Looking For A Nice Light

[jason331]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a decent everyday-carry light. I work as a residential A/C installer, plumber, and electrician so I frequently have to crawl through dark places in attics, under houses, and other generally unpleasant areas. I also do some hiking at night and other general rural activities that often find me out in fields and in the woods when it's dark. I've looked at the Streamlight 74001 Strion, Fenix PD32 Compact 315 Lumen LED Flashlight, and the Olight M20S Warrior Premium R5 Black Tactical Flashlight with Side Switch 320 lumens but each one seems to have various pros and cons that I feel like I would be sacrificing too much to be happy with the purchase. My budget is very flexible but ideally I would like to stay under $300.

1. How would you prefer to purchase the light?
   I will be mail-ordering or buying online, so this doesn't matter.
2. Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest!
   I’m flexible, tell me what you got
3. Format:
   I want a flashlight.
4. Flashlight-specific format/size:
   Every day carry medium (4-7 inches).
5. Emitter/Light source:
   LED (known for efficiency, longevity, and compactness)
6. Manufacturer:
   I want to buy a light from a traditional mass producing manufacturer that is ready to go out of the box.
7. What battery type do you want to use?
   I intend to use rechargeable lithium (li-ion) chemistry. <-- important
   I want a light with an integrated rechargeable battery. <-- preferred
8. How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need?
   I want to illuminate an entire field, the neighbor's front yard several houses down, impress my friends and neighbors, etc. (300-700 lumens).
9. Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.
   50-150 yards/meters (I live in a very rural area/farm with wide open spaces)
10. Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).
    90-120 minutes (Runtime is moderately important, but still not critical)
11. Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase “you get what you pay for” is very accurate for flashlights.
    Very Important (Camping, Backpacking, Car Glove-box).
12. Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):
    I want a tail mounted switch (found on the majority of today’s high end lights).
13. User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.
    I want multiple light levels. (Some lights have 5-16 light levels.)
14. Material/Finish/Coating
    Anodized Aluminum – either type II or III (Hard Anodized) (Aluminum, specifically HA, is the most common material/finish for today’s flashlights).
    Stainless steel (durable, but much heavier than aluminum)
    Titanium (durable and nearly as lightweight as aluminum, but can be moderately to significantly more expensive).

Any recommendations?

 

[Gregozedobe]

You seem to have 2 quite distinct requirements:
1 "I work as a residential A/C installer, plumber, and electrician so I frequently have to crawl through dark places in attics, under houses"
2 "I also do some hiking at night and other general rural activities that often find me out in fields and in the woods when it's dark."

So my suggestion is you get two different lights (with a budget of $300 you'll be able to get two decent lights and batteries and charger/s to suit):

1 A floody headlamp (for hands-free illumination just where you want it). I'd get one with a neutral white or High-CRI emitter (LED) to help distinguish colours (eg wire) better. Have a look at the Spark and Zebralight headlamps, you are sure to find something suitable. It is also possible to increase flood by using a stick-on diffuser film on the window if the "perfect" headlamp for you is too "throwy". Have a good look around the threads in the Headlamps sub-forum here at CPF (especially the "Floody Headlamps" one).

2 A hand-held flashlight with some throw. Seeing as you want a fair bit of throw I'll suggest the Dereelight DBS with an Orange Peel reflector and an XP-G or XM-L emitter. If you want longer run-time (at the expense of extra length and weight) also get the 18650 extender so you can run 2x18650 batteries. There are plenty of other alternatives, especially if you look at P60 hosts (eg Solarforce) and P60 drop-ins.

 

[joe1512]

Hmm yeah. The headlamp is a pretty good idea. You can use an 18650 or an AA one. Definitely check out zebralight.com which seems to be the best at the moment. Click HEADBANDS to see the 18650 ones. They will give you better runtime and can crank out a LOT of lumens if needed. It might be a good 1-light solution to all your needs.

Id go for this one: H600w XM-L 18650 Headlamp Neutral White

Note: headband does seem to be included, even though its not shown. Look at bottom of the page under accessories included.

 

[Bozzlite]

Yeah, I agree that you might consider two different lights. For the work light, look at the Quark 123 series from 4Sevens. For the walk in the woods light, check out the MagCharger. It is an incandescent, but you can get the Terralux TLE-100 LED drop in for increased output and run time. Plenty throw too.

You can have both for around $200 including the TLE-100.

 

[reppans]

Yeah that ZL H600w would sure cover a lot bases with one light... It's got a great selection of low lumens for close work in dark places, the 90-degree head is perfect for a headlamp, a 600+ lumens high, and quite a few hours of runtime in the 150-250 lumen range for the great outdoors.

The only thing I see missing is a good clip which can often substitute for a headband on a 90-degree light.