Recommendation for Daily Night Walks

[mute422]

Hi Everyone,

Looking to get some recommendations on a good pair of lights for nightly walks with the dog. Partner would keep one light, and I'd keep the other.
One light should have a narrow throw (well defined spot with some side throw) for lighting up down a long stretch of road, up into trees at night, or spotting animals off in the distance. Want a second light that has a wide throw and can light up from 5-15 feet in front while walking the dog. Basically illuminate the ground to prevent tripping on trees/strumps/etc.

Checklist answers are below. Looking forward to the recommendations on both lights!

==================Flashlight Recommendation Checklist================

1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
This will be Online (location doesn't matter).

2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest!
Up to $100 each

3) Format:
I want a flashlight (hand held/self contained).

4) Size:
Small or medium is OK. I tend to prefer medium sized lights (>1" diameter body, > 6" length) because I find them easier and more comfortable to hold compared to smaller EDC lights.

5) Emitter/Light source:
LED (known for efficiency, longevity, and compactness)

6) Manufacturer:
I want to buy a light from a large/traditional manufacturer that is ready to go out of the box.


7) What power source do you want to use?
X I intend to use Rechargeable cells based on less common formats (18500 or 18650 Li-Ion, RCR123, et-al).
X I want a light with an integrated rechargeable battery pack.
Open to either formats.

7a) If you have selected a rechargeable option
I don't care

8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need?
Looking for 300 lumens +
Burst/turbo mode is definitely acceptable.

9) Flood vs Throw: Flood covers an area, Throw reaches out to a distance.
Looking for two lights. One wide throw for general hiking illumination. And one narrow flood, or even narrow throw, for long distance illumination.

9a) Distance: How far away will you typically need to see with this light (check all that apply)
5-50 yards/meters

10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum continuous output).
90-120 minutes

11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase "you get what you pay for" is very accurate for flashlights.
Slightly Important

12) Switch Size, Type, and location (choose all that apply):
Bigger switches are better (for use with gloves on during the winter). Ideally, I'd like both a tail mounted and body mounted switch. But one or the other is OK.

13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.
I want multiple light levels
Programmable light isn't a requirement, but would be cool to have.

14)Material/Finish/Coating
Anodized Aluminum – either type II or III (Hard Anodized) (Aluminum, specifically HA, is the most common material/finish for today's higher end flashlights).

15) Water resistance
None needed

16) Storage conditions
In house (temperature/climate controlled environment)

17) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any/all below.
None

 

[3oni]

Looking forward to the recommendations on both lights!

If you're comfortable with 18650 batteries and hotrod lights, looking at my collection I'd recommend an Emisar D4V2 or Lumintop FW3A for your floody light, and a Noctigon K1 or Lumintop FW1A for your compact thrower. Each can be had for less than $100, and there are lots of LED options to choose from (feel free to ask if you have questions about those).

I also just picked up a Streamlight ProTac 2L-X for my truck's glove box, and at its current Amazon price it's an easy recommendation. You might find that it fills both of your roles well enough, and two of them will be cheaper than any one of the others I've suggested. (It only comes in cool white, but you didn't express a tint preference.)

You might also consider a headlamp for your floody light, since flood is something headlamps do well. I love my Armytek Elf; the Wizard is also very popular. The ThruNite TH30 and WOWTAC A2S are both relatively inexpensive options readily available on Amazon; I don't have personal experience with those, but both are good brands (and I've owned a couple ThruNite lights).

Hope that helps!

 

[3_gun]

Look at a Sofirn IF25a. It's as small as a 18650 light but it's a 21700 for more run time/less rechargeing. Easily hits your distance & flood needs. Has programmable UI + short cuts to ML & turbo levels & it comes in 3 light temps. Lastly you can get 3 (1ea temp) for the $100 you're willing to spend for one.

