SHTF long term/never going back flashlight

hello im going to try my best to make this short as possible. im looking for a good SHTF flashlight, aimed more towards battery life than high lumens. yeah high lumens are nice and all, but if you're in a really bad SHTF situation and you didnt bring extra batteries that 1 hour isnt going to mean anything. ive checked out tons of major brands foursevens, streamlite, surefire, elzetta, trulite and all of them seem to only be aimed for high lumen but low lifespan.

im looking for a light that has fairly decent lumen output, high lifespan, and able to run on regular batteries. more people will have regular batteries laying around than those higher powered ones.

right now ive had this coleman i got from sports authority that runs on 3 AAA and its worked really good. i dont know the name of it, but it is made out of aluminum. ive also checked out the safe-light 9volt battery and im probably going to pick that up too.

anyone have any answers/suggestions, criticism, similar interests?

Is the Malkoff MDC HA 1AA what you're looking for?

Rob

AA cells are the most ubiquitous on the planet almost everywhere. They have a decent form factor and power density. There are several flavors from standard Alkaline's, Lithium Primaries, NiMH rechargeable, and various flavors of rechargeable LiIon (14500). So I'd recommend a 1 or 2 call AA light with Energizer Ultimate Lithiums (L91) in it (20 year shelf life, good resistance to heat and cold, lightest weight, highest power density). Add some NiMH rechargeable (Eneloops) and a solar charger like a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus or Powerfilm AA and you have long term ongoing power as well.

As to the light, I'd recommend a Foursevens Quark QP2A-X - a 2xAA light. Parts are easily available and interchangeable with the rest of the Quark series and they are quite efficient and reliable. They have mechanical switches so no parasitic drain. Great for long term storage. There are a ton of lights that are similar and great lights but the design and US parts availability is hard to beat.

Well as an initial thought, bear in mind that most lights will have a range of modes so that you can tailor the output vs runtime compromise to any particular situation.

Check out the below thread for some ideas.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...hlight-setup&p=4197927&highlight=#post4197927

Inova his head said:

Well as an initial thought, bear in mind that most lights will have a range of modes so that you can tailor the output vs runtime compromise to any particular situation.

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+1. Just because a light has a bright setting, doesn't mean it has poor runtime on other, lower modes. Elzetta makes the toughest lights I am familiar with, and even those offer multiple modes (in some configurations).

As for batteries, if you are planning to scavenge in a SHTF situation, you MIGHT want to reconsider your priorities. AA batteries are the most common, but everyone knows that, and in practice, they are often the first to go out of stock in an emergency. Whereas less common batteries don't have the same demand. I think buying a solar charger (depending on your location) makes more sense than trying to stockpile or scavenge cells. And the nice thing about 18650 (for example, there are many options) is that they are substantially more energy dense than even the best AA batteries. A single 18650 is equivalent (roughly speaking) to FOUR good quality AA batteries. You can also run 2xCR123 in many lights that take 18650, so having a few primaries for storage is still just as feasible as with AA.

If you want to standardize on AA, I'd suggest the Surefire E2L-AA. 80/3 lumens for 9/60 hours.

If you want to standardize on CR123, I'd suggest one of the two, depending on size and UI preference:
Surefire LX2 Lumamax. 200/15 lumens for 2/47 hours.
Surefire E1B. 110/5 lumens for 1.3/37 hours,

One suggestion, a Foursevens tactical pro. QP2A-X Get AA version. You can program it how you want. Lower lumens longer run times, when needed 300 plus lumens. Great budget rig for around $70.

EDIT: I just saw others mentioned it. lol Sorry didn't mean to copy. lol So anyways. Great little light.

I like the Peak Logan 17500 with adapters, since it can run a wide variety of battery sizes & types.

Rugged, simple, efficient ... QTC for variable output ... runs on AA with or without an adapter.

The stock adapter set is for AA / AAA / CR123A, but it is relatively easy to have custom adapters made (such as for CR2 or AAAA, etc).

The driver is only "semi-regulated", so the output declines as the battery is drained, but this also allows for a long slow taper and "scavenging" the energy from nearly empty cells.

spamda said:

............right now ive had this coleman i got from sports authority that runs on 3 AAA and its worked really good. i dont know the name of it, but it is made out of aluminum. ive also checked out the safe-light 9volt battery and im probably going to pick that up too.

anyone have any answers/suggestions, criticism, similar interests?

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Edit from my original comments:
I will echo the comments above about how it doesn't matter how many lumens a light has as long as it has multiple modes, is a well known brand, and thus has a good regulator circuit. With a low mode you can get really long run times depending on how low it goes.

Next I would stay away from 3xAAA lights from the big box stores. Those typically are pretty cheap and you usually get what you pay for there. The reason for 3 batteries is because that is enough voltage to get over the Vf threshold of the LED or when they utilize multiple 5mm LEDs in a series/parallel combination depending on how many of them are in there. They don't have to utilize much in the way of a driver circuit that way.........perhaps just a resistor. Thus you aren't going to get good regulation or efficiency. That is why they are cheap! But with cheap comes poor run time too.

