List the BEST/WORST flashlight purchases you have made.

[Monocrom]

I'm new to this flashlight obsession, and I've liked all my flashlights so far. The one I use for my EDC is a 4sevens Quark AA2. I was impressed with it and its 205 otf lumens untill the day after I got it and found the new version online with 280 otf lumens--for the same price!!!

No worries . . . Considering the way the human eye works, the difference would literally seem much less to you than those two numbers indicate. Enjoy your light.

[davyro]

My best purchase was my first HDS,it made me edc a light all of the time,i just wanted it with me

Probably the 6D Mag i bought thinking something this big would be like a car headlight,how wrong i was.

[ficklampa]

Worst one I bought myself was the Klarus Mi10. Promised much, didn't deliver on a lot. Sure, it was bright and light weight. But the operation was fiddly and construction not really good. The spring was a piece of bent metal and some foam behind the pill. The pill had to unscrew pretty far not to accidentally turn on when compressed. Also quite expensive for what it is.

Second place, a Maglite MiniMag LED 2xAA. Dirty light pattern, fiddly operation and the tailcap (or the tube) is not flat, so there's some space between the cap and the tube. Also does not seem to be anodized any more, I guess powder coat?

Best light so far is the Sunwayman V11R

Surefire 3BL legoed to a 3P, shares second place with the solarforce L2m.

[jdb2]

Best purchases
Lights by Mr. Bulk (especially LionHead)
Olight T15
Pelican M6 LED
Icon rogue
Elecktrolumens (unfortunately lost during move)

Worst purchases
Maglite (especially Solitaire)
Original Photon Keychain light

[ganymede]

Best purchase - Surefire C2 (because that's the flashlight that started my addiction)
Worst purchase - Surefire C2 (because that's the flashlight that started my unstoppable addiction)

[Monocrom]

Best purchase - Surefire C2 (because that's the flashlight that started my addiction)
Worst purchase - Surefire C2 (because that's the flashlight that started my unstoppable addiction)

I've got one of those. Actually, the inca. C2 was my very first SureFire. I have to agree. It's a horribly fantastic light.

[run4jc]

Best - hands down - Spy 007 with stonewashed gunner grip finish, cool white

Worst - Lumens Factory Ti Seraph

[T45]

Best Purchase - There are 2, A Surefire M3 that I found on Craigslist for a great price. Loved it then, love it even more with a Malkoff MD10 LED; and the Surefire G2 I found on Ebay. Recently upgraded with a Malkoff M61 LLL Warm.

Worst Purchase - The $20 I spent on a Dorcy 2AA

[batman]

Best purchases: Surefire E2e, M6; 4Sevens mini Cr2 and Preon 2.
Worst ever: various assorted Fenix lights, Surefire L1 (65 lumen edition) & Surefire M3 turbo.

My incans are timeless classics...like the mercury fillings in my teeth, like wooden furniture, like metal framed Revo sunglasses with glass lenses.

My LEDs don't have any character or nostalgia, just like plastic. No nostalgia at all to them. Plastic is nothing but a functional, textureless material with no tactile sensation that has never nourished anyone.

[cland72]

Best: Surefire 6P. Got me into Surefires and the endless possibilities of the P60 format.

Worst: Fenix LD20. It gave me problems after it fell 3 feet onto some gravel, and eventually quit working altogether. Of course, it was outside of the warranty period so I was SOL.

Bear in mind I paid about $55-60 for each, and the Surefire is still living on with a Malkoff M61 in it.

[Jerrycobra]

best purchases
the Jetbeam BC40W, everytime i use it people are always impressed by it, I get questions about it occasionally
a Craftsman LED worklight. the output is like very low, 5-20lumens? but it has always turned on, worked, and never lets me down, plus the battery life last centuries, got it in 2007 or so, and still on the 1st set of energizer AAs
Shiningbeam Blaze which i just got, my 1st pocket rocket, much more edc friendly than the bc40. it is plenty powerful, has useful and simple interface, built well

so-so purchases
a Aspheric lens zoom Chinese cheapo off amazon, i payed too much for it, not terribly useful, but i find it fun showing off an LED shaped beam, it think it has a XR-E emitter
numerous showerheads around the house for emergency uses, they are useful sometimes at night
the famous costco tacticals, which also belongs in worst, but these things got me into the flashlight hobby, and introduced me to high powered LEDs.

worst
again costco tacticals, bad beams, useless adjustable beams, varying tints, and worst the horrible parasitic drain on the "smart" switches
lots of showerheads that sometimes turn on, flicker, and just plain don't work, made with paper or something

[peterkin101]

Here's my list for what it's worth.

