And... my head exploded.

[Capt America]

So... here I come, thinking I'm going to peak around the forum for a suggestion or 2 on which flashlight I should get, and then leave.

See- I thought I knew a thing about flashlights. I've been to flashlightreviews.com after all, which introduced me to a good handful of flashlight brands I had never even heard of... Couldn't be much more beyond that, I thought.

I couldn't have been more wrong. After just poking around in a few threads, my head had exploded from the level of depth here. I've googled over 20 different flashlights in the past 10 minutes, almost none from brands I've heard of. However, I was never one to let a little head exploding get me down.

While I have realized I know virtually nothing of flashlights compared to most of the folks around here, I'm eager to learn and pick up what I can as we go along.

I got an Inova X5 for Christmas, and I thought it was a totally awesome flashlight. I'm sure not a big deal to most around here, but it's showed me... Man, flashlights are incredibly handy if you have one with you. So I thought I'd like to get me a little collection going. I don't know if I'll be buying a Spy 007 anytime soon, however...

Anyhow- nice to have found such an interesting forum.

While I'm at it, the original questions I was pondering that brought me here.

I want a flashlight for the house, for power outages and whatnot and I'd also like a flashlight to keep out in my car all the time. I live in Kansas, so we get cold winters and hot summers, so overtime the flashlight would be subjected to both ends of the spectrum. Would the Inova make a good flashlight to keep in the car? If not, can someone recommend me another flashlight/s that may be good for that sort of use.

Also- I was sort of thinking it would be handy to carry a flashlight with me at all times... But I don't want to keep it in my pocket, I was looking for something to clip to my belt or outside of my pocket, or even better, one with a holster, haha. Got any recommendations for this sort of use?

Thanks!

 

[Burgess]

Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

:welcome:


Yes, there's a LOT of info to digest.


Do some reading, and then post yer' question(s).


CPF has loads of VERY bright and intelligent people here. :twothumbs


Someone will be able to point you in the right direction.


All YOU hafta' do is bring your Credit Card. :devil:



Don't say we didn't warn you.

_

 

[swxb12]

Capt America, :welcome:

The X5 was my first totally awesome flashlight. I got it a few years ago, and it still looks nearly new except for some light scuffs on super close inspection. It has a nice floody beam and very long runtime. It became my car light a few months ago. The lithiums batteries have long shelf life and run well in more extreme temps. Put it in the glove box and you'll be set. I also have a Rayovac 1xAA headlamp from Walmart in there, in case I need to change a tire in the dark. That kind of thing.

As for your everyday carry light, have you considered going with an AAA keychain light? There are lots of powerful options these days, with pretty decent runtimes.

 

[Capt America]

As for your everyday carry light, have you considered going with an AAA keychain light? There are lots of powerful options these days, with pretty decent runtimes.

Yea, I have one of those right now... a cheap $3.99 one that is, haha. It doesn't provide enough light.

Maybe an upgrade for the key chain light would be fine.

 

[CanadianEh]

I want a flashlight for the house, for power outages and whatnot

It's not the newest light with the best bin, but the Maglite 3D LED makes a great emergency light. Enough light for most tasks, and 22+ Hour runtime.

Another cheap option is the Streamlight ProPolymer Luxeon 4AA.

I recommend common battery size lights for emergency lights because when the installed batteries run down you should be able to steal replacements from other devices you have. If you want to spend a little more and get a CR123A light the Fenix T1 is great. It really is built solid as a tank (see various T1 abuse threads here on CPF).

 

[CanadianEh]

Also- I was sort of thinking it would be handy to carry a flashlight with me at all times... But I don't want to keep it in my pocket, I was looking for something to clip to my belt or outside of my pocket, or even better, one with a holster, haha. Got any recommendations for this sort of use?

Fenix P2D/P3D (either Rebel or Cree Q5) or Olight T10-Q5/T20-Q5 would be great. T10 does not come with a clip or holster, but the others come with holsters.

 

[AMD64Blondie]

If you need a long-running emergency light,I'd personally pick a Lightwave 4000. (Advertised runtime of 1 month on 3 D batteries).You can buy it here:
http://www.itcelectronics.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=14&products_id=2509

(I bought my Lightwave 4000 on November 29, 2007.Arrived December 5,2007. It's now January 3,2008..still on the original Duracell D batteries I installed when I recieved my new light.) My total price came out to $51.62,which isn't too bad considering the Lightwave 4000 orginally sold for $50 when new.

