New Guy, reading/learning a lot...your thoughts wanted on my shopping list

stingers96

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
6
A week ago I thought flashlights were sold in Home Depot/Lowes and cost <$50 or giant camping style boxes. Wow were my eyes opened....after buying a surefiire x300 for my newly purchased (and first firearm) HK45...I was, and still am, amazed at the brightness of something that small. Now I am left with an itch that needs to be scratched.

I have picked out a few that I think will be my first purchases but want to get a few thoughts first:

all from battery junction
1.Nitecore D10 SP LED Flashlight Smart PD Piston Drive, R2 Edition
2. Olight M20 Warrior PREMIUM w. Cree R2
3. LumaPower MRV SK ULTRA

I think i have covered all my lighting needs with these three. My concern is quality. Should I just plunk down the cash and buy 2 Surefires? Are they better built..I have read conflicting reports. I also considered a few others like the liteflux lf5xt and fenix ld10 and ld20, but settled on the three above.

I welcome all thoughts and comments.

Thanks in advance
 
i use my olight m20 at work, and its an awesome light, very bright, long lasting, i also bought it for $67 shipped. quality is top notch. another light other than the m20 you should consider is the jetbeam RRT-2. it throws alittle bit better.

the M20 beam is very nice, smooth, great color tint, white on max and gets yellower as output is lowered. all around great light. what really sold me on it was the battery efficency. it is alittle big, not something to carry in your pant pockets. but it is possible, i just really like compact gadgets. (i carry mine in a holster, which is also very nice) im going to buy a smooth reflector for it soon, so that it may throw better.

i also have the nitecore d10 r2. i carry it almost all the time. nice output, and color tint. very simple and enjoyable to use.
quality is very nice, i havent put it to the test like the m20. ive only had the d10 for about 1 week
 
+1 on the m20 it is a great light. Try taking a look at the jetbeam line of lights. I feel you can do better for your $.

chef
 
thanks for your thoughts...which keychain light? LRI Photon?

Chef...Which light would you replace with which jetbeam?
 
all from battery junction
1.Nitecore D10 SP LED Flashlight Smart PD Piston Drive, R2 Edition
2. Olight M20 Warrior PREMIUM w. Cree R2
3. LumaPower MRV SK ULTRA

I welcome all thoughts and comments.

Thanks in advance

That list looks good!

The D10 is a very nice light, I don't know the SP, perhaps they have fixed some technical issues of the predecessor. If they work, they are cool with the piston drive, unfortunately many had some issues. I have two of them both work, I only had to tighten the reflector, to give the piston more "action way".

The M20 is the better choice if you preffer a little more throw, as you also plan to buy a bigger floodier light. The OP reflector is all you need.

I don't know the Lumapower lights, they are supposed to he high quality. Have a look at the D-Mini VX Ultra, I would preffer it over the MRV SK Ultra, as I think the SST50 is a better LED than the MCE, which will be floodier perhaps, difficult to say, as it has a bigger reflector.

Whila you are at it, get yourself a Titanium Innovations IlluminaTi XPG-R5. The best light in the AAA class, very small, very bright, classy finish, Titanium, it'll be your most used light out of the four, attached to your keychain... :)

All you needs covered with your choice of three lights? You're right (if you add the IlluminaTi), but you'll WANT to have more. You made a big mistake, you came here. It's probably too late by now... lovecpf
 
and now, what batteries?? I have a set of enloops

1.Nitecore D10 - regular AA

2. Olight M20 R2 -- should i get these 18650 or 1232??

3. LumaPower D-Mini VX Ultra - 18650 or 1232?? (thanks Henk_Lu)

4. TI Illuminati XP-g r5 -- includes battery

which 18650's are recommended

thanks again
 
i have looked into fenix extensively and just getting familiar with JetBeam. Any suggestions for which ones you would change in my lineup for Fenix of JetBeam lights?
 
Not sure what you use your flashlights for but my favorite light is the Jet III M. The Raptor RRT-1 is nice as well. It depends what you are willing to carry. The only light that I still use from Fenix is my TK10 and TK30. My TK10 being my most used light. Both brands are very high quality. I prefer JETBeam for the looks. The M1X is a marvel as well. Look through their products and let us know what you like and we'll let you know what we think =)
 
A week ago I thought flashlights were sold in Home Depot/Lowes and cost <$50 or giant camping style boxes. Wow were my eyes opened....after buying a surefiire x300 for my newly purchased (and first firearm) HK45...I was, and still am, amazed at the brightness of something that small. Now I am left with an itch that needs to be scratched.

