Help me pick a megalight

[griffenspade]

Im looking for a reasonable sized, (no larger than a 4 cell mag) flashlight That is insanely bright, Im not looking for one of those lantern style lights, It should be a flashlight. Also it should be very good build quality rugged and somewhat waterproof. O and under 200 dollars.

LED or HID

So far Im looking at the Fenix TK40, Solarforce, the oracle HID, the eagletac M2

Im leaning towards the oracle HID, because it has 2000 lumens, compared to the compitition which has around 700-900

Are there any other ones I should look at before i decide on one?

 

[Strauss]

Only thing I want to add is consider if you need or want instant on capability. The HID will take a marginal amount of time to reach full brightness, plus shouldn't be turned back on immediately after shutting off. Such action is very hard on the bulb, shortening it's lifespan if hotstriked often.

An LED setup will allow for instant on and off without having to wait for it to warm up or cool down between. Just a thought to consider.

I love my HID, I am not an HID hater at all. Just pointing out a useful note about general proper use of an HID light. You sure can't beat the brightness/throw of HID, but they are not good for short burst work.

 

[griffenspade]

Oh, Its ok if it takes a few seconds to warm up. I just want a really powerful light, Ever since I got an eagletac P10C2, I have been locked in an "arms race" with my buddies, to see who has a more powerful light. Now Im kinda into really powerful flashlights, and so is alot of others around me.

I want an HID or LED that is rugged, insanely bright and under 200 dollars.

 

[Twinkle-Plank]

HID often require costly bulb replacements and suck loads of power from the batteries and are not as efficient as led when it come to light lost from the point when the light leaves the filament to the time it reaches outside the reflector. Id personally go with the TK40 or the EagleTac M2C4. If you want rugged definitely a led.

 

[StarHalo]

Go with the HID, especially if you're in a competition situation; that single HID bulb is brighter than the entire front end of a passenger car with all its lights on, all in the palm of your hand. :thumbsup:

 

[HKJ]

A HID is small, compared to the light output, the Microfire in this picture is a 35 watt HID (i.e. 3500 lumen) and the Mag is a 2D.

 

[Patriot]

HID often require costly bulb replacements and suck loads of power from the batteries and are not as efficient as led when it come to light lost from the point when the light leaves the filament to the time it reaches outside the reflector. Id personally go with the TK40 or the EagleTac M2C4. If you want rugged definitely a led.

The bulbs can be costly but usually last over 2000 hours. For the person who uses it once a day for an hour it would last about six years

Yes it's true that some of them use more power but a typical 35W HID produces about 85 lumens per watt. That's actually more efficient than many LED's.

Yes, there's about a 25% reflection loss instead of 15% or there abouts with LED but the difference isn't that great. You're talking about 2800 lumens for an hour versus 630 lumens for an hour with the HID. There's not comparison performance wise!

If you don't mind the warm up time and you're trying to get something extremely bright, then HID is the only way to go. The HID throw factor is about 4X that of a P7 or MC-E LED.

 

[Twinkle-Plank]

So i take it this light will be used to "show off" mainly HID is the way to go unless you like drooping expensive devices.

 

[ANDREAS FERRARI]

Oh, Its ok if it takes a few seconds to warm up. I just want a really powerful light, Ever since I got an eagletac P10C2, I have been locked in an "arms race" with my buddies, to see who has a more powerful light.

If your locked in an arms race than a HID is 'da bomb'!!!Unless one of your friends finds the Incan forum and builds a MAG633.Than your toast!

 

[Gunner12]

Get a HID light. It might take a bit to warm up but it will be much brighter then the instant on LED lights.

 

[griffenspade]

OK then whats a good rugged, superbright HID for under 200 dollars

 

[griffenspade]

Whats a MAG 633

 

[supasizefries]

This should give you some ideas.

 

[rmteo]

Take a look at the $70 Stanley HID here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=225844

 

[dudemar]

PM sent to griffenspade.:wave: