New here, unknown animals, and request for recommendation!

Hi everyone. I am new here. I found the forum on Google by searching for "best flashlight forum". I have found over the years that the best way to figure out what you want to know is to find a forum where people are discussing it. And the best way to find a forum is to add the word forum to your search term. haha.

I know I might get murdered for asking such a simple question ... and believe me, I have tried searching (but the words I try to search for are "too common" so the search page pukes), and browsing has only increased the knowledge of just how ignorant I am. Ha!

So the question is .... what light should I buy? (BAM, PUNCH, SLAP, Loud moans and crys) haha.

But seriously .... Here is what I am looking for and perhaps you guys can save me from going to Home Depot ....

I am a normal guy ... a flashlight moron. All I "know" is you have your "normal flashlight", then you have your "Million Candle power Q Beam". I only know about the "Q Beam" because my older brother had one when I was a teenager. So yea, I am a dummy.


I live on 82 acres of woods with 8 acres cleared around my house and shop.

The other night I heard the outside dogs going NUTS at 4am. I got up and grabbed my "normal flashlight" (A long 3 battery MAG light) and headed to the porch. There were several large animals moving about at the edge of the woods but no matter how hard me and my flashlight tried we couldn't make out what it was. They were large, on all fours, and seemed to be dark - maybe black. I knew it wasn't deer - way too big. I had one thought of what it could be but thought there was no way ... then I thought maybe BEAR??

Well anyway, I couldn't see and they wandered off slowly.

A few hours later the same thing happened but this time the dogs were in the front yard. I went out there and this time the sun had started to come up a little so there was enough light to see. There was a frickin herd of cows in my FRONT YARD. haha. I have a neighbor that has cows and apparently they got out and made their way over to my place. The terrain is so rough between here and there I am not even sure how they go over but they did. I was thrilled it wasn't bears! ha! Only problem is I can't get the freezer lid shut all the way with the hooves hanging out! kidding.

SOOO ... I want a light to see what the crap is going on outside if needed. I also use a light to let the dogs out at night to go to the bathroom.

I'll be honest..... did anyone ever see the movie Italian Job (the most recent one). There is a scene where they are on a mountain after they had stolen the gold and were talking about what they were going to buy with the money. Each person said what they wanted and had obvious passion about each thing. They get to Steve (the bad guy before he was known to be bad) and he said "I'll take one each of what you guys said". They gave him crap about it ... but that's kinda how I buy things. I don't have passion about every single thing but I like nice things so I rely on the opinions and research of others.

So ... if you were me, what would you buy? I am ok spending several hundred dollars (if that helps?).

THANKS!!

Craig

From your house, what is the farthest distance to the woods line?

Welcome to CPF. :welcome:

A Nitecore TM16GT or a smaller Nitecore EC4.

Once the lights have arrived, your next problem will be batteries and charger.

Budget????????????????????
BTW: Nothing wrong with the newer Maglite LED lights.
If you want to upgrade?
For your situation: You are used to a larger light. So, I like the MaxToch M24 Sniper Dedomed from Mtn Electronics. He can set you up with batteries and a charger too.
Or budget blower: Acebeam X60M. Has more lumens but not as much throw as M24

You shouldn't need to spend several hundred dollars. $150 should see you through (unless you want to spend more, in which case the sky's the limit).

You're going to want to look for what's known as a 'thrower,' something like an Olight M23 Javelot. I don't own that light, so I can't directly recommend it myself, but it's quite highly regarded. Going Gear, which is a well-respected dealer, has a video overview on their YouTube channel. I'd recommend watching that to get a sense of what you might be looking for.

Keep in mind that the rated distances for flashlights are somewhat misleading. You can expect to get usable light at around a quarter of the rated distance, in my experience. So a light rated for 400 meters will be effective at 100 meters.

You'll probably end up buying a light powered by one or more 18650 li-ion batteries. Don't cheap out on those - poorly made li-ion batteries are a safety hazard. There are many threads in the electronics section about battery safety and brands, so you may want to check some of those out. Brands like Olight, Fenix, Nitecore all make good 18650's. Stay away from anything named Ultrafire or ****fire.

You're also going to need a good charger. Xtar is a well-regarded brand. I use and like their VC4 model. Hope that helps you get started.

