long throw for moderate money

[mahlapress]

Hi.
I looked, but didn't quite find the answer. There are so many lights out there and so much information. I've been looking for couple of day now and thought it's about time to ask for help.
I want a flashlight to use in photography to aid my camera to focus in the dark. For that I need a spot of light and sometimes quite far away.
For now I have found one light that should suite me and that is Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA Luxeon.
I was also wondering why manufacturers do not recommend to use rechargeable elements in them? Does the lower voltage damage the light?
Regards,
Mahlapress

 

[Sarratt]

To your second question ... using Eneloops in your ProPoly Luxeon will be fine. Better than fine really.

I'm also looking for a moderately priced light that throws a bit more than my Propoly or Fenix L2d Q5

 

[Chrontius]

IMHO, the Energizer Dolphin/ WeatherReady lantern, with a 4-cell MagnumStar Xenon bulb throws like a laser beam. At ranges longer than ... oh, 25-50 feet, it is head and shoulders better than my ROP-Hi with a MOP reflector. In even slight haze, it looks like a car-dealership searchlight you hold in your hand, and I'd say its effective range is in hundreds of feet, conservatively. That bulb and the Mk5 Dolphin reflector match like they were made for each other.

You can put this together for around $9.50 if the Dolphin is $6.50 like it was at Big Lots recently; the bulb is around $3.

 

[tarponbill]

IMHO -- One of the best cheap throwers with a decent beam is the Lowes Task Force CREE 2C light. It's about $30 at Lowes. I use this on my boat at night and it does throw the light out. It's my handheld spotting light. Lately the Husky 4 Watt 2D has come out and it throws better, but the beam leaves something to desire according to some reports here. It's probably brighter than the TF.

The Coleman 2AA CREE from Walmart is also a decent light for the money. Good beam, not as much throw as the TF, but more floody and could be more useful dependeing on what you need.

I tend to buy cheap, and try before stepping up. So far I haven't had the need to step up, but never know.

I generally use Eneloop AA rechargeable cells, sleeved in the TF, for knock around use, and AA lithiums for real situations or out in the boat or car -- you never know when the breakdown will occur, or how long the light needs to operate.

 

[hyperloop]

Go for the Aurora WF-600 2 mode, you can get it off DX for less than $40.00, runs on 18650 cells and fits RCR123s (using 2 x 3.7v RCR123s in mine). Throws a heckuva long way (note the technical terms)

Bundled with an Ultrafire WF-139 and 2 x 18650 cells it'll come up to about $60.00

 

[Wyeast]

How far are you looking to throw? 50', just about any K2/Seoul/Cree based light will do. (I use a Coleman MAX or Inova Bolt for work, and my camera focuses fine with either)

100', either a Task Force Cree 2C or Husky 4W 2D, depending on how portable of a light you want. (The Husky is considerably larger/bulkier) I posted a couple of beamshots against a tree at 100-120' in this thread for comparison)

Beyond 100', I think the Husky'd make it out to 200' pretty easy with a useable spot. Dunno if the camera will focus that far tho'.

Hope that helps!

 

[mahlapress]

Thanks for the feedback. I forgot to mention that i do not live in the US. Nevertheless thanks for the info. I did some digging myself for one more day and one thing has caught my eye: Olight T25. Supposed to be a tight beam with good throw?
The flashlight can't be very big because I have my hands full with other stuff. And it doesn't need to light up the night to guide me home. I can see pretty good in the dark but my camera doesn't.
So any more ideas for 2xAA or 2xCR123A powered lights would be welcome. Any bigger would get in the way.

 

[Gunner12]

How far is "long throw"?
100+ meters?
What size is good(larger reflector means more throw)?

The Olight T25 might be running out of steam at those distances. The Fenix TK20 has a bit more throw then the T25. The warmer LED might help with color rendering but I don't thing that would be too important here.

The best thrower at around $40 is probably the Aurora WF-600.

:welcome:

 

[KiwiMark]

Thanks for the feedback. I forgot to mention that i do not live in the US. Nevertheless thanks for the info. I did some digging myself for one more day and one thing has caught my eye: Olight T25. Supposed to be a tight beam with good throw?
The flashlight can't be very big because I have my hands full with other stuff. And it doesn't need to light up the night to guide me home. I can see pretty good in the dark but my camera doesn't.
So any more ideas for 2xAA or 2xCR123A powered lights would be welcome. Any bigger would get in the way.

The Olight M20 is supposed to have a throw of 250 yards, 2 x CR123A powered and 230 lux on the standard or 250 on the premium. The standard version is only US$15 dearer than the T25 and still fairly small & light.

 

[mahlapress]

How far is "long throw"?
100+ meters?
What size is good(larger reflector means more throw)?

The Olight T25 might be running out of steam at those distances. The Fenix TK20 has a bit more throw then the T25. The warmer LED might help with color rendering but I don't thing that would be too important here.

The best thrower at around $40 is probably the Aurora WF-600.

