Looking for Quick Strobe EDC Light

Hi there. I'm looking for a flashlight where I can get to the strobe function quickly, or one with memory so I can set it to default. I'm a rather diminutive girl in the city and I'd feel better having an aid to a quick getaway or worst case scenario, a fist-load weapon:sweat:I'd like it to be pretty durable and reliable as well so I can justify the price to myself on a cost over time basis! Here's some answers for the stickied question checklist:

1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
Being able to get it brick and mortar would be nice (I live in Vancouver, BC) but mail order or online is fine as well.

2) Budget:
Would I'd prefer a sub $100 price but am flexible as I learned you get what you pay for in a bad way in the past.

4) Flashlight-specific format/size
I think small to medium would be best. I'll be carrying it in a messenger bag a lot so I don't want it too heavy or it'll put strain on my shoulder.

6) Manufacturer
I'd be comfortable with both mass manufactured and piece-together lights. I've put a few computers together and figure it can't be too different. Soldering experience is limited but that's what having a Dad who's an EE is for.

7) What battery type do you want to use?
I prefer AA as I already have rechargables laying around but again, flexible on this. Highly prefer rechargables.

8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? / 9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light?
I don't anticipate using this much outside of urban areas but I won't be using it for indoor illumination either. I guess I'd err on the brighter side on things in case of emergency.

Thanks for reading!

I have a 4Sevens Quark123r5. I recently bought it on sale on their site for $47+shipping. The strobe is pretty quick to access and it is bright. (whatever that means) I forgot how many lumens OTF.

I'm new here and am just as interested in what others refer you to get as I am about what other, more knowledgeable folk think of the Quark I got.

Thanks.

The tactical version of the Quark AA^2 "X" can be programed for 2 modes (out of a choice of 8). Selfbuilt's review said it was the brightest 2xAA he's tested yet. There's good sales on them with the rebranding and you can get an additional 1xAA tube for $20 to give you a smaller carry option, but a single cell will bring output down to just over a hundred (which I think is plenty blinding).

Of course, you can also get a 14500 li-ion battery to kick it up to ~400 lumens.

There was a flashlight with two buttons on the tail cap and for the life of me I cannot remember who makes it. Reserved for if i remember it.

You can also have one of the guys here make one and they can sometimes program the first mode. The HDS is fully programmable and bombproof if you can find one.

Edit - A 200+ OTF lumens light that starts on high is more than enough to blind and disorient anyone, especially at night. And that opens up a ton of options including ones that have a press for momentary tailcap which allows you instant access to all your lumens. Get one with a strike bezel and hit them too. :thumbsup:

Klarus makes the two button tail cap UI.

The sweetest EDC is the Klarus XT11 for this type of use.

One BIG button on/off, always on high, no memory...no scrolling...EASY.

One Smaller button - hit it and hold it, and you are in strobe....that's it, no scrolling, head twisting, etc, to get it...just press the button, and you are in strobe...EASY. (600 lumen strobe btw!)

The smaller button also changes it from the 600 lumen HIGH, to the 150 lumen MEDIUM, to the 10 Lumen LOW...EASY.


Its the easiest UI light I have other than ones with only one brightness and an on/off tail button.

It avoids all that tail cap or bezel twisting most of the other lights make you go though to change modes, brightness, strobe, etc.


For tactical use...I like SIMPLE (KISS)




The old fashioned lights that could only pump out a small beam with 100 lumens could blind a guy at close range if you can get the beam spot to stay on his face, etc....as they had to concentrate the 100 lumens tightly to have anything to SEE with.

At 600 lumens, you can disorient a guy at a much safer distance...and make his retinas burn for added measure if you wanted to....plus the fat beam allows you to see what his HANDS are doing too, not just his face.

TEEJ said:

Klarus makes the two button tail cap UI.

The sweetest EDC is the Klarus XT11 for this type of use.

One BIG button on/off, always on high, no memory...no scrolling...EASY.

One Smaller button - hit it and hold it, and you are in strobe....that's it, no scrolling, head twisting, etc, to get it...just press the button, and you are in strobe...EASY. (600 lumen strobe btw!)

The smaller button also changes it from the 600 lumen HIGH, to the 150 lumen MEDIUM, to the 10 Lumen LOW...EASY.


Its the easiest UI light I have other than ones with only one brightness and an on/off tail button.

It avoids all that tail cap or bezel twisting most of the other lights make you go though to change modes, brightness, strobe, etc.


