List the BEST/WORST flashlight purchases you have made.

[Cataract]

I actually agree - there may be a useful and fun light to be had by placing different 5mm coloured leds on flexible stalks with a well thought out and reliable UI and construction. But ther is only a superficial similarity between the Gerber Inferno and what I just described.

BTW the flexibility of the stalks also sucked - they had limited bendy-ness and would not stay in the position you wanted. Also because of the design of the body - there was no way to free stand the light. What a piece of felgercarb!!!!!

(Calm down pills required........)

+1 The basic idea of the light was good. The construction totally sucks and the LEDs where obsolete even before the day I got it. With patience and good machining, it could be a good candidate for heavy modifications (or complete rebuild, keeping less than 10% of the original parts) and make it the most original custom light.

[ekengle]

Lights that are well worth the money I paid are:

Quark AA, Quark MiNi, Surefire 6P. All of them have exactly what I am looking for in a torch.

Lights I am not happy with are the Solarforce L2P. I love the finish and build quality on it but there are things I don't like as well. First is the switch, on mine it is difficult to click on/off due to how it's recessed in the housing and the stiffness. Second, I can't use the belt clip with it because of the lack of a gap between the tail cap and body. Other than that it's a nice light. If I had to do it over I would just get the regular L2 instead and save the money. This light with an R2 will be gifted at the end of the month.

I have mixed feelings about my Kobalt from Lowe's. I bought it when they first came out and thought it was just awesome. It is the light that started me wanting something better than a stock Mag. Now I know what is really out there and a little more about how they are built and run. My wife has adopted it and is very pleased with it.

Lights I wish I had never bought are all of my Maglights. They are all built well, they just really suck for output and runtime without modification. I can't even find a friend who I can give them to. Everyone says they don't want them because of the size, weight, low output and the fact they eat batteries. I also hate the Fenix E01 I bought. It is fairly dim and has a very cold blue beam. I put a L92 in it and hung it on the lampshade in the bedroom for emergencies only so I can find a better light.

[defloyd77]

Wow good catch. Peeled back the scotch tape and sure enough it is an XPC. The two look very similar, aside from the smaller die surface. Guess that explains the spot throw of the beam

I watched a video on this light, I do have to say the beam I saw is pretty nice, but not for something like this. I think these lights would definately benefit from an XP-G upgrade, forget about the fact that you'd get a huge output boost, I'm thinking strictly beamwise how much the 'G would widen the beam up and make it more suitable.

Wow I'm suprised that ekengle's post is the only one to mention the E01.

[Black Rose]

Wow I'm suprised that ekengle's post is the only one to mention the E01.

With the influx of the iTP A3, Maratac AAA and the other mainstream AAA lights that have arrived on the scene in the last year, I think a lot of folks have forgotten about the E01.

I officially retired my E01 from active keychain duty last week and replaced it with an iTP A3 EOS.
I have another E01 that has never come out of it's box

My wife still uses her E01, but that's mainly because I haven't swapped the E01 for the iTP A3 EOS I bought her yet.

[Moonshadow]

I know this might sound weird but I'm going to nominate the same light for both BEST and WORST - the Quark RGB

Best: - Because it fills a niche not occupied by any other light. No messing about with filters, and the colours are so much purer. I also really like the flood - quite unlike any other light I have and far more useful than I thought it was going to be. It's compact, versatile and really cool.

Worst: - Because of the horrible UI. The reverse clicky I could just about put up with in exchange for the colours and the well-chosen levels. But why couldn't the strobes and blinkys be hidden away Preon-style ?

And worst of all is the four-second delay, which means that you end up changing modes all the !&%@$£*ing time . . . if I want to change modes then a quick half-press on the reverse clicky would do it: half a second would be more than enough.

It would have been much better with far fewer modes and a simple foolproof way to quickly flip between high and low without all the other nonsense in between.

So 10/10 for innovation and a unique product - but it could so easily have been ten times better.

[carrot]

I agree with you, RGB would have been better with disco modes tucked away. Otherwise... I love it.

[defloyd77]

With the influx of the iTP A3, Maratac AAA and the other mainstream AAA lights that have arrived on the scene in the last year, I think a lot of folks have forgotten about the E01.

I meant for worst, there's a lot of people that complain about it's beam and it's output and what not. I for one personally rate the E01 toward the top of best lights. As for other AAA lights making it forgotten, nobody has seemed to forget about the Solitaire...

[heckboy]

Best light:
Photon Proton Pro. I carry it everyday at work and haven't found anything that is better for my use.

