new member after recomendations

dingo217

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
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2
Hi
I would like to ask help picking out a new LED handheld, here is a wish list of features:

- bright enough to light up an accident area, say 80 lumens or so
- run time around 6 to 8 hours so one set of batteries can last all night
- run on normal AA or AAA batteries do I can be easily resupplied
- tough enough for robust outdoor work and basic rescue use
- waterproof enough to use say at the bottom of a swimming pool or at least highly water resistant such as IP 56
- tail switch would be best but I expect that's asking too much because of the waterproof/resistance

Any ideas on what could best fill this role would be totaly awesome,
thanx!
 
Runtime is simply how much power the light uses in a particular mode divided by the amount of juice the flashlight holds.

Hence, the more batteries the merrier. Having intelligent modes is helpful too.

I would recommend either the itp A6 Polestar or the Fenix TK40.

They use 6 and 8 AAs respectively and have multiple modes up to a whopping 600ish lumens.

The polestar is cheaper (80 bucks, minus discounts) and has more flood, but the TK40 is more rugged and a bit more throw and is 140 bucks.


The major advantage is that with 6 or 8 batteries, you can run on low or medium mode for a long long time, while still having the ability to crank it up to high mode to really see well.

I recommend using rechargable eneloop batteries and buy a charger that does 6 or 8 batteries at once. (or buy 2 cheaper 4batt chargers).


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You can also do decently with any 2xAA light out there with multiple modes, but your runtime will not be as good. However, these lights are a lot lighter and a bit smaller(skinnier than the fatter 6,8xaas), and also use more efficient emitters.
They will also be quite a bit cheaper.



I'd recommend you hit the sticky and check out the 2xAA roundup to get an idea of what is out there.
 
You do not need a light as big, powerful, or expensive as the A6 or TK40. Something as simple and reasonably priced like the Quark AA^2 will be more than excellent for your needs.
 

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