Noob question about reliable emergency-use flashlights for family

[baronvonsmash]

I've decided I want to get a pair of flashlights for long-term emergency and incidental regular use around the household. I don't want to get cheap Chinese flashlights that stop working or start flickering at some random inconvenient point, and have decided I'm willing to pay a lot more for that reliability. Unfortunately after some research I've realized I'm in way over my head and I'm hoping some of you all can help me out with recommendations.

I'm looking to get two types, 1 regular handheld that my wife can keep in her purse and 1 headband type for keeping in the house.

Long-term reliability is my number 1 concern, if we need to pull one out in an emergency 10 or 15 years from now, I want to still have confidence that when I flip the switch, the light will come on (so long as the battery is good, of course). I'll take lower lumens for greater reliability, ideally it wouldn't have overdriven LEDs, for example

Desirable features:
Made in USA
Simple on-off functionality, I don't need strobe, low/high, alternate colors, etc. I just need on/off, the less complexity in an emergency, the better
Relatively inexpensive, ideally I'd like to stay below $150 for both, but can stretch if needed. If I'm way out of line for pricing for what I want, I guess I need to know.
Durable - it doesn't have to be super-reinforced, but it might get knocked around a bit or dropped in regular use.

Thanks for any suggestions.

BvS

 

[archimedes]

Hello and welcome !

I'm certain that you will get a lot of advice shortly, and that Malkoff will be mentioned often

 

[archimedes]

To clarify, is your budget ~ $150 each or $150 total ?

 

[Havok]

What about Maglite? It meets most of your criteria.

 

[desertrunner]

Pelican 2380r on eBay.

 

[WarriorOfLight]

For emergency use a flashlight with Lithium AA L91 or CR123 cells are perfect. Maybe you have the chance getting an older Surefire. The older Surefires are very durable and last basically forever. I would name the Surefire U2. This light has 100 Lumens in total and with the selector ring you can choose more or less light.
At all I never heared here in this forum about non working U2 lights. Also my U2s are quite old and are still working perfectly.

You should find a U2 around $100 at i.e. Ebay.

 

[Buck91]

I really like AA for emergency as those batteries are more common (excepting the emergency empty store arguement) and work great with L91 lithium's. CR123 is a better cell, though.

I'm any case your USA requirement will be fairly limiting. Are maglites all made here still? I'd strongly consider malkoff for the handheld if budget allows.

As for the headlamp I am not sure what USA options there are. The two top contenders are me are both imports- zebralight and Armytek.

 

[chillinn]

I really like AA for emergency as those batteries are more common (excepting the emergency empty store arguement) and work great with L91 lithium's.

IMO, compared to AAA, dual AA, CR123A and 18650, there is a dearth of single AA flashlights. Fortunately, CPF can help us find what is available. These links are chronological in reverse from 2020 to 2011, top results from a Google search for
/single aa flashlights site:candlepowerforums.com/

Help to choose single AA flashlight

hello help me chooe a single AA flashlight

Recommendations on a single AA flashlight for EDC

Current "Best" single AA light, favoring KISS and long runtimes over high output...

Best single AA flashlight?

Impressive single AA flashlight... the best one?


Here is my recommendation, Lumintop AA Tool with the neutral white Nichia emitter. Constant current, 4 light levels, accepts AA & 14500, optional extra magnetic tail cap, and a great low price, lower without 14500 cell (recommended leaving 14500 out without knowing what it is, can probably find higher capacity for about $1 less).

 

[TIP AND RING]

For USA made reliability and simple operation, I've settled on the AA powered Peak Led EL Capitan without the QTC and Energizer L91. I also like keeping a few CR123 powered Tekna T1L-1200 Splash-Lites around for good measure. Both are USA made, single mode, twist lights, no switch to fail and long storage life.

 

[cp2315]

I can confidently recommend SureFire g2x pro for you. Powered by 2 cr123 cells that are good for long term storage. One click to give you 15 lumen, plenty for most uses. Another click gives you high, 320lumens or 600lumens, depending on the version you get. I like it so much that I bought a few for myself. Around $50-60.
perfect for your use.

 

[Burgess]

:welcome:


I really think having just ONE mode is quite limiting !


Unless it's a (now discontinued) Fenix E01
for instance.

< just sayin' . . . . . . >


And don't be so quick to rule out ZebraLight
just because it's manufactured in China.

 

[chillinn]

:welcome:


I really think having just ONE mode is quite limiting !


Unless it's a (now discontinued) Fenix E01
for instance.

< just sayin' . . . . . . >


And don't be so quick to rule out ZebraLight
just because it's manufactured in China.

Can do better than discontinued Fenix E01. The Fenix E12 is a worthy AA light, like all Fenix I know has constant current in all modes, no blinkies, recessed switch, TIR lens with floody beam, and my favorite cool white emitter, if it must be cool white.

 

[thermal guy]

Arch scared away all the Malkoff junkies 😂😂😂😂 I'll give it a shot.A little outside your price but can't really go wrong with one of Malkoff's AA lights. Give them a look.

 

[TIFisher]

I can confidently recommend SureFire g2x pro for you. Powered by 2 cr123 cells that are good for long term storage. One click to give you 15 lumen, plenty for most uses. Another click gives you high, 320lumens or 600lumens, depending on the version you get. I like it so much that I bought a few for myself. Around $50-60.
perfect for your use.

I concur with this suggestion for handheld options. I have 4 stashed around the house and in vehicle bags. Great lights, I like the beam, and the 15 lumen low is actually practical in my experience.

 

[CSG]

For the OP's conditions, seems pretty hard to choose anything other than Maglites. While we have plenty of lights around as we live in the country. The two 3 D cell Mags we keep upstairs and down, seem to be the goto lights unless we need more light. I did replace the bulbs with Night-Ize bulbs about 10-12 years ago which increased the lumens to 55-60. We also have 4 Streamlight Siege AA lanterns which we run with rechargeable Enloops. Those things are great and have lasted for 4 years now. Way better than candles and the potential risks (although I've got a couple UCO Candle Lanterns as well).

 

[flatline]

If we're talking about flashlights for non-flashaholics, I'm a big fan of the Fenix e12. It always starts on low, low is bright enough for navigation when there's no power, and low will give you days of use before you need a new battery.

I don't know that I'd bother to even show them how to change to higher levels unless they specifically ask. 1.5v is a super inefficient platform for high output, so use your single cell flashlight to find your larger, higher output multi-cell flashlight if you need a high output flashlight during the emergency.

--flatline

 

[xxo]

A Maglite ML25's are great for long term storage and use around the house - very simple twist on operation, very little to go wrong and still very well made in the USA. And ML25's only cost about $20! These are nominally C cell lights, but you can run them very easily on AA's in eneloop AA to C adapters or you can make some yourself - get some energizer ultimate lithium L91 AA's and the light can sit ready to go for decades (don't try this with alkalines!) or for around the house use you can run them on AA eneloops which are rechargeable and will hold their charge for several years if need be.

The current 192 lumen 2C ML25 has 2 modes, but the low mode is hidden well enough that you can ignore it and pretty much forget it's there. If you really want one mode only, get the 3C version or the older single mode 177 lumen model. BTW don't let the lumen numbers on these lights fool you - they are plenty bright with a lot of throw as indicated by the candela (cd) and beam distance specs.

 

[MaxIcon]

I'd say you want more than 2 flashlights. If one fails (and even the best flashlights fail sometimes), you'd be in trouble. Also, you'll want an emergency flashlight for the car(s), which you can grab if you need more in the house. Keep a few spare batteries with the car light, too.

For emergency flashlights, you'll either want something that takes readily available batteries, or to keep extras on hand if they're not. It's good if they all use the same batteries, and you want lithium batteries, not alkaline, for reliability.

If I was doing this on your budget, I'd get 3 Fenix e12 V2 (AA) and 2 affordable AA headlamps. You can also get headbands that will hold an e12 style light, but dedicated headlamps are quite handy.

Buy a dozen or 20 lithium AAs from a reputable dealer, like battery junction - never buy lithiums from Amazon or anywhere else where counterfeits are common.

Alternately, CR123A are better batteries, but if you run out, they can be hard to replace in an emergency, while AAs can come from your remotes or whatever. If you do go CR123A, buy even more spares, always from a reputable dealer.

This will give you basic light for most needs. If you want high output, you'll want a bigger light, as flatline suggests, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms, and increases the budget.

 

[chillinn]

I'll make a second recommendation. I had a Coast HP1, loved it, my late sister stole it (I only loaned it to her), and her son must have it now. Those aren't made anymore, but what looks like its next revision is the Coast HX5. My Aluminum HP1 was rock solid, HX5 host looks identical, recessed forward tail clicky, single AA zoomy, cool white emitter, single mode, AA 130Lm, 14500 345Lm. The company is based in Portland OR.

Strangely, no one at CPF seems to have reviewed HX5. Of the few posts mentioning it, this one says the most.

Edit: HP1 still available at Amazon for $9.49 !! Not as bright as the HX5 on 14500 @220Lm but claims it is brighter on AA @190Lm... doesn't sound right, YMMV.

 

[maglite mike]

Maglite.com thank me later