Your top 5 lights to handle all needs

So there are about a million "choose one best light" threads scattered around this place, but we all know that is completely unrealistic. Different lights are made for different purposes, and anyone who is into flashlights will eventually end up with a bunch of them, for different reasons.

With this idea in mind:

Choose 5 of your best lights for all anticipated needs.

What are your light choices, intended uses for each, and reasons why you choose the 5 you did?


I'll start:

1 - Sunwayman V11R (NW Emitter), modded for 16650
.....My mainstay EDC, fantastic tint and UI, also a great multi-fueller for CR123/16340, AA/14500/Eneloop/Energizer Lithium AA primary, 16650. I've tried other EDC lights, keep coming back to this one - it's just plain perfect in almost every way for EDC.

2 - EagleTac MX25L3C Nichia 219
......My favorite "all around" light, and my favorite light EVER. So sweet - if I could only have one light for the rest of my life, this would be IT. Useful for just about every purpose, the only area it lacks in is its larger size/weight, making it too big for EDC. Other than that, it's beautiful!

3 - Zebralight H600Fw
......My headlamp of choice. Great tint, great beam, great brightness and runtime. Great, all great!

4 - EagleTac S200C2 (Neutral White)
......My baby thrower and constant companion on night hikes. Not as throwy as many other lights I have, but vastly more portable! It's the light you have WITH you that is the most useful, after all, and this light is just barely small enough to end up getting taken with me.

5 - Zebralight SC62d
......My favorite general-purpose camping light. Super compact and light weight for a 18650 light, it has a beautiful high-CRI tint and is plenty bright for any campsite task I've ever needed it for. I like the SC62w as well, but the extra brightness just isn't as important to me as the SC62d's superior tint and color rendition. I like this light so much that I occasionally EDC it, and recently bought a spare. My spare SC62w, on the otherhand, is being sold.


The common threads going through my choices are good tint, Lithium Ion fuel (especially 18650), and light weight (since I mostly use my lights for outdoors hiking/camping).


So... what are your choices?

I like my Zebralights for EDC. Compact, reasonably bright, useful modes and programming.

I like my 4sevens Quarks for general-purpose household lights. Easy to hold, fairly bright, easy to use for newbies. Downside: they only come in cool white.

I like my Sunwayman D40A neutral white as an outdoor light. Very bright, pretty-good throw, not too bad to carry. A little large, but that's needed for throw.

I like my super-cheap Chinese lights for kids toys. Break 'em, I'll just give them another.

I like my Maglites for... loaners. No, just keep them! :sick2:

I only have 4

Ryp said:

I only have 4

Click to expand...

Let's hear about them!

UST Moonforce 20 lumen on the ring with my house keys. This is an inexpensive light with weird beam color - it's selling points are that it's small, and it's always with me.

Fenix E01s in each of my laptop bags. These are just for when I drop a small part or something, and I like that the light and a spare L92 take up almost no space.

Fenix LD09 and E25 for around the house. The E25 also comes with me when I travel, since unless I'm planning on a lot of outdoor use, it's more than enough light for whatever I run into. The LD09 is my "EDC," although I only carry it if I think I'll need it. That UST is my real EDC, although it barely qualifies.

Lastly, a PD35 for everything else. This is the light if I'm going to be outdoors, working on a project, in the boat, etc. I like this light so much, and find it so versatile, it keeps me from buying other lights - I can't think of anything I'd want that this one won't do. I'm sure I'll eventually talk myself into something more powerful, but I'll bet it won't get much use.

1. Modded cheapie budget 18650 headlamp. Cost maybe $12 before mods. Don't even remember the brand name. Came with an aspheric lens. I performed a quick and dirty mod swapping the emitter for a 4D tint XML2 and the driver for a 1.5 amp 3-mode Nanjg 105c I had on hand. Didn't change the wires for thicker ones. Didn't adjust the zoom mechanism for wider flood or tighter spot. Didn't even put thermal paste under the star. Entire mod took probably 10 minutes. Despite being a quick and dirty mod this light actually works great and is my go-to light for when I'm doing hobby stuff and need more light. It gets more actual use turned on than any of my other lights.

2. Modded Convoy S2+ mini. This one's an EDC pocket rocket. Heavily modded with electronic sideswitch, triple XPL 3D tint, FET driver, and capacity to hold a 1200 mAh IMR 18500 cell. 2500-3000 lumens in a tiny light just 73mm long... not much bigger than an SC52.

