Amazon HID flashlight 85w 8500 lumen

I was board so i ordered a 85w hid flashlight on amazon. always wanted one of these. I just wanted to see if there really 8500 lumens.... Well not even close. I did a ceiling bounce vs a 1000 lumen measured led flashlight. led light got 121. this hid light got 158. might be 1500 lumens at most.....Throw is weak at around 150-200kcd. My 55w hid spotlight puts out 3 times as much light. My question is there anywhere it get a 4300k bulb. I thought i saw on a post somewhere here that if you put a 4300K bulb in here it will be much brighter.


I decided to return it. Differently not worth $150. I won a $150 dollar amazon gift card and need to find something to buy on amazon. maybe ill just get a klarus G20 for $90 and some gift cards for the fam lol

20161215_175323 by Alex Littig, on Flickr

Sorry to hear that dude. Those cheap HID lights are just garbage with a semi-decently machined body for looks. I really wish there were more manufactures interested in building quality HID lights, but it seems like they only want to sell you crappy cool-white massive flood 8 billion lumen Chinese LED trash lights for $200 with a bunch of crappy modes you have the click through and that lose 60% of their value in 6 months and break 6 months after that instead of a quality HID light. If I find a nice 4200K HID that doesn't use a proprietary battery pack I jump on it.

Not sure if you have decided on something to replace that junk Amazon light with but these are cheap, they're hella bright, and even if the battery goes bad in it, you can still run it directly off of a 12v source. I know there is a thread on here that i'm subscribed too about these Stanley Hid's. They're not super reliable but man they throw one hell of a beam! Stanley HID0109 HID Spotlight https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U04MEY/?tag=cpf0b6-20

ampdude said:

Sorry to hear that dude. Those cheap HID lights are just garbage with a semi-decently machined body for looks. I really wish there were more manufactures interested in building quality HID lights, but it seems like they only want to sell you crappy cool-white massive flood 8 billion lumen Chinese LED trash lights for $200 with a bunch of crappy modes you have the click through and that lose 60% of their value in 6 months and break 6 months after that instead of a quality HID light. If I find a nice 4200K HID that doesn't use a proprietary battery pack I jump on it.

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There is some very nice high end HID Lights by Surefire and Lemax that are genuine lumens if you want to step up to the plate and buy..3 to 6k US will buy you just about most of them...

bulbmogul said:

There is some very nice high end HID Lights by Surefire and Lemax that are genuine lumens if you want to step up to the plate and buy..3 to 6k US will buy you just about most of them...

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How can you recommend the Surefire when you indicated many weeks ago, in a different thread, they (Surefire) have discontinued offering it ?

They still have them forsale according to the website and B&H Photo just got another shipment of them in..Surefire Arc2 * C is on the top of the food chain in my opinion on high end portable HID Lighting as i just bought a 2nd one as a backup..

bulbmogul said:

They still have them forsale according to the website and B&H Photo just got another shipment of them in..Surefire Arc2 * C is on the top of the food chain in my opinion on high end portable HID Lighting as i just bought a 2nd one as a backup..

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Yes I agree I always keep 2 of these in my bug out bag. You just never know!!

Offgridled said:

Yes I agree I always keep 2 of these in my bug out bag. You just never know!!

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I am waiting for the 2 for 1 sale, surely that will happen soon. EDC or bust, one on each hip.

Offgridled said:

Yes I agree I always keep 2 of these in my bug out bag. You just never know!!

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They are the envy of most and surely not found at your local war mart..! Want one, yah need to step up to the plate..

bulbmogul I'm still waiting for you to send me the LX70 Superpower. I thought was gonna be a pass-around light.

Hehe I'm playin'... how you doing Jerry? I never did come up with the funds for a Lemax... maybe in another life.

bulbmogul said:

They are the envy of most and surely not found at your local war mart..! Want one, yah need to step up to the plate..

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I read your bio and must say mighty impressive surefire hellfighter 5. Is definetly on my list. Would love to hear your thoughts about it![emoji106]

Offgridled said:

I read your bio and must say mighty impressive surefire hellfighter 5. Is definetly on my list. Would love to hear your thoughts about it![emoji106]

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bulb's thoughts are that it looks amazing on his shelf.

wimmer21 said:

bulb's thoughts are that it looks amazing on his shelf.

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It would look amazing on my weapons. I bet you have one also wimmer :jealous:

Buy a Klarus XT12GT or so

the G20 or G30 are too floody ruin night vision to see at distances over 50m
and they got hot way too fast

wimmer21 said:

bulb's thoughts are that it looks amazing on his shelf.

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All of his lights are "shelf queens", he had a spare (backup) shelf so he needed a 2nd ARC light to fill that shelf and collect dust.

richbuff said:

Bump up to ask what is currently happening in hand-held HID.

What brands/makes/models are currently happening?

The links in the sticky topic date way back, years ago, to a bygone era when teenagers did NOT say "I do not know what Led Zeppelin is, I just got this tee shirt from the Salvation Army."

Well, anyway, Who, What is on the current hand-held HID playing field? It looks like XeVision XeRay XV-LX70 is currently a live item.

I am looking for something with power and throw specs that five-pound HID offers; and the XV-LX70 looks not too big and not too heavy considering the throw and lumens specs that it offers.

What (else) is currently happening in hand-held HID?

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Reposted, due to no reply, to ask what is currently happening in hand-held HID.

I got a maxabeam for sale. Short arc is king!

PhillyRube said:

I got a maxabeam for sale. Short arc is king!

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short arc might be king but there also the most expensive

richbuff said:

Reposted, due to no reply, to ask what is currently happening in hand-held HID.

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Polarion is still making ans selling high-end HID lights. X1, NP1 are 35W versions, PH40 is the 40 W version and the PH50D is the latest dual mode 50 W version. They also still make and sell the Abyss (diving) and most accessories are still available. All are sold for under $2k in the USA, including the hard carrying case.

Cheap imports have obscured some basic technical facts: the reflector is a critical component in a high quality light. All HID bulbs will look impressive when measured at 10 meters. The differences are more apparent at longer throws.

Your basic Polarion NP1 (used by many police departments) may only be 35W but the form factor in the hand and the quality of the output sets it apart from the 85W Amazon eBay type light. Moreover, you can buy spare parts for it (ballast, batteries, etc) and get it professionally serviced.

Thank you for your reply. I am definitely interested in quality longer throws in HID, as I already have very high power and low throw with led, as well as moderately high power and moderate throw with led. And low power and long throw with led, too.

50 to 75 Watt hid will put more lumens further out there, then led, as far as I know.

I want to avoid no-brand eBay items, for reasons that you mention.

"form factor in the hand and the quality of the output" is what I am looking for.

Polarion, Peak, Lemax and XeRay have come to my attention; for in hand form factor and long throw beam quality and quality of the equipment.

Any others for me to investigate?