Need a flashlight with a broad beam

[Mongo]

I have a good friend with a horse who is trying to find a good reliable light that will help her light both her path and that of her horses', so that she knows where the horse is stepping.I need the help of the forum gang to help me find the best light.

 

[Rifter]

A surefire 3 cell light should work well for that, if she wants the beam more flood like then she can use a beamshaper. Other than that a 5W LS based light would probably be the best flood type light. You can get wayne from elektro lumens to whip up a 5W LS light for you.

 

[Mongo]

She is trying to keep the cost down below $60.00-any way to do that and still end up with a good, solid light with the above spec's?

 

[txwest]

Check with Wayne at Electrolumens. He built me a direct drive 1W LS Blaster that was great until I ruined it using rechargeables. I still have a 3C DD Blaster that is great. The SL 3C LED is a pretty good flood too. TX

 

[Rothrandir]

any ls light with the mcflood reflector will give a great wide-angle beam.

works great in 3aa mods...asuming you don't drop them with an acryllic ball in the head

 

[Mongo]

Am writing an e-mail to Wayne-thanks txwest for the feedback.
Rothrandir-where can the mcflood reflector be found, and what kind of 3aaa mods can you suggest (I'm still learning).
Again-thanks guys for your feedback!!!

 

[Entropy]

A McFlood in a BadBoy-driven 2AA works quite well.

Go to the homemade/modified lights forum, open up the BadBoy/MadMax thread, and click on the link in the signature of any of dat2zip's posts. This will take you to his BadBoy/MadMax sandwich store.

The BadBoys are drop-in Luxeon LED replacements for MiniMags and the Brinkmann Legend 2AA (They'll also work in the non-Legend Brinkmann MiniMag knockoff, I would suggest going with a MiniMag or a Legend for the donor). The BB400 gets about 2 hours of full-brightness runtime, and then a bit more at reduced brightnes. (Possibly quite a bit more.) McFlood reflectors are also available at dat2zip's store. There's also the BadBoy 500, which has reduced runtime and will heat up the flashlight more, but is brighter. I'd reccommend the BB400 for extended use. If going with a MiniMag, get the Kroll tailswitch. The Legend 2AA comes with a tailswitch to begin with.

Don't get a BB700 or 750.

These are intended for driving 5 watt Luxeons or overdriving 1W Luxeons with excessive heatsinking. (Such as in a 2D Mag)

 

[jtivat]

A PT Surge for under $30 should fit the bill.

 

[Roy]

The beam of the Surge is adjustable from narrow to wide and is VERY bright. Also it uses 8 easy to get and cheap AA batteries.

 

[Kiu]

I think i m gonna hv my first PT Surger too.
It is best for considering Brightness(light up far away in front of horse), $$, runtime(enough until her horses is tired

)

 

[Mongo]

It seems like the consensus is Badboy/ AA M*g with tailswitch versus PT surge(8AAA's or double A's-not sure which the Surge has). Big thing for her is the flood effect.
Anyone know how these compair, if at all, with one another?

 

[Josh]

PT surge is the light for the job.

 

[Rothrandir]

ok, down to two choices? the perfect time to invoke cpf's "buy both" philosophy.

see? that was easy

 

[Rothrandir]

mcflood reflectors are available from dat2zips sandwhich shop (so are many other things, including madmax and badboy sandwhiches):
sandwhich shop

the 3aa mod i was refering to is a brinkmann 3aa. every once in a while mr. bulk sells them and other members also at times. i make my own also. i had an acryllic ball (used for a tight, long throwing beam) in the head instead of a reflector one day, and as i was getting out of the car, it fell headfirst and the ball was pressed into the luxeon and destroyed it!

a great idea would be to go to the sammich shop and order a madmax and a mcflood and drop them into any *ag or brinkmann 2aa you own.

 

[Mongo]

Classic CPF answer!!!

 

[FalconFX]

If you're down to those 2, you're probably better off going with the Surge.

It's a great light when in flood mode, but if for some odd reason you really need a tight focus, it's there.

The BB is a great flashlight in zero light conditions, but when it comes to throw, it won't win against the Surge. It's still a great light to own, though. And if you need a good, white light at night, the BB is a good option.

Both the Surge and BB will only run you about $65, so it's not too far fetched if you wanted to get both...

BTW: I would've recommended something like Inretech's Super6 or Helios . Its flood beam is quite impressive.

You can also ask EletroLumens [email protected] to build you a custom LS floodlight. I got an OctoLux from him, similar to this one:

It'll light up a huge area in front of your friend's horse...

 

[txwest]

Quote FX:
You can also ask EletroLumens [email protected] to build you a custom LS floodlight. I got an OctoLux from him, similar to this one:
********
I don't know for sure, but I bet it was over $60. :>) TX

 

[FalconFX]

Oh yeah. Got mine on E-bay for $180 I believe... which is why I grouped it with the "BTW:"

 

[Lurker]

Reaching a flashlight around the head of a horse to light its way could get tiring. It sounds to me like the horse needs headlights like a car. If flood light is wanted, what floods better than a lantern, such as the Energizer Folding Fluorescent lantern. I'm not real familiar with horses, but don't they typically have some sort of harness that goes on their chest / under their neck area? If you could mount that lantern on the harness in the chest area, you could get some great light out into the path of the horse (and long run-time).

And, yes, I understand that this is going to look a little whacky and the other horses might laugh, but look what it did for Rudolph.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

any one want to mod a pair, or two, of horse shoes?
mm..constant on, or step-on ?