Best Thrower for under $80?

[insanefred]

Not a laser beam, but something that can throw, AA, Li-ion rechargeable is a plus. Regulated.

Mods, admins. Please move to LED forum. thanks.

 

[coyote223]

Re: Best Thrower for under $80.

I can't say if it's the best. I'm pretty happy with my Fenix TK-11, pretty good thrower for under $80.

 

[Gatsby]

I believe you can still get the Dereelight CL1H for around $80 or so. With the smooth reflector option and a Q5 pill it sure throws a long way to my eye. And they're built well, Alan provides good service, and they are upgradeable. And they have pills with 18650 options or multi power (18650, 2xCR123, 2xRCR123) options.

 

[Frank A.]

For a AA light, the Jetbeam Jet-1 Pro is tough to beat. I am absolutely amazed at how this little light throws. You won't be disappointed.

Regards,
Frank A.

 

[kavvika]

How good are you at soldering? A Romisen RC-G2, Cree XR-E R2 and DX circuit #7880 throws as far as a L2D-Q5 on turbo. It takes one AA battery (NiMh or Lithium primary) and will give near-full output for around 50 minutes. Total should be less than $35, and I don't think there's many, of any, other single AA lights that can touch it.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

Honestly I'd say just go for a DBS w/ 18650.
Another option would be a Malkoff dropin in a M@g. If you want to use AA's you can use a 6AA>2D adapter in a 2D M@g with this setup which will also be pretty close to your price range. For super throw an aspheric kit for a M@g will work well too but you'll likely loose AA compatability.

For a pure AA solution with decent throw but not like the above suggestions get a Lumapower D-mini from Batteryjunction and a AA battery tube acessory for it. There's also an 18650 tube as well.

Finally the Jetbeam Jet1 Pro isn't a stupendous thrower but will throw better than a standard EDC.

 

[LukeA]

DX has some far throwers for cheap.

 

[insanefred]

Honestly I'd say just go for a DBS w/ 18650.

I have been really debating this solution with the Cree XR-E 5A Q2 option. Do you know if it's battery when running on the 18650 is regulated? I am sure there's a run time charts some where. Perhaps a two stage High, Low?

 

[hyperloop]

Not a laser beam, but something that can throw, AA, Li-ion rechargeable is a plus. Regulated.

Mods, admins. Please move to LED forum. thanks.

Dont think there are that many throwers running on AAs, if you changed to 18650s then your choices would be widened considerably.

A cheap solution would be the 2 mode Aurora WF-600 on DX, bundled together with 2 x Trustfire protected 18650 cells and an Ultrafire Wf-139 charger comes up to about $61. But i must emphasise that it isnt a top grade product, you get what u pay for.

My Jetbeam Jet III Pro ST could throw pretty well but i opted for a textured reflector as my needs aren't for throwy lights (though i do love 'em) and i already have the Aurora Wf-600.

I have found CPF and this site http://light-reviews.com/ to be very helpful when comparing lights.

Cheers, and hope you get your light, take a look at this one, it's under $80.00 http://light-reviews.com/eagletac_p10a2/

 

[phil000]

http://light-reviews.com/olight_t25_tactical/

...light-reviews rates this highest for throw...

 

[qwertyydude]

I'd have to say the best budget thrower would be a wf-600, big reflector and bright Q5 led. I'd say it would be perfect if it had an aluminum reflector that took P60 pills.

 

[276]

I just got a Streamlight supertac and it throws really well & cost me around 77.00 at brightguy.

 

[popcornpicker]

If you want to go low buck go with the Ultrafire Q5. It has a goofy memory but doesn't get hot. Q5 will take everything you can throw at it.

The Fenix LD20 uses a Q5 and gets rave reviews. Two AAs don't even push it. But you could also get the 17 million thing fron Advance Auto. I think I'll get one tomorrow just in case I need 17 million candlepower.

 

[skyva]

Well, I am sure others will have more experience than me, but I like a smallish light with throw.
I currently have a TK11, and it is very nice. I like the twisty UI, and forward clicky. I would say a good combo of throw and spread.
I have a mag 3d with a terralux tle-300m drop in, powered by a 9aa<=3d sanyo 2700mah's @ 1.2 v each from 5mega. It has good spread and throw.
But my best thrower is my tiablo A9. It has a very narrow beam, but at 200ft, is brigther in its hotspot than either of the others (just brighter than the mag).
It may be I have a great A9, or maybe poor TK11 and tle-300m. I have only just set the mag up so there may be a dead battery amongst the nine, or a poor connections somewhere. Time will tell, but the mag does put out more of a strange shaped wall lof light. More impressive than the A9 for sure, and it certainly puts out way more light, but in the hotspot, the A9 is slightly better, and with 2 rcr123's, it is easier to run the A9.
It may depend on your use. I use the A9 to walk my padocks, checking for vermin, and as horses stay up most of the night, I like to have a very tight beam that I can direct around them when scanning the paddock so they don't lose their night site. It is also way more pocketable, and around $60.
I always wondered what the dereelights would be like though...

 

[qwertyydude]

If you want almost no spill you might want to try an aspheric setup. You can get a P60 compatible light for about 20 bucks on DX, I like my romisen RC-M4. I bought a 26 mm lens for it, actually it came in a pack of 10 and with a spare reflector painted matte black you only get a tight projection of the die and nothing else around it. I also think if you carefully sand the glass dome of a cree to a matte finish you get a perfect circle projection with no spill but am not brave enough to try this.

 

[UpChUcK]

I have the Tiablo A9 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a thower.

You can get it for as little as $45 (USD) @ DX. It has only slightly lower throw than a DBS or Spear but at 1/2 (or less) the cost. It is a very high quality light, HAIII and lightweight. I'ts not AA but runs on a variety of other cells like 123, rcr123, 18650 &, 16340. It performs best with 123's though. Take a look.

Close to 2 hrs of regulated runtime on 123's.

 

[erlon]

How about a Tiablo MA6 ?

U can find it for 50 bucks shipped.
Not AA, I know, but a very nice thrower in a compact body.

 

[hyperloop]

Not a laser beam, but something that can throw, AA, Li-ion rechargeable is a plus. Regulated.

Mods, admins. Please move to LED forum. thanks.

Forgot to ask, how far do you need the light to throw?? That would help a lot. And if its preferable to get AAs, what are acceptable alternatives? I note also that you would like to use rechargables. So would RCR123s, 14500s, 18650s be acceptable??

All these would be good to know as well as your runtime requirements