Best rechargeable under 100$

Howdy everyone!

I'm looking for a rechargeable light that is under 100$.

Heres the situation. I'm a automotive tech, and use my light daily. Sometimes I might only need it for 30 seconds in an entire day, other times I might use it for an hour straight. Typically I'd guess runtime to never be over 2hrs for an entire day. It could be recharged nightly, and size really doesn't matter.

Just looking for something decently bright, rechargeable, and durable.

Alot of guys use the Streamlight Stinger. That is plenty bright for me. Is this my best option? I've been eyeing the Rigid Torch as well.

Thanks everything!

Strion/Stinger
all are good but if you want something NICE... I suggest looking at Jetbeam lights

Try getting a surefire 6PL and run a 17670 in it. Batteries, charger, and light should be sub $100

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I'm not a big fan of rechargeable lights. If you forget to charge it, you could be out of luck if you need it for work. I much rather deal with a regular light and extra rechargeable cells on hand. I think there are many single cell AA lights out there to fill the bill. If you want more light to hold on to as well as brighter and longer running, then get a 2 cell. A 4 pack of AA eneloops and charger is less than $20.

I am a Fenix and sometimes Quark fan, so I would recommend either. Look at Quark AA's with the tactical interface. You don't want to be clicking the light up in brightness every time you use it. My current favorites are Fenix. I have the LD12, LD22, and PD32. All make great work lights. For you, I say either the LD12 or LD22. The PD32 takes you to a more complicated and expensive rechargeable battery system. The Fenix have mode memory so they turn on at the last brightness used. For the Quark tactical, you pick two levels and set them. Tighten or loosen the head for the two different levels. That might be a problem with greasy hands though.

There are many other lights that will work for you. Jetbeam makes some nice lights as someone mentioned , but I am not personally familiar. Just keep in mind the user interface. I work on a lot of different equipment and using a light that you need to click or twist several times to get bright enough is a nuisance every time you need a quick flash to find a bolt hole or something. I also recommend at least two levels. Its nice to be able to dim the light down if you are inspecting a small part in your hand or trying to read an imprinted part number.

What kind of batteries would you prefer? Also, would an angle light work for you? What kind of beam pattern would be best? What about modes?

Also, it seems like you'll prefer a light with a charging dock.

I'm biased towards AA lights, and for close up work a floody beam would be nice. If you don't mind rechargeable AA batteries, I'd suggest the Thrunite Neutron 2A, 4Sevens Quark X series, or the Sunwayman V20A. These lights have the larger die Cree XM-L emitter with a smaller reflector, so should provide a floody beam with lots of output.

If you want to plug in the light to recharge it, the iTP R01 could work. Single mode, plug in charger, and 2 hours runtime (as rated by the manufacturer). Not sure how the beam looks though.

:welcome:

IMO a flood light in a lower temp allot of lights have such a bright hot spot your blinded by the glare. Cool white has a cool wow factor when lighting up the yard but no good for close up work. again IMO (not trying to start the great tint debate here)

Tints aside, I prefer a dimmer thrower when working on small machinery. A floody beam does bounce back at you and makes the area of interest harder to see. But a flood is nice if you are scanning a big area, looking for a leak of something. With that in mind, a mixed beam with several levels is nice, so you can dim it down so the flood portion fades away when not needed.

Get the Dewalt 18volt snake light and buy the Fusion48 dropin from eBay. Rechargeable, long run times and 600-1000 lumens depending on which version you get

Not a fan of angle/bendy lights. Just looking for a good handheld. Something that is Stinger size or smaller would be great. Bigger wouldn't be a deal breaker though.

Clicky, and hi/lo brightness modes would be awesome. Having multiple modes, with the highest being brighter than the Stinger would be ideal. Rechargeable is the big kicker here. That is a must. I am religious about tool charging/battery maintenance (thanks to my R/C days). Most of my impact guns and drivers are battery powered anway so one more charger is fine. I just can't afford to be throwing away specialty batteries.

I guess another thing I like about the Stinger is that the docking station provides a "home" for it, so it isn't lost.Some of you are probably thinking "Just buy a Stinger then", but I KNOW you guys know of better alternative lights!

Looking at all the recommendations, Is there any reason why I shouldn't buy the JetBeam RRT0-XML? Looks to be in my pricerange, and I could pickup a handful of rechargeable CR123 and charger as well (Would Li-Ion be the way to go?)

Thanks again everyone!

I've got the Jetbeam RRT-0 and it is a great light that uses RCR123 cells. I like the ring where I can adjust the level to what I want quickly. I like the optional extension so that I can use AA batteries. I've notice though as soon as the battery level drops to the cut off voltage, POOF!, no light without any warning. I recently got a Zebralight H600 which takes 18650 cells. I know that you don't like angle lights but Zebralight has out the front lights. I like the UI and when the voltage drops, the light just goes to the next light level. I plan to get another Zebralight (SC600) to clip to my pocket as I feel Zebralight is that good.

RS11 from Klarus

+1 on klarus. I like the performance of their offerings and the build quality. Plus the ui is just amazingly simple to use one handed. I highly recommend the xt2c.


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the Klarus RS11 also looks like a good candidate. Does anyone know if it comes with a wall adapter as well?

Not sure if it will come with a wall adapter, more likely will be an option/accessory. Don't take my word for it though.


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Another vote for Klarus RS11. :twothumbs