You will get more bang for your buck with AA than AAA. The weight to power ratio favors the AA over the AAA. But I do like some of the single AAA lights simply because they are so small and easy to stash away. Take a look at the Fenix E01 for example. I would take that in my bug out gear. But also you want to have a couple of different lights for different reasons. If the power went out for a long time, I'd probably take my Sunwayman D40A (4xAA) on low mode and just use it like a candle on the table. I typically have 2xAA lights in my cars.

I gather you probably don't want to spend a lot of money. Take a look at some of the single AA and 2xAA lights with common brands that you see mentioned on CPF. It seems each manufacturer has a line of lights that is in the less expensive category but quality isn't sacrificed. The Fenix E12 or Jetbeam BA10/ BA20 comes to mind. There are lots of others.

The best deals on flashlights are right around Thanksgiving (black Friday) into Christmas. I picked up some Olight T25's (XP-G2) lights for $17.95 last year. Not saying that will happen again this time..........but get your shopping list and research going right now and wait for some deals if money is tight .

Lets see here... The Surefire A2 gives 20+ hours of low output LED light and 1 hour on the primary. Bright enough for almost any need. One of these jammies with say 20 batts should do just fine. And honestly, if you need more then that, you got bigger problems to worry about when SHTF.

The Nitecore TM26 Tiny Monster while producing 3800 lumens on turbo, also runs for 1,000 hours at the 3 lumen mode. That's a long time. You won't find a 2-4 cell AA light that has that much run time.

NoNotAgain said:

The Nitecore TM26 Tiny Monster while producing 3800 lumens on turbo, also runs for 1,000 hours at the 3 lumen mode. That's a long time. You won't find a 2-4 cell AA light that has that much run time.

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But what is the quality of that? I require Surefire dependability and ruggedness for when SHTF. Old Surefires are the only lighting tools I trust my life with.

mcm308 said:

But what is the quality of that? I require Surefire dependability and ruggedness for when SHTF. Old Surefires are the only lighting tools I trust my life with.

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+1

I started writing a post then deleted it. The Nitecore TM specifically is notoriously flaky, although a neat light none the less. ( With respect NotAgain) 18650 would not be my first choice of cell much less 4 of them. The more features or parts a light has the more prone to failure. Look at each "feature" of a light as a potential point of failure. In my setup I have 2 solar chargers for emergency calls, neither are for my lights, primaries are the most reliable option but take up space and weight. On the other hand, rechargeable cells, solar panels, and chargers take up considerable amount of space and weight and are WAY more prone to failure then a simple disposable cell properly protected. Not to mention the time invested in solar charging..... you would have a relatively delicate system of electronics banging around in a bag day after day, year after year....


A simple, quality light with a spare switch (2 of the same lights if possible) and primaries will get you by for years if used appropriately.

2 - G2X Pros ($106) 24 Cr123 ($45) ( $216 total ) = 270 days of guaranteed light (15 Lumens) if you used it for 2 continuos hours a day, this would be a luxury, momentary on would stretch it a TON further. Also take into account other sources of light, fire will be around most nights.. and then you know, sleep.

My biased opinion aside, an even cheaper option with longer runtime, check out 4 Sevens Quark, you could get away with 12 CR123 for the next few years....

I missed the part of OP about scavenging cells..... Contrary to a plethora of previous posts and threads, This simply won't happen. You're talking end of days stuff with a vast amount of safe travel to scavenge, with few people / threats / a breathable environment.....No go hommie. Zombieland was a great movie and I love Bill Murray but you would need a very specific type of scenario with a very specific type of situation and heaps of luck..... If you had a single cell light, yes, maybe, sometimes. If you found any 99/100 would be alkalines most not working or already deteriorating ( check the stuff in you're house, you'll find something with a grumpy alkaline ). Take a pair of alkaline that have been sitting for awhile and use them in a multi cell light and you're almost guaranteed a non working light, not to mention runtime would likely be really short depending on their condition.

In short, pack your own Twinkies, you're not going to be finding any Hostess trucks filled with SnowBalls.
Good luck friend, hope to see you on the road well lit up, we can have a flashlight party.

How about a crank flashlight?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...t-Flashlight&p=4524719&viewfull=1#post4524719

GordoJones88 said:

How about a crank flashlight?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...t-Flashlight&p=4524719&viewfull=1#post4524719

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No go. I've tried most of them and they simply either function poorly or break. A lot of them are made by the same company and rebranded in a different color / texture / logo. One exception is the Ccrane Solar Observer :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP6quFeqPro

This is the only crank/solar option that consistently gets good reviews. Much more than what OP is looking for. I've seen it in person and its robust, haven't had a chance to test one though.





Simple light. Extra switch. Primaries....

I've got a bunch of Surefire products, the M series weapons lights, P3's, and P6's.
A few are factory Surefire LED lights, but none have long run times.
My TM26 on the other hand is a 3500 lumen version and has been rock solid reliable.
Just like any new piece of equipment, you don't solely rely on it until proven durable, and you know where and how to operate all of the controls.
Had Surefire designed their lights from the start to operate via rechargable batteries, they'd be much further along the road to a must go to torch.