Help me pick a new light

[Bernie O]

I have been looking for a new very bright led flashlight with good throw. The new "c" lights sound good for my price range. But I would like to stay with "aa" size batteries. There is a light at Ledwholesalers. # 7217BK. 3 Watt Cree LED Flashlight 3 AA

Does anyone have one of these lights? Any opininon as to how good it might be.

 

[Lighthouse one]

Bernie, welcome to the forum. Do lots of reading about various lights- check out the dealers and sellers. You should consider the 123a lights. They have more power, and a lot more choices in lights. You said a "very bright" light. Now, there are some very bright lights that use a (2) AA set-up, but sometimes they are not very well constructed and don't have the heat sink capacity that slightly larger lights do. Very bright also means- a lot of power...heat ...to get rid of.

Check out some of the Lumapower lights. D-mini and the M1 are two good models.. THe new D-mini has a high/low tailcap, 2 reflectors, and an 18650 extension tube. A very powerful and versatile combination. THere are many others too.

Good luck hunting.

 

[Campdavid]

Bernie,

It's funny you should ask....it is just a bit foggy outside my house tonight so I was out goofing around with a few of my lights and was comparing the throw on my D-Mini to my SL Pro Poly. If you want a surprisingly bright led flashlight that takes 4 AAs, go for the Streamlight Pro Poly (make sure to get the one with the single led). If you so a search on this site, you will find a ton of info. It is a very well liked light for many good reasons. For the price (you can pick one up for under $35) it is really tough to beat. Super bright, looooong run time, very durable.

As for the comparison results, very close indeed. The D-Mini beats the Pro Poly by a very small margin.

 

[Gunner12]

If you can spend $40-45, you could buy the WF-606 if you want AA powered, RCR123 3.7v rechargeable batteries(Or 2 18650 batteries, more runtime but less throw) and charger. The WF-600 is one of the best throwers under $50.

I do not have one of the light you mentioned so I can't comment on quality or brightness.

 

[Bernie O]

Thanks to the folks that took the time to reply to my post.

Bernie O

 

[john46268]

Consider AA powered lights. You can buy AA's in every kwiki-mart in the universe... and cheaply too. Avoid those that use 3 batteries. They usually run directly to the LED without a regulating circuit and are cheaply made. If it uses one or two cells, it must have some circuit to boost the voltage enough to run an LED. i.e. one cell and two cell lights are good

 

[Bernie O]

To John46268

A bit off subject, but are you saying all flashlights with three batteries are bad or just " aa" lights are ??

Thinking of the three "c" flashlight everyone seems to be talking about.