as an average charger with 4AA NiMH batteries goes for about $20 in a combo pack, you'd have about $10 left for a light. I'd be inclined to think that you might be better served if you expanded your budget a little more or just went with a light that used AA alkaline batteries. The SLPP 4AA Lux that has been recommended would be a good choice and you can add rechargeables at a later date when you can afford them. Though with AA batteries going for 20¢ each from places like Costco, do bear in mind that you'll have to go through a lot a alkaline batteries before you even break even with the cost of the rechargeables and the charger (about 24 sets of batteries.)

johnny13oi said:

Hey guys, I am looking to buy a flashlight and would like to know whats the best one out there for under $30 or around $30.

Click to expand...

For around the house you don't need a pocketable flashlight. You probably want something that will work indoors and out. Something with a low mode but also with some throw and the ability to put out 100 lumens (advertised). How about a light with the Seoul SSC P4 running off of a protected 18650 for 3 hours on high and about 9 hours on low? They have just begun offering them, so there is little in the way of a review for this one, but it's just so inexpensive (compared to similar lights) - with a charger and a battery = 32.08 shipped.

And here are the links for the light, the battery, and the charger.

Edit: Ah, I just followed Lobo's link and now I see that I was not the first to suggest this light; however, I do recommend spending slightly more for this combination to have a protected cell.

I would recommend a Fenix L2S AA 1 Watt Luxeon light. See http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2122, for example.

I checked out Dealextreme now, and realised that you can get:

1 U2-style Cree flashlight that has good very good reviews here and seems to be insanely bright.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1285
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=152932

1 18650-charger.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.936

1 18650-battery.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1213

FOR 36USD SHIPPED!

That is a pretty impressive offer.
Or if you still have to be under 30USD, I would go with kaidomains Venturekit that I mentioned above., you get the same battery and charger as above, but the Venture light instead of the U2-clone.

http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=1255

Local?
Try the Lowes $29 2C LED light.
Great for glovebox, work, etc, etc.
I like it much better than my Mag

I'm so happy I found this thread. It's exactly what i was about to post.

I want to get maximum output so i'm happy buying my first 18650 cells and charger along with the light. But having it only use a single cell is a great plus.

So what do you gurus say in the comparison between those two lights?
U2 Style 3W Cree link $24 - graph says it starts at 105 lumens but has dropped to 90 within an hour and slowly declines to 80 at 2 hours.

Or

Venture Cree XR-E 3W link $19 - starts at 105, drops to 95 but stays there for over two hours when it bottoms out which will be handy for knowing it's time to change batteries.

Both have high/low/off clicky. Both seem to use the same Cree P4 LED. Are those two graphs trustworth enough to say they're about the same brightness and the cheaper one is better for maintaining brightness? Or is the U2 style supposed to be brighter as the review posted above in this thread seems to state?

Any thoughts appreciated.

EDIT: Post # 71 of the review on the U2 Style light is from someone who says they have both the U2 style and the venture from kais. He says the U2 'obliterates' the venture. Guess that answeres my question.