"Old" SF LED still my favorite around the house.

[goldenlight]

Like most everyone here, I have more flashlights than I can ever possibly use.

But, for several years now, I still find my favorite 'around the house' flashlight (ie. looking for things I've dropped under furniture, working behind my computer, and often, in the garage as well), is a light that is by today's standards, a very outdated light.

It's a SF 9P body, with a 1st gen. KL3 head (the one with the enormous fins) and the original (not TIROS) optics, and a the big Z49 clicky switch.

Sorry I can't post a pic: I don't have a digital camera.

Likely, you could club someone to death with it, but it's constantly my 'go to' light. One thing I like is that it's not so bright that I can't use it close up.

This is a BIG problem with a LOT of the newer lights these days. Brighter isn't always better. And the beams from high output LED lights with reflectors are useless up close: they are just too bright. I have a bunch of lights I rarely use, for just that reason.

And even my Fenix P1D CE, (that has a lower setting); I find has too much of a spot, with too little spill light for indoor use.

But this light is just right for so many household tasks. I like the floody beam; it lights up most of a room, easily. I just used it to run an extension cord behind the sofa. The batteries seem to last forever, too.

So, while 'newer, brighter, more expensive' is the norm around CPF, I have purchased very few lights in the past year.

So, are there other people who, like me, aren't running out and buying every new light, and are *regularly* using lights that would be considered 'old school' by traditional CPF standards? If so, which ones are you using?

 

[Strauss]

I would have to agree with you. My P1D-CE sits on my shelf at home as a backup EDC. I use my PD for most everything. It's sad that the industry is moving so fast; that I feel like my luxIII PD is "old school".

Even with that being said, I still EDC it and will continue to well into the future. The only thing I may do, is send her out to have an SSC P4 dropped in it if I feel the need. When the time comes that I need more light, I just grab something off my shelf :naughty: Otherwise....PD all the way!

 

[270winchester]

Slightly off topic, the old LuxV still has the distinction for a naturally floody beam that is perfect for general usage. I think a lot of the newer people here have never seen a Lux V in action and don't know what they are missing. My L4 is still in my pocket every day.

 

[GarageBoy]

The beam is the only reason I keep a L2 around

 

[Mike 208]

My "go-to" light is very similar to Goldenlight's: I have the "old finned" KL3 attached to a 6P body, along with an A19 adaptor and an "original" lock-out tailcap (without the "witness mark", I believe it's a Z41 tailcap). I have the current KL3 head, but I keep going back to the original.

 

[TORCH_BOY]

I had a L4 around the house for a while, the 123 Cells sent me broke so I sold it
and ended up using a AA light

 

[FireFighter05]

I too carry and constantly rely on an "outdated" light. I just cant seem to give up on my 6P. It was my first "real" flashlight and I still edc it even though my collection has vastly improved. It has been pimped out though in the aspect that it hosts a G&P 3W drop in though. Thats kinda similar to your Kl3/9P. The great ones never fade.

 

[NotRegulated]

I still like the 1st Gen KL1 heads. I like the spill with hotspot. They last quite a while on a battery. What I don't like about it is the purplish beam. Only one of them is kinda white.

 

[cratz2]

Yeah... all this talk of new, brighter and more effecient LEDs is almost depressing. I find that my most used lightaround the house is a super cheap modded Solitaire. It uses a sanded/frosted Nichia CS LED on a 10440 LiIon cell. With the sanding, you basically get a pure flood light and with the small Solitaire reflector, the beam is very wide. Wider than an L4 but only about 1/10 or 1/15 as bright. I suspect it is between 7 and 15 lumens. Hard to tell due to the nature of the light.

Generally, I'd say this is too much light for late night indoor use, but because of the sanded LED, there's basically zero glare even when using it close up.

I think it's funny... I have three shelves of lights, some of them very nice, and the one I use most often at home cost me less than $10.

And to go along with the 6P-ish theme, probably my favorite 2x123 light is a Vital Gear body and head with a modded G&P 3W module. The tint iss absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it's bright enough for most any of my needs. If my HDS is 42 Lumens, I'd suspect this one it about 60 or 70. I esp like the larger than average hotspot with no black hole.

I really like the effeciency of the Cree/SSC stuff, but as far as actual brightness goes, a decent Lux III gives me more than I need 99% of the time.

 

[frogs3]

Goldenlight, I think you hit on a key point that is too often missed: newer, bigger, brighter is not always better. I have read what some CPF'ers keep by their bedside, which I take to mean if they need a 2am BR light or something of that general idea. They want a whole hell's bells(excuse the expression) of lumens for dark adapted eyes. I suspect you are near to my age (I just refer to it as early old-fartism, mail from AARP, you know). I do very well with my VERY old Eveready 2 D cell light next to the bed. It has prevented broken toes, noses, some other body parts, and by my pure estimate, must put out no more than 15 lumens with fresh batteries and bulb (new-fangled xenon type no less). My Inova T2 seems like a tank light by comparison. I love HID's in their place outdoors for distance matters, but I agree with you that we need more runtime from the new emitters, better flood and useful lumens for indoor applications. Maybe a few more posts from the "daily users" will get across the message.

BTW, my first special light as a kid was an Eveready 5 D cell Big Jim that is about as potent as that T2. It was the predecessor of the Mag series, about fifty years ago, and has way too much light for use routinely at night in the house.

Enjoy,

HAK

 

[GeorgePaul]

I'm with you, goldenlight. I won't buy a light unless I have a use for it and brighter is certainly not necessarily better. And a floody beam is usually more useful for tasks around the house. I use an L4 at home and I EDC an E1E (usually used with a beamshaper) and (on my keychain) a CR2 Ion. Sometimes throw is needed, so I have a SL Scorpion in my car -- good for finding house numbers, lighting up street signs, etc.

 

[chuck4570]

My setup is very close to yours Golden, I have a newer KL3 head on a C3 body and clickie tailcap. with 8 hours of very useable low lumen light this flashlight gets used more than anyother light I own around the house.

Chuck

 

[Robban]

I'm not sure if an L4 counts as old school but it is my "around the house light" of choice. To hit something with enough light for the job you just have to point it in the general direction of what you want to see. It still lives up to the "wall of light" nickname. At the same time I can use it up close for most things as the beam isn't too intense.

 

[LightInDarkness]

You refer to the KL3 having 'enormous fins'. I have one of those myself installed on a 6P and is just right for those walks in the dark around the house. But when I look at it, I am reminded of the model U-control airplanes I flew years ago as the KL3 fins look very similar to the cylinder of the McCoy airplane engines I used to mount in the planes.

 

[LightInDarkness]

I have found the Peak Shasta is perfect for me when I am retiring for the night. It yields more than enough light and has ample 'throw' to check around the room or search in the bed for a missing sock and then fits nicely in the pj pocket for those 'just-in-case' needs during the night. Works for me..

 

[Well-Lit]

Well I also use some old "dinosaurs" for around the house and over all general use. One is an older 1st Gen KL1 in which I replaced the optic with a reflector, made a huge difference.. It's on an E1e body with a Z52 twisty tail cap running on any rechargeable I stick in it. Small, compact, relatively bright and most importantly reliable.

When I need more light, well another vote for the Lux V KL4. I have mine on a Vital Gear 2 cell body running on any 17670. Plenty of light for general use, hard to beat, at least for me.

Bob