Oh god, another "recommend me a light"

[Jarl]

I got my dad a fenix L2D CE for christmas, and it was then I realised how good flashlights are now; I wasn't completely clueless before as I have a 540 lumen setup using 3 rebels at 700ma for my bike, but I just never thought you could get such a nicely finished, bright, compact and well designed light. Now I want one for general use, and the only thing stopping me from buying another l2d for myself is the low mode; it's far too powerful; I want a low mode to get me outside the tent while camping without waking everyone else, a low mode which I can use to find my way to the toilet in the middle of the night without cringing. So, any alternatives?

What the light must have:

A very low low mode (like, 2 lumens, if that)
A very high high mode (150+ lumens)
Take AA batteries (2 strongly preferred
Multiple modes without getting silly (on/off is bad, but 53 modes is equally bad)

What I'd prefer:
Cheap (under $60, though this is flexible if there's something good enough)
A slightly lower low mode (comparable to an unmodded mini mag)
Digital regulation for constant brightness
no memory of modes (So I know that I turn it on, then soft press twice and i'll be at x power).
clicky switch
Something similar to the twist bezel of the fenix for mode selection, so i'm not clicking through all the modes


Any ideas?

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Sounds like a VERY nice light. It will be interesting to see what's recommended!

 

[Gunner12]

If you got the Nitecore during the promotion, it might have been what you want. High on an AA isn't up to 150 lumen but still pretty high for an AA battery.

Besides that, the Liteflux LF5 fits most of you description but I don't see it for sale on the Liteflux site.

 

[cave dave]

Buy another Fenix L2D CE and slip on the Red filter before you go to bed.

or get a separate keychain light like the Fenix E0, Infinity, Peak Pacific in XLR, Photon II, etc.

 

[Jarl]

Hmm, red filter looks like a good idea. The only problem would be what to do with it when I'm not using it? I'm quite bad at loosing stuff!

However, I think I found a solution; if you put it on turbo mode and press it into the palm of your hand, nearer to the wrist. You can hold it with a couple of fingers on the same hand, so you have 1 hand free, and a tiny bit of light reflects off ick in your hand and so you get an extraordinarily dim light... perfect!

The only problems occur if it's not pressed into your hand properly, and you get 180 lumens lighting up the room!


Will check out the smaller keychain lights; I may just get a cheapo thing from walmart for late night trips, though.

 

[jbosman1013]

get a P3D Q5, the low is very low and turbo is 180+ lumens OTF.

 

[Saiga]

(quote) "However, I think I found a solution; if you put it on turbo mode and press it into the palm of your hand, nearer to the wrist. You can hold it with a couple of fingers on the same hand, so you have 1 hand free, and a tiny bit of light reflects off ick in your hand and so you get an extraordinarily dim light... perfect!"

If you're considering that as a solution, this works a lot better. Make a fist around the end of the light, almost completely blacking out the light,then carefully open the end of your fist (pinky finger) allowing a very small amount of light through. I do this all the time for midnight bathroom runs, as all of my lights give more light that i want then.

 

[Jarl]

get a P3D Q5, the low is very low and turbo is 180+ lumens OTF.

I want to stay with AA's, as I have so many of them to use. If I go with weird battery types, then it becomes a lot harder; I have 4 spare 2500mah NiMH AA's and 2 2700mah AA's that I currently have no use for, so the l2d gives me a nice way to use them.

Also, I've done some more experimentation to dim the light. The problem with the fist method is it lets out a very small amount of highly concentrated light. If I set it to low mode, then holding it between my little and ring finger keep it just off the palm of my hand, some of the light is reflected by my skin, down onto the floor. This gives a wide spill of unconcentrated light so I can see a couple of metres in front of me, which is exactly what I want.

Thanks guys

l2d here we come . With the accessories i'm getting for it (lockblocks for my bike and a diffuser so I can use it as a lantern) it'll be a bit more than I was looking to spend, but hey.

 

[Spence]

Check out the Energizer headlamps at Wal-Mart and Target, especially the ones with red LEDs. They are great for camping and adjustable to aim where you're aiming on those toilet runs.
:candle::duh2:

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I keep an Energizer 2 White Led/1 Red Led 3AAA hanging at the corner of my nitestand. Even as confused and shmeckled as I am when I wake up it's EASY to put it on and switch it to red for the bathroom run.

One night just for the giggles and grins of it I switched the LOP SE to low. To my eyes it could have been a spotlight!

I have a BRIGHT red filtered LUXIII light on the stand as well.

I would highly recommend a red light for the house.