Looking for a cheap light kit

[clint eastwood]

For my brother's graduation, I either want to get him just an led like the Cree Q5, and he can do what he wants with it. He enjoys working with LED's.

Or, maybe I should get him a flashlight kit. I would prefer it to use a standard size battery like an AA, unless there is really some large advantage to use CR123 or 18650.

If I get him a flashlight kit, I guess it just needs to have a few different settings, not just high. Otherwise, just fairly bright and less than $40.

What suggestions do you have? Thanks!

 

[schiesz]

I would probably get him a solarforce L2 off ebay to get him a body, head and tailcap for a decent price, then order a few parts off DX for him to play with, like a few different LEDs, a few drivers, and a few kits to make drop-ins from. You should be able to pull that off for right about $40-45 total. Just make sure you allow enough time for shipping. I'm currently at 4+ weeks for my last DX order...

Example:

Host $15
Drivers $7
Drop-in Modules $3.24 each
Higher Output driver $3.50
and then get some mounted Cree's, Lux's, and Seoul's and let him mess with them all.

So that's $32 for the host, 2 reflector modules, 5 drivers, and leaves you a few bucks to get come LEDs to go with it all. Its not my first choice in a flashlight, but sure would be a lot of different stuff to play around with for a nice low price.

 

[kosPap]

sorry the 7425 driver will not work... it is too high for the usual led modules...

I will recomment the 3256 though....it may not burn fires but it has a wonderful 83% (my measurements) efficiency that is not usuallu found in DX items

 

[schiesz]

The 7425 will work fine with Cree XR-E or K2 TFFC LEDs. The Seoul's are a little more picky about high current, but those others are fine with it.

--edit--

Oh wait, do you mean HEIGHT? I wasn't sure about the width or height of it. Those might keep it from being viable here...

 

[Gunner12]

I think an AA powered light like the Fenix, Olight, and other similar lights might be the best choice(those are usually out of you proce range though).

The L2D-CE could be a good light. Less then $40 from 4sevens after the "CPF8" coupon.

 

[bulb]

hey,maybe u can buy it from here.http://www.hiwtc.com/products/light-kit-4872-47546.htm
i bought the same thing one month ago,especially the large purchasing
hope u can find satisfactory lights here:twothumbs

 

[clint eastwood]

So for LED's, something like this?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15943

If not, which ones would you suggest? How do I know which ones would even fit?

Also, I really only see two drop in modules, the other one is like the one you posted. As far as I can tell anyways, all the other modules include the LED. What's the difference in output with the mirror finish or the textured finish?

 

[schiesz]

Yep, something like that. Ideally, you would get one mounted on a 16mm or smaller base, to make it fit in the drop-in kit perfectly, but he can probably grind down the 20mm star to work just fine as well. The only mounted LED's I see at DX right now on 16mm stars are P4 bin Cree's, which would be okay to start with but it'd be nice to have a brighter bin. Here is a pic to show the sizes.

The AA light suggestions in here are good too, mine just gives him a chance to play around with the emitters and electronics options a little easier.




--edit-- Wait, I found a Q5 bin there too. This would be better.

 

[clint eastwood]

Well, how did you manage to find that? I searched Cree LED Emitter on their site and never saw that one.

 

[jhc37013]

I think an AA powered light like the Fenix, Olight, and other similar lights might be the best choice(those are usually out of you proce range though).

The L2D-CE could be a good light. Less then $40 from 4sevens after the "CPF8" coupon.

+1 What he said. I'm sure he will enjoy a good light and thats awesome of you to be so thoughtful to take the time to research what your going to get him.

 

[Burgess]

How do I know which ones would even fit?

Well, do ya' feel lucky, punk ?


Well, do ya ?







Sorry, Clint . . . .

Couldn't help myself !





Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

:welcome:


_

 

[hyperloop]

I've heard very nice things about Solarforce but am currently overbudget for my flashlight purchases (yes, the missus is keeping track) else i would get one to try out.

Pros and cons for 18650 cells is they have longer runtimes, con is that with lithium ions you have to be careful with them but the pros outweigh the cons if you're even moderately careful on how you handle them.

Kudos for getting your brother a light!

If your brother is going to run on AAs, then a stock light would be good enough, i'd look at Fenix, Olight, Eagletac but these are likely to be above your budget, but hey, graduations come once in a lifetime dont they? Splurge a little

EDIT: Go ahead, make his day. (sorry, couldnt resist either)

 

[kosPap]

\\
--edit--
Oh wait, do you mean HEIGHT? I wasn't sure about the width or height of it. Those might keep it from being viable here...

`Indeed I meant height....width is ok but height is impossible...

 

[Toaster]

If you decide to go with just a flashlight then get the Eagletac P100A2. With discount code CPF8 it drops the price to right under $40. You can find some helpful reviews of the light here and here.

 

[Phaselock]

I would have gone for a flashlight with standard AA batteries. For example, Fenix LD10/L1D or LD20/L2D. Maybe a little over your budget, but it is well worth it. I've given a couple of Fenix lights as a gift to friends on several occasions. All are super happy!

 

[clint eastwood]

So, would this be a good battery?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790

 

[schiesz]

I would just get a few primaries to get him started, but if you want rechargables, most of us around here are pretty partial to AW batteries. They cost more but are higher quality (IMHO) than the others. Charger is $15 from AW for a cheap one.

So for a single protected 18650 and the charger it'd be about $31.50 shipped. Kinda cuts into the $40 budget...

 

[clint eastwood]

After looking at my budget restrictions and whatnot, I decided just to get him a prebuilt Solarforce instead.

This one.


http://www.solarforcestore.com/servlet/the-1029/18650-FLASHLIGHT/Detail

Honestly, I think the whole DIY stuff interested me more than him, and if I order a battery and charger with that, it's too expensive for me right now. I might do that in the future just for me.

 

[Gunner12]

I still think you should have gotten him a Fenix L2D-CE. It has more then enough output for normal uses, has long runtime on lower modes even with alkaline batteries, and runs on 2 AAs. With coupon from 4sevens, it's a bit more then $38 shipped (shipping is included in the cost).

But in the end, as long as he likes it, it's good.

 

[clint eastwood]

Honestly, I just saw another thread on here recently where another user talked about that light, and it seemed great for the price. I looked at Fenix lights, I might get one for myself anyways.

Any of you know of the battery life to expect with that light at the setting of 300* lumens with a good 18650 battery?