Help a noob choose flashlight!

[PeakyBlinders]

Hi everyone!

I'm really new to the whole flashlight community and market. But I'm looking for a good "beginner flashlight" so to say! My birthday is really soon and I'd like to invest in a really good flashlight, preferably within the a price range of 0-230 dollars. I'd really like a compact flashlight so it can with in my pocket for casual carry. I'm new to terms like "throw" and "flood" which I've seen a lot around here. It doesn't need to light up ridiculous distances ahead of me, but also decent. It would be awesome if it were really bright too, since I'll be in the forest a lot.

I've looked at the Olight R50 Seeker but someone said that the turbo output only lasted them 2minutes.
"-full power or turbo mode (2500 lumens) only last 2 minutes than switches to 800 lumens"

I've been looking at the Klarus G20 or XT11GT too! They both look good.

Anyways, I would really appreciate some help by you guys in choosing my first ever flashlight. Thanks a lot.


Please excuse me if this is the wrong sub forum to post this thread or something like that

 

[ven]

:welcome:

Bare in mind 2500lm for only 2m is a lot of output in a fairly compact body(would be pushing it for EDC though being a 26650 size), for example the Fenix pd35 at around 1000lm will step down after 3m as one example. Look at the other modes, ones that you will use the most as turbo/burst modes are just that, a quick burst of bright light and not meant for long duration's(like a bonus/fun/grin mode). 800lm is quite an output to sustain for this size of light, and what sounds like a big drop is not too noticeable to the eye!

For a compact light and one to carry easy, look at the HDS options, not the highest of outputs, but solid/dependable and for EDC type uses usually 200lm or so can cover most of it. There is also malkoff to look at, variety of fuel fed host options and drop ins to cater for most needs.

Basically your not going to get a pocket light that will sustain any high output for a long period, heat will say NO WAY. If you want 2500lm for any period of time, it would need to be a larger 4 cell light with more mass to help heat dissipation.

 

[TCY]

Welcome:welcome:

For "casual carry", the two lights you are interested might not be compact enough. But if you have done the research and think they are perfectly pocketable for you, who am I to stop you eh?

If you have to choose between the two, refer to the quick drawing below. R50 is the floodier light, gives you a wider angle of light but doesn't throw as far. XT11GT throws farther but with a narrower beam angle. (numbers are made up)

As Ven suggests, there are lights better suited for EDC than the two lights you picked.

 

[PeakyBlinders]

Thanks to both of you!

Is the Nitecore TM03 anything to recommend? It's really compact and from their website, seems really bright!

On the XT11GT it says that it's "constant 2000lm"? What does this mean?

Also what are the main differences between the G20 and the XT11GT? I read on some thread that their lumen outputs are "Klarus lumen", basically that it's a bunch of lies.

 

[PeakyBlinders]

:welcome:

Bare in mind 2500lm for only 2m is a lot of output in a fairly compact body(would be pushing it for EDC though being a 26650 size), for example the Fenix pd35 at around 1000lm will step down after 3m as one example. Look at the other modes, ones that you will use the most as turbo/burst modes are just that, a quick burst of bright light and not meant for long duration's(like a bonus/fun/grin mode). 800lm is quite an output to sustain for this size of light, and what sounds like a big drop is not too noticeable to the eye!

For a compact light and one to carry easy, look at the HDS options, not the highest of outputs, but solid/dependable and for EDC type uses usually 200lm or so can cover most of it. There is also malkoff to look at, variety of fuel fed host options and drop ins to cater for most needs.

Basically your not going to get a pocket light that will sustain any high output for a long period, heat will say NO WAY. If you want 2500lm for any period of time, it would need to be a larger 4 cell light with more mass to help heat dissipation.

Thank you! These turbo modes, if they only last for 2min, how long would I need to wait to reactive the turbo mode or do I need to recharge the flashlight?

 

[ven]

Excellent!!!

 

[chaosdsm]

It would be awesome if it were really bright too, since I'll be in the forest a lot.

Light bouncing back from 2500 lumens can be blindingly bright to the user at close distances, while 800 lumens from a decent flood will light up everything 30 - 50 feet in front of you almost like early sunrise daylight. You might check out the Klarus RS18, or even the Klarus Mi7.

Mi7 is super compact & light weight, using either a standard AA battery for up to 300 lumens when you don't need as much light, or a Lithium Ion 14500 battery for up to 700 lumens when you need more light & longer range. While the RS18 uses protected 18650's & gives more usable distance (165m vs 110m), more runtime @ max output, & up to 900 lumens, but is bigger, heavier, & double the cost.

 

[Poppy]

When looking at the advertised beam distance, take that with a grain of salt.
Advertised distances are the point where the light will be down to 0.25 lux

At 100 meters, you won't SEE 0.25 lux. At 1 lux, you'll see that it hits something, but to make anything out you may really need four lux.

For example the Klarus RS18 states:

• Peak Beam Intensity: 6902cd
• Max Beam Distance: 165 meters

Divide that by two, or better yet, divide by four, and you'll get a really usable distance (four lux on target)
41 meters (about 120 feet).

To compare and contrast different lights capabilities calculate the square root of the cd, and that will give you the distance in meters, that you will get 1 lux. IF you divide that number by 2, you'll know how far in meters you will get a very usable beam of 4lux.

---------------------------
If they only list the beam distance, you can divide by 2, and then square that number to get the cd.

 

[Dave D]

For casual EDC carry check out these

Malkoff M61Hot MD2 with the High/Low ring as an option ($165).

Zebralight SC63w 18650 XHP35 ($85).