Help & advice,,,

[themadplumbarian]

Hello, im new at this site, but have a some what idea about flashlights, heres my question, i have a couple of flashlights, surefire G2 @65, SP @65, SP defender @120, and the new SP-LED @80 lumens, all of the lights above are great, but im tired of killing batteries, and draining my wallet, i only get an hour out of them except the SF @120, that you only get 25min, and the new SP-LED that says 11hours. i was told these are the best, but have been doing some research, and have looked into, Jetbeam, Hellfighter, and Dereelight? all of these are suppost to crank out more lumens and only take AA's? i cant seem to get enough info on them, basicly im looking for a good, bright, longer lasting, light that will take re-chargable batteries, so i dont have to keep waisting $$$ on the cr123's!!! with the lights above i swapped out the defenders bulb with the sp-led's and made a nice little setup, but i guess im greedy and want something better? any suggestions? thanks

 

[Gunner12]

Well, you can look at this thread. It has many LED drop-ins that will fit the P60 type module lights. You can also buy rechargeable batteries for the drop-ins.

The 6PL and G2L are rated at 11 hours for useable light, regulated output is around 3-4 hours.

None of the Dereelignts use the AA battery. Hellfire is a Surefire HID light. There are some Jetbeams that can use AA batteries.

Also look at Fenix lights. The L2D-CE Q5 might be a good addition. 8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8"

Also look in the reviews section for reviews(and use the search to find more).

What is your:
Price range?
Size preference?
Output preference?
Multimode?
Battery preference?
Beam pattern preference?

:welcome:

 

[themadplumbarian]

i know the hellfire is from surefire, but is way out of price range, $6000. for a flashlight is a bit much? but who wouldnt want one,,, it is the hellfighter, by dark-ops, on there page the say it has a rechargable but i cant find it, as far as range goes.
What is your:
Price range, hum, well definetly not $6000!
Size preference, personal size, 6" x 1 1/4"
Output preference, high output, above 100lumens
Multimode, a plus, just not 15 settings
Battery preference, preferably re-chargable,
Beam pattern preference, tight beam.
The fenix-t1, is looking pretty good, ive never herd of them? that with a recharging system would be pretty much what im after,,, any other suggestions?

 

[BSCOTT1504]

:welcome: If you want to use RCR 123's with your 6P and 6PD you might look into Lumens Factory lamps! Several of their lamps can be used with rechargeables for guilt free lumens. You might not increase run-times by much but at least you won't be spending a bunch on primaries. The Lighthound sells LF lamps.....:thumbsup:

 

[Dantor]

Welcome to CPF!

for last and brightness and re-chargeable's (eneloops) +1 on the L2D, (accent) "es sweeeet"

 

[divine]

The cheapest route might just be to run your Surefire LED light with rechargeables.

I don't know about all of the surefire lights, so I just checked their site and I don't see a light called SP, but 80 lumens and 11 hours are the typical surefire LED specs. Do you mean a 6P?

 

[joema]

Thread (not definitive) about which Surefire LED lights work with rechargeables: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2290405

You could try 2x AW RCR123A cells and Ultrafire charger for your Surefire LED lights. Inquire specifically before purchasing, stating the exact flashlight model and what batteries/charger you are considering. Unfortunately these things aren't standardized and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Two other good options are the Fenix L2D CE Q5, which runs off 2x AA alkaline, NiMH, or Energizer lithiums: http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3121.

Personally I like the Fenix P3D Q5, which is a bit shorter and can run off 2x AW-brand RCR123A rechargeable cells: http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3133

They are a bit slippery, which you can fix with heat shrink tubing, athletic "grip" tape, etc.

Or the Fenix T1 which has similar output and a knurled finish. Unfortunately no "low" or really dim mode: http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3129

 

[jugg2]

Lumens Factory and rechargeables are the way to go! Your runtime may only be 30-45 minutes, but I always keep spares on me, and, to borrow the phrase, "it is guilt free lumens". What more could you want?