:welcome:

Thanks. The Aurora's size looks acceptable but anything bigger wouldn't do right now. I have enough photography gear to drag along. And to be perfectly clear I would use the light to only focus my camera not to illuminate the shot.
I didn't find reliable info on how far away would you see the spotlight of that model. Someone said even more that 400 meters (don't believe it). More believable is the claim of over 200 meters. That would be enough for now I think.
Some questions on the Aurora that I didn't find in reviews. Can I use CR123 size accus in it or only 18650? If I need to buy protected 18650's and a charger that would amount to a lot more than 40 bucks. Rechargeables would be a must, no batteries.
Right now I am on AA size but it doesn't seem to be that powerful throwers feeding on those.
In reviews people were also a little concerned about quality of Aurora. Someones light was stuck on high, other one was missing high function. Would that be an issue?
Can you change the reflector in it? For what I read it could use a smoother one.
Thanks.
Mahlapress

 

[UpChUcK]

Tiablo A9 is ~$50-60 (USD). Still available but just watch out for the clones.

 

[mahlapress]

Tiablo A9 is ~$50-60 (USD). Still available but just watch out for the clones.

I'm beginning to think in the same lines. Maybe Rapidfire Spear.
One question thou: what is the best throw in 2XAA size? And how far would that be? I'm just not sure I want to use 18650 cells but they seem to have the most bang.

 

[UpChUcK]

I'm beginning to think in the same lines. Maybe Rapidfire Spear.
One question thou: what is the best throw in 2XAA size? And how far would that be? I'm just not sure I want to use 18650 cells but they seem to have the most bang.

I really can't think of any 2xAA thowers per say, but some 2xAA lights that have respectable throw. The Olight T25 and the EagleTac P10A2 come to mind. Not up to A9 spec but could be acceptable for you. Also, if you wanna go with a single 123 cell, the JetBeam Jet II IBS is quite impressive.

 

[mahlapress]

Raidfire (not Rapidfire Spear is discontinued and I just started liking it. Dang.
How to distinguish between original and clone Tiablo? At least they seem to be in business.

If I order a couple of AW 18650 2200mAH cells from the manufacturers corner and a Pila IBC charger I should be OK? I mean I have no experience with those cells and I don't want anything to blow up in my hands. I've read the basic stuff on them.
One question about UltraFire WF-139 charger. Does it have safety in it to cut the charging when cells are full? If it does then this would be as good as Pila?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=170131
Any new information to add to that thread?

I remember reading Tiablo being optimized for 18650. Is that correct?

 

[UpChUcK]

Raidfire (not Rapidfire Spear is discontinued and I just started liking it. Dang.
How to distinguish between original and clone Tiablo? At least they seem to be in business.

If I order a couple of AW 18650 2200mAH cells from the manufacturers corner and a Pila IBC charger I should be OK? I mean I have no experience with those cells and I don't want anything to blow up in my hands. I've read the basic stuff on them.
One question about UltraFire WF-139 charger. Does it have safety in it to cut the charging when cells are full? If it does then this would be as good as Pila?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=170131
Any new information to add to that thread?

I remember reading Tiablo being optimized for 18650. Is that correct?

How to spot a fake Tiablo A9

The A9 is actually optimized for 2x123. The output is higher and has flatter regulation than with 18650 though 18650 will give better runtime. Check out the runtime graphs.

I do not have experience with 18650's yet, so I can not comment with expertise. Should be OK though. AW's are good cells from what I've read. As far as the Ultrafire charger, Li-Ion chargers stop charging when full (someone correct me if I wrong). They have some kind of peak-detect circuit.

 

[adamlau]

Your answer for a moderately priced solution is is a CL1H v4 w/ a 1.2A R2 WC + AW 18650.

 

[mahlapress]

Tiablo is discontinued and clones are everywhere.

I decided that the best thing is Dereelight DBS. At first I couldn't get a handle on them because everybody was telling a different story. Finally I figured out - it's a LEGO. What I read form the manufacturer's corner Dereelight thread they ship worldwide.
Dereelight DBS V2 Cree XR-E Q5 3SD with smooth reflector. What is the upgrade to R2? Brighter led?

 

[UpChUcK]

The DBS is a great choice! :thumbsup:

I see you updated your budget . The DBS is a better thower than the A9, though not by a significant amount, and it should be @ 2X the cost. But I can see why you'd be cautious about getting an A9. I actually plan on getting a DBS in the near future.

Enjoy the light!

 

[owner]

Maybe I had bad luck. I got 3 issues for my DBS V2:
1. Fogged lens
2. Off-centre beam
3. Rough lettering on the body

IMHO, the build quality of A9 is better than DBS V2.

 

[mahlapress]

The DBS is a great choice! :thumbsup:

I see you updated your budget . The DBS is a better thower than the A9, though not by a significant amount, and it should be @ 2X the cost. But I can see why you'd be cautious about getting an A9. I actually plan on getting a DBS in the near future.

Enjoy the light!

I upgraded a bit but not that much. Tiablos for 50 bucks seem to be clones so to get one I would cough up over 100 USD and I don't know if they have it on stock either. In Germany there seem to be some shops that still have them (Tiablos and Raidfires) but for quite a bit of money. That is probably the reason why they still have them. So for the same money Dereelight is sensible.
http://www.ktl-store.com/shop/xtcom....html/XTCsid/21e5616e53e2243e76a91105b2ee218c
Thanks for helping.