I just recently purchased a Thrunite TN4A for similar reasons for my house light. It has a good range of light settings from very low to very bright, runs on 4AA batteries, and has good runtimes. Also very economical at about $50 give or take a few dollars depending on which version you select. For the purposes you describe the TN4A "HI" version would probably be most suitable.

Craig,
We think very much alike regarding the forums and info. Let me hear from actual people who own the crap I'm interested in.

Having said that, I also live on 80 acres of timber and pasture. Of course, you will get many different opinions. I guess it depends on if you are the kind of guy that keeps on wanting the best of the best all the time, or just have a need and want the light for the need and be done with it.

If you don't mind waiting 3 weeks, go to the group buy section of this forum and buy the TM16GT. You'll need another $40 or so in good batteries and another $30 roughly for a good charger. This would be a huge upgrade to what you have, and to me is a good all around light with spill and throw. All for around $200. It would probably be all most people would ever need. Here's the problem with this however, it's a crap shoot on quality, and these Chinese companies totally suck at customer service and shipping. You may get fortunate and not have a problem, but if something goes wrong, you are pretty much on your own IMHO.

The Fenix TK75 2015 version is also a solid light. Built well. If you really want to over do it, get a TK75vnQ, but now we are talking over $300 plus the charger and batteries, and you have that weird realization that you are paying someone to modify a stock light and that seems strange at first.

As for dealers, so far I really like Andrew and Amanda. You can make a reasonable offer and usually get an acceptance. Shipping is fast and reliable for me so far. Anyway, that's my take. Good luck.

I say go to Home Depot and get a newer version of the same Mag you have now. A 2D pro is about $35 + batteries.
That'll get you a beam good for ID of all but the darkest animals a good football field away and you are already familiar with that style.

Then come back here and do some reading of the stickies about basic terms, differing ways to decide what light is best for you, battery safety and all that jazz...
And before you know it you'll be a flashlight junky just like us.

In the meantime...beef...it's what's for dinner.

bykfixer said:

I say go to Home Depot and get a newer version of the same Mag you have now. A 2D pro is about $35 + batteries.
That'll get you a beam good for ID of all but the darkest animals a good football field away and you are already familiar with that style.

Then come back here and do some reading of the stickies about basic terms, differing ways to decide what light is best for you, battery safety and all that jazz...
And before you know it you'll be a flashlight junky just like us.

In the meantime...beef...it's what's for dinner.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum! Not a bad intro.
Second this. Look at the Mag ML300L 3D should be plenty to begin with until you get more familiar.

Poppy asked it first, and, its the single most important question, and, its still unanswered.

What is the approximate range you need to see to?



The intensity of light on a target falls off rapidly with distance (As per inverse square law).

That means that to see a little further, you need a lot more power, and so forth.


As mentioned, the RATED ranges are total BS, to see with, because they use the ANSI Standard...which is worthless for long ranges.

On the plus side, there is a mathematical conversion from the claimed ranges, to useful ranges. (Inverse square law again)


The reader's digest of the conversion, is that the CLAIMED range is the range at which the light is only providing 0.25 lux on your target.

As the intensity is 1/4 as bright at double the distance, or, 4x brighter at half the distance....

...You can take the 0.25 lux range, in meters, and KNOW that at HALF that range, it will reach ONE LUX.

To tell a bear from a cow at 5 meters, 0.25 lux is actually OK. Well, to see them...not so good if they see you, and charge, etc. IE: If the light has poor range, be sure some one slower than you is present...preferable between you and said bear, etc.

At 50 meters, the same 0.25 lux is going to see eye shine, ...but be a bit soft on resolving the bodies. If night adapted, your vision might just make them out though.

At 200 meters, its just dark out there at 0.25 lux. You see nothing, except, again, the eye shine might give them away.

For 200 meters, you'd typically need closer to 5 - 30 lux on your targets to resolve them....depending on the contrast and your night vision.

And so forth.




So, how far did you need to see to?

And, did you see any eye shine with the mag?

ateupwithgolf said:

The Fenix TK75 2015 version is also a solid light. Built well.

Click to expand...

2nd this one, if you are already used to a big light, this one is comparable and is pretty bright (4000 lumens if that means anything to you). I think the Nitecore TM16 above is in the same class.