Worst:
A couple of Inova lights I bought at Target a couple of years ago. I was so disappointed in the beam brightness and quality that I returned them both.

later,
HB

[Hooked on Fenix]

Best: Surefire 6PL, all of my Fenix lights (L1D Q5, L2D Q5, P2D Q5, EO1, L1T v. 2.0, P3D Q5, TK11 R2, PD30 R4, PD10 R5 Titan, HL20 headlight), most of my newer Inova lights (T1 2008, XO, X5, X1), Princeton Tec EOS headlight (50 lumen version), Gerber Infinity Ultra and LX3.0, ITP A3 EOS

Worst:
Lumapower Encore- first one DOA, second one dead the first day after I received it after a two foot drop, Postal Service lost the second one in the mail (which I insured) and they refused my insurance claim. Paid shipping three times, and insurance twice to end up with nothing.

Streamlight Polypro 4AA 7 l.e.d.- L.e.d.s popped one at a time starting with about the second battery change (and lower voltage NiMH batteries were used exclusively).

Black Diamond Spot headlight- not waterproof (nor "stormproof"), too fragile for any practical use (lens cracked, stress cracks developed all over the light, the light was never dropped once- it was babied)

Any light with plastic columns in the middle of the springs- this is a sign that thin, flimsy springs were used. Eventually, the springs bend and cut through the plastic columns causing poor electrical connections.

Petzl Tikka XP 2- Functions great, and I have nothing against the build quality, but it has no medium setting which is what I use mostly, and the low has the worst pulse width modulation I've seen. It's a $55 light and the only setting I can use is the setting I tend to use the least, high.

[mxrider32]

Best light is my warm Quark 123. Has the two modes I use the most easily accesible. Loosen for moonlight and tighten for max. The tint is perfect, I also really like the size of the light. Other good lights I don't regret; l1d, mini aa warm, itp a6, jet iii pro warm, romisen rc-h3, maratac aaa, preon black kit, eo1.

Worst light I have is the solitare. I never expected much from it though. I am probobly most dissapointed with my nitecore d20. It doesn't seem that bright, the tint is on the blue side, it is heavy and bulky. I much prefer my l1d with 2aa body over the nitecore.

[Rod911]

I don't have that many lights, thinking that my bases are covered, but here goes.

Best
This was a real surprise. I recently purchased an UltraFire C2 MC-E (2-mode) and I really like it. It has a two stage clicky and the low is well balanced for its run times and output. I also sanded down the lens to make the light more 'suburbia-Melbourne' friendly. The light is no longer a thrower, and produces a diffused hot-spot that lights up distances of less than 10 metres very well.

Worst
I don't have it listed in my list of lights, but I have a no-name-brand 3-AA 5-LED (Nichia) flashlight-cum-lantern light. Its 'lantern' feature isn't of any use at all. It doesn't throw well and I think my Quark on low beats it hands down. The only redeeming feature it has, is that it does have the ability to suck every last bit of juice out of the batteries if you let it.

[rikvee]

My best purchases would have been the ARC-LS lights I bought from the Hong Kong based Supreme Co around 2003/4.
Since I am still using them now, 7 years later, they are a winner! Nice Shape and really, really reliable.

The other one I'm still happy with is the ROP Lo Mag 2C: 20 bucks, with a little bit of radiator hose, 3 CR123A's/2 x AWP18500's and a Pelican 3854L bulb, that's a nice bright light, again, love the shape, beautiful design those C-size MagLites: good to hold, nice to look at!

Honorable mention goes to the Zebralight H501W "warm white" and the "neutral" 1AA Tactical Quark by 4Sevens, both of these are getting a lot of use at the moment.

The whole rest of the spectrum is just about learning "what's what" I guess, I put it all down to experience; happy for a while, lose interest, or something slightly better comes along etc.
Most of the lights I try out are given away eventually, unless they are Surefires, then they don't get given away, they get sold, 'cause non-flashaholics just think you're stupid spending that much on a FLASHLIGHT......

Worst: anything that works is bound to make somebody happy, I've given friends those 3 AAA 9 LED lights in nice shiny metallic colors, that's enough to cheer them up already
Moral of the story: no worst really, a light is always a good thing

[tucolino]

With the influx of the iTP A3, Maratac AAA and the other mainstream AAA lights that have arrived on the scene in the last year, I think a lot of folks have forgotten about the E01.

I officially retired my E01 from active keychain duty last week and replaced it with an iTP A3 EOS.
I have another E01 that has never come out of it's box

My wife still uses her E01, but that's mainly because I haven't swapped the E01 for the iTP A3 EOS I bought her yet.

correct,that´s for me my best purchase (or purchases,cos i got like 5 of them,not counting how many i bought just for presents)
also, once i found a clip for it, my quark mini aa.

worst:don´t know yet.all flashlights i have got something special

[m3flies]

Maybe I'm easily impressed, but I like all of the lights I've bought. Though it's only a few. Fenix PD30R4, EagleTac T20C2 MarkII, Quark 123 R5 Tactical and 123 mini, With a ra Clicky tactical 170 on the way (can't wait to see how this one performs) I just totally enjoy how these lights perform. Different lights for different functions.

