The poor flashaholics top 10?

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twentysixtwo

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Thought I'd start a thread for any budding flashaholics. There are nicer lights out there, but these are the ones that even flashaholics with deep pockets can respect. They are (IMHO) the top "Bang for the buck" lights and cheap / easy mods.. Prices are the lowest from reputable sources. Batteries included unless noted.

1) KevinL's Photon Clones ($1.20 - $1.75) Coin cell lights are great - put one on your keychain - they provide more light and runtime than ANY LIGHT MADE (that's sitting at home in the closet.) You can mod them with 26k/35k or Nichia CS very easily or buy them pre-modded. Cheap enough to give to everyone on your X-mas list!

2) Dorcy AAA - ($6 with battery) Marginally brighter than the coin cell lights due to the reflector but the advantage here is far more runtime and cheap, easy to find batteries. Very easy and worthwhile mod ($2) to swap out LED for 26K/35K or Nichia CS. Main downside is can't tailstand and no clip (unless you cannibalize a marker clip)

3) Princeton Tec Rage ($10, batteries included?) About as much light as a 3D cell maglight with a much better beam. Oh yeah, run off of 4 AAA's, it's about as big as a minimab. Some might call it the poor mans Surefire E2E.

4) Princeton Tec Surge ($21) Gulping down 8 AA batteries at a time makes this a heavy and expensive light to feed, but ohhhh, the light it puts out.

5) Princeton Tec EOS ($32) If I can only have one flashlight, it has to be a headlight. Anything you are likely to need a flashlight for, you'll probably be able to do easier with both hands free.

6) Nuwai QIII - ($35 with battery). Very EDC able, 3 watts of genuine Luxeon. Reasonable mod to put in TWOJ ($18) mineral glass lens ($5) 2 stage switch ($15) and IMS20($5) more than doubles the cost of the light but puts you in competition with lights costing several times more (TW4 with McE2S, for example) Clip allows you to convert a baseball cap into a 3 watt headlight.

7) Mag 3D with 8 AA in 3AA to 1D adapters and a 7.2v KPR18 bulb ($18+$11+$1.40 = $30.40 not including batteries). Plug and play mod, I call this the "poor man's Mag85" Pumps out maximumlight without forcing you to swap out reflector, lens, etc. Just be careful with "hot" NIMH or alkies so you don't instaflash - use 8 batteries to be safe. Dummy cells are easy to make with some bare copper wire and a wooden dowel.

8) Fenix L1 ($35) Very nice size and form factor, best part being powered by a single AA. I don't have a Gerber CMG Infinity to compare to, but since the Infinity is a single 5mm without reflector, I can't image it comes close (it is a lot cheaper at about $20) Good tailstand but no clip

9) Thor 10MCP ($20-$30) Doubles as a boat anchor. The clear winner in terms of lumens / $. Favorite for HID and other mods due to the spacious case and low price.

10) Streamlight TL-3 ($65) Green are being clearanced at under $50 right now. This 3X123 flashlight is the best bang for the buck I know of short of getting a clone off of ebay.

These are strictly my top 10 in terms of Lumens / $ - maybe (Lumens*runtime)/(Weight *Cost)
 

BlackDecker

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Great top 10 list! I'd add the River Rock 2AAA .5w flashlight to that list. $9.99 and available at any Target Store.

Also, the River Rock headlamp... $14.99 and runs on 2AAA batteries.
 

03lab

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Good choices! Other favorites of mine would be the UK 4AA eLED, Streamlight 4AA Propolymer Luxeon & Streamlight Junior Luxeon.
 

CroMAGnet

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TerraLux Ministar2 in a garden variety Minimag for about $35

MJLED best runtime BBFTB for $5

10Led AA on eBay. $10 plus a LiON and you have serious output or extra long runtime on primary batteries.

