New Flashlight

[whatmh5]

Hey, I'm new here, and this seems pretty awesome. Many people reccomend coming here for questions, so i'd thought id try it out. I want to purchase a flashlight for between 20-35 dollars, i know, a tight budget. I also asked cutlerylover, if any of you know him, and he suggested a few lights, that i strongly like. I just wanted another opinion from anyone who wants to help. Mostly, i would use the flashlight for outdoors, walking around, needing to see distance and around me. Also the batterys would have to last a fairly long time. Light levels, (low, med, high) would also be extremely helpful. Any reply would be much appriciated.

 

[carbine15]

surefire g2
sams club POB

my two cents.

 

[1dash1]

Whatmh5:

Perhaps this similar thread may be of some assistance.

Good luck and :welcome:

 

[carbine15]

1dash1, you crazy man.

 

[Marduke]

Cross posting is frowned upon here
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=210787

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Princeton Tec Amp 4.0 for $35 at REI. Has high and low. Is water resistant and regulated. Uses a Rebel l.e.d. so should be white or warm white and not bluish light. Should have decent throw and good runtimes. Takes 4AAs. By the way, all of those POB H.I.D. lights are sold out. For under $35, very few flashlights have three brightness settings. Plenty of headlights do though. PT EOS, PT Quad, Petzl Tikka Plus are some good quality headlights with three settings. For decent flashlights with three settings or more you have to get into the $45-$70 range. For $25-$35, you can go to Target and get plenty of single level high efficiency lights in that price range. Energizer has a couple of 1 and 3 watt Rebel or Cree 2AA l.e.d. flashlights for $20-$25.

 

[kramer5150]

First of all... welcome:welcome:

Hmm... $35 is a bit limiting. I can't think of anything thats Low/med/Hi in that price range... thats decently well made.

Target has those Brinkman 2D-Cree lights for around $25, but they're completely plastic:sick2:.... and its not the Nitrolon variety either IIRC.

I got my T.O.P. stryker for $25 at Frys. If youre handy with a file you can do some mods and get DX LED modules to fit very nicely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X76igKkr0g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSjTFJldVIQ


Alternately lighthound sells Solarforce hosts for $25.
http://www.lighthound.com/Solarforc...itch-all-Black-Type-2-Anodized_p_13-1626.html

Drop a DX14442 into either of these hosts and your're in the ball park, although it has strobe / SOS modes and is a little more than $35. And you'll need to budget for CR123 cells.

The older T1 can be found for ~$45... thats a SHWEET deal IMHO, but its only two operating modes. But I for one would rather have that than 3 modes + disco strobes.

 

[secureone]

:welcome:

i love my streamlight scorpion you can find one for around 35-40. Just be sure to buy the surefire cr123's otherwise youll spend a fortune on batterys.

 

[Gunner12]

Somehow you have one post but two threads.

If you don't mind buying Li-ion rechargeable batteries, the L-mini might work well.

Bessiebenny's Budget LED roundup is a good place to see hot some lights stack up against others.

:welcome:

 

[KiwiMark]

For the bottom of you desired price range how about a 5 mode 2 x AA Ultrafire light:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10727

This one is $38, I don't know anything about the brand:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13177

They are both Q5 Cree emitter lights.

2 x AA NiMH lights should be fairly good on runtime, especially on low or medium output - on high probably only 2 to 4 hours. Buy 4 x AA + charger and you should be OK.

 

[whatmh5]

Sorry about posting twice guys, I didn't think it posted it so i re-did it, and 2 different posts showed up. Thanks for all your help! so many lights to choose from, such a hard decision.

 

[Chrontius]

In your position and budget, I bought a Jetbeam C-LE v.2. It's decent, tiny, multimode, and takes 1 AA (I fed it NiMH).

If you're not in a hurry, you can score some truly epic deals on the marketplace - a Surefire 8X rechargeable for $40 + shipping?

Next time, I wanted a brightness boost, I upgraded my Mag for that sum, a TerrraLux Cree dropin. 120 lumens, 2aa, and a host you can find anywhere. An IQ switch adds multimode, and new examples eliminate the series resistor that always limited maximum brightness.

Brinkmann Maxfire LX, a clicky G2 knockoff with a slightly floodier beam, occasionally available for $20. Incan and single level, though.

The Dorcy 1-watt Luxeon isn't winning any efficiency contests, but it's cheap, solid, and available at Target for around $20. Single level again, though.

I'd lean toward recommending the Jetbeam, though.

 

[Sgt. LED]

+1
Troll around the marketplace for a week or so like it's your JOB.

You can save alot of money and help out other CPF'ers at the same time.

 

[hyperloop]

For the bottom of you desired price range how about a 5 mode 2 x AA Ultrafire light:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10727

+1 for this light, add $15 and get a Fenix E01 (low mode approx 10 lumens + 10 hours runtime on a standard AAA battery) and you're set.

Spend a bit more and get the 2 x AA extension tube and the C3 becomes a joy to hold, the 2 x AA length is just nice IMHO.

Check out DX if you're on a budget (which i usually am for now)

 

[whatmh5]

Another question for you guys. What is better, a cree q2, q3, or q5? Once again, you guys are a great help, and thanks.

 

[Gunner12]

Cree(company) XR-E(model) flux bin codes, as in codes for the output/efficiency of the LED, from lowest to highest of the common ones(lowest output to highest output for the same amount of power):
(lower bins, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K2, K3, M2, M3, N2, N3, N4)
P3
P4
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
R2
(high bins, not out yet at time if posting, R2, R4)

Check this thread for what the expected output for each bin is.

In short, the Q5 is the brightest presuming the same input power.

 

[cheetokhan]

If you're considering DX lights, you should check out shiningbeam.com. They have some of the 'better' quality lights that are also available from DX, but you get much better service and way faster shipping.

 

[qwertyydude]

I'd say the Lowe's Task Force 2 C. Make sure it says 60x brighter on the package so you're getting the brighter cree version. It's only $29.99 at Lowes.