Another noob looking for a good flashlight

[xpawel18x]

Hello all, I just registered after getting hooked on flashlights. Recently, I bought a Maglite 3D LED to keep under the car seat as a weapon and a powerful blinding light. But then I noticed lights like Surefire which are pocket sized and just as powerful as the bulky maglite as I have. Then I found a light called The Olight M20 R2 Warrior. According to the stats it says it produces up to 250 lumens which is incredible. I was researching SureFire LED lights and I thought 80 lumens was a lot. Is the Olight M20 really that bright? Is the brightness noticeble? I guess I want to know if the M20 is a better light than any surefire LED. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks..

 

[maxilux]

Oh, that is a long story, 250 Lumen is not 250 Lumen, you cant compare it really. The M20 is a very good light, but there are liths with 120 Lumen (at example) wich have more brightness, but it is better someone who better speaks English tried to tell it you.

 

[HKJ]

I guess I want to know if the M20 is a better light than any surefire LED. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks..

There are more needed than just lumen to define the light output, it also depends on how focused the light is. But generally Surefire is a bit behind in light output, but not as much as the numbers suggest.

I have been comparing some lights, including the M20 and a 6D incan mag:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=232369

 

[Mjolnir]

Yes, the 250 lumen olight will be noticeably brighter than an 80 lumen surefire. There are MANY options for lights below 100 dollars that have been confirmed to put out more than 200 lumens out the front. Surefire underestimates the output of some of their lights, but they still are pretty expensive for the amount of light they output. Most people do not buy them for their stock brightness. If you just want a very bright light, what you first need to decide is what batteries you want to use. The high output lights will use rechargeable lithium ion batteries, or CR123 lithiums (non rechargeable). You will need to determine which of these you would prefer.
There are many lights that use each type of battery. Surefires use basically exclusively CR123's in stock form.
Many of the new LED lights use a CREE LED (either a Q5 or R2 bin; the R2 is slightly better). The olight uses an R2, but there are many other lights with similar output that use R2's and Q5's.
You may want to take a look at this thread, which compares the actual lumen output of a lot of different lights:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=229135

Lumens are not everything though. Depending on the range you want to us the light at, you should get a light with more "throw" (more focused), or less throw with a beam more like a flood light. There are many different lights in between pure throw and pure flood.
Some manufacturers of high quality lights with good values that you might want to look at are, in no particular order: Fenix, Jetbeam, Eagletac, Olight, iTP, Dereelight, Wolf eyes, and many, many others. Not all high output LED lights use CREE LEDs either.
Is there a specific use that you want to use a light for, or is it more for fun (or whatever excuse you can come up with...)?

 

[xpawel18x]

Thanks for the replies guys.

"Is there a specific use that you want to use a light for, or is it more for fun (or whatever excuse you can come up with...)?"

lol yeah to be honest i just want a new toy with a lot of brightness. But at the same time, I would prefer the light to be compact, have striking bezels (front and back), bright enough to temporarily blind an attacker and one who's light travels far. Right now I am interested in the Olight M20 Premium and Surefire E2D LED Defender. Do you know any others which would match my needs? Thanks.

 

[Viper715]

Here is the little insight that I have. I own the Olight M20 and it is a great light the tint on mine is a slight greenish but I can live with it. I also have recently purchased a Surefire E1B. I love that little light. As a comparison The Olight rated at 250 lm at the hotspot is only marginally brighter than the E1B to my eye but the Olight has considerable more spill.

Lately I have tried many different flashlight manufacturers from Fenix to Olight to Nitecore and several others. All have been nice lights for there price and intended uses. But I have found issues with almost every product I will not list them here but lets say it has not been a trouble free experience. On the other hand I have recently turned back to Surefires a brand I used exclusively for several years until the last several months. The experience of the last several months has reminded me why I liked Surefires so much. They Just Work! at least for me I have never had a failure other than a bulb in the incans or batteries and as long as I was prepared with extras there have been no problems. Again I am not saying Surefire is perfect but I think you are hard pressed to find as reliable a light as a Surefire. Just now playing with my less than 3 month old Olight my clicky TC is having issues.

I would say depending on what you want eihter Olight or Surefire could serve you well. You mentioned your light as a weapon, if you wanted a light that you could use as a self defense tool that you always had with you I might mention the Surefire E2DL Defender LED. On the Surefire site it is more expensive then the Olight but not by all that much and they can be found for cheaper. I think for a hassle free light that will last you many many years the Surefires would be the best.

Disclaimer: These are just my opinions and insights I am not trying to say that Surefire is perfect nor that other companies do not make fine lights so please lets keep this civil.

 

[Mjolnir]

I'm pretty sure that the large size of the maglite makes it a better "self defense tool" than a small surefire, and the OP already has one. However, I don't think we should really get into that type of talk here, as it might be "toeing the line" as far as the forum rules go.
The E2DL apparently outputs around 200 lumens, which is more than surefire's advertised claim of 120 lumens (seriously, how can they realistically be this far off?).
You might want to fill out this checklist HERE if you have a specific usage in mind. It is a slightly old list, so keep in mind that 100+ lumens isn't all that much anymore for an LED light.

 

[Gunner12]

Check here for drop-ins for you Maglite, the stock LED isn't that good.

Also posting what beampattern you'd like, preferred batteries, size, and so on. It would help narrow down the choices.

:welcome:

 

[Mjolnir]

Also, If you only want crenellations on both ends for defense, then I would consider giving those up. slight front crenellations can be useful to let you know if the light is left on while head down, and rear crenelations can let the light tail stand. However, they also can get pretty annoying, especially around the tailcap. Realistically, they aren't really going to do you much good for defense, and won't really be worth the inconvenience (I am nore talking about sharper crenellations, such as the surefire ones, although there are others that are worse), except for the 2 reasons that I mentioned above.

 

[xpawel18x]

Okay I found a dealer near me who sold many SureFire's and I decided to get the E2D LED Defender. I instantly fell in love with this light. Pretty darn strong for its small size. I'm going to have to compare it to my 3D LED Maglite. I like the 2 light outputs (high first/ low second) The bezel is pretty sharp and I can see how it could come in handy if someone attacked me. In pitch blackness the bright light is enough to defend yourself. I love it. It's very precisely built, extreme detail and quality. Threads are nicely lubed. I love SureFire. Well worth the money in my opinion. Good thing I found this forum so you guys listen to me. Anyone else would say I have issues. lol. I'll keep on checkin this forum. I enjoy reading it. In the future I'd like more lights. :devil: Take Care,

xpawel18x