Personally, i like the Armytek Barracuda for my thrower over the TK75. It is a bit more of a precision beam though, doesn't light up a large area like the TK75. With the one cell (18650) tube, its very compact for what it is. I believe the Olight Javolet above is in the same class, maybe even what Armytek (a Chinese company masquerading as a Canadian one) copied. I suggest buying any of these from a US dealer. I suggest Illumn as i've had nothing but good luck with them. Plus, they have a Craig as well, so you should get along fine
MTN electronics is also a top class place too and i was interested in the MaxToch M24 Sniper Dedomed from Mtn Electronics as well, but i'm trying to cut back .

Anyway, good luck and welcome to the forum!

82 acres of woods with 8 acres cleared around the house and shop? Olight M3XS-UT Javelot. It throws as far as most people can see. The Javelot out throws just about every light mentioned so far. The TK75 and TM16GT are indeed bright as hell but neither throws as far as the Javelot. Personally Id get a SR52UT. It throws almost as far as the Javelot, has a massive and usable beam on top of having incredible run time.

Second vote for Olight sr52UT. You should also read up on using and charging lithium ion batteries. I also concur with the xtar vc4 as a charger. There are threads to read all about the sr52ut and Fenix tk75 here. I would read them both and ask questions if needed.

+1 on sr52ut with some decent 18650s and a multimeter

ThruNite TN4A HI

LED thrower flashlight smooth reflector, CREE XPL HI LED output up to 1050 lumens.

Six modes available: Firefly, Low, Medium, High, Turbo and Strobe.

-Strobe (1050 lumens/150 minutes)-Turbo (1050 lumens/56 minutes)-High (520 lumens/150 minutes)-Medium (120 lumens/14 hrs)-Low (14 lumens/93 hrs)-Firefly (0.2 lumens/80 days).

Peak Beam Intensity: 52340cd.

Max beam distance: 457m. = 499.78yards – 1499.34 feet

$55

Acebeam K60 once familiar with lithium ion chemistry.

This may actually be a case for VInh. 82 acres then 8 acres where the house and farm is? Sure TN4A for the house and farm but Id email Vinh about turning the UT, Javelot and even TM36 into throwers so powerful you could land aircraft with them. Vinh is capable of this. The only other option-and it is a expensive one-is to go HID lights. A good HID light will run $600+ and you will most likely have to carry a battery pack along with it.

OH MY GOOD GRIEF!! I was wondering why I never heard back on my post (never got an email or anything) and so I just logged back into the site and see all these replies! DOH! Sorry that I disappeared!

Ok so now for my reply ...

OH MY GOOD GRIEF!! What a lot of info! haha. I feel slightly less confused but still pretty confused about what to choose. So let me give a little more info and hopefully that will help you guys help me narrow it down. ...

Furthest Distance to the wood line - Hmm, maybe 600 feet?

Maglite LED - I just have the plain old "old" one now.

"I guess it depends on if you are the kind of guy that keeps on wanting the best of the best all the time, or just have a need and want the light for the need and be done with it."
- I am more the get the light and be done with it type

So wow, all this info is overwhelming and I am just not sure how to choose from what you guys have mentioned. Maybe with my answers above you could all come to an agreement and tell me what to buy haha.

I don't mind spending say $200-300 if that helps (all in).

I prefer to stay away from anything that takes special care or knowledge. Something charge and go would be best for me since I am not (and likely won't be) a connoisseur.

That help?

Gosh you guys know a lot about LIGHTS!! ha!

Craig

I prefer to stay away from anything that takes special care or knowledge. Something charge and go would be best for me since I am not (and likely won't be) a connoisseur.

Click to expand...

In that case I'd go with the suggestion of the Thrunite TN4A HI, an eight-pack of Eneloop Pro AA batteries, and an Xtar VC4 charger with a good 2-amp USB adapter (like an "Anker 24W Dual USB Wall Charger PowerPort 2").

That's all very simple, safe, and reliable, and should be plenty of output for your needs. If you find you need more power later for around your property it will be a great light to keep in a car or have as a backup. And if you decide to upgrade to Li-ion in the future you'll already have a good charger.

After seeing your second post, I will recommend a Streamlight UltraStinger LED.

The new model is 1,100 lumens in high, 350 lms in medium, 90 lms in low.

This is a simple rechargeable light (uses a charging sleeve, does not require removing batts to charge).

Also from a great company with good customer service, IF you have any problems, and Streamlight is well known for making quality lights.