I was about to buy a Lenser P7 then found this forum ...

Okay so i was about to buy a Lenser LED P7 and then found a thread on here where someone said Lenser aren't great!

Can anyone recommend me what flashlight to get.

I'm looking for one that is similar size to the P7, around 200 lumins, budget of around £50

In terms of use, will be used when walking dog, walking night, riding bike at night (v. occasionally)

Appeciate all your time

There are TONS of options out there. The led lenser is unique in that it is adjustable flood to throw. Most people dont really care for this. I like them personally because there is no blinding hotspot, just a nice wall of light. Normally you can see one area (hotspot) really well and the surrounding area less-well. The hotspot also tends to mess up your vision so it adjusts to the hotspot's light output instead of the rest of the flood. Hence, I like an even lighting.

Being able to focus on something far off is cool too, though rarely used.

The P7 would work just fine for you, though it is pretty expensive for what it does. However, most flood to throws are knockoffs due to patents, so you get a really cheapo or a super expensive one.

I might recommend a cheap 3xAAA flood to throw light from ebay . About 10 bucks will get you one. Cheap but I like them.

A step up would be the Romisen from shiningbeam.com.

link removed
The romisen RC 27 uses 2xAAs for best battery life.

link removed
This C8 is nice too, using 3xAAAs or 2xCR123s. Smaller and more compact.


If you don't like these options and dont really think you care about flood to throw, this greatly opens your options. Get ANY "floody" CPF recommended 2xAA light and you will be happy.

max99x said:

Okay so i was about to buy a Lenser LED P7 and then found a thread on here where someone said Lenser aren't great!

Can anyone recommend me what flashlight to get.

I'm looking for one that is similar size to the P7, around 200 lumins, budget of around £50

In terms of use, will be used when walking dog, walking night, riding bike at night (v. occasionally)

Appeciate all your time

Click to expand...

Hi

I'm guessing as you said £50 you are in the UK too?

I've recently reignited my torch passion and bought a couple of different lights. Although researching the LED Lenser flashlights is what lead me to this forum. I have to say, I'm not so sure I'd get one now, although I've not actually owned one.


In terms of other options, well you have loads and loads.

If you are not sure where you can get any of the lights in the UK try Googling them, or shoot me a PM.

But some lights you might want to look up:


EagleTac D25LC2 - I got one of these at the beginning of the month. Very compact, very powerful and very nice. Although I'm not fully sold on the twisty type switch over a regular button.

I also gifted a AA D25A2 version to my brother. Both lovely compact lights. And both available for under £40 delivered.
link removed

I've also ordered, but not yet received a Klarus NT20. Another compact light that has had great reviews. The ST20 is a double AA powered version. Bit more pricey at about £55, although I picked one up on e bay for about £10 less.
link removed

I'm also quite keen on the JETBeam PC10 and I'm hoping I might get one in a couple of months time. It's around £55 also. Very compact and when used on rechargeable RCR123's offers up 550 lumen!!
link removed

Lastly I'm still a bit of a MagLite fan. So an XL200 might be worth considering if you don't mind waiting, but order it from the US via e bay as it's only about £32-36. UK retailers want £60 for the model below called the XL50. So do shop around. The XL200 doesn't have the headline lumen rating, but has good throw and is quite usable. And evidently quite a bit cheaper too.
link removed


Thinking about it, do you have a preference to battery type??

As a rule flashlights powered by lithium CR123A cells offer up more performance than those on AA/AAA. You can also if you shop around buy CR123A's at fairly good prices online.

If you prefer AA/AAA cells don't use normal Duracell alkaline ones. Either use Lithium ones (buy online as it's a lot cheaper than supermarket prices) or get yourself some rechargeable Eneloops. These are NiMh batteries, but unlike normal rechargeable they hold their charge well when not in use.

If you opt for a CR123A powered flashlight, then you'll want to look at rechargeable li-io cells, most can use these, either RCR123's or something like an 18650. While on this, some, but not all AA lights can use something called a 14500 li-io rechargeable. These usually offer up better run times and sometimes more power.



That said, I guess it also comes down to what sort of light you really want. Do you want throw - as in long distance use. Or is a floody beam more usable for you. Then you might want to consider how big or small you want the light to be.