Gifts for my Groomsmen...

[pedalinbob]

i will be getting married on May 24, and was trying to decide what gifts to get my groomsmen.

my fiance' has shown me catalogs with various items...but in my mind, these items are fairly useless (beer mugs, lighters, etc).

we will be going on a camping/mountainbiking trip for my bachelor party. we all camp several times per year, and my brother (best man) goes hunting in the winter for a couple of weeks.
therefore, i think a good flashlight would be useful and appreciated by all.

i think for my brother, i may get an elektrolumens blaster or mr bulk lgi with custom engraving. i bought him a cmg infinity ultra for christmas and he carries it everyday--he loves it!

for the rest of the groomsmen (6), i would like to keep the gifts around $20 each. i might go as high as $30. i think that some sort of led light would be great.

i am considering one of the nuwai: ccfl/xenon/led or led/xenon combo, which quickbeam gave a great review for. these seem like they would be incredibly useful around home and campsite due to the combo led/xenon lamp. i am in contact with someone that may be able to get me some of these lights: perhaps i could get a small volume discount?

but, there are so many great choices: attitudes, inretech dropin/minimag combos, opalecs, various lightwaves, etc. heck, the tec 40 or surge would be nice, but i think led's would bring them into the 20th century!

what would you folks suggest, based on my budget?

many thanks,
Bob

 

[Patrick Hayes]

ARC AA for my two cents. If you do go with the Nuwai. Let the board know I think their would be interest in a group buy that could push the price down.
Patrick Hayes

 

[Ninja]

Originally posted by Patrick Hayes:
ARC AA

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">With out a doubt, winner of the Lummies:

ARC AAA

 

[Rothrandir]

congratulations!!!

how about a surefire g2?

 

[B@rt]

Congrats!

<a href="http://www.countycomm.com/light9.htm" target="_blank">

County comm</a> has the Ultra for $15,- at the moment..

 

[pedalinbob]

ohhhhhhhhh. darn.

there are some great suggestions. i forgot about the G2 or scorpion type lights.

hmmm. i think they would get a big kick out of them (goofballs would probably spend the entire trip blinding each other...). another hmmm...i can get the brinkmann legend LX for $20 each. they also have impressive beams.

yet...i cant help but think that perhaps an LED would be best. but, im not sure they would appreciate the utility of them.

the arc aaa...definitely in the running...as is the infinity ultra.

im also considering the improved (?) version of the SL4AA7LED. it seems like it is fairly pocketable, light, good amount of light output, tough, cheap to run, long runtime, waterproof, and relatively inexpensive at around $25.
not a lot of "gee, whiz" factor, though.

darn, darn, darn...too many choices.
keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Josh]

nothing says THANKYOU! like a G2

 

[flashlightlens]

Arc AAA, G2, or Surge. These are my favorite flashlights for under $30.

If it's between the Arc AAA and the Infinity Ultra, I would choose the Arc AAA hands down.

Chris

 

[Skyline]

Hmm, at $25, the G2 makes for a pretty kick-butt gift. I know that's what I'd want.

 

[Kercheval]

The only problem for the 'normal' person with the 123 based lights is the feeding costs. Go with the Arc AAA or the Ultra. You could have the Ultra engraved and put them in a great pelican micro case like the 1010 with a few batteries.

If you want to really wow them, throw the Ultra packaging away and put the whole thing in foam you custom fit to the case and cut for the light and batteries (lithium of course). If you get the clear cases, you would have a very unique gift.

The cases would put you a little over budget.

 

[WaltH]

ARC AAA all the way. Very classy gift. Cheap to feed and small enough they'll actually carry and use it well into the future.

 

[ttran97]

Originally posted by Kercheval:
The only problem for the 'normal' person with the 123 based lights is the feeding costs.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Well, Surefire batteries are only $15 for a box of 12 on Surefire's webpage...and I'm sure they'll be even cheaper at tacticalwarehouse.com as soon as Dan gets around to changing the prices.

 

[jtivat]

Arc AAA or G2

 

[Mrd 74]

If I was in your wedding party I would want the new soon to be released Inova X1.

 

[Flotsam]

I made/purchased little "survival kits" for my groomsmen - Victorinox Trailmaster Swiss Army knife, CMG infinity, Boy Scout Hot Spark, a small emergency fishing kit made of some sewing machine bobbins & some hooks,and some basic first aid stuff. Went over real well.

 

[Sigman]

I really like Flotsam's survival kit idea and his choice of components, however to throw another possibility in there...

How about a basic EternaLight Ergo 3...OUTRAGEOUS RUNTIMES and all sorts of practical as well as "wow factors"!!

 

[bewshy]

G2......

I spend alot of time outdoors and a 123 light would be best. During the past 2 1/2 weeks I have hiked over 20 miles and my z2 and arc ls has been with me the entire way. I used the z2 most often.

I think the G2 would have been better suited to the task.

eb

 

[FC.]

E1e

 

[hokiefritz]

Congratulations!

You're really building a consensus here.

I thought the same thing as most of the posters above before even reading through. Arc AAA or G2 would be my choice, G2 being cooler. I know this is a light forum, but how about a CRKT KISS knife? They're pretty cool as a small knife and money clip. Several sizes within your price range. http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/store/crkt-kiss-series.html

Back to flashlights, an E1e is a greater starter though more than double your budget, but that's what sucked me into all of this...

 

[flashfan]

G2, and at the holidays (or birthday), throw in some SF batteries as "stocking stuffers."