I've got about £15 to spend on a keychain light, and £25-30 for an everyday light that I would like to think was good for night-time hiking. Obviously, with less than £50 for two torches, I'll be doing very well indeed to get both reliability and performance, but the former would do as long as they did the job. Both lights would need to operate on rechargeable Li-ion batteries, because buying batteries to throw them away after a week or two is also outside my budget.
Ideally, the keychain light would give 20+ meters beam for more than a few hours whilst providing enough spread of lumens to shed good light a wide driveway. It would be water-resistant, and hard-wearing, and not easily accidentally switch on in a pocket. A strobe might be useful (if ever anyone tried to rob me of my flashlight ;-), but reliability and durability are preferable.
The other light would be about 120-160mm in length, and would have lots of lumens for illuminating a small campsite, but would smoothly zoom out to provide a lengthy beam if neccessary. Again, although a strobe would be useful, the emphasis would be on simplicity, reliability and durability. Certainly, any complicated computer control, involving pressing and/or wiggling triple/quadruple buttons would be more of an intrusion than a feature, and outside my budget.
I've looked at lots of lights on ebay and amazon, but the more I look, the more I become confused. I wonder whether any obvious options spring out? Anyway, for formality, here's the checklist:
1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
- This will be mail-order or Online (location doesn't matter).
2) Budget:
- £50 ($80) for both, if possible.
3) Format:
- a) keychain light
- b) EDL/hiking light
4) Size:
- a) V-Small
- b) Med-Small
5) Emitter/Light source:
- LED
6) Manufacturer:
- Don't care. China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, I don't care. But they must be known for a level of both performance and reliability. A lifetime warranty on an item that would cost more to post back for repair than it's worth would be no use to me, but I want it to work for more than a few weeks.
7) What power source do you want to use?
- Rechargeable cells in both, if possible Li-Ion (I think they offer the biggest amp for your money??)
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? - As explained above.
Burst/Turbo mode Category - OK, but not needed.
9) Flood vs Throw: Flood covers an area, Throw reaches out to a distance.
- Balance between Flood & Throw for both - maximum for each (is that asking too much?)
9a) Distance: How far away will you typically need to see with this light (check all that apply)
- 1-25m for keychain
- 3-200m (if possible) for EDL/hiker
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).
- No less than 1.5 hours for keychain
- No less than 4.5 hrs for EDL/hiker
11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase “you get what you pay for” is very accurate for flashlights.
- Very Important
12) Switch Size, Type, and location (choose all that apply):
- Any size switch will do - but not too sensitive or complicated
13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.
- A simple on-off for keychain is okay, but two light levels would be good. Stobe would be okay, but not absolutely neccessary.
- Simple, but easily zoomable, for the EDL hiker. Strobe unnecesary, but SOS would be good, but not neccesary.
14)Material/Finish/Coating
- Tough for both. Probably aluminium.
15) Water resistance
- Water resistant important for both. Submersible would be an added bonus.
16) Storage conditions
- Both will be kept handy wherever I go, but I'm no astronaut.
17) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any/all below.
- Pocket/belt clip on keychain light.
- Wrist/Neck Lanyard on EDL/hiker
Ideally, the keychain light would give 20+ meters beam for more than a few hours whilst providing enough spread of lumens to shed good light a wide driveway. It would be water-resistant, and hard-wearing, and not easily accidentally switch on in a pocket. A strobe might be useful (if ever anyone tried to rob me of my flashlight ;-), but reliability and durability are preferable.
The other light would be about 120-160mm in length, and would have lots of lumens for illuminating a small campsite, but would smoothly zoom out to provide a lengthy beam if neccessary. Again, although a strobe would be useful, the emphasis would be on simplicity, reliability and durability. Certainly, any complicated computer control, involving pressing and/or wiggling triple/quadruple buttons would be more of an intrusion than a feature, and outside my budget.
I've looked at lots of lights on ebay and amazon, but the more I look, the more I become confused. I wonder whether any obvious options spring out? Anyway, for formality, here's the checklist:
1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
- This will be mail-order or Online (location doesn't matter).
2) Budget:
- £50 ($80) for both, if possible.
3) Format:
- a) keychain light
- b) EDL/hiking light
4) Size:
- a) V-Small
- b) Med-Small
5) Emitter/Light source:
- LED
6) Manufacturer:
- Don't care. China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, I don't care. But they must be known for a level of both performance and reliability. A lifetime warranty on an item that would cost more to post back for repair than it's worth would be no use to me, but I want it to work for more than a few weeks.
7) What power source do you want to use?
- Rechargeable cells in both, if possible Li-Ion (I think they offer the biggest amp for your money??)
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? - As explained above.
Burst/Turbo mode Category - OK, but not needed.
9) Flood vs Throw: Flood covers an area, Throw reaches out to a distance.
- Balance between Flood & Throw for both - maximum for each (is that asking too much?)
9a) Distance: How far away will you typically need to see with this light (check all that apply)
- 1-25m for keychain
- 3-200m (if possible) for EDL/hiker
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).
- No less than 1.5 hours for keychain
- No less than 4.5 hrs for EDL/hiker
11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase “you get what you pay for” is very accurate for flashlights.
- Very Important
12) Switch Size, Type, and location (choose all that apply):
- Any size switch will do - but not too sensitive or complicated
13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.
- A simple on-off for keychain is okay, but two light levels would be good. Stobe would be okay, but not absolutely neccessary.
- Simple, but easily zoomable, for the EDL hiker. Strobe unnecesary, but SOS would be good, but not neccesary.
14)Material/Finish/Coating
- Tough for both. Probably aluminium.
15) Water resistance
- Water resistant important for both. Submersible would be an added bonus.
16) Storage conditions
- Both will be kept handy wherever I go, but I'm no astronaut.
17) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any/all below.
- Pocket/belt clip on keychain light.
- Wrist/Neck Lanyard on EDL/hiker