Edit: here's a review:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/lightwave_4000.htm

 

[Crenshaw]

just wanted to congratulate you on an excellent avatar and screen name..

and contrary to burgess, you better keep your credit card somewhere you wont find it, otherwise...

and if you do go broke, resist the temptation to order more on credit, youll never finishing paying it
off...

and as for a holster EDC (everday carry) i cant recommend anything better then a P1D-CE, its small enough that you an actually lose it (been there, done that, now its lanyarded), and is bright as heck, and it got 5 stars on flashlight reviews...and there is a clicky body available for a price that you will eventually justify...

Crenshaw

 

[paulr]

Welcome to CPF, and hang on to your wallet . As for your request for a belt light, I'm amazed you haven't gotten a dozen Fenix L1DCE recommendations yet. They are one of the most popular lights here. I personally hate the things, but that's for very subjective reasons and they have enough of a following that they must be doing something right. So they're a reasonable way to get started. They come with a belt holster and are very economical to operate on a rechargeable AA cell, and run well (but expensively) on lithium in the wintertime.

The X5 is probably a good car light now that you already have it. It's less efficient than more modern lights but it's just gonna languish in a glovebox most of the time. It runs on 123 lithiums which have good shelf life and work well in cold weather, so it should be reliable.

You should edc a keychain light at all times, either a coin cell light ("fauxton") which is ultra-lightweight and dirt cheap, or something like an Arc AAA if you want to be more upscale. Equip your family with them too.

 

[Derek Dean]

Yea, I have one of those right now... a cheap $3.99 one that is, haha. It doesn't provide enough light.

Maybe an upgrade for the key chain light would be fine.

Howdy Capt America, and welcome to CPF,
Yes, upgrading my old keychain light is how I got started here at CPF a year ago. This one is is pretty highly thought of:

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_52&products_id=370

Fenix offers quite a few models that would also be suitable for mounting on your belt. I would say that Fenix offers good bang for the buck. I hope you enjoy your time here, it's a great time to discover REAL flashlights.

 

[iSleep]

Hiya, welcome to CPF.

Better keep your Credit Card and Wallet under lock and keys, and let your Wife/Girlfriend/Parents (circle where appropriate) manage them for you ...

Depending on what budget you have ... you can have a Fenix P2D Q5 (or Surefire L1 Cree) for EDC ... And for your car, you can have it in either the "0ld-Skool" Incan or the "up and comming" LED ... I'm intending to mount an ROP 2D in my family car ... You can get the Fenix T1 for your car, pretty darn bright too ... A keychain light will be a nice back-up just incase you forget to bring you main EDC ... A Fenix L0D (Rebel or Cree) with AW 10440 for maximum brightness or an Arc-AAA for maximum toughness (look into the Arc threads in the custom section for testimonial) ...

Enjoy your time here ~ hope you acheive enlightenment here :twothumbs

 

[cat]

:welcome:

You think your head's exploded? :huh: Stick around a few weeks, or months, and you'll see there're more levels of head explosion....
This'll give you the idea...

...:thinking: ..... .... :huh2: .. .. .. ... :mecry:..... ..... :sigh: ...

... ... :duh2: ..... :sweat:... ... :hairpull: ... ... ... :wow:


... ... ... ......... :sleepy: ... ...



Get a Fenix P3D for a start. It's a good general purpose light that you can carry, and it's bright.

 

[Ilikeshinythings]

^lol...great post!

OP: welcome to CPF! Check out some of Inovas lights..they're sweet. But don't buy one yet cause they're upgrading to Cree at some point here and will be brighter and last longer. In the mean time, there are thousands of flashlights. I just bought a Fenix light and I'm very impressed. The P3D is a great choice for any situation it seems. If you really want something that will blow your friends away, check out the mega-throwers like the Tiablo A9, Dereelight & the MRV.

 

[AzGB]

:welcome:

You think your head's exploded? :huh: Stick around a few weeks, or months, and you'll see there're more levels of head explosion....
This'll give you the idea...

...:thinking: ..... .... :huh2: .. .. .. ... :mecry:..... ..... :sigh: ...

... ... :duh2: ..... :sweat:... ... :hairpull: ... ... ... :wow:


... ... ... ......... :sleepy: ... ...



Get a Fenix P3D for a start. It's a good general purpose light that you can carry, and it's bright.

That was just about the most amusing use of smilies I've ever seen. You definitely captured the way it goes around here. Nicely done cat.

And to Capt America: As for the flashlight recommendations, many good ones have been listed so far. You probably wont go wrong with any of the ones listed above.