I have picked out a few that I think will be my first purchases but want to get a few thoughts first:

all from battery junction
1.Nitecore D10 SP LED Flashlight Smart PD Piston Drive, R2 Edition
2. Olight M20 Warrior PREMIUM w. Cree R2
3. LumaPower MRV SK ULTRA

I think i have covered all my lighting needs with these three. My concern is quality. Should I just plunk down the cash and buy 2 Surefires? Are they better built..I have read conflicting reports. I also considered a few others like the liteflux lf5xt and fenix ld10 and ld20, but settled on the three above.

I welcome all thoughts and comments.

Thanks in advance

Surefires are tough and reliable, buuuuuut a bit overpriced for what you get IMHO. Btw why did you go with the X300, and not the StreamLight TRL-1 or Insight WX-150?
 
jetbeam is really nice, i really really want the m1x.
in place of the olight m20 you might consider the jetbeam RRT-2, has better throw, looks very nice, and modes are easier to change. although the m20 is very simple, it just requires 2 hands to change modes.

and for the d10 i would suggest the d10:twothumbs but not the sp edition.

also consider the quark 123x2 or fenix pd30. still small enough to carry in pocket, with all the advantaged of using 2 cr123a cells.
i carry my olight in my holster and quark 123x2 in my pocket at work.

not sure about the lumapower, but if its a thrower, ive been looking at the tiablo A-10g and also the jetbeam m1x, also the fenix tk40. all those are quite different though.
 
:welcome: You've put together a great list.

When i started collecting flashlight I ended up with a standard battery for all my flashlight. Glad I did. I selected AA batteries which are easy to obtain and is cheap. There are other types of batteries that are powerful and provide longer life and brightness. But you should consider choice of battery according to usage.

I do not own any Olight or Lumapower, but I like the Nitecore SP. I own both the discontinued and the new SP. With the inifinite brightness setting I ended up using only high or low. The SP have three settings low, medium and high setting that covers most tasks. It also has a "hidden" strobe en sos function so they do not get in the way of the regular UI. It have a lock out function for the switch. For me personally the SP was an improvement.

You should take a look at the Jetbeam range of flashlights. They are great! I carry a Photon freedom in my keychain. Never leave home without it. It´s my favorite keychain light because of it´s size. I think AAA was too big for my pockets.
 
Well, if you've already thought about gettin' a Surefire, i would recommend LX2 instead of M20 and MRV. It has a serious throw with very nice and big hotspot, and with superior quality (atleast to my Nitecore Extreme R2), very nice UI (moemntary push for low, push a little further-high), second-to-none annodizing, it's excellent light to enter a flashlight world. Lights you listed are also great, but if you thinking about Surefire...well, you'll get one, it's just a matter of time;):poke:. It would be a waste of money if you'll end up using two or three flashlights, and have another three just sitting on your shelf.
Don't get fooled with numbers: LX2 has "only" 200 lumens, but compared to my Nitecore Extreme R2(220 lumens) i got a different feeling. LX2 throws far beyond Extreme's reach, and it's overall brighter(ceiling bounce test). If Nitecore really puts out 220 lumens, LX2 has to have atleast 250+.
Plus, LX2 has a warmer tint than Extreme with R2. Maybe i got a bit cooler one, but outside you'll notice the difference: Colors are more defined with my LX2
Look at these shots i took a few weeks ago:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=245852

People are often concerned about operating costs, because Surefire doesn't support rechargeables in their lights. Well, i got myself 4 AW LiFe-Po cells (550mah) which (2 "packs") and i get around 45minutes from one charge(high mode). But even with primaries, you get 2 hours on high and 30 hours on low. From my experiences, you'd mostly use your light on low(i cant believe that 15 lumens can be so useful!), and your batteries would last forever. I use my LX2 daily, and since it has so small "fuel consumption" i stopped using rechargeables and till now i wasted only two batteries (in 4 months!)