3. Zebralight SC5w. At 500 lumens this isn't very bright compared to what I usually EDC, and the Eneloop Pro powering it feels as heavy as a much higher capacity li-ion 18650. On the other hand this light looks great, feels great and gets the job done. Tint is excellent and unlike my modded Convoy S2+ mini I don't have to worry about this one catching my pants on fire if it accidentally turns on in the pocket.

4. Noctigon Meteor M43 1D dedomed. Just got this. It's my brightest, heaviest and throwiest light. Not sure how much use it will get as it's so heavy. But it definitely fills a niche my other lights don't.

5. Modded Aleto N8 18650 zoomie. Currently configured as a zoomable mule. Neutral tint XPL is mounted on a post behind a glass lens giving 136 degree wide flood. Extending bezel into spot mode causes a fresnel lens with a hole in it to rise up around this post placing the LED at its focal point. Result is a spot mode with around 10k lux. Super-wide flood with a mediocre spot in a small zoomie for its battery size. I'll probably replace the LED arrangement with a high intensity CREE XPL when they become available.

Realistically, if I was limited to five, probably the Nitecore TM26 would be my only big light. It can handle everything...I can and did EDC it, just to see if it was feasible. The OLED makes it very convenient to use, with real-time access to cell voltage, runtime, and light temperature.

For my keychain, it would have to be the MBI HF.

Fenix PD32UE for use at work. The right beam profile, more than anything else...and well spaced modes.

Zebralight SC600 Mk II L2 for EDC. Still my most used light outside of work.

And either a Convoy M1 or an Ultrafire Wf-501b for a loaner/beater light.

Honorable mention: my favorite headlamp is the Armytek Wizard Pro. But if I only had five, I could live without a headlamp...I don't use them nearly as often as handheld lights.

1 Nitecore P12
Possibly my favourite of the four. It's my EDC so it pretty much covers everything from using the moonlight mode around the house at night to taking walks when it's dark and everything in between. I found a water bottle cap that fits over the head like it was made for this light and I use it as a diffuser. Very useful.

2 Nitecore TM26
Pretty much my do-everything light. I have a wide selection of modes from 3 to 3500. The 2nd level is actually very useful while tailstanding to light a room up (did this during Earth Hour). I use turbo at random times, like during Halloween when teenagers are lighting firecrackers in our street. Great all-around light.

3 Olight M22
This is my thrower light. I de-domed it myself and, as expected from no experience, accidentally took some phosphor off. It's not too bad though, and I quite enjoy the blue tint. This is the light I take with me if I hear something go bump in the night. Not as heavy as my TM26 and easier access to turbo and strobe from off.

4 Foursevens Preon P2
This was the very first light I got and was constantly going outside at night to shine it around. It's a great, slim light and my brother-in-law liked it so much he got one for himself. The light has been replaced as my EDC by my P12. It's still a great light and I occasionally EDC it if I'm not wearing too many layers.

My Top 5:

1 Cell - HDS 325 Rotary

2 Cell - Malkoff M61 Turnkey Hi/Low

Done.

1. Daily Carry: JetBeam RRT0 XML with a 16340 IMR. Compact and a wide range of lumens.
2. Extended Power Outage: Maglite 3D LED, 79 hours runtime.
3. My Brightest (ANSI FL1 lumens): Coast HP550 for firepower!
4. Cleanest Looking to Admire: Inova X2 Black, sans all kinds of writing on it.
5. Glove Box/Forget About It: LED Lenser V2 on lithium AAAs.

Tough one as many i could use for a replacement of what i put forward ..........

So here goes

General use,work use kind of light,easy to carry and a brand i like
To make it easier i will suggest lights in the last several months!
1-Fenix pd35


2-For awesome flood i have a few to choose but my special one is the triple quad xp-l x40vn,infinite control of around 5000 OTF lumens of 5700 K,great colour rendition



3-Pocket flood,well again spoilt for choice but really love the pd35vn quad,2x5000k and 2x 6500k makes an awesome tint,again excellent colour rendition



4-EDC well its close between the v11r tu3 and D25cvn ti,latter is a vinh so pips it for me ,either way both are with me on rotation


5-Now i would say here the sr52vn BUT i am going with the mtg2 tint and less throw,tn35vn just(plus i left the other mtg2 mm15vn out in the flood light.....)


Now 5 is not enough imho

Car keys
DQG Hobi

Last weeks camping ,flood i had the tn36vn and quad pd35vn,edc D25c ti neutral and general beater viking pro


Could pick 3 or 4 of each to take their places and be very happy with choices..............such a tough question:thinking:

Not to mention other sets of keys,work keys as another light on rotation..........