For tactical use...I like SIMPLE (KISS)




The old fashioned lights that could only pump out a small beam with 100 lumens could blind a guy at close range if you can get the beam spot to stay on his face, etc....as they had to concentrate the 100 lumens tightly to have anything to SEE with.

At 600 lumens, you can disorient a guy at a much safer distance...and make his retinas burn for added measure if you wanted to....plus the fat beam allows you to see what his HANDS are doing too, not just his face.

Click to expand...

THANK YOU!! Was driving me crazy. Teej is always there at the right time.

For a little more you can get the E2DL or LX2 if you don't want a sharp bezel. They have a tight bright beam for their size. The olight m20 has memory and will always start in the last mode (lo-med-hi-strobe). Very nice bright beam and a striking bezel.

askal I would stay within the Klarus line because of the easy panic mode buttons (instant strobe, no memory, momentary on, always restart on high output) specifically the Klarus XT2C. The line is actually popular with law enforcement personnel for these very reasons. I was also going to recommend the Klarus XT11, but IMO it is just slightly too bulky considering a gals hands and daily lifestyle. If you are using the light for even just a few minutes a day you'll require some extra battery management given the shorter run times for a very high output flashlight in this compact class. ** More technical comments about this below.

Except for the AA's the XT2C is your best bet for the criteria you listed above based on your typical use, battery management, convenience and efficiency. With a single rechargeable 18650 battery, it WILL still dazzle with 470 lumens making it an ideal compromise to the higher powered XT11 - and with good runtimes on high for up to 2 1/2 hours. You can get decent ultrafire's and a charger for cheap on amazon. AA's are just underpowered given what's available IMO, don't sacrifice when investing in safety, it costs only a little more.

Checkout this review of the XT2C here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDwNVzuEjGY

PS. Strategic use of the strobe on urban streets can be useful if you ever feel you are in danger. 470 floody strobing lumens pointed down the street-opposite-from what's approaching you at a distance is more than enough to "flash" up anything highly reflective such as car light reflectors, license plates and municipal street signs in the vicinity up to an entire block. The way Klarus alternates their strobing speed also helps to enhance said illusion. It just visually shouts "law enforcement" is rolling somewhere right behind giving a perp something much higher in their brain order to suddenly think about. This might give you - time. Obviously this will not work at close proximity such as an active assault. Your bright light and pepper spray (or CCW) might be an option here. But that's a huge separate discussion. Always be situationally aware and adjust your path accordingly.

** According to selfbuilts review of the XT11 here you can use a pair of CR123a batteries to give you ~740+ lumens, but that intensity will step down after 3 minutes and will drop its output matching the XT2C's average high in a short period of time. Since CR123a's are once off batteries, you'll need to discard and replace them for high output. With rechargeable RCR123a batteries; your batteries will shut off completely 20 or so minutes after initial stepdown (running high continuously). One upside to that is, you'll be able to recharge them instead of discarding, I guess. It's the nature of these smaller capacity batteries. With a single 18650 in the XT11, you're basically getting the same output and runtimes as the Klarus XT2C with a slightly bulkier form factor which is why I'm recommending the latter instead.

So a more conservative usage strategy will definitely need to be considered if you choose the XT11 and CR123'a. You might find yourself being OCD, topping off the charge in your batteries all the time to even guarantee use of the XT11's full power.

If you are willing to go through all of that, then yes, the XT11.

Cheers.

- anything to help fellow humans defend themselves against savages.

The Quark Tactical AA and AA2 can be set up so they are on Max with head loose and Strobe with head tight (or anything else you prefer, eg Strobe for both loose and tight).

Based on your stated requirements I think the Quark Tactical QT2A-X running on 2 AA eneloops is worth looking at. Don't forget to get your discount code over at CPF Marketplace once you decide who you want to buy it from.

Having to twist the head, etc...is counter to the need to access it quickly...and under stress...and needing two hands, is less of a tactical option.

I would also like to point out that a strobe light is not a tazer. It doesn't disorient a person regardless of the situation, etc...it buys time to take control, it doesn't incapacitate an attacker...its confuses them for a moment.

You need to know how to use it for it to be effective. (Training)

Otherwise, it might give a false sense of security.

Even cops who are not trained with strobes will "try it out on each other", etc...and shrug, and say they felt fine, it must not work, etc...as they seem to think its advertised like a death ray or something.

Cops who ARE trained with it find it very useful, and that's the key...knowing what its used FOR, and how to take advantage of it at the correct/appropriate time.

Food for thought.

Absolutely any of the Klarus XT series. It has the easiest to operate strobe set up.

The XT-2C,XT-2A,XT-1C are all great lights.

The 1C is small enough to keep in a pocket or purse.

