New and need your help. BEST D or C cell flashlight ?or something else?

Hello everyone.

I have a fenix l2D cree 5 and its great. It uses 2 AA batteries. Is there something better that uses C or D cell batteries ? with more power and run time?

I want the best flashlight I can get. Initial cost is not issue but I cant be bothered with lithium battiest. They are hard to find where I live.

I want the best possible flood and throw compromise. Basically, I want a wall of light with very very good throw.

I have thought about getting the fenix tk10 or the SF L4 but then I thought i should be more realistic. I cant keep ordering Lithium batteries on line every time I am going hunting or hiking although they have long shelf life.

On the other hand, If I can find a light that can use rechargeable batteries where I can charge a spare 4 or 8 batteries and take them with me, I might get it. so is there such a light or is it more practical to stick to c and D cell batteries.

Thanks for listening

It'll be interesting to hear what others have to say. Here's my opinion.

First: I'm assuming you are looking for something basically "off the shelf", and not building something custom for yourself.

I understand completely your desire to stay away from lithium 123 batteries. Others here might not agree with this, but I've personally never seen 123 cells on the shelf in a small-town hardware store or mercado in rural Mexico.

Flashlights powered by AA cells are getting so versatile that it seems hard to me to justify using C or D instead. In the size and weight needed by one 2D flashlight with a set of batteries installed, I can instead carry a 2xAA flashlight, four backup batteries, and have room left over.

Rechargable NiMH AA batteries (particularly the low-self-discharge kind) are a very good power solution. Once you have invested in a few sets of batteries and a charger, you'll find you won't have to buy batteries again for years.

If you really want to go down the C-Cell / D-Cell path you do have options. I would suggest going LED though, or at the minimum an incandescent/LED hybrid solution. Two lights that come to mind right away (although they both have flaws) are:
A better solution than the MAG-LED would be to buy a traditional 2D MagLight and then drop-in some add-on like the TerraLux TLE-6EXB.

Anyhow, that's just my two cents.

You can use rechargeable batteries in the Fenix. For C and D cell lights, you have a few options. You can modify a Maglite in many different ways, or if modifying is not your thing, look up Elektrolumens; a flashlight company that makes C and D cell LED lights with the latests emitters.

Thanks for the comments guys.

Well , the reason I want D and C cells is that i thought they would have more power throw and runtime than the AAs in my fenix.

My ideal light would be a flashlight that is brighter with more flood and throw and runtime than my fenix. That runs on D or C.

If that does not exist, Is there a surefire or other hi-end flashlight that has these :
1- Brighter, with more flood and throw than my fenix l2d.
2- Can run on rechargeable lithium, so I can charge a few and take them on my trips.
3- there is a fast charger available for it. I do not want to wait for 16 hours for the batteries to charge.


And yes Iwould like an off the shelf product. I love flash light but i am not advanced to do mods

Thanks fellas

The Lowes Task force 2 "C" cell light is quite powerful. The quality is ok...not great. $30.00. YOu must get the one that says 60 X . It uses a cree...It has an optic lens. Also Ray o vac has a powerful light. The reviews are back a few pages...

Thats great

Is there a placthe e on line to get Lowes Task force 2 ` Ray o vac "C" cell ? That would ship international?

Thanks

gazaati said:

Well , the reason I want D and C cells is that i thought they would have more power throw and runtime than the AAs in my fenix.

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Throw and power come from voltage of the batteries and the ability of a battery to supply a given current. C and D batteries offer absolutely no advantage over AAs from this standpoint. The only advantage they offer is more capacity.

aggiegrads said:

Throw and power come from voltage of the batteries and the ability of a battery to supply a given current. C and D batteries offer absolutely no advantage over AAs from this standpoint. The only advantage they offer is more capacity.

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I did not know that.

Maybe look at lights powered by 18650 Li-Ion rechargeable batteries? The Tiablo A8 Q5 is a nice light, as is the Dereelight CL1H v3, or the Dereelight DBS v2.

