Good flood/decent thrower

[stacy]

Hi everyone I just joined so please forgive me if this has been asked. Price is not a real issue here but I do a lotta night hiking with some buddy's of mine. Most of the hikes are on trails in the woods. Are there any decent lights u can think of that maybe have a nice balance of flood and throw? i don't need anything as far as throwing more than 200 feet tops. But would love a fairly wide covered area.

 

[konut]

Hi Stacy,
Welcome to CPF. :welcome: The lack of responses to your question result from your lack of specifics. Do you have a particular type of battery in mind? Size requirement? etc... Having said that, I'd recommend the MG PLI Cree MC-E 700 Lumens Compact Flashlight. You can read about it here
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=194757
available through
http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-136/**NEW**-MG-PLI-Cree/Detail
A tremendous amount of light. I really like mine.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

A Deerelight DBS with the MC-E emitter will do what you want. I really like the modular upgradable design of the Deerelight that allows you to change the flashlight's characteristics by swapping reflectors, emitters, battery tubes, etc. You can buy one flashlight and then only buy small parts to change it to suit your needs.

 

[HKJ]

Hi everyone I just joined so please forgive me if this has been asked. Price is not a real issue here but I do a lotta night hiking with some buddy's of mine. Most of the hikes are on trails in the woods. Are there any decent lights u can think of that maybe have a nice balance of flood and throw? i don't need anything as far as throwing more than 200 feet tops. But would love a fairly wide covered area.

Check these two beamshots collections:
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshot 22 2009-09 UK.html

http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshot 24 2009-08 UK.html


There you can the light from many different flashlights.

 

[Gunner12]

Are you looking for a thrower light with lots of spill? or a floody light that throws further. I'm always annoyed when people refer to spill as flood, it confuses things.

I'm persuming that you want a decent thrower which also has a good amount of spill. 200ft is within the range for many of the lights here. Many single AA lights can reach that far.

Remember that you won't need a ton of light when out in the woods because of how dark it is.

I think a 2 AA light, like the Fenix LD20 or Quark AA^2, might work well for you. Multimode so you can use a lower output for runtime and when you don't need much light, and higher output to help you see further.

The above post is pretty helpful with the beamshots.

:welcome:

 

[stacy]

TY so far for the answers given. I like aa lights but am not objectionable to other battery types. Clarifying , I would like a decent thrower not a super one but one that provides an emphasis on more spill than a long narrow spot. I would much rather have something that lit as much of the first 100 feet ahead of me than narrow throw beam. Hope that clarifies it.

 

[stacy]

Sorry about the quick follow up post. I appreciate the reccomendation on the MG PLI mc-e. One of the links has pics of a nice wide throw at 32 feet ---that's the kinda spill i am lookin for. Any other light that are in this ballpark?

 

[old4570]

Any SSC P7 ....

Any Cree R2 ..

But consider , what batteries etc .. Once you decide on power source , then decide on price , then size . And then you may wish to reconsider .

1 x AA , = I just dont know .
2 x AA = Good performance is available from this combo
1 x CR123A = 200Lumens and then some , dont need to spend a lot of money
2 x CR123A = Read up on Li-ion safety
1 x 18650 = Best Rechargeable option ATM [ In my opinion ]

Most importantly , consider your needs , and not other peoples needs .

 

[hyperloop]

i'd say go for a Zebralight H60 headlamp (running on a 18650), that leaves your hands free and it's definitely capable of flooding to the distance you require, I was going to suggest the H501 (which runs on a single AA) but im not too sure if it can hit the distance you need except while running on high which may decrease runtime, hence the recommendation for the 18650 H60.

Get that and another light, i'd suggest a Fenix TK20 (fenixoutfitters.com is having a package deal on the Fenix TK20 bundled with a Fenix E01 for an additional $1) as that is a tough, warm tinted light with high and low modes a runs on 2xAAs.

you can see the beamshots for the TK20 here and also compare the beamshots for other lights as well.

the H60 beamshots are also available there as well as the H501.

In those beamshot pictures, the first bottle is 25m (approx 75ft) away which is why i dont think the H501 suits your needs, but a combination of the H501 for near flooding and having the TK20 available for throwing a bit further may suit your needs.

cheers

 

[fishx65]

Solarforce L2 1,3 or 5 mode R2 with a couple of 18650's and a charger would fit the bill nicely. The R2 has a very nice mix of flood and throw. I just got my 1st 18650's and they ROCK! This combo is very inexpensive but awesome. I paid $25.00 for the L2 with R2 dropin, $9.00 for two 18650's and $8.00 for the charger. 42 smackers for a really nice setup!

 

[waddup]

Solarforce L2 1,3 or 5 mode R2 with a couple of 18650's and a charger would fit the bill nicely. The R2 has a very nice mix of flood and throw. I just got my 1st 18650's and they ROCK! This combo is very inexpensive but awesome. I paid $25.00 for the L2 with R2 dropin, $9.00 for two 18650's and $8.00 for the charger. 42 smackers for a really nice setup!

from where?

 

[hyperloop]

from where?

could it be www.solarforcelights.com

the newbie ready to run package is going for $39.99

 

[fishx65]

from where?

Picked up the L2 from the Solarforce store, 2 protected red/black Trustfire 18650's and a charger (sku 6105) from DX. This cheap little charger got good reviews and has been working perfect for me. It always charges to 4.19 and stops even if I forget to unplug it.

 

[jankj]

200 feet (~60 yards) is easy when it's dark (a urban or semi-urban environment is much harder because you are blinded by all the light sources). Any good AA / 2*AA light should do that easily.

Consider fenix L1D/L2D, particular the L2D (it has just that more "punch" that the single AA version). I love both of them. The fenix l1d/l2d has a bright but rather large bright hotspot and a soft transition between the spill and the hotspot. At high or turbo, the L2D will lit up basically everything between you and out to say 300 feet, give or take a little. Now if only the fenix L2D was available in neutral tint... If it were, I would say it would be PERFECT for the use you describe. Of course, a light running an MC-E at full steam will flood a wider area, but it may not be the perfect runtime/performance compromise for a hiking trip.


The quark has a smaller hotspot that reaches farther. Being accustomed to fenix, I thought I would find the hotspot too small for general use, but I don't. In fact, I am surprised how useful it is. This is probably in part because I have the neutral tint emitter, which is more pleasing to use and less glaring, in particular out in the woods. I got this light just a couple of weeks ago and need to use it more before passing final judgment, but so far I am extremely pleased. The ultra-low mode is extremely useful when you need some light, but want to preserve night vision.


OK, that's the positives. Here's the negatives of both lights:
Fenix LD-series:
- Bright flash when you turn the light on
- Low should be A LOT lower. 10 lumens is blindingly bright when out in the woods.
- No neutral / warm white version available.

Quarks:
- Hot spot could be a tad larger for your application (but it will work OK).

 

[Cataract]

Welcome to CPF :wave:

Maybe you need an easier answer... any Quark of Fenix with one or two AA or CR123 should meet your expectations nicely. I strongly recommend 2 cells for hiking purposes: more power and more light time. Don't forget spare batteries.

One word of caution: you joined here, so you'll be spending much more money than you expect on lights. I suggest you try a neutral/warm emitter on the second light you buy so you won't switch around after spending too much. The warm color makes it so much easier to see the path properly.