Big bright light reccomendations/help (~$100 budget)

[darrenerrad2]

Hi, I've been looking around for a good quality big, bright light that costs approximately $100 with shipping.

In terms of 'bigger/brighter' lights, I have an Aurora AK-P7-3 (2*18650), Trustfire TR-1200, Solarforce Skyline, Uniquefire HS-802 and a cheap direct driven MC-E 502b light.

Build quality is a must - I'm not too happy with the build quality of my current lights except the Solarforce, so I'm extending my budget this time.

Beam shape - emphasis on throw rather than flood, but with some useful side-spill. I really like the large hotspot on my TR-1200 but the light has so many problems that I won't go into.

I've been thinking about getting the MG - X thrower (from shiningbeam), although I'm not sure if it would be any brighter than the ones I already have. The Solarforce Masterpiece and Polestar A6 are also perhaps an option.

Thanks

*moderators, I realize I've posted this twice, once in the budget light forum, but a member has told me I've posted in the wrong forum and I am not sure how to delete my thread*

 

[cistallus]

If throw is your goal, a good jumping-off point would be Selfbuilt's very nice 100-yard beamshot comparison: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=283966

 

[awid]

stanley hid

 

[glockboy]

Maelstrom G5.
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=233858

 

[joe1512]

I love the itp A6 Polestar, for newbies especially. However, it has a very floody beam. I mean, you can see from the pics that it throws just fine thanks to its 700 lumen rating, but that is definitely not what it was designed to do.
It has fine build quality to me, but it is a bit thin for some flashaholics. You already have 18650s and are not new so its advantage of 6xAAs/side-switch is mitigated for you.

It is too bad the TR1200 isnt working out. It used to be a great option with excellent throw and good efficiency thanks to the multiple emitters, but the recent ones seem to have really weaksauce drivers.

It would be great if you could get an improved 2x18650 driver that will drive each LED at 1 amp. That would be the ideal fix in my mind and will be brighter than the P-Rocket or any other 2x18650 light with a single XP-G, MC-E, or SST-50 emitter. Each XP-E at 1 amp is rated at around 200 lumens for 1000 rated.


Since you have 18650 batteries this should open up several nice choices, but make sure to get a Smooth Reflector, not an Orange Peel one, and one with a big head is ideal for greater throw. The 100 dollar price point is a bit problematic and you may have to expand this to up to 150 bucks.
Otherwise you will wind up with an XP-G 18650 light which is efficient but you will only get about 300 rated lumens at maximum drive. So it won't be that much better than what you already have.