Best 1 x 123 light?

River Rat

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Oct 3, 2002
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Bertram, TEXAS
I have question from a friend looking for a good flashlight that is small, well built, yada yada. The only restriction is that it must use only one CR 123, and be noticably brighter than a CMG Infinity (which he currently owns). It will be used primarily for outdoor activities, backpacking, so an LED is preferred but not necessarily required.

Mu first thought is the E1E series, I have 'em, I use 'em, I love 'em. I just wanted to give him more options.

So fire away, what would (or do) you carry besides the E1E?
 

rycen

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Feb 18, 2002
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A longbow is a great light for the price and it is waterproof and upgradable.
 

cratz2

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Under ~$40, the Nuwai QIII.

Slightly over ~$100, the Surefire L1.

Between those two, the Longbow or for a considerably larger light, possibly the 1L Twin Task.
 

bjn70

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Find out how much runtime is required. The QIII and similar models have good output but with relatively short runtime.

If he needs more closeup light rather than throw, and for longer runtime, he might want something like the Peak LED McKinley.

Another option might be the Streamlight Twin Task 1L which gives the option of different light levels.
 

Blades

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I happy with my QIII or my T1. Both excellent lights for the money.



Blades
 

bwaites

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Money is the issue.

No question that the VIP is probably #1 here. 3 levels, 1 123.

If he'll only accept 1 123 then the Lionheart is out.

Cost wise, the Nuwai is probably the winner. Aleph ain't exactly cheap. E1E is a good light, but you have to deal with a bulb or buy the LED head, which then makes it expensive.

Bill
 

cmendoza

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Jan 14, 2003
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The T1 is great! HA III, Great throw, water-resistant(?proof), lifetime warranty!
 

Cornkid

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I personally LOVE the e1e and kl1. It is very small and looks cool. It is THE perfect all-around go-everywhere light.

-tom
 

Chop

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Jul 22, 2003
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Louisiana
Now that is a loaded question. If he is planning to use the light in sort of a pack for camping and such where a simple good time trip can turn into a night mare, you'll want something that is very reliable.

In my mind this rules out two things. First, I wouldn't even consider an incand light. The lamps are just too unreliable. The second things would be anything that uses a kroll switch. I can remember the last time that I built a light using a kroll switch, but I'm still sending replacements out under "warranty." The fact of the matter is that they fail. It isn't a question of whether they will fail, but when. Unless I'm mistaken, the Long Bow would fall under this category, unless you're using the twistie body.

Since you'll probably want an all purpose light, that would rule out the latest generation of KL1s. The beam is too narrow, in my opinion anyway.

With that being said, you can pretty much pick a light. The Q3 looks like a nice light. I really like the Aleph lights as well. The switching system on these is really bullet proof. Twist on and off with really nothing to go wrong.

I know that an Aleph II with a nice Lux III running at 500mA will get you over 1000 lux on a meter and give you over 1.5 hours of in regulation run time in high mode.

I just don't know of any off the shelf lights that I would recommend because I haven't seen an off the shelf single cell light that I didn't think needed modding.
 
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