[ebow86]

Although I've only owned it for a few days, I can say, without question, my new Surefire A2 aviator with white LED's is my best flashlight purchase. Worst purchase, I don't know, to be honest I've never really bought a light I didn't like or had remorse about.

[Monocrom]

Best = Milky modded black KL1 head running a single-mode P4 emmiter, on a black E2E body and E2D tailcap. Over 200 lumens. (Put together from three seperate purchases.) It's the light you'll usually find clipped to my pants pocket.

Worst = 3D Maglite that literally fell apart in my hands are carrying it under the driver's seat of my car for 3 years.

[photonstorm]

BEST

Fenix LD20 - very good all around usable light and UI
Versati ET10 - outstanding efficiency and run time
Quark MiNi AA, 123, CR2 - nice beam, good value and UI
iTP A2, A3 Ti - excellent performance and incredible value
Preon 1,2 neutral - great form factor and performance
Fenix Tk40 - brightest AA flashlight
Fenix TA30 - well built with a nice smooth beam and brightness
Solarforce L2 - great host with lots of options and accessories

WORST

Romisen rc-b12
MiniMag 2AA

[jacktheclipper]

Best : My iTP SA2 , Particularly after I broke off what I considered to be a poorly designed clip . I then tied a Turk's Head lanyard on it around the slender part of the body tube . This mod allowed me to use the light much better in a cigar hold , as well as aiding me in snatching the light out of it's well designed holster when I use it for night fishing ; in the high mode and in a momentary fashion to locate channel markers and canals . I also use this light as my bike light , usually in medium mode , strapped to the handlebar with a Twofish lockblock . Since I have several uses for this throwy little gem and it does what it needs to do very well this is my favorite .
My iTP A3 EOS single mode : Bright , durable , simple , and the form is perfect for pocket carry . I've bought 5 of these so far as gifts and everyone likes them .

Worst : My Mags Before CPF
Now that I have modded all of them I don't have any lights that I regret .

[yowzer]

Best:

• Nightcore D10 R2. This baby's barely left my pocket since I got it shortly after it came out. A near-perfect EDC light.
• Zebralight H501w. Perfect headlamp for around camp.

Worst:

• Quark Mini123. Just too small to comfortably use, and loose threads that make changing modes way too tricky. I have to unscrew the head one full rotation to stop it from coming on accidently.
• Maglite 2AA with a crappy Nite-Ize dropin that I used before finding out about real flashlights.

[KiwiMark]

Best:

• Nightcore D10 R2. This baby's barely left my pocket since I got it shortly after it came out. A near-perfect EDC light.
• Zebralight H501w. Perfect headlamp for around camp.

Ditto on the D10 for me. Momentary on mode means I don't have to worry about accidental activation in the jeans pocket.

Also:
Zebralight H60w - like my 501 but more light and longer runtime.
Jetbeam Jet-IIIm warm - great light, incredible low to preserve my night vision, good high.
Surefire A2 - seemed nice enough when I got it, then I took it camping - that incan sure can throw!
Maglite ROP - Wow! Just wow!


Flashlight related purchases:
fivemega 2" deep reflector - I got 2, one on my Mag2D ROP high and the other on my Mag2D ROP low. Great throw and nice looking beam. I like to take at least on of these ROP Mags when I go camping.

[m3flies]

Haven't really had a worst purchase yet. Totally happy with my Quark 123 R5, Fenix PD30 R2, and EagleTac T20C2 Mark II. All work well for the different situations they're needed. Really enjoy having all of them.

[Flying Turtle]

I suppose my best purchases as far as value at the time were the Arc LS and AA. For current lights I'll include my LiteFluxes and Quark Mini's. Can't really single out a worst purchase. Mostly I like them all, though I sure have plenty more than I need.

Geoff

[yowzer]

[/LIST]

Ditto on the D10 for me. Momentary on mode means I don't have to worry about accidental activation in the jeans pocket.

I've seen a few people mention that recently, but accidental activation's never been a issue for mine or me. Other lights, now... but not the D10.

[KiwiMark]

I've seen a few people mention that recently, but accidental activation's never been a issue for mine or me. Other lights, now... but not the D10.

I've had a Jet-1 turn on in my pocket - I noticed the warmth, I used to loosen the tailcap to lock it out after that. Then I got the Nitecore D10 and using momentary mode is much better than locking out the light - because that way the light is still immediately usable without having to tighten a tailcap first.

[Ray_of_Light]

Being a collector, a flashaholic and a modder at the same time, it doesn't help to compile this list. Some horrible lights make perfect hosts and some perfected lights doesn't allow easy modding (think of an Arc 4).