Sofirn IF25A review | EDC Flashlight with 3800 Lumens | 1Lumen

The Sofirn IF25A is a single cell EDC flashlight with a maximum output of 3800 lumens. Check out the review for all details.

1lumen.com

Order the pocket clip if you buy one, they're aren't included w/light but they work well & don't cost much

 

[xxo]

Maglite 2C ML25 (192 lumen/2 mode version) or ML50 for the thower (you can run these on NiMH C's or AA's or even 18650's or 21700's in adapters).

Headlamp for the floodier light.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Another Sofirn you can get if you want to go 18650 instead of 21700 is the SP32 V2.0. It doesn't have nearly the output or runtime the 21700 version has but can do up to 1200 lumens on turbo and has 2 ways to operate it either modes or ramping. The modes are L/M/H and hidden Turbo and Moonlight modes. It can be bought for less than $25 and comes in 3 colors. It also has a side switch. I take walks at night and when there is no light pollution I use low or medium and high when I want to be seen. I have the blue color light. You can buy it with a battery/charger which is button top but it has springs on the top/bottom in the light so flat top cells are good also if you have them already. I advise whatever light you decide on either if lithium ion to get them both the same battery type so if you get spares they will fit both lights. A headlamp is nice for other things but not necessarily as good for walking as I've found being higher up on the head it is harder to adjust the angle of the throw quickly if you want to go farther or closer best to have a hand held light but for general purpose I highly recommend a removable right angle headlamp. I have a Wowtac A2S and it is a gem IMO. Sofirn make a headlamp too, but I don't have one of them. Personally I like lights that have hidden modes so you only have to cycle through a few modes IMO 3 is optimal unlike some you have 5-6 modes you have to cycle through which is a pain. The Sofirn whatever mode you are in (L/M/H) you can double click to turbo and single click right back to the mode you were at which is nice when you need a quick boost out there and don't want to cycle through to get to turbo then cycle almost all the way around again for Medium or High.

 

[mute422]

Hey, thanks for the input. Just as a point of reference, I got a Nitecore E4K and have been using it the past few days. Some notes/feedback:

Brightness:
- I mostly go between the 50 and 320 lumen mode. 50 is somewhat on the low side of what I need, and 320 is a comfortable amount of light for walking. The 1050 lumen mode is great for when I need that extra boost of light. The 4400 lumen turbo is fun to play with, but it's almost too bright to be useable.

Throw:
- It's a great middle ground. Doesn't have a great flood, doesn't throw super far either.

Charging:
- Somewhat annoying not being able to recharge directly to the light (taking out the batteries every time).

My current go-to for flood use is a Hybridlight Mammoth that has a 400 lumen flood lamp. If I can match what that outputs in flood with a hair more brightness, in a more robust package, that would be ideal.

As everyone mentioned, I think the suggestion for a headlamp for the flood is probably wise. Probably a headlamp that uses 21700 cells with 5-700 lumens probably would be idea.

The Sofirn looks interesting, especially since it also uses a 21700 and I could swap cells with the Nitecore E4K if needed. I wonder if the beam is more focused than the E4K though.

 

[3_gun]

By the specs the IF25a has a 240m throw@3800L; the E4K 211m@4400L. With the slightly larger head on the IF25a it should have a slight edge in flood also. Depending on beam temp & how close your light is to "spec" you probably wouldn't be able to really see much difference at 50 or even 100yds. Higher K temp lights will look brighter at the same lumen levels when compared.

The IF25a does use the Anduril UI which the E4K can't match. For night walks where there maybe road traffic the IF25a has a "bike" light setting that shines then quickly blinks then shines again in a rapid fashion. It can also be ramped up & down in brightness. While doing this it still lights up the area well. The Sofirn also has a much longer turbo time (as long as you set the temp settings in the UI) Don't fear the UI, it's much easier to use than reading about it makes it seem.

You can save about $10 by buying from the Sofirn store rather than using Amazon + the Sofirn store also has the clip