Great thread,just increase it to 10 or so next

ZL SC52-Always with me and uses all AA sized cells

HDS Rotary-Really need to say more?

Malkoff MD System?-I would carry an MD2 body and MD3 and MD4 body and standard MD head and Hound Dog too,See how I did that!
All plenty capable enough and built for the long hall too.Also I could use AAs in the MD3 with the right drop-in.

Sunnwayman V11r- Can run 123 or AA and is just an ideal interface for me and amazing in the NW version too.

Predator-Just great all around good throw,runtimes and feature set.

This is all subject to change on a whim of course but for a quick answer this is where I would be.
I would like to be able to use rechargeable's but not have to too!

1) Work EDC: NiteCore D11.2 with 14505 battery
2) Weekend EDC: NC D11.2 w/ 14505 battery
3) Dress Carry: Ti NC 10 w/ D11.2 light engine and 14505 battery
4) Night Stand Light: NC D11.2 w/ 14505 battery
5) NC SRT 7: Emergency Light w/ 18650

From least used to most used.

Nitecore EAX on my nightstand. I use it whenever I need a ton of light and want to see very far in the distance. Not really a fan of the beam pattern, but it is the brightest light I have. I usually use it late at night when walking the dog.

Eagletac T25C2. I have this with me whenever I have enough room to carry it. Usually when I'm wearing a sport-coat or jacket of some kind. I may alternate between my D25A2 Tactical or Thrunite Archer 2AV2, but the T25C2 is obviously a little more versatile. I used to carry a G25C2, but found it to be a little too bulky.

Maratac AAA Copper. This is my newest light, and is on my keychain now. I find it pretty much comparable to my various Olight i3s and Thrunite Ti and Ti3 lights. However, I really like the look and feel of this light. I do get a lot of comments on it also.

Finally, the Eagletac D25a is my absolute go-to light. I always have it in my pocket. It is my true EDC. Even my Maratac isn't always with me on my keychain. The size, price and performance are tough to match with the D25a. It's not a perfect light, but it's my perfect light. I like to use 14500 batteries in it, but have the option to switch to AA's if needed. I've had a Fenix PD20, a couple of Sunwayman V11r's and a Nitecore SRT3 as my EDC, but came to really like the D25a more than all of them.

That's really only 4 lights. If I only had four lights I would be just fine with those for all of my needs. I'm considering a change for the EAX, because it's quite a beast of a light, and I think I would prefer a single emitter beam pattern. However, since it is my least used light, I can't really justify the purchase unless something really wows me.

I have several other "secondary" lights, like Maglite, UST and Rayovac etc for emergencies and sharing with others if they need them, but they largely sit on the shelf or in each closet of the house. I use them from time to time just to make sure they are working.

I almost forgot, I have Nitecore Tube lights on all my spare keys. That could probably be the fifth light. They are useful and cheap for things like that.




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Zebralight sc62w

I forgot the rest

:laughing: i wish i could help you remember.......just way too many :laughing:

High CRI HDS Rotary
High CRI HDS Rotary
High CRI HDS Rotary
High CRI HDS Rotary
High CRI HDS Rotary

Seriously, this one light does everything I need. It's that awesome.

General purpose/work light - Fenix PD35
EDC - HDS Rotary N219, 170
Bed stand - SF P2X Fury Dual
Keychain - Quantum D2
End table next to me in the evening - Eagletac D25C

1. General purpose/EDC light is my Nitecore EX11.2. I use this light all the time for just about everything and carry it everywhere. Quick access to low/high and I leave it set at medium for most tasks and then can quickly ramp up/down to whatever brightness I need. No other light comes close in my collection.
2. Bed stand light is my Zebralight SC62.
3. Around the house/outdoors is Zebralight SC62 or Nitecore EA41w both are excellent.

Those are the primary lights I use right now even though I have many other great lights such as the SC5w, SC32w, Nichia 219 P60 light and others I find the Nitecore PD series to be my go to light for just about everything and the Zebralight SC62 for the tasks which need the extra power or for around the house.

1) Surefire C2 + Malkoff M61SHO 219b
2) Surefire C2 + Malkoff M61 219b
3) Surefire C2 + Malkoff M61L 219b
4) Surefire C2 + Malkoff M61LL 219b
5) Surefire C2 + Malkoff M61LLL 219b