Best purchases

1) Mini Maglite AA Incandescent in 1991. Back in its day I LOVED it. Beam on a par with torches many times bigger.
2) 2D Maglite-another gateway torch. Loved its then bright beam and durability. Was even better when I used a MagNum Star bulb.
3) MagCharger-for me back in 1993 the ULTIMATE! Great beam, fabulously made,rechargeable. Went everywhere with me. Sold it in 2010 for the Version 3 which was better still.
4) Fenix TK41-the most cost effective torch I've ever owned with easily the best beam.
5) Modded Maglite Mini Maglite AA Incandescent. Upgraded via TerraLUX Ministar 2, TerraLux Rear switch, Optical glass and 2 x Sanyo Eneloop AA XX 2500mAh LSD NiMH cells.
6) Maglite 3 AA LED Mini Maglite-Loved this torch. Beautiful blue-white beam and well built. However my ex's grand daughter asked if she could have it. How could I refuse?

Passable

1) Maglite Solitaire, the one which started it all.
2) LED Lenser P14, almost there but let down by not having a regulated supply nor waterproofing.
3) Maplin unbranded 5W LED torch purchased back in 2004 for £49.95. Good for its day but soon became obsolescent.
Good beam for then equivalent of a 6D Maglite but biggest shortcomings was scratch-prone body and power supply 3x CR123a batteries.
4) Maglite 6D-Big, heavy and powerful for its day which was back in 1992 for me. Delivered until I bought a Maglite MagCharger.


Most disappointing

1) Inova T4, perfectly OK, nicely built but blown away by the Fenix TK41 which costs less.
2) Maglite Mini Maglite AA Incandescent- 21 years later in 2011 it ain't the same. Being modded as above changed it completely. Now 85-90%
as good as the best available anywhere else in its class.
3) Fenix E15-good beam but too fiddly and the so called Type III HA coating is wearing as bad as my Maglite AA Incandescent.

WORST

Duracell 2 D Tru Beam LED torch-Truly AWFUL! Worst torch I ever purchased. Dreadful beam, shoddy scratch prone surface coating. Paid £30 via eBay and sold it for less than a fiver. And I was glad to be well rid.

[nathan225]

best would have to be my hds high cri and hds 170 love both of them and my quark mini I love it and carry it every where



worst would have to be my minimag and solitaire

[Tiresius]

Best: Surefire U2A for $100USD that I bored out to an 18650 (2years ago)/Mac's Custom SST-50 EDC 4500k@2.8a
Worst: ITP A3 with 3 modes that took a crap on me in the 2nd week after using it conservatively.

[jellydonut]

Best: Polarion PH40. It stopped my quest for 'moar light' as it is the pinnacle of handheld lighting.

Worst: Can't say I've made any bad purchases, but I've bought more Surefire and Malkoff lights than I will ever need. I should have stymied my addiction more, instead of ending up with a dozen identical lights..

[ABTOMAT]

Best value
Magcahrger with WA01160--cheap, durable pile 'o lumens. Used it for years and years.
Streamlight Scorpion incan--this was my EDC for years, until I got the U2. Never burned out a bulb.
Surefire U2--I use this thing almost every day. 100 lumen max doesn't matter since I rarely turn it all the way up.

Worst value
Streamlight Stylus AAAA--dim and those crazy expensive batteries.
Surefire G2--didn't like the construction, and a used 6P is nearly as cheap.
Surefire P2X Fury--nice light, just not appealing in any way to me. And I paid close to market price for it.

I suppose there are other lights I've bought that are a questionable value (Is a UB3T _really_ worth $300+?) but I like them enough to not care.

[skyfire]

best:
all my surefire L1s. especially the 1st gen L1 i found at a "buy it now" price of $65.
yellow G2 - ive wanted one ever since i handled it years ago in a store. i was kicking myself for not getting it sooner when i finally did get one a few months ago. i really dont know why i like it so much, maybe its the yellow? maybe its the solid plastic construction? maybe cause theres a malkoff in it? probably a combination
oveready C2 - because i found a work light that made all previous work lights obsolete.

worst:
photon freedom, because it didnt even make it through half a week on my keys.

[bobbar]

My worst light was a nebo redline...haha
Best has been my preon 2

[think2x]

Worst: Streamlight Nano. I dislike button cell lights, especially when they turn on in your pocket and die the first week you get it.

Best: Surefire U2 Ultra. One of my favorite lights and I grabbed the first one for UNDER $95 LNIB.

[Nicrod]

The best:

Quark 123*2 regular, BNIB for $50.00 from a small town pawnshop. It was my first "premium " light purchase.
Surefire 6P w/M60, mcclicky, Cren6 xeno ring, the best upgradable light ever made IMO.
Last but not least was my HDS 170T GDP. This light made me feel giddy when I got it.

The lousiest lights:

Maglite solitaire. A waste of resources, energy, and time to produce.
Most other lights i bought before finding CPF.

