Gifts for Groomsmen?

LEDBE
S

slider

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Messages
7
Location
Monrovia
infrequent poster, long-time lurker.

Here are the parameters.

Priced at around or less than $100
LED light (obviously)
Pocket or palmsized

Two of my groomsmen are relatively noobish when it comes to gear
One is like me (gear head; he just got a new nitecore single cell)
My best man is PD (he's got a nice duty carry light)

I'm also considering pairing lights with a swisstool if they're significantly less than $100.

Lightwise, I've been looking at Fenix, maybe Surefire.

I must admit that beyond the bigger name brands, I'm pretty much clueless.

Opinions please!

My current lights:
Maglite 3D w/ LED head from Home Depot
Inova T5
two Surefire L4s
Fenix TK 10
Photon Micros here and there
Surefire Optimus on order from our friends at battery junction


steve
 
I personally don't understand the stigmata behind "don't give CR123 based lights to non-flashoholics!" Really, they can be found in most (if not all) grocery stores and certainly in electronic stores. They may be a little pricey, but hell, if you provide them with extra batteries, with a 10 year shelf life they will last. It's not like we're dealing with complete idiots here, right?


*crickets chirping*



That being said, Surefire G2L with lots of 123 batteries for each. Actually, good idea:

Get something like a small pelican case, put the G2L in there, and cut the foam out for the extra batteries. That way they have a presentation piece and they know that this is a serious piece of equipment. The impression of grandeur and importance will be more than enough for them to realize this is an expensive tool.

Plus carrying containers are always fun.
 
Last edited:
Mercaptan said:
I personally don't understand the stigmata behind "don't give CR123 based lights to non-flashoholics!" Really, they can be found in most (if not all) grocery stores and certainly in electronic stores. They may be a little pricey, but hell, if you provide them with extra batteries, with a 10 year shelf life they will last. It's not like we're dealing with complete idiots here, right?


*crickets chirping*



That being said, Surefire G2L with lots of 123 batteries for each. Actually, good idea:

Get something like a small pelican case, put the G2L in there, and cut the foam out for the extra batteries. That way they have a presentation piece and they know that this is a serious piece of equipment. The impression of grandeur and importance will be more than enough for them to realize this is an expensive tool.

Plus carrying containers are always fun.
Click to expand...

Unless they put in one new cell with one dead one because that works in their remotes and "those batteries are so expensive that I don't want to waste them" and the old cell catches fire. Then what?
 
LukeA said:
Unless they put in one new cell with one dead one because that works in their remotes and "those batteries are so expensive that I don't want to waste them" and the old cell catches fire. Then what?
Click to expand...

Natural selection is a lovely process.

Surefires have lovely manuals stating what to do in procedure of their lights. Are people honestly that stupid? Or hell, just give them a 10 minute introduction to the lights.
 
I'm a tiny light guy, so...

orb raw al, no tritriums is about 100 bucks. blue tritriums up the cool factor, but you're out 130 bucks. tiny and very cool.

If you've got the month to wait, the v4 from Kaidomain.com is awesome output from an alkaline aaa, and most will put it on thier keyring. 22 bucks each. gives you room for multi tool.

The p1d q5 is an awesome light , single 123. get them a few extra batteries online at a buck apiece. fenixstore will be around 60 bucks

the nichia Gs fauxtons from Deal Extreme are 3 bucks for 2. these rock as a keychain light, but again, month long wait.

Fenix lod q4 is another great aaa light, fenix store, or ebay, 50 bucks or so.


I find that when you give folks flashlights, the more output for the smaller size impresses the heck out of folks. but I've given a surefire p60, a multi cree, several other midsize 50-80 buck lights, and folks just expect it to be as bright as it is for the size. So I go brightest/ smallest. people always point it in thier eyes, turn on and go GAH !

you didn't ask but I'll tell you anyway-I have about 8 employees that work for me outside in the winter. we use multi tools everyday for cutting, splicing, screws, etc. we've tried victorinox, gerbers, sog's, leatherman's and cheapies, and by far the toughest out there is the "Wave" leatherman's. they can be dropped from roofs 40-80 feet up and still work.
good luck, and hope your wedding goes great.
 
Novatac EDC 85/85T/85P for $100 each. Now that's a nice gift. You get them at Lighthound.com with free priority shipping.
 
Well, with a $100 price point you could easily do this nice setup:

The light:
https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_65&products_id=466
$60

Power:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IV0RD6/?tag=cpf0b6-20
$15

The knife:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VY2Y7M/?tag=cpf0b6-20
(this particular combination is nice because it gives them the choice of the larger "Tinker" or the smaller "SD" knife)
$17

Total: $92 (before Fenix-store discount or shipping from Amazon)

I carry my 1xAA hooked together with a small swiss army knife every day and have found it to be an incredibly useful combination. I'm always using either the knife blades or the screw drivers..... and having a light handy at the same time is always helpful.
 