 

[Gunner12]

My choice, since you already have Surefires(Metal body?) is to buy RCR123 batteries, and use a LED drop-in(look in the first link in my post above).

Fenix has been around for quite a while, I'm surprise you haven't read about then when you signed up. The T1 is relatively new, released the end of last year.

 

[themadplumbarian]

ok, so if i went with the Fenix-T1, it has a Input voltage 3.3 - 8.4 volts, i can go ahead and get a charging system, because the voltage goes to 3.6v per cell, so it would spike it to 7.2v, and with the input above it allows such, now my Surefire, 6p-led i could do the same? it didnt show any specs on it. as far as my other surefires there incandescent, they would burn out? i like the Fenix T1 because it has two settings, a long runtime, and a very high output if needed, and if you can put a charging system in it, that would be perfect.

 

[divine]

A charged 3.6 volt battery actually goes up to 4.2 volts. The surefire modules say they take up to 9 volts.

 

[Monocrom]

You might want to check out Wolf-Eyes. The form factor of their lights are similar to some Surefire models, but they do rechargeables very well.

Check out the two links below:

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/

http://www.wolf-eyes.com/

(Be patient with the 2nd link. Their official website takes time to load and isn't always up to date).

A couple of other things....

Anything made by Dark-Ops is a potential headache down the road. There's a reason why some of us refer to the company as Dork-Ops.

Surefire, and a tiny handful of other companies, measure lumen output where it counts; out the front of the light. Most companies measure output at the emitter. The problem?.... Once the head is attached, lumen output goes down! Emitter lumens are always brighter than out-the-front lumens. With Surefire, you get real lumens numbers. With other companies, you get what the light is capable of putting out.... if the head wasn't attached. Surefire's lumens numbers also tend to be conservative. A Surefire light putting out 65 lumens = At least 65 lumens, maybe a bit more. With other companies, a good rule of thumb is to subtract 1/3 from their lumens numbers, inorder to get a more accurate measurement. (Sometimes more than 1/3).

Here's one example of what I mean:
Streamlight UltraStinger = Rated at 295 lumens (at the emitter). = Closer to 160 lumens out the front, after the head is attached.

Why do other light companies measure output at the emitter?.... I have no clue. Maybe to hype up the performance of their lights. Maybe because nearly every other company does so as well. To me, it's a widespread practice that is completely retarded. The only ones who should be measuring lumen output at the emitter, are companies that only make replacement lamps. (Like Lumens Factory).

 

[Gunner12]

There is a circuit in the T1 that lowers the voltage to the correct level of the LED(around 3.7v). It can handle up to 12v.

The 6PL can also handle 2 RCR123 batteries.

 

[jumpstat]

IMO, try to get Leef Body 2x18650 or 1x18650 C-C or C-M and then from there work out how much output you need. The leef bodies are very high quality bodies that fit the 18650 protected cells that are 2.2Ah and can drive multiple incan bulbs such as the MN11 in a Z46, P91 in a C2 bezel etc.

Go to the incan section of this forum and look at the sticky and you can find the rechargeable compatibility chart.......that's where I look end ended up with this.....

These M-Series lego uses rechargeables - " GUILT FREE LUMENS"

 

[joema]

There is a circuit in the T1 that lowers the voltage to the correct level of the LED(around 3.7v). It can handle up to 12v...

This is the dilemma. The T1 is a tough, very powerful light that costs $69. A Leef body alone is nearly that price. I have an 18650 Leef body for my U2 -- it's great and very high quality.

However every other solution must compare to the T1 + rechargeables. Some are a little cheaper -- I just modified an E2E with a Lumens Factory lamp and AW 17670 cell. Total cost was about $58 (not inc'l shipping).

By contrast you could buy a new T1 for $69. It's true you must add the cost of 2x AW protected RCR123As and recharger (about $34).

I love SureFire lights, but in general I'd suggest the T1 + rechargeables.