[Flask]

Best: SWN V60c, Lambda varapower turbo, Malkoff Wildcat
Worst: Zebralight SC600

Kind of surprised you would say that about the SC600, I have one and think it is Awesome.

[cland72]

Best: 4Sevens Quark Mini123. I carry it with me every day, at all times due to its compact nature.

Worst: AA-based Fenix lights (LD10, LD20, E21). The LD10 buzzed on higher modes, the LD20 flat out died about 4 years of owning it, and the E21 was unreliable. To be fair I've both a P1D and TK10 (CR123 based) and they never gave me any problems.

Honorable mention to the rest of my collection which is almost exclusively Surefire. If they made a Mini123-sized light, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat. When I'm not restricted in size for my EDC, I always grab one of my Surefires.

[HaileStorm]

Best:
+ My 6C Maglite. My dad's gift to me when I was 10 or something. Still on its first bulb, always worked like a charm. I hated the beam, though and how the tailcap spring would come loose when there arent any batteries.
+ My Romisen rc-i3. Bought it ~ seven years ago, been to numerous trips and still sits on my night stand.
+ My Romisen T602. Bought after my 100lm i3. Never knew LED lighs have come this far.
+ My Klarus xt11 and xt2c. My first lights which were truly waterproof and ui is fantastic. Build quality is great, too!

Worst:
- Mag Solitaire. I hated how near-useless the beam was. It's a shame though coz I loved the size and the way they looked. Despite it being my worst, I kept buying one whenever I'd lose it. Still a classic, though.
- Flashlights which had built-in radios and clocks.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[mauiblue]

Best - Zebralight H600 because of the UI, small size, quality workmanship, and great output
Worst - Thrunite TN11 because of the UI, sharp edges on the grip, and poorly made finish.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2

[FPSRelic]

Honorable mention to the rest of my collection which is almost exclusively Surefire. If they made a Mini123-sized light, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat. When I'm not restricted in size for my EDC, I always grab one of my Surefires.

A bit OT, but isn't the Titan such a light?

[cland72]

A bit OT, but isn't the Titan such a light?

True, but at over 5 times the cost of the mini123, it is in another category as far as my wallet goes.

Posted using Tapatalk on my HTC Evo

[thatjeepguy]

By far, the worst is a tie between the Blackhawk XP-6 Legacy or the Streamlight Sidewinder.

The Sidewinder was fine for a short while but eventually the switch just gave up the ghost. The Blackhawk was a last minute "we need another flashlight for the trip" purchase at WalMart before we went camping. It wouldn't turn on right out of the package.

Best.... so far my 6 D-cell Mag. Hopefully we can change that soon!

[Jbirk]

By far, the worst is a tie between the Blackhawk XP-6 Legacy or the Streamlight Sidewinder.

The Sidewinder was fine for a short while but eventually the switch just gave up the ghost. The Blackhawk was a last minute "we need another flashlight for the trip" purchase at WalMart before we went camping. It wouldn't turn on right out of the package.

Best.... so far my 6 D-cell Mag. Hopefully we can change that soon!

Won't be hard to beat your 6D Mag light... Just get a tiny JetBeam BC10 that takes a single CR123 batter and is not much bigger than the Mag LIght Solitaire and it will throw 270 lumens!

Where your 6D MagLight really helps you is as a cop. A friend of mine got in scuffle back in 1995 and his 6D Mag Light probably saved his life... he used it as a baton! Suffice to to say most modern lights don't have that advantage anymore.

[HighlanderNorth]

Won't be hard to beat your 6D Mag light... Just get a tiny JetBeam BC10 that takes a single CR123 batter and is not much bigger than the Mag LIght Solitaire and it will throw 270 lumens!

Where your 6D MagLight really helps you is as a cop. A friend of mine got in scuffle back in 1995 and his 6D Mag Light probably saved his life... he used it as a baton! Suffice to to say most modern lights don't have that advantage anymore.

^The Fenix TK-60 does! It runs on 4-D batteries, so its a club.

Anyway, the worst flashlight purchase was easily the Lumapower D-Mini EX-2. I cant even begin to tell you how bad their QC must be that they'd let this thing make it out the door! Its threads were way too loose, its o-rings were cheap, and of the wrong size, so they would just fall out, and they were too thin. The emitter was off center, the beam quality was bad, because it had all sorts of rings and artifacts in it. Its tint was the worst I've seen. It was almost pure blue! There were more problems but I have forgotten them. From the time I got its box out of my mail box, til the time I had repackaged it and dropped it back off at the post office for return/refund was about 2 hours!

I opened a thread all about it the day I got it, and its in the archives here.

[HighlanderNorth]

Best:The liteflux lf2xt, Univex aaa.
Worst:lumapower edc lm21.

^I see my bad Lumapower light wasnt the only one...