Oh Boy!!! I hate light shopping for others...

[Tiresius]

Well, if it were me, I would of be set with my flashlights and not buy another one for quite some time. But now, I gotta look for one for my older sister. This is going to be a general purpose light for night time around the house.

$30 is my set limit.
Color temperature doesn't matter to her.
Size must be at least a Surefire G2 dimensions (width, length and diameter)
Simple forward or reverse clicky operation (multi-stage is acceptable)
Must be LED
I'm guessing max lumen is about 100 OTF
Prefer Flood over throw but it's not important
AA, AAA or 18650 power source

Sorry, I guess I haven't kept track of a good general use flashlight. Mines is the U2A but that guy's collecting dust now. Qmini is my trusty light that goes everywhere with me.

Anyone knows of a decent build light at that price? The only brand I can think of is a Romisen besides stooping to Ultrafire's crap.

 

[mikra]

Solarforce
L2 for 18650
L2r for AA
L2i for AAA

 

[Fichtenelch]

Eagletac P100A2 or Quark AA.

 

[mikra]

The Quark AA is above the 30$ limit and much smaler then the Surefire G2 :shakehead.

 

[PerttiK]

A good option would be Solarforce L2R with 3 mode drop in, this would stay under the budget.

 

[Jash]

Stretch your $30 to $38 (come on, it's only $8) and get her a Fenix E21. Good overall quality, value and performance. Comes in neutral too.

 

[recDNA]

Solarforce L2 with Solarforce drop in.
Great with 18650. The battery and charger takes it over $30 though

 

[DVN]

From reading recent threads, you should not give your sister an 18650 flashlight.

Stick with AA or AAA.

 

[OCD]

+1 on the Solarforce AA or AAA. No 18650 for a general purpose flashlight or someone who doesn' know about the precautions required for Li-ion safety.

 

[Bake]

I agree, stay with AA or AAA lights. Simple and cost effective. Maybe a Brinkmann Armor Max?

 

[jp2515]

If you have a Microcenter nearby, check to see if any of them carry any Icon Rogue AA or 2xAA. Last time I saw a AA for under $20 or 2xAA for about $25.

 

[Robin24k]

Maglite XL50 would be a good choice with the AAA's and lifetime warranty. :thumbsup:

 

[RWT1405]

Solarforce L2r (2AA) with the single or 3 mode drop-in. NO WAY on a 18650.

My .02 FWIW YMMV

 

[glockboy]

ITP A2 AA LED Flashlight.

 

[Tiresius]

I am leaning towards Fenix E21. It's quite big and uses AA batteries. Yes, I wouldn't try to get her anything related to Lithium batteries because they're not familiar with them.

I have an ITP A2 as well. They're quite similar to Qmini's but they lack good gnurling and output.

I was thinking of Fenix but couldn't figure out which one would suit their needs. As a general flashlight, I think the E21 would be a great match. Just need to convince her to pitch in the extra few bucks to get a quality light.

 

[Tiresius]

Does Fenix-Store.Com still do cpf member's discount? Also, are they free shipping like 4sevens?

 

[Gaffle]

Shopping for other people is great. You get to show whats really out there. Bet a decent part of the general public would buy a light from Fenix if they knew about them. Unless you hang with a bunch of flashaholics, if you told a majority of your friends that they need to buy a Fenix light they would look at you with a dumbfounded face. Not one person that I know would be able to tell me what a Fenix light is. Shopping for people opens up a new experience. Just wait for your sis to bust out that Fenix infront of someone and they say, "Wow, what kind of light is that?"

 

[crizyal]

I would look into the Icon Modus (I or II). Great general purpose light that runs on AAs. I think that it is right in your price range.

 

[mikra]

I think the E21 is a great choice.

 

[KevinL]

I am leaning towards Fenix E21. It's quite big and uses AA batteries. Yes, I wouldn't try to get her anything related to Lithium batteries because they're not familiar with them.

I have an ITP A2 as well. They're quite similar to Qmini's but they lack good gnurling and output.

I was thinking of Fenix but couldn't figure out which one would suit their needs. As a general flashlight, I think the E21 would be a great match. Just need to convince her to pitch in the extra few bucks to get a quality light.

Another vote for the E21. My favorite 'issue' light for non-flashaholics.

"Twist this way, more light. Twist that way, less light. Keep twisting, light opens. Load your batteries."

The E21 has also got a design feature that makes it impossible to load and light the wrong way....well I suppose you could force it but the light won't turn on.

Plus, it's bright enough that if you actually made ME use it, I would do so. High mode is quite a thrower with the XP-E and custom reflector. I was pleasantly surprised by how far it reaches.

I know you said you prefer flood, so here's how to get flood if you must have it - get a piece of frosted scotch tape and tape it to the front. No kidding, poor man's diffuser. You can do this with LED lights because they do not emit enough heat to cook the tape. Remember, you can always make a thrower light into a flood but you can't go the other way, at least not without some serious engineering work. Fenix has an official diffuser cap product anyway if you want the 'flip on/flip off' diffuser.

Plus, 2+ hours on high and 11 hours on low is pretty darn good.