best EDC from brick and mortar store in time for the holidays

so my wife, who thinks i'm crazy for researching flashlights all the time, tells me that her dad's mag light died on him today and she wants to get him something in time for christmas. i don't have time to order from an online store.

i need it to be purchased from a store like lowes, gander mountain (limited surefire options), home depot, or target. any brick and mortar store in rochester, ny. we don't have costco, etc.

he is a respiratory therapist and needs a small, pocketable light to shine in people's mouths (can't be too bright). it can have multiple levels, but i don't want it to be so bright he can't really see inside.

her spending limit is, say $60, with a $20 leeway.

my jetbeam cl-e v2 would be perfect for him, but they don't sell them around here. i was thinking about giving him mine and waiting for the next batch to arrive (maybe the next batch will be as good as the first).

i will be going out and looking tomorrow after work, and any help would be appreciated.

Target sells some Gerber lights that are small, not too bright and nice looking/feeling.

Have you thought of going to EMS and checking out their selection?

Wicho said:

Have you thought of going to EMS and checking out their selection?

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i have several EMS stores around here and can go check them out.

Target has a lot of Inova lights, but i know nothing about them.

I'm not sure how bright you need it to be, but one of the underappreciated wonders is the Dorcy AAA LED. It's available at Walmart for $6 and you can see a review at http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/dorcy_aaa.htm

give him your jetbeam then tell your wife it cost more than it did and buy a new light for yourself with a higher budget :thumbsup:

You mentioned Inova lights at Target - I had forgotten about them. If you get an Inova Bolt, get one of the 2xAAA ones - they are nice lights. About $18, small package, floody beam and they give good runtime. It isn't so bright to where it's hard to see with it at close distance, and in my opinion it feels good in the hand. There is also the AA version, but it's larger.

Here's a link: http://www.inovalight.com/bolt.html

Did I mention they're darned near indestructible? My 2 year old son plays with mine day in and day out (can't yet say flashlight so he says fee-lash) and he hasn't broken it yet. Runs great on eneloops.

But yes, you could just give him your C-LE. But then you'd be without it.

Get him what he's comfortable with. MiniMag with the 1watt NiteIze + IQ switch combo. It has a warm tint, so the color rendition of human skin will be better than a cool LED (as some mentioned above). Find out his favorite color, and get that minimag from Walmart, as they usually have a HUGE color selection. Upgrade is at Target and Academy Sports that I know of.

The Source(in Canada) has a $30 Luxeon III flashlight on their clearance list.

I believe it's another version of Nuwai Q3.

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Oh, you are in the states, never mind.

I almost forgot the Rayovac 1 watt Sportsman Extreme/Highbeam model at Walmart and Kmart. It's a great buy. They might look a little too aggressive for him though.

Based on what you posted, the first thing that popped into my head was Inova X1 from Target. I'd skip the black version, and get the one with the natural finish.

Marduke said:

I almost forgot the Rayovac 1 watt Sportsman Extreme/Highbeam model at Walmart and Kmart. It's a great buy. They might look a little too aggressive for him though.

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I was about to suggest this one. Probably my first choice and with that budget, you could get 3. Otherwise one of the RR or Inova lights from Target.

Lowes Task Force 2C 3W CREE Edition

opps, didn't read your whole OP...you asked for pocket-able torch.

Monocrom said:

Based on what you posted, the first thing that popped into my head was Inova X1 from Target. I'd skip the black version, and get the one with the natural finish.

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thanks for everyone's opinions. i was stuck at work, so i wasn't able to test all of the options myself yesterday.

she ended up with the inova x1 from target. i know it's not the greatest light (too bad he couldn't have waited until they upgraded them in a few months) but it should suit his needs just fine.

if he doesn't like it, or wants to upgrade in the future, i'll have the option of ordering online. i think a nice fenix or surefire L1 might be in his pocket soon.