The best light I bought:

- SureFire L4, which I modded "ad infinitum" until my preference for ring-controlled lights definetively took control of me... I EDCed a modded (recently, multilevel with Cree or P4) SF L4 for almost four years. Now the main EDC is JB RRT-0 and NC IFE1).

- SureFire M3T with a clickie. Together with the M4, it is the best light ever for walking at night, and for distant recognition tasks in general.

- MicroFire K3500R; just a bit bulkier than a 2D flashlight, it is both a sleeper and outdoor "utility" lights with its balanced beam and 3500 lumen of light flux.

- Olight SR90; too big to be good for any daily use, not bright as an HID, but it is a marvel of engineering and the best balanced thrower I ever had.

- ITP A3; simply the light with the best reliability / price relationship.

The "worst" lights I managed to buy lately:

- An Olight M20 Titanium, which I bought for its advertised 500 lumen in 2x123 form, and I found to be scorching hot in operation, producing only a third of the advertised lumens, and going out of regulation at 4 Volts, nothwithstanding it was specified for operation with a 18650.

- The first generation MagLED 2AA. Too long, no lanyard attachement, reflector is tailored for the Lux so the light is not a direct swap for the LED.

Regards

Anthony

[march.brown]

Worst.
9 LED , 3AAA torches ... Cost about $2 each ... They do work OK and the Grandchildren like them.
3W single AA torches ... Cost $1-37 each ... Work OK and the Grandchildren like these too ... They like all freebies though.
My first Mini-mag 3AA LED because it wouldn't stop flickering no matter what I did ... Replacement was OK for the kitchen.
Old Mag 2C ... Very poor output so was temporarily put away in a cupboard ... See also in Best flashlights.
Romisen RC-U4 ... Now lives in the car ... Don't like it , can't think of a good reason ... Just don't actually like it !

Best.
Both Solarforce L2s fitted with Three mode dropins as I didn't want the dropins with the SOS and Strobe .
Solarforce L2i fitted with single mode dropin ... Modified to take 18650 battery ... Brilliant for every-night slug and snail hunting.
Trustfire F20 ... Superceded by others but now in the car ... Still a very nice torch.
iTP A3 titanium , EDC on car keyring.
iTP A3 stainless , EDC on house keyring.
iTP A2 stainless , EDC in jacket pocket.
iTP A2 black , spare EDC for jacket.
iTP A1 black , bedroom use ... I mean toilet visits not other things.
3W 3AAA MXDL cheapies off Ebay , amazing value for money at £5-48 for three ... Too good to give away ... I have five.
3W CR123 cheapies off Ebay , amazing value for money at $3-98 (£2-58) each though they are available cheaper ... Wife took one ... Other two hidden from kids.
Old Mag 2C with a Fusion 36 LED dropin , using two 18500 batteries ... So amazing that Wife keeps it in the kitchen along with the replaced Mini-mag 3AA LED.

There are others that I have given away that were also OK , but they were also cheapies though in the $10 to $15 range ... Given to the children to keep in their cars as they were too good for the young Grandchildren.

Son-in-Law keeps the two boys equipped with replacement Eneloops on an almost daily basis which is OK as I supplied the two chargers plus batteries initially ... Grandaughter pestered me a few times a year for recharged batteries as her Mother apparently didn't get involved in battery chargers ... Solved by giving Grandaughter four Eneloops plus a charger ... I can now keep track of all my batteries without wondering where the good ones are.
.

[vaughnsphotoart]

Best: Eagletac T100c2 mk II, warm. Simple, consistent, and reliable at a great price.

Worst: Jetbeam RRT3. My first one quit after only a couple weeks. After waiting several weeks for a replacement, finally got it and during its first test run out of the box, the reflector becomes stained with smoke apparently coming from the emitter. Hardly "tactical", it cant take the rigors of my living room. Hoping to get my money back since I got two lemons in a row. For the cost, and for expectations vs reality, definitely the worst value in a light purchase I've made.

[angelofwar]

BEST: Don't know if it qualifies as a "purchase", but I traded my CFP-90 Pack for a brand new SF M962XM07. If not, then my old school 3 flats C3.

WORST: Mini-M@g AA's...even the drop-in's were fidgety, and would only work occasionally.

[Ny0ng1]

Best: SureFire L1 cree and any McGizmos i own

Worst: CMG Sonic, spoiled within a couple months
some regret: Inova T3, sturdy but too big and feeling like a waste everytime i turn on a double cell lights. Rexlight 2.0... i hate reverse clickies...

[stallion2]

i have a couple recent additions...both excellent choices:

Ra Clicky 170, Ti bezel, flush button
>i can't believe how long this thing lasts w/ that kind of output

SF's M3LT combat light
>this thing is a g*ddamn battery vampire that producs a light beam that all other light beams aspire to be like. ...no joke, this beam is absolutely perfect!!!!!!!