Swisstools run about $60-70 or so, depending on where you look. Good choice, the Swisstool is the finest multi tool around, a bit heavy, but better than anything else I have used. Leaves you $40 or so to play with. I like the ideas of either the stainless C3 or the L1T. For a few bucks extra you could get Jetbeam Mk 1 IBS lights or the like.

Really, you need to assess the type of people that your groomsmen are. Someone who mechanics for a living might not be able to use a 1aa lights as well as they could use a SF G2 or the like, and a Guy who wears Gucci would prefer as small and discreet a light as possible. Most guys will probably enjoy whatever you get them and sooner or later succumb to the urge to buy more and more lights, trying to satisfy the unquenchable thirst for more lumens, eventually carrying not just one light, but multiple lights as they slowly slide deeper and deeper into some sort of OCD.......oooops, that's me.
 
I plan on someday giving my groomsmen Peak lights. Probably a Pacific, because they are the most versatile and have 1xAA and 1xAAA bodies, which would be best for the layperson. Additionally, they are available in brass and stainless steel, which look very nice and are more suited to be a keepsake IMHO.

Also, Peak has a 25% off sale for Memorial Day, so you could buy 4 Pacifics for $150. If you got them in SS, you could use the saved money to buy them matching SAKs or whatever else you want.
 
Last edited:
slider said:
infrequent poster, long-time lurker.

Here are the parameters.

Priced at around or less than $100
LED light (obviously)
Pocket or palmsized

Two of my groomsmen are relatively noobish when it comes to gear
One is like me (gear head; he just got a new nitecore single cell)
My best man is PD (he's got a nice duty carry light)

I'm also considering pairing lights with a swisstool if they're significantly less than $100.

Lightwise, I've been looking at Fenix, maybe Surefire.

I must admit that beyond the bigger name brands, I'm pretty much clueless.

Opinions please!

My current lights:
Maglite 3D w/ LED head from Home Depot
Inova T5
two Surefire L4s
Fenix TK 10
Photon Micros here and there
Surefire Optimus on order from our friends at battery junction


steve
Click to expand...


The Optimus is on order?
 
Spend a touch more and get them novatac's 85t(t is easy operation,althought it's a cr123 & rcr123),it'll be the one they use the most and they'll never forget who gave it to them...If you have to have an aa battery,l1t v2.0 is a good pick. :twothumbs
 
fenix L1's are the best way to go... I've given two away that i've "outgrown" for lack of a better tern and the recipients have loved them.

their craftsmanship is very nice, up to and beyond what most people will use them for.

they're cheap (weddings are pretty expensive as it is)

they run on AA batteries! i cant stress this one enough!

lastly, simple UI. im not knocking lights like novatec but most people just want a light to turn on, just look at maglite.
 
Mercaptan said:
I personally don't understand the stigmata behind "don't give CR123 based lights to non-flashoholics!" Really, they can be found in most (if not all) grocery stores and certainly in electronic stores. They may be a little pricey, but hell, if you provide them with extra batteries, with a 10 year shelf life they will last. It's not like we're dealing with complete idiots here, right?
Click to expand...

Not about intelligence level at all. Even with extra batteries, once those cells run out, the lights are likely to get put away into a drawer and forgotten over time. CR123s are just pricey enough that non-flashaholics won't spend the $5 or $6 for one cell at a B&M shop.

I once stumbled across an online shop that had a reviews section. Among other things, the shop sold lights. Out of curiosity, I checked out the reviews for the Streamlight Scorpion model. All of the reviews gave the light either a great score, or a terrible one. Seemed odd.... until I took a closer look. Every poor review was due to the same two issues....

"Light only lasts an hour."

"Batteries far too pricey."

Those were clearly non-flashaholics leaving those types of reviews. Okay, light only lasts an hour on 2xCR123 cells. So does every other inca light running on 2xCR123 cells. But to give a light a poor rating because of the type of batteries it uses.... That's like saying a Corvette is a poorly-designed car because it has terrible fuel-economy.

I think that a Bronze or Stainless Steel 1xAA model from Peak would be a good way to go.
 
Of all the lights I have I usually go for a few "go to" lights and one is always the trusty old E1E. It is possible to find these at 70 dollars and if you add a lumens factory lamp with rechargeable cell and you may be able to stay under 100 dollars and have a very nice light.....I simply love this set up on my E1E.

The AAA factor is always a good choice and the LOD is a proven performer and would be a great gift for any guy who likes gadgets. I always have mine on keychain duty and use it all the time.
 
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