Flashlight Recomendation....need advice

[LumenJoe]

I have done a lot of reading and I think I'm more confused now then when I first started. I'm looking for 600+ Lumen flashlight with a nice combination of throw and spill. I'm mainly using this for walking trails through the woods at night with my dogs. I understand that might be a little overkill but I want something that's going to be extremely bright. I was looking at the Lumapower P7 Turboforce, the Wolfeyes is just a little more then what I want to spend for this application. I have also found some other light's like the Spiderfire and the Trustfire but I'm not sure of the quality. I would be interested in a modified light just as long as it's reliable. I would assume LED is the way to go but I do like the HID too. The only thing with that is the start up delay and the fragility of the bulb.
I would like to keep it to around $200 or below.
Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

 

[sol-leks]

Personally, I think your best option might be to wait just a little longer until we see more quality lights using the p7 and the MC-E. If you really want something now, then I would recommend a mag-lite with a malkoff triple drop in, although they appear to be sold out on his web page.

 

[Toaster]

Dereelight DBS MC-E. See this thread for more info about it.

 

[waddup]

I have done a lot of reading and I think I'm more confused now then when I first started. I'm looking for 600+ Lumen flashlight with a nice combination of throw and spill. I'm mainly using this for walking trails through the woods at night with my dogs. I understand that might be a little overkill but I want something that's going to be extremely bright. I was looking at the Lumapower P7 Turboforce, the Wolfeyes is just a little more then what I want to spend for this application. I have also found some other light's like the Spiderfire and the Trustfire but I'm not sure of the quality. I would be interested in a modified light just as long as it's reliable. I would assume LED is the way to go but I do like the HID too. The only thing with that is the start up delay and the fragility of the bulb.
I would like to keep it to around $200 or below.
Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

i have 2 or 3 $50 lights, 100-120 lumens that will light an area 30 feet wide and 50 feet long for 2 hours.

you dont need 600 lumens.

a good led with a good reflector and good lens (any of the popular lights here) will easily make walking in dark woods an easy pleasure.

get 2 lights maybe, 1 for general walking and 1 for throwing light out farther to see whats lurking.

 

[retrodog]

I have done a lot of reading and I think I'm more confused now then when I first started. I'm looking for 600+ Lumen flashlight with a nice combination of throw and spill. I'm mainly using this for walking trails through the woods at night with my dogs. I understand that might be a little overkill but I want something that's going to be extremely bright. I was looking at the Lumapower P7 Turboforce, the Wolfeyes is just a little more then what I want to spend for this application. I have also found some other light's like the Spiderfire and the Trustfire but I'm not sure of the quality. I would be interested in a modified light just as long as it's reliable. I would assume LED is the way to go but I do like the HID too. The only thing with that is the start up delay and the fragility of the bulb.
I would like to keep it to around $200 or below.
Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

Stop it!!! Stop it right now!!!

You don't need to be throwing about 600 lumens in the woods at night. There are lots of little animals out there trying to do their thing and that's gonna shock the holy $#it outta them.

Even the Husky 200 lumen flashlight from HD ($25) is overkill for what you need. It throws out a beam over 100 yrds. And it's heavy enough that you could kill any night creature that comes after you.

 

[carrot]

What do you need 600 lumens for?

Back when I joined, I thought that 100 lumens was a lot. It still is.

In the woods at night, 45 lumens is a lot.

 

[Zatoichi]

Last time I went camping I took my (rated 180 lumens) P2D, and it scared even me the first time I switched it on in the dark! :laughing:

 

[Gunner12]

First off, 600 lumen is much much more then you need for a nightly walk, especially in the woods. About 10x less would still be more then most people use(us not included). Remember that a normal 2D light is around 15 lumen and that is just fine for most uses.

Throw is usually how far a light projects.

The 600 lumen LED lights won't throw as far as a 200 lumen LED one with the same sized reflector. The higher output is because the LED is essentially 4 of the normal high power LEDs put together. 4x the surface area with 3x the output gets you less throw(wider beam because of the larger emitting area) but more total output.

What light do you use now?
What batteries do you prefer?
Multimode?(low output, strobe, etc.)
What size?
How much runtime?

I think starting with a good 2 AA light might be a good idea. Something like the Fenix L2D-CE, LD20, L2T V2.0, maybe Tk20, Olight T25, Nitecore D20, Jetbeam Jet I EX, and so on.

:welcome:

 

[1dash1]

LumenJoe:

This may be of interest to you.

(Personally, I get by fine with 1 to 10 lumens on my night walks off-road, 0.1 lumens if the terrain is even. I can't fathom a need for 600 lumens, but that's just a matter of personal preference.)

===================================================================
EDIT:

Sorry, I didn't notice that you were a newbie. I do not recommend Li-ion rechargeable lights (especially multi-cell ones!) to novices. There's just too much risk involved with managing the cells.

Instead, if you need that much firepower, I concur with Sol-lek's suggestion: Maglite with a triple-LED drop in. They regularly come up for sale on the Marketplace and the Custom B/S/T forums. If you don't want to wait, post a "WTB" feeler. I'm sure you'll get some responses.

 

[Derek Dean]

Howdy LumenJoe and welcome to CPF,
Be sure and check out the "Welcome Mat" page for lots of helpful info about flashlights and flashlight lingo:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=172991

I think waddup had a good suggestion for you, get 2 lights (which is always a good idea because if one fails you'll still have one that works), one with a nice balanced beam and 2 or 3 light levels for general use, and one with a tight beam for throwing a small circle of light so you can spot things at a distance.

There are many good lights available that will do what you need, however there has been a recent advancement in LED technology which has given us new LEDs with a warmer tint (as opposed to the bluish tint many folks are used to seeing with older LEDs) that gives a more pleasing light for use both outdoors or indoors, so while shopping around, keep your eyes open for one of those.

The other thing to consider is whether you want to begin using rechargeable batteries...... a real money saver if you plan on using your light on a regular basis.

To get you started check out this recent excellent comparison review of 2xAA lights by CPF member selfbuilt:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=214890

Look specifically at the Fenix TK20, a nice 2 level light with one of the new warmer LEDs.

You could also purchase an inexpensive AA battery/charger combo here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IV0REA/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[gilly]

Here's a light you will be happy with:

Dereelight DBS V2 with MC-E emitter + battery extension tube.

500+ lumens for ~ 1.5 hours

Cost: $145 + $12 = $157

Well within your budget and you will have a well-made fairly portable light (with three brightness settings by the way) with outstanding customer support and future upgradeability.

See Flashcrazy's thread here: (he's the U.S. Dealer for Dereelight):

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=186833

Dedicated thread about DBS MC-E here:

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?p=2233520#post2233520

Here's a photo of DBS with / without extension tube:

:welcome: