Newbie with question

[benhar]

I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade my flashlight. I currently have a Streamlight Scorpion incandescent. I love the brightness of it and how well it lights things at a distance (throwing?), but don't like having to order the batteries off the internet at the "bargain" price of $1/apiece.

I've been researching flashlights a little today, and have looked at the NiteCore D20, LiteFlux LF5 XT, Fenix L2D. If I'm going to spend $60, I want it to be a good all-purpose light, not JUST a super-bright "quickly investigate a noise before the battery runs out" light. I like these because they run on AA and seem to have decent battery life. That with the different settings could make them great all-round lights. I would use it for general use, investigating bumps in the night indoors, checking noises/critters outside at night, and occasionally lighting up the opposition during night-time paintball games . The Scorpion has been great for all that, but like I said, the batteries are starting to get to me.

That said, how well do these lights "throw" compared to the Scorpion? I've read enough to know that these aren't typically considered throwers, so may be comparing apples to oranges, but I'll never know till I ask. I was hoping someone around here may have first hand experience with both...

Thanks!

 

[Marduke]

If you want a nice AA thrower, check out the Fenix TK20

 

[HKJ]

I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade my flashlight. I currently have a Streamlight Scorpion incandescent. I love the brightness of it and how well it lights things at a distance (throwing?), but don't like having to order the batteries off the internet at the "bargain" price of $1/apiece.

I've been researching flashlights a little today, and have looked at the NiteCore D20, LiteFlux LF5 XT, Fenix L2D. If I'm going to spend $60, I want it to be a good all-purpose light, not JUST a super-bright "quickly investigate a noise before the battery runs out" light. I like these because they run on AA and seem to have decent battery life. That with the different settings could make them great all-round lights. I would use it for general use, investigating bumps in the night indoors, checking noises/critters outside at night, and occasionally lighting up the opposition during night-time paintball games . The Scorpion has been great for all that, but like I said, the batteries are starting to get to me.

That said, how well do these lights "throw" compared to the Scorpion? I've read enough to know that these aren't typically considered throwers, so may be comparing apples to oranges, but I'll never know till I ask. I was hoping someone around here may have first hand experience with both...

Thanks!

As long as you uses rechargables (NiHM), these lights gives you at least an hour of light and with multiple levels you can get much longer runtime. The brightness is considerable higher than any incan, but to get a good color rendition outside you need a warm tint of the led.
To see the difference between warm and cool leds, check these beamshoots: http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshoot JetBeam RRT-1 comparison UK.html the TK20 and DBS has warm leds, the rest is with cool leds.

 

[Toaster]

That said, how well do these lights "throw" compared to the Scorpion? I've read enough to know that these aren't typically considered throwers, so may be comparing apples to oranges, but I'll never know till I ask. I was hoping someone around here may have first hand experience with both...

The top throwing 2xAA LED lights such as the Fenix TK20 and Eagletac P100A2 put out more lumens than the Scorpion, but they are about on par in the throw department.

 

[ninjaboigt]

If you want a nice AA thrower, check out the Fenix TK20

I was gonna say the same.

or maybe the Quarks 2xAA tactical , it has a better clip than the TK20

 

[benhar]

Thanks, I should have paid more attention to the TK20 before.

Of course in looking at it, I saw the TK11, now I'm questioning if I should really get a AA flashlight???

Sorry to follow a noob question with another, but would it be worth the extra cost to get a TK11 and 18650 battery + charger instead? I defeat my whole purpose of getting a AA flashlight, but according to light-reviews.com it has nearly double the brightness! Looks like it becomes a performance vs convenience argument...

 

[benhar]

I like those Quarks the more I look at them. How do they compare to the others? Both the 123 and AA versions

Edit: Sorry for the dual posts and multiple questions. Finding more flashlight options than I expected, and I'm not used to the delayed posting system.

 

[Mjolnir]

Getting 18650's is definitely worth it. You get much longer runtime, and higher output. 1 18650 is also a decent amount shorter than 2 AA batteries. You can get 2 protected Trustfire 2400 Mah batteries on DX for only 9 dollars, which is very cheap considering their capacity, which seems to actually be about 2400 Mah. You can get a cheap charger for about $10, or get a better quality one (to be on the safe side).

 

[jhc37013]

Check out a Eagletac T100C2 Its cheaper and IMO better than the TK11. https://www.eagletac-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=103&products_id=1485

 

[benhar]

Yeah, now I'm stuck between the TK11, TK20, T100C2, Quark 123^2, and the Quark AA^2. So, I have a few more questions that weren't obvious from reading around...

Is a clip available for the T100C2?
Does the Quark 123^2 take 18650? (Nevermind, found the answer)
How do the Quarks (both 123 and AA) throw compared to the others?

Sorry again for the questions. I've never spent $50+ for a flashlight, so I want to make sure I'm happy with my purchase!

 

[Marduke]

The Quark 123^2 does take 1x17670...

 

[yellow]

dont forget about the Jetbeam Jet III models - for 18650

 

[benhar]

After seeing a few initial reviews on the Quarks, I think I've got it down to between a Quark and EagleTac. The low price of the EagleTac seems like a moot point, since I found that I'll need to spend extra $ for a clip.

From what I've read, am I understanding correctly that the Quarks don't have a momentary on, but the Tacticals will? I use that feature on my Scorpion fairly regularly.

 

[Marduke]

I got the chance to use the tactical model Quarks this weekend. They are forward clicky.