I could google around but I'd rather ask you guys

[Telkwa]

I'm looking for a better LED flashlight for my wife. I bought her two Pelican Stealthlite 2410 Recoils and they work OK. However, the Pelicans' springs and trigger mechanism are fussy and poorly designed. They stop lighting up if I don't put them back together just right. And the beam is too diffused.

She uses the flashlights at work. The work environment is dirty, dusty, ill-lit, and she has to look down into 30' deep silos sometimes. Since the Pelicans don't throw a tight enough beam, they're of little use with the silos.

So here's what I need:
- Water-resistant, if not water-proof
- Able to take a beating - a lens cover that doesn't scratch easily would be a big plus
- Two or four AA Ni-MH capacity
- The tightest beam I can get with an LED.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[umc]

What's the budget? My first thought, although not AA would be a Surefire lx2.

After that a quark regular AAx2

 

[carrot]

Quark Turbo AA will meet your needs nicely.

Pick up a pack of Eneloop NiMH rechargeables and a charger and you're good to go.

 

[nathan225]

you could try a jet beam rrt 0 quark aa turbo sounds like a great idea

 

[OCD]

you could try a jet beam rrt 0 quark aa turbo sounds like a great idea

+1 on both lights :thumbsup:

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I would suggest the UK Eled zoom or streamlight propolymer 4AA LED luxeon. I think they have a tighter beam but I somehow doubt they would be anywhere as bright.

 

[bladerunner]

Check out the Fenix TK 20. Two AA and very long throw. A heavy duty light for sure.

 

[Russ/TN]

+1 for Quark.
Dereelight Javelin.

 

[Brasso]

AA round-up

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=214890

 

[nbp]

And 1000 bonus points for having the most ambiguous, yet honest, and in a way hilarious thread title of the year!


And a +1 for the TK20. You can't go wrong with most of the Fenix lineup.

 

[flashfiend]

Dereelight Javelin and nailbender drop-in.

 

[hyperloop]

30' silos? totally no problem for a Fenix TK20, tight beam with decent spill too. Can get it for just under $50 at 4sevens using the "CPF8" discount 2xAA, 2 modes changed by tightening or loosening the head and built like a tank, i dropped mine the other day, from waist height it hit the floor, then tumbled down a flight of concrete steps. No damage whatsoever, working as normal. The bright yellow rubber grip makes it easy to hold and locate as well.

 

[jjj19880922]

Yes，Fenix TK20 will be OK ,It use two 1.5V AA batteries,inexpensive and widely available, there have a long runtime .:welcome:

 

[AusKipper]

I can vouch for the TK20 as being an excellent light also.

The Fenix E20 could be OK if your on a tighter budget (though I hate the tint from mine)

Read the roundup that "Brasso" posted (selfbuilt wrote the roundup) and make you choice from there.

Its hard to suggest perfectly without a budget

The ONLY thing I dont like about my TK20 is the lack of a lower low mode, but honestly, if I want super long runtime, I have other torches for that.

 

[Jash]

As has been mentioned, the TK20 would well suit the needs described. It's one tough light with awesome throw for a 2AA light.

Quark 2AA Tactical is very similar but with more output options but probably a little less rugged.

Both have momentary ON which is a great thing if you just need to peak down, or up at something for only a few seconds.

Both have a pocket clip, though you'd need a big pocket for the TK20. It's probably the biggest 2AA light ever made. Tough though, did I say tough?

 

[Telkwa]

Wow, hey thanks for the thoughtful replies. Actually, I lost track of my own post until running a "Search". Duh

One of the first posters asked about budget.

I don't know about you folks, but I've found that too often I'll poke at the edges of a problem, trying to resolve it as cheaply as possible.

By the time I've bought five cheap devices, I've spent 3X what it woulda taken to fix the problem in the first place by going with a quality unit.

So if there are some strong recommendations from the forum members, but it costs a bit more, I'd pay for quality.

I completely agree on the battery comment. I wasted money on Duracells and Eveready Ni-MH's. Junk. Went to Thomas Dist. and bought a good Maha charger, plus a pile of Imedion's and eneloops. No problems since.

 

[AusKipper]

Well all the torches we are recommending are high quality, but still good value torches.

"poking at the edges" of the problem in this case would be finding a torch in a department store

For an expensive/premium torch your probably looking for something from the Custom section (Macs customs/Electrolumins etc), but IMO, for your needs, the extra money paid (and waiting time) probably wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Telkwa]

I ordered two TK20's from 4Sevens. Thanks for the tip about the CPF8 code - it worked.

My wife works at a coal-fired power plant. It's easy to lose stuff at work 'cause things get covered with mud. Especially when she's hosing out the chutes and conveyors. So the TK20's bright yellow housing should work great for visibility and better grip when she's wrestling a fire hose and trying to look into a chute.

Thanks, guys!

 

[bladerunner]

Let us know if they did the job...I think you will be very happy. Glad you bought two..well done!

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

30' is not that far for modern leds. I would not recommend a tight thrower as it's going to put a tiny super bright spot of light at the end/top of the silo. You want nice even light. I think a general use light such as 4Sevens AA^2, Fenix L2D, etc. will be good choices.