which flashlight?

mutated_corpse

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
8
Location
Singapore
Hi guys

I am new to this forum and i hope to learn from you guys. I would like to ask some questions.

Firstly, what are some of the factors that affect the quality of a flashlight?

Secondly, I understand that the brightness is measured in lumens, but how bright is for example 10 lumens?

Thridly, I am going camping in some place in Malaysia and will be doing lots of night time activities. So i need a flashlight that have long battery life and will be bright enough to light up the path in front of me (about 20 metres). I have look through some flashlights, and i thought that Surefire lights are not for me. I think i will go for a Streamlight but don't know which one. I am not working so i have some budget (about $30) and i need one that is durable. I am looking at the TwinTasks and the Streamlight Jr. but still can't decide.

I hope you guys can help me out. Thanks.
 

Phaserburn

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 30, 2003
Messages
4,755
Location
Connecticut, USA
The TT 2L is a good choice, but make sure you bring a spare bulb for the incan and always have extra batts regardless of light choice.
 

jayflash

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 4, 2003
Messages
3,909
Location
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Welcome to the CPF, mutated.

There are several factors that affect quality; if you buy from the frequently mentioned manufacturers, they offer good warranties. Streamlight, Pelican, Arc, Underwater Kinetics and Princeton Tec are good choices. I'm forgetting others but keep reading the forum and you will discover more.

Ten lumens is a little brighter than a Mini M*g. Mag has reprehensible business practices and most CPFers avoid that brand. 10 - 20 lumens is good for following trails in the dark. LEDs will give you a smooth beam and light up the side of the trails.

You may want to consider a plastic bodied, water proof, light if you think it may get very wet or is used in high humidity.

Check out Flashlightreviews.com and the LED Museum.
 

daloosh

Flashaholic*,
Joined
Jan 28, 2004
Messages
1,569
Location
New York
Welcome to CPF MT, and why dontcha stay awhile!

Between the Twin Tasks and the SL Jr. I'd pick the SL Jr. for the Luxeon and the AA power source. I like the TT2L, but lithiums may be hard to find in the part of Malaysia you are going to, but AAs will not be.

Depending on whether you are backpacking or car camping, I might consider a heavier light running on Cs or Ds, but generally I like light and small. The bulbs for the TT are not expensive, but you have to remember to bring one.

The standby around here is the CMG, now Gerber, Ultra. It's small, runs for a long time on a single AA, fine for navigating in camp and walking about, and has nice flood. You still would want something with some throw, however, as well as an Ultra.

welcome again,
daloosh
 

pjandyho

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 29, 2003
Messages
5,500
Location
Singapore
I would say go with the Streamlight Twin Task. Any model will do. TT lights has LEDs in them for general use and it really lights up pretty well for long hours trekking. If you need more power then you can change it to the incandescent beam. Really a good value for money. Quite water resistant and is a good camp light.

Alternatively the Underwater Kinetics Q40 which runs on 4 AA batteries can be had for a reasonably cheap price, is waterproof, will not shatter when dropped and has a 4 hours runtime, or you can opt for the 2L, same type of bulb but slightly more compact and runs on 2 CR123A lithium batteries in same time spand also as the Q40. The UKE lights are reasonably bright but does not have as much flood light like the Surefire range. For the money you paid you really can't ask for too much. Just remember to get spare bulb as they are incandescents and is subject to blow or burn out.
 

oldgrandpajack

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 15, 2003
Messages
931
I going against the current here, but I think the MiniMag with an Opelec New Beam Module is perfect for camping. I put together two, for a four day fishing trip, and was totally satisfied with them.
oldgrandpajack
 

BrightFlashlites

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 12, 2003
Messages
58
Ditto the Twin-Task 2L but other favorites that could do well for you are the SL 3AA 1w Luxeon Tasklight and the TL-2 1w LED variant. And, the Pelican M6-LED would be another excellent choice.
 

Boris

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 27, 2004
Messages
127
Location
Dominican Republic
TwinTask will feed all your needs in just one light. for me is the most versatile light aroud USD 30. can be the 2L or the 3C. if you don't care about the size, i hightly recommend the 3c, since it has longer runtime and also you can find the batteries in any store.if not, the 2L is about the same price, and smaller, but be sure to have extra batteries, since 123 batteries aren't everywhere. for both, get an extra bulb for the incandescent., but i think it will last you a long time, since you will be using the leds most of the time...
 

nexro

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
Messages
585
Location
KL, Malaysia
Welcome to CPF, mutated.
Firstly, are you a fellow Malaysian? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I would recommend the TT 2L or 1L too. They are small and light weight. However, they do use the more expensive lithium batteries which are quite costly locally (Malaysia).

If you are indeed living in Malaysia, you could also get a Nuwai 3C which basically is a TT 3C for less than $30 here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hope you enjoy the light you have chosen!
 

capnal

Enlightened
Joined
May 5, 2004
Messages
407
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Hate to beat this into the ground, but here is ANOTHER vote for the Twin Task 2L. Just got mine two days ago and I really love it. I also have had the 1L for about 6 months now and I love it, too, but the 2L really seems to be perfect. I was describing it to a co-worker and I even went so far as to tell him that it would be my vote to suggest to a non-flashaholic as the answer to the "one flashlight" question.

So, you mentioned you are thinking of going with Streamlight, and I say that is not a bad choice. One last point, my package, in addition to stating the lifetime warranty on the 2L, also stated a "10 Day Money Back Satisfaction Guarantee"! Don't know if that is on all of their products and I have just never seen it before, but it certainly caught my eye.
 

