Help me out here :)

[ooopretty]

As you can see im new to the flashlight scene, heck i didnt even know it existed! but heres my question:

What is the brightest yet relatively inexpensive, LED or other, handheld pocket flashlight? If thats too hard of a question to answer, what is the best bang for the buck handheld flashlight?


Thanks Guys!


~Nick

 

[tdurand]

Hey welcome to the boards
Try searching for the Fenix brand. The P1 is a nice little light. They have a good entry-level selection of sizes.
Then move directly onto the McGizmo PD, any type. You'll be happier
T

 

[ScooterBug]

i don't think you can beat the Fenix brand. also there are some nice lights on deal extreme. do a serch and you will find a lot of answers, oh, and welcome to the forum and the insanity.

 

[vic2367]

first welcome to the forums ,,,and yes id have too agree with the fenix lights,,,they are great leds and at very good prices,,,fenix l2d-ce = great light ,,

 

[Patriot]

Welcome ooopretty! I think it would be very hard to beat and L2D-CE. Here is a link to the Fenix-Store http://fenix-store.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=195&reviews_id=94&osCsid=2cc88bd03c6326889ed91cc5eadf1fa3

 

[ooopretty]

On dealextreme, what are some good lights?

 

[jumpstat]

Welcome ooopretty to CPF. Many brands, many designs, various prices to suit one's applications. Look around and read up, can't find the answers then there is always members here willing to help. Fenix's a good start....so is Pelicans....or Inovas....look also at rechargeable options and the B/S/T section for deals...

 

[analogguy]

My $.02...Lumapower D-Mini or M1. May cost a bit more, but I think they are worth it for quality and workmanship. Their customer service is also second to none. Hi Ricky!

 

[ooopretty]

I think ill go with the Fenix P3D, it looks really nice. It says it uses 2x cr123a batteries yet its pictured with two duricells?

 

[ooopretty]

I think ill go with the Fenix P3D, it looks really nice. It says it uses 2x cr123a batteries yet its pictured with two duricells?

Well, i went ahead with the L2D-CE, mainly because of the brightness and that i can use standered AA batteries. Good deal, cant wait for it to come!

 

[Trashman]

Welcome, ooopretty!

I can't wait to hear what you think of your new light, when it arives.

 

[ooopretty]

Thanks again for the warm welcome guys!

 

[Gunner12]

Don't forget you can also buy the P2D-CE or L1D-CE body if you want a more compact light.

Welcome to CPF!

 

[Strauss]

Good first purchase! You will be very happy with your L2D-CE....and you can tell all your non-flashoholic friends that it's brighter than a 6D Mag :naughty:

I would suggest you look into the Fenix LOD-CE for your next purchase. If you have the extra money, you could buy a Draco instead. Either one puts out a ton of "wow factor". When ran on li-ion cells, both the LOD-CE and the Draco are brighter than the L2D-CE...at a fraction of the size.

Here is a picture of a few of my lights. You will see the L2D-CE standing on the left, with the chrome Draco standing in front of it.

Here is a white-wall comparison of the two lights, Draco is on the right.

The LOD-CE runs about $50, while the Draco will set you back about $200 all said and done(batteries, etc...).

 

[MikeSalt]

Almost certainly going to be a Fenix. Just depends what batteries you want to be using.

CR123A Lithium; P1D-CE
AAA; L0D-CE
AA x 1; L1D-CE
AA x 2; L2D-CE

Either way, look for the '-CE' designation. This means that it is fitted with the revolutionary, high power, high efficiency CREE X-RE 7090 LED. Also of note, the L1D-CE head and L2D-CE head are actually identical, so you can interchange between the two body sizes.

Recently available are the P2D-CE and P3D-CE, but I do not know enough about them to comment.

 

[AyeMayanor]

I think ill go with the Fenix P3D, it looks really nice. It says it uses 2x cr123a batteries yet its pictured with two duricells?

CR123A is not a brand, it is a size.

The ones pictured with the P3D are Duracell brand 123A batteries

PS. If you like that you might want to get an L1DCE or L2DCE because they use easy to find/cheaper AA batteries.

 

[LG&M]

All I have to add is try not to wast your time & money on cheep lights like some of us (ME) did. move right on to to the better then average light. Fenix is a good place to start. Also realize no matter what you get you will want something new.

 

[ooopretty]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up for me (about the batteries). I was also wondering if there was a glossery of terms that are commenly used among the flashlight elite? For example of does CREE stand for?


God i can see you guys cracking up right now

 

[Alteran]

Cree is a LED manufacturer. Until recently Lumileds (another LED company), the makers of Luxeon LEDs, ruled the "power LED" market. However, late last year, Cree released the Xlamp 7090 XR-E, a new power LED, with aound twice the efficiency of a Luxeon III LED. Other LED manufacturers such as Seoul Semiconductor (SSC) and Edison have used the Cree die (you need to understand how white LEDs work for this part) to make their own LEDs, namely the P4 and the Edixeon. I think that's what they are called, but don't put money on it. So basically, Cree has revolutionized LED flashlights, making it possible to have a 1-cell light with the same runtime and brightness as a Xenon incandescent 3-cell, or Luxeon 2-cell light.

Woo-hoo!

 

[ooopretty]

Sounds prett impressive. Im also impressed with Fenix, they already shipped the light, now thats good service