Pocket sized recommendation for a n00b

Hey everybody, this is my first post. I wanted to say you guys have a great forum and community here. I'm looking for a flashlight that is easily pocketable so I can carry with me at all times. I'm not opposed to the idea of a keychain one either. My 4 main concerns, in order, are 1) Size 2) Lumens 3) Battery Life 4) Price. In terms of lumens vs battery life I'm looking for something thats practical for emergencies, hiking, outdooring, something a lot more kick *** than your normal flash light with good energy efficiency. As far as price range is concerned I'm looking for something in the $50-$80 mark. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

:welcome: Welcome to CPF, alberts. I won't make a recommendation for a specific light, because most of my lights cost less than your minimum or more than your maximum price limits.

The good news is that there are so many lights from which to choose.

nitecore d10 - piston drive
fenix ld20 - clicky
quark aa^2 regular - clicky w/very low output mode
maybe some kind of jetbeam - some let user program their own output levels.

Yeah there are other lights out there that could work, but those are my favorites of the ones that I know about.

Of those, pick the one with the interface you like the best, and you are good to go.

Saint_Dogbert said:

nitecore d10 - piston drive
fenix ld20 - clicky
quark aa^2 regular - clicky w/very low output mode
mayebe some kind of jetbeam - some let uer program their own output levels.

Click to expand...

I like these suggestions, especially the nitecore d10 and the quark aa^2. I happen to really like having the very low output "moonlight mode" feature of the quark.

If size is your #1 consideration, then I would recommend single cell AA lights. These won't have the runtime of a 2AA light, but in a lower mode the runtime will still be many hours. A AAA light would be even small, but nowhere near as good battery life. Fenix, 4Sevens (Quark), and Nitecore would all be good brands to look at for that price range.

My first was a Fenix PD-20 which is about the size of a Chapstick. It uses a CR123 or RCR123 (rechargable). Pretty cheap, about $50. Decently bright, about 170 lumens, but with a RCR123 it doesn't switch modes, it's just on 100% of the time.

Saint_Dogbert said:

nitecore d10 - piston drive
fenix ld20 - clicky
quark aa^2 regular - clicky w/very low output mode
mayebe some kind of jetbeam - some let uer program their own output levels.

Yeah there are other lights out there that could work, but those are my favorites of the ones that I know about.

Of those, pick the one with the interface you like the best, and you are good to go.

Click to expand...

Great recommendations! After reading a few posts about each of them I think the Fenix PD-20 is prefect. Thanks everyone. :thumbsup:

I second the PD20 recommendation. 123 cells are cheap online & you can get 3.0V RCR123 cells which I believe retain all functions.
It puts out a lot of light in a small package.:twothumbs

I would say the QUARK AA is a good choice since you mention "pocketable". I have the QUARK AA^2 which is great but not pocketable. I'm seriously thinking of getting the AA body so I can choose pocket or belt carry.

I've owned all of the lights mentioned so far, and they are great.

The light that is always on my keychain is a Fenix L0D-CE, an AAA light (the newest version is called the LD01). It has never let me down.

BTW :welcome:

The Maratac AAA is an excellent choice for a small, powerful light.

But maybe a little underpowered for outdoor activities? The original poster said he wanted 'something a lot more kick *** than your normal flashlight'. This is a good phrase, by the way.

For loose pocket carry I'd say get a AAA light. Anything larger could be too heavy without a clip. Lots of good options available. My current favorites are the LiteFlux LF2XT and the Maratac AAA.

Geoff

If you want to start at a lower price, you can get the Akoray K106 from DX (shipping will take a while though) and get 14500 li-ion batteries and a charger to go with it.

The light has 3 programmable modes, and the li-ion battery will give you a lot of output. It will still run on normal AA batteries if the li-ion batteries die and you have no replacement.

For something more in your price range, all the lights suggested by the above posters should work quite well.

:welcome:

If you want something smaller than a typical AA light but brighter than any AAA light.. have a look at the Quark mini. About the same length as many AAA lights, but much brighter (especially on Li-ion).

About the Akoray K-106.. I own one too, nice light, unbeatable in that price range. I like my D10 better though... love that variable brightness adjustment, piston design and compactness - but at triple the price.
Btw, you almost reach the 50$ mark with the K-106 if you include all extras.
$19.13 K-106
$12.30 WF-139 charger
$5.64 14500 trustfire li-ions
$9.50 warm white emitter from Dereelight.com (see forum how to do the mod)
= $46.57

edit: DX shipping is quite fast, almost always under 14 days, often 10 days. My order at 4sevens had 15 days (to europe)...

Thanks for the welcome. The Akoray seems like a great contender. I'm assuming the difference is going to be that the PD-20 is slightly smaller and uses a standard cr123a battery. Besides the whole rechargeable vs package debate of the 4500 li-ions vs standard cr123a is there a benefit going either way?

I recommend you get the SureFire 6PL. 80 lumens, nice wide throwy beam, bright, runs on two CR123A lithium cells, and amazing quality.

For outdoors neutral white is the best.
NiteCore EZ AA neutral white?