First real flashlight purchase

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shadowbuds

shadowbuds

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
138
City & State/Province
California
I feel like I finally bought a real flashlight. I've read a lot on these forums and decided on getting an L4. Any pros/cons about this light would be appreciated as the search function is kind of hard to work with. Incandescents have so many more lumens and cost much less... i'm not sure why I love LED's so much but they're amazing.
 
That is a excellent choice! It was my second choice. Try to find a McGizmo two way switch and you will have a even better light. You can also use a 17670 cell for guilt free lumens. You will never regret this purchase!!
 
The first stupid thing I did was buying 6, 3.6v rcr123a batteries. The only light I can use them safely in (as far as I know) is a single cell 123a light and a "superfire." I've been wondering about the term "LED lottery." Does that mean I can get anywhere from a blue to whiteish tint LEDs?
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Shadow:

Welcome to the world of "flashlight addiction." A Surefire is a great first light. Quality, and one you will always like.

Lawlight
 
Luxeon lottery refers to the tint of the LED. Surefire generally has an accepted range for "white" that seems to be a larger range than those of flashaholics on this board, so you could end up with a yellowish-green tint (my favorite), to bluish, to purplish. But all will be "white," just with some noticeable color to it.

Get a rechargeable 17670 for your L4. That will work. As you've pointed out, 2 x RCR123 will not work.
 
carrot said:
Luxeon lottery refers to the tint of the LED. Surefire generally has an accepted range for "white" that seems to be a larger range than those of flashaholics on this board, so you could end up with a yellowish-green tint (my favorite), to bluish, to purplish. But all will be "white," just with some noticeable color to it.

Get a rechargeable 17670 for your L4. That will work. As you've pointed out, 2 x RCR123 will not work.
Click to expand...

What is the difference between a 17670 and two x 123a primaries? Is it brigher? Do rechargables have the same lifetime as lithium e.g. 10 years? I've done my share of reading on the CPF, is there a chance of "mismatched cells" for rechargeables? Exploding 123's are not part of my plan! Obviously you charge them but is it possible for one of the sides to be less than the other? Maybe i'm confused here, does a 17670 battery consist of two 123 batteries or is it a single cell? Will it matter that it's only 3v instead of 6v? I know 17 indicates something and so does 670... I think 670 is mah but can someone correct me here? Thanks for your input!
 
A 17670 is only 3.7v, and 4.2v hot off the charger, but is sufficient to power the L4 at its brightest. You shouldn't notice any difference between the L4 on primaries and on a 17670. I'm not sure what kind of runtime you should be expecting, but I think it was around 40 minutes? Using a single 17670 (it's about the length of two primaries) you will not have any chance of mismatching batteries. It's a single cell, hence the 3.7v often associated to the Li-ion chemistry.

Lifetime of Li-ion batteries is rated in cycles, not years. A cycle is a full discharge and recharge of the cell, and Li-ions are generally rated to thousands of cycles. By the time they die on you, you'll have saved enough money to have made it worth your while.
 
I felt real proud when I purchased my first real flashlight (US), since then I have been a flashlight junkie
 
L4 was my first real flashlight purchase and it is still one of my favorite lights. It will be one of the best lights you ever buy. Pick up a vital gear one cell body and a rcr123 and you will be set to go.
 
My first real flashlight was the KL1 + VG Fb1 Body. After that... well, lets just say i'm a lot poorer. The L4 is a good light.
 
carrot said:
A 17670 is only 3.7v, and 4.2v hot off the charger, but is sufficient to power the L4 at its brightest. You shouldn't notice any difference between the L4 on primaries and on a 17670. I'm not sure what kind of runtime you should be expecting, but I think it was around 40 minutes? Using a single 17670 (it's about the length of two primaries) you will not have any chance of mismatching batteries. It's a single cell, hence the 3.7v often associated to the Li-ion chemistry.

Lifetime of Li-ion batteries is rated in cycles, not years. A cycle is a full discharge and recharge of the cell, and Li-ions are generally rated to thousands of cycles. By the time they die on you, you'll have saved enough money to have made it worth your while.
Click to expand...

And to think I didn't like carrots! I know that rechargeable life spans are decreased every recharge cycle but I wanted to know the full life span of one. Say I lose it or stop using it for 5 years. Would it still be good? Could anyone point me to a good quality 17670 rechargeable?
 
Look to the protected 17650 li-ion cells from www.batterystation.com

They offer a CPF discount.

The 17650 cell is a hair shorter than a 17670 cell. This is because of the protection circuit. The circuit protect against overdischarge and overcharging of the battery. This feature helps prevent the cell from dying and/or going BOOM!
 
Just FYI:

Li-ion cells age from cycling and from time itself.

*************

Swiped from wikipedia:

Disadvantages
A unique drawback of the Li-ion battery is that its life span is dependent upon aging from time of manufacturing (shelf life) regardless of whether it was charged, and not just on the number of charge/discharge cycles. This drawback is not widely publicized

*************


carrot said:
A 17670 is only 3.7v, and 4.2v hot off the charger, but is sufficient to power the L4 at its brightest. You shouldn't notice any difference between the L4 on primaries and on a 17670. I'm not sure what kind of runtime you should be expecting, but I think it was around 40 minutes? Using a single 17670 (it's about the length of two primaries) you will not have any chance of mismatching batteries. It's a single cell, hence the 3.7v often associated to the Li-ion chemistry.

Lifetime of Li-ion batteries is rated in cycles, not years. A cycle is a full discharge and recharge of the cell, and Li-ions are generally rated to thousands of cycles. By the time they die on you, you'll have saved enough money to have made it worth your while.
Click to expand...
 
From HP's data:

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries typically have a lifespan of between 300 and 500 cycles.

We are seeing this, or at least I am. I had a pair of pila cells with several hundred cycles on them. Both failed.
 
Get the 17670 batteries and a DSD charger from lighthound.com, they have great service and very fast shipping.
shadowbuds said:
And to think I didn't like carrots! I know that rechargeable life spans are decreased every recharge cycle but I wanted to know the full life span of one. Say I lose it or stop using it for 5 years. Would it still be good? Could anyone point me to a good quality 17670 rechargeable?
Click to expand...
 
FlashKat said:
Get the 17670 batteries and a DSD charger from lighthound.com, they have great service and very fast shipping.
Click to expand...

Just my luck...

"AW 17670 Protected
1500 mAh Battery
$10.99
Backorder 10 days"

Battery station only had 17650's :help:
 
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