LX2 can be pocketable and suitable for EDC, but i would go for something smaller and more floodier. D10 is a great light, (all nitecores are) and make sure you'll get orange-peeled reflector with warm tint led:naughty:.

That's my suggestion. But you can't miss with any of lights mentioned before. It will be a tough decision, but enjoy every second of your search for your perfect torch.

Some wish we would have more money to make such decisions every month:sigh:

**Sorry for grammar and language mistakes
*** PM me if you're interested in LX2, it can be obtained for less than 200$...
 
I think you should look at how you will be using your lights first, then find lights that fit the use rather than just buy the highest rated lights on CPF.

1) EDC.
1a) Keychain, always available as long as you have your keys.
1b) Goto light, pocketable or small holster. Don't really want to hold on keys every time a light is needed.
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2) House light.
2a) General purpose, flooder preferred. Headlamp might be an option to have both hands free when fixing something.
2b) Long runtime for extended power outages. Lantern or tailstand flashlight with diffuser. Remember you cannot recharge batteries during a power outage!
2c) Low lumen bedside light for going to the bathroom without waking up the rest of the family.
2d) Blindingly bright bump in the night light. Wide hotspot so you can sweep large areas and/or easily blind an intruder.
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3) Car light.
3a) General purpose, flooder preferred. Headlamp might be an option to have both hands free when fixing something. Must be able to buy replacement batteries on the road. Able to use primary lithiums (Energizer L91s or CR123As).
3b) Something other than 3a with a strobe so people don't drive into you. Can be your EDC.
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4) Outdoor light. This will vary depending on the outdoors you wander around in.
4a) If you go down long unlit roads or cross fields you need a thrower.
4b) If there are lots of plants you need a warm white LED or an incan.
4c) A flooder works better than a thrower in a backyard.
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5) Impress your friends.
5a) Throwers produce bright hotspots but beware friends with $5.99 6V lanterns that has upgraded the stock bulb with Xenon/Krypton/Halogen ones
5b) Small but bright - used to be an L0D-CE with 10440 but the 2AAA version of the Preon can do better with normal batteries.

-----

Now let us look at the OP's list of lights:
1.Nitecore D10 - regular AA
Works For EDC-goto light.

2. Olight M20 R2 -- should i get these 18650 or 1232??
Works For going down long unlit roads or impress your friends.
Personally I think throwers are over-rated. Most of the time there is no need for maximum throw. When you really need maximum throw you better have your BIG HID ready. If I will be outdoors a lot I'd go for a warm white torch instead.

3. LumaPower D-Mini VX Ultra - 18650 or 1232??
Works For blindingly bright bump in the night light impress your friends.

4. TI Illuminati XP-g r5 -- includes battery
Works For EDC-keychain light.

-----

Let us look at what the OP can look at next:
1) EDC is covered by the current list.
5) Impress yuor friends is covered by the current list.

2) House light.
2a) General purpose, The 2D $1 plastic incan. can do the job though a Zebralight is better. Handheld or headlamp, even flood beam.
2b) Long runtime for extended power outages. Lantern or tailstand flashlight with diffuser. Remember you cannot recharge batteries during a power outage! I used to have a 4D AREALAMP with an LED bulb from a Turtlelight. Nowadays you can just buy this. Note the BIG D BATTERIES!
2c) Low lumen bedside light for going to the bathroom without waking up the rest of the family. 1AAA preon or Quark mini AA.
2d) Blindingly bright bump in the night light. Wide hotspot so you can sweep large areas and/or easily blind an intruder. OP's new #3 will do

3) Car light.
3a) General purpose, 2AA Fenix E20, LD20. The Zebralight work here too.
A gentleman bought one of Elektrolumens brighter lights. He reported in in ~3 weeks. His car had broken down at night. The reflections of his super duper light from the engine parts blinded him and he had a terrible time working on his car. Brighter is not always better!

4) Outdoor light.
4a) If you go down long unlit roads or cross fields you need a thrower. OP's #2 & #3 will do.
4b) If there are lots of plants you need a warm white LED or an incan. A Dereelight DBS or CL1H V3 with a Q4 5A/B will do. A Nitecore EZAAw is NOT bright enough.
4c) A flooder works better than a thrower in a backyard. Elektrolumens, Elektrolumens, Elektrolumens.
 
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