If you want something that runs on alkaline C's or D's a Maglite with a LED drop-in or upgrade isn't bad way to go. The Malkoff Maglite upgrades are pretty much the "best" ones out there, but they're $$$ ($75) and hard to get.

I have quite a few maglites with different upgrades in them, and other than the size (useful as a club, or whatever) and common battery size they don't really have any advantage over the 18650 powered lights (in terms of throw or brightness).

aggiegrads said:

Throw and power come from voltage of the batteries and the ability of a battery to supply a given current. C and D batteries offer absolutely no advantage over AAs from this standpoint. The only advantage they offer is more capacity.

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While technically I would agree with that statement, I would also suggest another factor to consider. There is some minimum run time that a flashlight has to acheive. I'd guess its around an hour or two, but that's just a guess. I am sure that before some company spends tens of thousands on on designing and manufacturing a light, they do some market research to find out for sure. For a given run time, a designer can engineer a brighter light that runs on bigger cells, because it will last longer. If someone tried to sell a light that ran on AA's and put out 200 lumens, but only lasted 15 minutes, it would never sell. With bigger cells, that same set up might be able to run for 2 hours, and now its an acceptable light that the public would buy.

GPB said:

While technically I would agree with that statement, I would also suggest another factor to consider. There is some minimum run time that a flashlight has to acheive. I'd guess its around an hour or two, but that's just a guess. I am sure that before some company spends tens of thousands on on designing and manufacturing a light, they do some market research to find out for sure. For a given run time, a designer can engineer a brighter light that runs on bigger cells, because it will last longer. If someone tried to sell a light that ran on AA's and put out 200 lumens, but only lasted 15 minutes, it would never sell. With bigger cells, that same set up might be able to run for 2 hours, and now its an acceptable light that the public would buy.

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Thats exactly what i wanted to say:duh2:

Also, the larger C and D sizes suffer from less "voltage sag" under heavy loads. They're still not great for hotwires, but I think it's a salient point to bring up.

For the C size light I suggest a Malkoff drop in, for the D size a Malkoff for throw and an Elektrolumens for brightness and flood.

Well I'll chime in and say that C and D cell alkaline cells are better than AA alkaline cells. However a NiMh AA cell is superior in almost every way except capacity.
You will not get (much) brighter by using a C or D cell instead of a AA cell. The light will just run longer.
However more exotic lights which use more than one LED, or that use an HID lamp will get way brighter... and those will not run off of an alkaline AA very well.

If you are looking at taking the next step in flashlights I would recommend a M@glight conversion. Elektrolumens, who you can find at the CPF marketplace, makes great dropins for M@gs. And you can run them with standard alkaline cells of you so desire (but it won't be as bright I believe as compared to NiMh)

However I would encourage you to invest in rechargeable cells, whether it be NiMh... AA's are pretty cheap, C's and D's are rather expensive; or perhaps even investigate using rechargeable Lithium cells. There is some research and learning involved with lithium cells, but in the end I believe it is worth it. Many more options open up to you with RCR123's and 18650s.

And if you want absolute flashlight power you still need to buy an HID. WHile you can find a weak model here or there that will run o 8 alkaline C cells, most come with their own rechargeable battery packs. Nothing throws like an HID!

Name of light: M@glite with P7
Link:, http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=177152
Battery type and number: 3D also available 3C cells in 2D body
Modes/Levels: 1
Type of switch: stock maglite forward clicky
Price: $129.99 for 3D, $139.99 for 2D/3C
Review 1: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/194716
Review 2: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/820878/

Name of light: Wall of Light P7 Drop-In (for 3D Maglite)
Link: http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=177861
Battery type and number: -
Modes/Levels: 1
Type of switch: -
Price: $109.99
At time of posting Elektrolumens only has 6 reflectors. He is trying to get more but can only guarantee 6 at this time.
Review: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/195848

Gazaati,

After reading all the above, and given that you want something basically "off-the-shelf", I don't personally think there is a meaningful "step up" for you in going to C/D cell technology. The only thing you can really hope to improve from where you by going to C/D is longer run time. But like I wrote in my earlier post, you can get longer runtime just by caring some spare AA batteries.