Jil Rev2 DD is the BBFTB by far because it's my EDC and so gets used the most :)
 

TorchMan

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Great list and follow ups. I'd like to add that the closest thing to a poor man's SF A2 I've seen is the Streamlight Twin Task 2L. At around $35 it'll get you three LEDs plus a xenon incan. Nope, it doesn't have the killer switching of the A2 or the size, and it's not a SF. But if one loved the A2 but not the price, it'd be worth a look in my book.
 

powernoodle

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A flashaholic could get through life just fine, if he had too, with a Dorcy AAA for pocket/keychain carry and a SL Propolymer Luxeon for everything else. It would be very sad to suffer through life with just 2 lights, but it could be done. :)

best regards
 

KevinL

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Wow thanks for naming me at the top of the list!

My additions to that would be..

1. Surefire G2 - $35 and still the best value, plus it is a real Surefire. P60 and all. With the new LOTC, it's harder and harder not to EDC. Plus, if you get one in yellow, it looks very non-threatening ;)

2. Arc AAA - $29 for the non-premium version and still the last word in AAA powered lights especially if you feed it lithium. I can't get over the featherweight that mine is.

3. Rayovac 2D Industrial, usually $5 or thereabouts. Polymer, faceted reflector resulting in a smooth beam. Re-sleeve with 3C cells and install a Mag-Num Star Xenon 3-cell or other 3-cell bulb (~$5-10). My personal favorite. Or, install a 10mm high-powered (150mA IF) LED ($4) by soldering LED contacts to the bulb contact strips. They economized by giving us copper contact strips, turns out that they're my best friends since I can solder the LED legs directly to them.

4. Eveready 4D cell lantern for.. $2. The first thought is 'you gotta be kidding' but I picked this one up at the supermarket for literally $2. A small KPR 4D bulb sits in a PR base on a flat piece of plastic beneath a frosted dome. Saw off the bulb post and put an inexpensive Luxeon 1 (<$10 nowadays), resistor ($0.25), and scrap metal disk as a heatsink. Wire it up and it runs forever. Did it as my first mod ever on CPF!



I'd name the CMG/Gerber Infinity, but its time is past.
 

pedalinbob

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Wow, excellent list!

I might also add the TEC-40.
Excellent beam, waterproof, tough, simple, bright, AA bats, comes with a lanyard, takes inexpensive PR bulbs so you can choose high or lower output.

Bob
 

twentysixtwo

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All great adds, and some mods I'll have to try. Hard to limit it to 10. What is the highest power bulb you can put in a Tec40? I have a UKE 4AA which is nice but has a smaller reflector and doesn't take PR bulbs....
 

Techmedic

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The mag 2C with three 123's and a KPR113 (I think this is the bulb!) ($6 to $10 for the mod) also rates highly as the newbie's first mod to see what we mean by BRIGHT. After this mod, they suddenly understand the difference between conventional retail and high-powered/modded.

Most off-the-shelf (plastic/alum) D cell lights can be upgraded with a halogen bulb. ($4 to $8)

Pushing the envelope a bit, for myself before I understood just how much brighter and better 123 based lights are, I purchased a streamlight scorpion and greatly expanded my expectations regarding small and bright.
 

pedalinbob

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twentysixtwo said:
All great adds, and some mods I'll have to try. Hard to limit it to 10. What is the highest power bulb you can put in a Tec40? I have a UKE 4AA which is nice but has a smaller reflector and doesn't take PR bulbs....

I keep TEC-40s in our cars with lithiums and Magnum Star xenon bulbs. The xenon bulbs are freaking bright, and priced reasonably if you look around a bit. The beam is NICE!
The lithiums are pricey, though. I like the flexibility of the TEC-40 system. Alkies, lithiums, rechargeables, whatever PR bulb. The KPR113 Rayovac is a nice medium power and very inexpensive choice. Makes a nice beam as well.

The TEC-40s rival my Streamlight TL2 inb brightness.

Oh, that reminds me: the old Dorcy Boss 4AA has output and beam almost identical to the PT.

Bob
 

Perfectionist

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I'd add ....

Inova X1
Photon Freedom Max
Streamlight Junior Luxeon
Streamlight KeyMate

I can't get enough small lights :D
 

bfg9000

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Brinkmann Maxfire LX ($16 including batteries and holster) for a powerful pocket incandescent. Twice the lumens/$ of a G2.
 
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