Visit botachtactical[dot]com and search "Novatac USBP"

If strobe is going to be the primary purpose for the light the Quark tactical can be set up to switch on in strobe mode - I don't see ANY UI being simpler or easier to use/remember/under stress etc. The OP did say "..... so I can set it [strobe] to default".

But maybe I'm missing something, so please explain how the other suggestions are easier to get to strobe ? (having 2 different buttons and remembering which button does what doesn't seem simpler or easier than pressing the only button a light has) ?

Gregozedobe said:

If strobe is going to be the primary purpose for the light the Quark tactical can be set up to switch on in strobe mode - I don't see ANY UI being simpler or easier to use/remember/under stress etc. The OP did say "..... so I can set it [strobe] to default".

But maybe I'm missing something, so please explain how the other suggestions are easier to get to strobe ? (having 2 different buttons and remembering which button does what doesn't seem simpler or easier than pressing the only button a light has) ?

Click to expand...

470 lumens vs 280 lumens
Two buttons with different elevations right under the thumb is easy to feel and discern. She doesn't need to go through that twisty nonsense if she needed to quickly change modes and illuminate her path escaping. She could click the tail button for permanent on using one hand while she holds onto her purse (or draws her self defense spray) with her other hand.

Also: "..... so I can set it [strobe] to default".

She probably didn't know there where lights with quick access to panic modes that require no settings.

The Klarus wins here. With Aces.

I much prefer the "double click" strobe of Eagletac over the dual switch configuration of the Klarus. Just my personal preference, but I don't like having to choose a switch, even if there is a tactile difference.

The link removed. see red banner at top of page is compact, very bright, runs on AAs, and has immediate access strobe via the doubleclick. Once you start looking at non-AA-powered lights like the XT10 or XT2C, you could also consider the link removed for the same type of features, but with the aforementioned interface. I do like the variable frequency strobe of the Klarus line, but not enough for me to give up my preferred doubleclick strobe access method.

I do like Eagletacs.

I should note that the XT11's buttons are a bit firmer to press and the light is heftier.

So highly recommending the Klarus XT2C now.

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I've taken a look at your guys' recommendations and I really like Klarus. I think I will go with the XT2C. I noticed that between it and the XT11, there's a difference of springs to stabilize the battery. Is that important and other than that and the light intensity ledmitter addressed, are there more differences?

I also really appreciate TEEJ pointing out that proper usage isn't that simple. I'll have to drop by my local police station soon anyway to get a background check to submit with volunteer applications and I'll ask for advice while there. Maybe I can give back for the help with this with some info to help future CBF visitors.

Askal said:

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I've taken a look at your guys' recommendations and I really like Klarus. I think I will go with the XT2C. I noticed that between it and the XT11, there's a difference of springs to stabilize the battery. Is that important and other than that and the light intensity ledmitter addressed, are there more differences?

I also really appreciate TEEJ pointing out that proper usage isn't that simple. I'll have to drop by my local police station soon anyway to get a background check to submit with volunteer applications and I'll ask for advice while there. Maybe I can give back for the help with this with some info to help future CBF visitors.

Click to expand...

The extra springs on the XT11 are to handle recoil when mounted to a rifle.

All of the current Klarus lights are great, the XT11 is quite chunky though and I see earlier you said you wanted to stick to AA. So well worth considering their other options too.

But for a direct access strobe I don't know of any better.

Two buttons, one turns it on/off. The other mode change or hold for 0.5 sec and its on strobe.

Also it's pretty much the only flashlight I know of that'll access strobe from off. Again just push the small button for 0.5 sec. Undoing the tailcap slightly will lockout the battery to prevent accidental activation should you need to.

Exactly - the Klarus can hit the strobe from OFF...ANY BUTTON held down kicks it into strobe.

The two buttons are on the tail cap...one is bigger and taller, so you will hit that first by default...and it can turn on the strobe...

...The second button is right next to it, and recessed, so you hit that second by default, as its further down...and IT can also turn on the strobe.

Its the most popular LEO UI I know of for those who tried it...

...as its SO INTUITIVE.

If u want to get to strobe quickly... Check out a Maglite XL100. The XL200 is a 4 click to get to strobe but the xl100, just leave the spinning tail cap in strobe and one click will get you to strobe

The XT-2C is a superb choice. It is very bright, thin and easy to carry. It has probably the best interface of almost any light when it comes to mode change and strobe access.

I have lights by O-Light, 4 Sevens, Eagletac, Thrunite, Fenix, Sunwayman and hands down the Klarus is the most user friendly of any of them