Stanley

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 10, 2003
Messages
1,531
Location
Canberra, Australia
Mutated, welcome! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif As nexro asked, are you M'sian as well? Where are you going camping?

I have a TT 2L, and its great for both throw and flood functions all in one light indeed. Else based on your budget I would suggest a Gerber Infinity Ultra/Ultra G on a neck lanyard for a close up/long running light, and something like a PT Rage for throw. Both use AAs and you have both flood and throw covered, and if you're in M'sia and in need of the lights fast, you can get them locally, although they might a little more pricey. If you prefer long runtime over throw, maybe you might consider a Opalec for a Mini maglite (2AA), which is great for a long running camping light.

To answer your other question, I would think that factors that affect a flashlight is basically the lamp assembly (incan or led; what type and make for both) and battery configuration. Oh, apart from that, there's also the 'wow' factor! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

You might want to check out some of these sites, which I often refer to for most lights before buying.
Flashlight reviews site
Led Museum site
and not forgetting, Roy's runtime plots. These are the few sites (off the top of my head) that I always refer to when I need information... Hope you find them as useful as I did!
 

webley445

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 16, 2001
Messages
1,353
Location
St. Pete, Fl.
JMHO, concerning brightness, I have found that if you're out in the woods in the dark, or anywhere that has no ambient lighting, you will be glad of ANY light you have, and even a single led lite will be (perceived) bright.

What ever you decide, an led will last longer, but give less throw than an incan lite. I feel having one of each is a good idea, whether two lights or all in one. But take spare batteries, even if you can't afford or get a bulb, you'll have the led to fall back on.
Try to get hold of a pouch or lanyard or clip to attach to the light so you can avoid dropping it and will be able to reach it when you need.
A final suggestion, if possible get a cheapie little keychain led lite, even one you have to squeeze to use, then attach it to your belt loop. That way you'll always have a back on hand till you can reach your primary.

Be sure to let us know what you decide and tell us all about how your lights worked out on your trip! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

SJACKAL

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 28, 2004
Messages
967
Location
Singapore
If you are going to trekking/backpacking, I guess weight is a factor that backpackers consider a lot. I probably will bring the Infinity Ultra if I were you. Its small enough for neck carry and waterproof (so good bathing in those toilets without lights at night). The runtime is very long and use the common AAs for batteries. Run of batts just savage the AAs from companions or other gears. Nice flood, ideal for night time camp walking. Bring another stronger light for throw, probably a reliable incandescent. Princeton Tec or Underwater Kinetics.
 

mutated_corpse

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
8
Location
Singapore
Whoa, thats alot of replies. Thanks guys. Your are great.

Sorry to disappoint Stanley and nexro, but i am not a Malaysian. Went there twice for camping, and i would say i still have good impressions of the country.

Anyway, i see that most of your really like the TwinTasks. It seems like a good flashlight, and i think i will want to buy that. But i still can't make up my mind on which model to buy. I will be doing lots of backpacking, but need the battery to last quite sometime, about 4-5 hrs, because i was told that we were be doing trekking at 2am so that we will reach the summit in time for the sunrise. So i am now thinking whether the TT-L2 3-led mode have enough brightness or i have to use the TT-3C 6-led mode to light up my path. Unless there are other flashlights that have a long battery life and is powerful, i think i will stick to the TwinTask.

Thanks guys.
 

Stanley

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 10, 2003
Messages
1,531
Location
Canberra, Australia
Let me guess, you're going to Mt Kinabalu? If it is, all you need is a long running light. I would recommend a Led headlamp... I used the Pelican 3Led 3AAA on my climb to Mt Kinabalu, and the batteries lasted way beyond that. You may want some thing small with a little throw for spotting the trail ahead, like a PT Blast or Rage, but I was fine with only my headlamp. If you're thinking of the TTs, I'd suggest the TT 2L with some spare batts. That way it won't weigh a ton!!

PM me if you'd like more details or see some pics of my climb to Mt KK! (Well, assuming that my guess is right of course...)
 

beakman

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 7, 2003
Messages
103
Location
Buffalo, NY
Couple of other possibilities. If you want long runtime, the UK 4AA eLED is a regulated luxeon LED flashlight that runs at near constant output for 10 hours on common AA batteries. While not as bright as something like the Streamlight Jr. LED, it has a much longer runtime (Streamlight Jr. only runs 1-2 hours), is brighter than a minim*g, and will probably be bright enough for night time camping activities. Plus it's only $20 at brightguy.com. And if you want a brighter light, you can just buy a UK 2.1 watt ($6.50) or 4 watt ($8.25) xenon lamp assembly and swap it in for the eLED assembly.

I also really like the Streamlight Twin Tasks, and have a 2L in each car glovebox. However, if you want something that takes more common batteries, then I would suggest the Twin Task 3AA over the 3C. The 3AA has decent advertised runtime (shorter than the 3C but longer than the 2L), and is smaller and lighter than the 3C. Plus AA batteries are lighter than C batteries, so you'll be able to carry more spares. Finally, the 3AA is about $5 cheaper than the 3C and 2L, so you'll be able to buy a couple of spare 3AA bulbs and still come in under your $30 budget.

Hope this helps!

the beakman
 

Lara

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 16, 2003
Messages
136
Location
Switzerland
Just wanted to add that the TwinTask 3C has the best throw of the TT's and it has 6 LEDs and 2 brightness settings in LED mode, on the other hand it's kind of big and heavy.
 
Top