But I have an idea...

I had assembled a small kit of new SureFire components that I had intended to come up with some amusing and random raffle type give-away. I was never really happy with any of the ideas of how to find a new home for this stuff. I wanted this stuff to go to someone who doesn't have any experience with SureFire yet, but around here, that's not so easy.

So........ Send me a PM with your info, and I'll welcome you to CPF with one of the best lights you can start a collection with. A brand spankin' new SureFire 6P-LED. The other items are part of the "Instant SureFire Lego Kit", I'm also including a new P60 and P61 Lamp Assembly, and a 12 pack of SureFire 123 batteries.

You're not reading this wrong, and this isn't a trick or a scam. I'm simply sending you this gear because it just feels like the fun thing to do. This sort of thing goes on here more often than you'd think. Look for a guy named Kenster... he's done some unbelieveable wacky and amazing things in the not so distant past.

Anyways, welcome to CPF. Once I get a PM, I'll get your gear shipped out.

And once you play with a SureFire for a while, you're never going to be the same.

:wave:

 

[Zenster]

I was in exactly the same situation as the OP only a couple months ago.

My very first "new age" light was the L2D-CE/Q5 Fenix, and I'm glad it was.
It runs obscenely bright when needed, but will also last for 50+ hours at a lower but still VERY useable setting... and all on 2xAA batteries. I consider that light the epitome of what portable lighting is today.

Two months later, and I think I'm up to about 20 various lights that run the gamut between a Surefire E1L and up to an AE Xenide 25W.

That's not bragging; that's just telling you what happens if you keep coming back into this deep money pit known as CPF.

Now keep your PayPal home page on a separate Window and hang on for the ride. :welcome:

 

[cat]

CaptainAmerica, I also like my Surefire G3 very much. With Lumens Factory HO-9 bulb. opticshq.com - good service and cpf discount, the G3 is about $54.

edit: wow! I just read properly what AzGB is saying. boy, is it your lucky day or what!

@AzGB: I got carried away with it, I was amazed at how suitable the emoticons are, for showing what can happen to your head here. I've been here all night, mainly organizing MAG mod stuff. :shakehead coffee and cpf. :rock:

 

[Numbers]

AzGB is definitely setting you off inthe right direction.
I know that when I started it took a while before I "graduated" to SureFire. You will be starting at the top (except for some custom work) and can go in either direction as you see fit.
My recommendation for around the house would have been the SF G2L (nitrolon version of the 6P) and SF L1 for EDC with a holster - a nice small package.
Welcome, good luck!

 

[LEDninja]

:welcome:

You think your head's exploded? :huh: Stick around a few weeks, or months, and you'll see there're more levels of head explosion....
This'll give you the idea...

...:thinking: ..... .... :huh2: .. .. .. ... :mecry:..... ..... :sigh: ...

... ... :duh2: ..... :sweat:... ... :hairpull: ... ... ... :wow:


... ... ... ......... :sleepy: ... ...

:thumbsup::twothumbs :bow:
Missed one

:hahaha:


Capt America welcome to CPF and hang on to your wallet.

 

[depusm12]

Hi Capt America. welcome from a fellow Kansan. Hang on to your wallet and credit card.

:welcome:

 

[WildChild]

That was just about the most amusing use of smilies I've ever seen. You definitely captured the way it goes around here. Nicely done cat.

And to Capt America: As for the flashlight recommendations, many good ones have been listed so far. You probably wont go wrong with any of the ones listed above.

But I have an idea...

I had assembled a small kit of new SureFire components that I had intended to come up with some amusing and random raffle type give-away. I was never really happy with any of the ideas of how to find a new home for this stuff. I wanted this stuff to go to someone who doesn't have any experience with SureFire yet, but around here, that's not so easy.

So........ Send me a PM with your info, and I'll welcome you to CPF with one of the best lights you can start a collection with. A brand spankin' new SureFire 6P-LED. The other items are part of the "Instant SureFire Lego Kit", I'm also including a new P60 and P61 Lamp Assembly, and a 12 pack of SureFire 123 batteries.

You're not reading this wrong, and this isn't a trick or a scam. I'm simply sending you this gear because it just feels like the fun thing to do. This sort of thing goes on here more often than you'd think. Look for a guy named Kenster... he's done some unbelieveable wacky and amazing things in the not so distant past.

Anyways, welcome to CPF. Once I get a PM, I'll get your gear shipped out.

And once you play with a SureFire for a while, you're never going to be the same.

:wave:

Great offer for a future flashaholic!