Choose one only....

Mr Ted Bear

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 20, 2001
Messages
1,766
Location
Los Angeles, CA
The M6 is king of the hill for output
The Infinity is king is hill for run time

Question: Not your favorite, not what you carry daily, but MOST VERSATILE flashlight.
 
Guess my MAG-LITE wins here.

Spot or Flood
Akaline or Rechargeable
Choice of bulbs to match usage
LED mode for power outages.
Makeshift hammer....

Keith
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mr Ted Bear:
The M6 is king of the hill for output
The Infinity is king is hill for run time

Question: Not your favorite, not what you carry daily, but MOST VERSATILE flashlight.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmm...tough one since I typically am very practical about what I carry, so what I carry would probably be the most versatile for me. I guess it all depends on what you mean by "versatile"...

I like my M2 because of it's waterproof to a few feet, is a convenient size, has choice of output by switching lamp modules (I carry the high output lamp and spare batteries in a spares carrier)...even though it's ugly, I can use the adapter from my 1992 6R to allow rechargable batter use in the M2. I think that's pretty versatile!
smile.gif


JM-99

p.s. My Infinity is usually somewhere on my person most of the time. Decent light output without completely killing your night vision, small size, huge runtime...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Free:
If I had to choose one only, I am following your rules unlike everyone else
smile.gif
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmm...I doubt you're referring to me. I did pick only one...my choice was the M2. I simply mentioned as a sidenote that I do make quite a bit of use of the CMG...

JM-99

p.s. And the M2 still kicks a maglite's a#@...
smile.gif
(And I can say that because I have 5 "AA" maglites..hehe
smile.gif
)

p.p.s. And it should work that well since it costs over 10 times as much...
smile.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Your question is kind of like asking; "Choose one only a Humvee or a Honda Civic?" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is exactly correct. Somewhere out there exists a light that "scores" extremely well in all catagories, but is not the best in any particular area.

The M6 is a great light, but it is too bright to use when working on the inside of a computer, and would fail as a night light or night stand reading lamp, because of its great beam. Also, probablly not my choice in an extended power outage.

Remember, the light must be VERSATILE, needs to perform well in all catagories, though not necessarily the best in any one. Oh, size and weight might also be an issue if you are a backpacker. For some, the light would need to be waterproof. Recreational sport divers limit is 130 feet, which would exlude any SureFire product as they are depth rated to 30 meters/99 feet.


So what will it be,? Humvee, Civic, Motorcycle, Stakeboard or I think I'll just walk
 
Easy, SureFire E2 with a spare bulb (which would of course be the LED. That's not cheating is it?)
 
Your question is kind of like asking; "Choose one only a Humvee or a Honda Civic?"

If I had to choose one only, I am following your rules unlike everyone else
smile.gif
, I would choose the M6.

The reason I reach for a flashlight is to see in the dark and the M6 will always throw enough light.

As for versitility, the M6 has a choice of bulbs, so if I want to get a little better gas mileage then I switch bulbs.
 
Good question - for me, the Underwater Kinetics UK 2L is the most versatile flashlight. Multiple hours of runtime instead of just 1 like other dual-CR123 lights; tiny, light, waterproof; not so overwhelmingly bright that it's blinding for up-close work, yet still plenty of light for accomplishing nearly anything. Its brother the 4AA is another versatile light that trades some size and weight for more and cheaper runtime.

I love my LED lights, and my Eternalight 3 is usually the light I'll grab for things around the house, but to be called "versatile", I think a light needs to be able to illuminate things at a bit of a distance.

I've got a 6P and a Scorpion, but I find I rarely actually use them, out of concern for runtime - which is due not just to the cost per minute, but the desire to preserve as much of their limited battery life as possible for potential emergency situations.
 
Sorry if this is heavy, but,

I don't know about everyone else, but the M Series is SureFire. M for Millennium Series "Special Operations Lights" -
M1 InfraRed Illuminator
M2 Centurion
M3 Millennium CombatLight
M3T Millennium CombatLight Turbo
M4 Devastator
M6 Millennium Magnum Assault Light

M1xx Millennium Handgun WeaponLights
M5xxA/B Millennium Fore-end WeaponLights
M900A/B Millennium Fore-grip WeaponLights
MU9x__ Millennium Universial Tactical WeaponLights

Pelican have their rechargeable "Black Knight Series" -
M7, M9, M10 [alkaline 4C] & M11.

ITI have their "Tactical Illuminators" -
M-3, M-4, M-5 & M-6.
All these require two 123A Lithium batteries.

A lot of "gun people" take "M3" to mean the M-3 from ITI but I believe the "M3" can only be the SureFire M3 Millennium CombatLight.

Alastair's rant is over (!)

grin.gif
 
For all-around versatility, UKE 2L is my answer. It is small and light enough to carry easily, it is waterproof. It is an excellent tradeoff between runtime and brightness -- the brightness of around a 3D Maglite for 4 hours. All in all, there's little I do with a flashlight that I couldn't do with a 2L.

If and when the E2 gets a lower-lumen longer-running bulb, that takes over the versatility crown from the 2L, since I'll be able to switch between the high-power and low-power bulbs. But the E2 just has too little runtime for a number of activities right now.

Joe
 

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