Favorite small flashlight w/ max output

[Souley]

Greetings!
I need to buy 4 small flashlights and 1 slightly larger light for an art piece that pack a lot of punch! Tell me about your favorite small LED flashlights!

requirements for the 4 small lights:
<2" diameter
high efficiency: would like to run them 6-8 hours at a time - rechargeable batteries preferred.
Broad diffuse beam (shining in 2' diameter balloons - don't want concentrated beams)
high lumen output or bad *** reflector: would love to get over 150lm

Single larger light:
< 3" diameter
high efficiency: would like to run 6-8 hours at a time - rechargeable batteries preferred.
Really Broad diffuse beam option (shining in 8' diameter balloons - need very broad beam)
high lumen output or bad *** reflector: if I can get over 300lm I'd be a very happy gal!
ideally <8 lbs (so my balloon can fly!)

$$: ~$300 for 5 lights and batteries (flexible... kinda)
Wish list: color changing functions, strobe function, heat sinks so my balloons don't pop

 

[litetube]

I saw some little leds that were designed to go inside balloons at the supermarket yesterday. pak of 3 or 5 , Runtime? I dont know assuming they run on coin cells . Didnt buy it but it comes with balloons also.

 

[kramer5150]

requirements for the 4 small lights:
* <2" diameter
* 6-8 hours at a time - rechargeable batteries preferred.
*Broad diffuse beam
*over 150lm

No light currently meets all these criteria.

Single larger light:
* < 3" diameter
* 6-8 hours at a time - rechargeable batteries preferred.
* Broad diffuse beam
* over 300lm I'd be a very happy gal!
No light currently meets all these criteria.

With current emitter efficiencies and cell capacities you can have any TWO but not all three:

Small size
Long run time
Lumen output

Pick the two that are the most important and sacrifice or make compromises to obtain the third. My recommendation would be a Malkoff M30F in a solarforce 1x16340 host and pack extra cells to extend run times. That will get you 225 Lumens for around 30 minutes per cell.

My fave has been a shiningbeam RC-N3-Q5. Fairly small with a 16340. That will get you ~140Lumens for about 40 minutes. But its a pretty tight beam.

 

[Sacket]

The Olight T20-Q5 Cree XR-E is a great light. Don't know how much money you want to spend though. These are about $50 each. Has just over 200 lumens.

 

[Gunner12]

Do you mean 6-8 hours on max or 6-8 hours on low mode? On low, it could be possible depending on how low. On max, no way.

Tell us what you are planning to do and we'll see what is possible.

 

[Chrontius]

Diffusers are easy. Don't worry too much about a too-tight beam.