Others have pointed out the fact that C/D cells don't provide significantly higher voltage or current than AA cells. They can just provide that voltage and current for a longer time. A good analogy would be putting a bigger gas tank in your car; that wouldn't make your car be any faster or more powerful, it would just let you have a longer range.

I think you said you currently have a Fenix L2D CE Q5. That more or less represents state of the art in off-the-shelf AA lights. There may be some other AA lights that are slightly better, but it won't be a significant difference.

So, here are what I think are your possible "steps up" from the L2D:

• Move to a C/D Maglite with a drop-in. You will get longer runtime, but you may or may not get more light depending on the drop-in. The more esoteric and expensive you are willing to go, the more light you can get.
• Move to lithium batteries. Lights built around 123 or 18650 type cells tend to be where the latest technology shows up first for hobbyists. It is also the battery technology used by the highest-end production lights.
• Wait a year. LED technology is moving very fast these days. It is quite likely that a year from now there will be some AA light that is twice as bright as what you have now.

If you are really heart-set on going to C/D, then I think I recommend the Maglite with drop-in path. The Mag is also a versatile platform that isn't likely to go obsolete any time soon, and people are always making drop-ins with the latest technology for it.

Brownstone said:

Gazaati,

After reading all the above, and given that you want something basically "off-the-shelf", I don't personally think there is a meaningful "step up" for you in going to C/D cell technology. The only thing you can really hope to improve from where you by going to C/D is longer run time. But like I wrote in my earlier post, you can get longer runtime just by caring some spare AA batteries.

Others have pointed out the fact that C/D cells don't provide significantly higher voltage or current than AA cells. They can just provide that voltage and current for a longer time. A good analogy would be putting a bigger gas tank in your car; that wouldn't make your car be any faster or more powerful, it would just let you have a longer range.

I think you said you currently have a Fenix L2D CE Q5. That more or less represents state of the art in off-the-shelf AA lights. There may be some other AA lights that are slightly better, but it won't be a significant difference.

So, here are what I think are your possible "steps up" from the L2D:

• Move to a C/D Maglite with a drop-in. You will get longer runtime, but you may or may not get more light depending on the drop-in. The more esoteric and expensive you are willing to go, the more light you can get.
• Move to lithium batteries. Lights built around 123 or 18650 type cells tend to be where the latest technology shows up first for hobbyists. It is also the battery technology used by the highest-end production lights.
• Wait a year. LED technology is moving very fast these days. It is quite likely that a year from now there will be some AA light that is twice as bright as what you have now.

If you are really heart-set on going to C/D, then I think I recommend the Maglite with drop-in path. The Mag is also a versatile platform that isn't likely to go obsolete any time soon, and people are always making drop-ins with the latest technology for it.

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Thank you very much to you and the other great guys here. You actually helped me think and figure out what I want :laughing:

What I want is an outdores flash light that is brighter more flood and through than my Fenix. Runtime would be good but not a priority as I can cary spares as you said.

I agree, I will not move in the D/C direction. At least for now. Who knows, Maybe months from now, Fenix will come up with a light with 2 or 3 times the output of what I have now that uses 2 cs or 3 As or something.

I will , however, study those new lights a bit more. Been looking at the tiablu a9 and deerlights , maybe surfire will use cree and justify buying something from them.

By the way, I got here through blae forums, where this forum is always mentioned.

Ciao and thanks.

gazaati said:

maybe surfire will use cree and justify buying something from them.

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Surefire makes excellent products, many of which use Cree emitters. Surefire lights are exclusively CR123A however.