Re: AA LED Flashlight - Nightstand / bump in the night light.
C4LED:
The UK eLED 4AA for example puts out more light and will out throw your X5. The price isn't bad and the size is still small
Also, you could get the TerraLUX MiniSTAR2 Minimag Upgrade - especially since you already have one to upgrade.
UK eLED 4AA - 4AA cells is a few more than I'd like to run (I usually have ones or twos of batteries laying around, but 4 would be something I'd have to buy), but the I'm fond of flashlights that enspire confidence when held
TerraLux MiniStar2 Minimag upgrade - Nice bit of kit, but I've become a bit of a beamsnob and find the holes / distortions in the beam shape to be little flakey.
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bruddamoke:
Fenix lights are great all around, but a bit too bright for me for in-house needs, like trips to the bathroom. You will see a big improvement in throw compared to the X5, even using the L1P. Much tighter hotspot. Have both plus the L0P, rarely use he X5 anymore. Sounds like you bought an Arc, use that for in house, get a stronger thrower for peeking outside.
I would probably use the Arc, but as it's on my keys I prefer to have a seperate light for my nightstand.
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LowBat:
Yes the L1P will outlast the L2P with alkalines, but the output of the L1P will be weak.
Fair point, well made. I guess if running for efficiency, then running the L1P at a consistent level would probably require more battery changes than with the L2P.
Also, welcome to CPF! I'm somewhat familiar with Merseyside. I spend a few days there with some friends in '93.
Thanks
Where abouts did you see in Merseyside? It's a diverse city and is certainly changing all the time. Big things are afoot here since we won the European Capital of culture for 2008 ...
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Nyctophiliac:
In a fight for my affections between a L1P and a L2P, the L1p wins hands down. I think you'd like it too.
What makes you prefer the L1P over the 2P? At the moment the L1P's pocketability seems quite handy, but the regulation of the L2P might be advatageous.
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JSR:
None of the lights you mentioned match the characteristics of the X5 you're looking to replace. The X5 produces a fairly low amount of light with a very floody beam. I assume you like this so as not to wake up others when walking around at night or completely destroying your night vision. The Fenix lights are considerably brighter and may wake others up in the dark of night.
This is actually one of the things I was hoping to address in a new light; Whilst I appreciate the wide flood of the X5, it doesn't have the tightest of spots, which makes it a little ... ineffectual whilst looking out of the window.
Ideally I'd like a nice compromise between throw and sidespill, which I was hoping the Fenix lights offered.
Inova X1 - I considered this a while ago, but had heard that it was such a tight spot it was pretty useless. I'd heard recently that they'd changed them to a floodier beam, but are they adequately floody for a general use? I have to admit I'd prefer a clicky to this, but prefer a clicky that allows momentary on if possible.
Nuwai lights - Snobbishness comes into play again, and I find it hard to get past the smooth simplicity of them. They look a tad plain and likely to be a little dropped by me :/
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Long John:
Hi Minds eye,
my hint is the Fenix L1P with the 2stage mod. With two 10 Ohm resistors you will have on low enough light inside the house and you klick on the switch, you will have a good light for the distance.
I feeds mine with 2600mAh nimh Accus and it works very well and for a long runtime. If you will walk through the night, take another cell with you and the runtime is longer than a L2P and the weight is lighter.
I'm absolutly happy with mine and if you compare different lights, take a look of a glas lens and an aluminium reflector, HA III coating and a very good r-bin Lux I LED.
Fenix with 2 Stage mod - Now this has me intrigued ... Does anyone offer this service? Does this just drop the output of the light down low, then provide a powerful beam (with no regulation on either)?
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Dave Wright:
My experience with the sort of thing you describe is that a single light won't meet the need unless it's one of the HDS Systems units. A light with multiple output levels is needed, and only one with an extraordinarily wide range of outputs will do.
HDS lights - I was strongly considering these lights until I recieved my ARC AAA. I use a flashlight at work when I'm the last one in the office, to check the rooms are empty before I set the alarm. I was expecting to require a larger flashlight, however the ARC AAA has more than adequate output for that task, and therefore it would be nice to have something for home that was somewhat more economical to run as the original post describes
I have a Petzl Tikka XP
(Clicky) that I carry whilst hiking, which offers a nice compromise between throw, spread and power levels (without being too complex for me), with the boost mode being nice for spotting things in the distance. It's a shame I can't find something in a similar price point for a hand held package (I am a little wary of the sliding lense though)
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Flashlife:
Check out:
Coast 7840 Digitac, 1xAA, 1.25 W Luxeon, nice "directed flood", about 4-6 hr runtime, true momentary/clicky tail switch.
I've never seen these lights mentioned before (due to being a newbie). Are they well thought of?
Thanks all for your opinions. I'm still a little conflicted, especially with the recent price drop of Fenix lights, so any help is still much appreciated
Cheers
