The Quest for the Best.... Glovebox Lights

[The_LED_Museum]

It's been a long time since I've had or even driven a car. But I routinely drove around with a 6-D Maglite on the passenger side floorboard (this was long before I turned into a flashaholic and knew about CPF).

If I drove or had a car these days, I think the Inova 24/7 would perform fine as a hazard light, and I'd probably use one of the LED headlamps for changing a flat or checking under the hood at night. Which one? I really don't know.

 

[raggie33]

well im a dorcy fan and a mr bulk flashlight fan.so it would be one of these.either a babypin or dorcy spider

 

[mporter]

Right now, I have to go with the Surefire A2. On LED, it lets the passenger read a map without ruining the night vision of the driver. But, on incandescent, it still has plenty of throw.

Lithiums for reliability. Surefire build for ruggedness. Small form factor. It just fits in a spot in my central console for easy access from both sides of the car.

Expensive? Not for a car light that might be needed in an accident or emergency situation. Dependability is the most important factor here. I'll economize somewhere else.

 

[JerryM]

The dependability factor is often mentioned as a reason for the Surefire. As I have stated often, I have no quarrel with anyone who wants Surefire for what they are.

However, I do not buy that other lights are so undependably that only a Surefire will do. Have you ever had a Streamlight fail, or a Mag, or any standard light? I also read here of problems with Surefire and Arc.

I have never had one of the cheap Walmart plastic lights fail.

I would just as soon have a Streamlight TT-2L as a Surefire A2. I know that each of us "Pays our money and takes our choice."
But I just don't buy the reliability argument.

No offense meant. Just a statement that is applicable to anyone who wants a good light and doesn't want to or cannot afford to pay $150 for a light to leave in his car.

Jerry

 

[mporter]

I agree with Jerry. For most practical purposes a Surefire may not be more reliable than a Streamlight. I say "may" because without scientific, statistical data that I don't have access to, I can't tell. But I can look and judge the build quality of flashlights and go by the general (unscientific) impression and opinions given in the CPF forums. In this regard, Surefire looks pretty good. The main complaint against them is price. (Not counting how they have been treating their Internet dealers.)

Also, for a car light possibly used in emergencies, a large part of what I am buying is peace of mind. I'm looking for the comfort that comes from convincing myself that I have the most reliable tool for this job. Note that I do this with tires and brake jobs too.

Of course this could be a delusion. A Streamlight or even a Walmart plastic light might serve as well. Certainly, any light is better than none. However, I do find the Surefire A2, with it's dual personalities, very suited to the job of car light. I also agree that other, cheaper solutions might even work better and I am open to the suggestions of others.

 

[JerryM]

mporter,

I would also agree that there is probably nothing better than the A2.

The question is not what will work, and that is what I primarily addressed, but what is the best. In that, I would not disagree with the choice of the A2 since no price limitation was stated. I believe it is "at least as good as the best, and better than the rest."

Jerry

 

[Big_Ed]

I also agree with Jerry. As I mentioned earlier, I have cheap lights in my car, with the exception of the Scorpion. It took a lot of humming and hawing before I decided to put a $40 flashlight in my car, where it could very likely be stolen, but I decided it was worth it. I do not feel, though, that I didn't have enough lights or the proper lights in my car before I put it in there. There's no way that all of the other lights would fail me at the same time. Not including the Scorpion, all of the lights in my car cost a total of about $15 to $20 including batteries. Believe it or not, one of the reasons I was considering not putting the Scorpion in the car was, it was there for an emergency, and not to be played with. I just hated the fact that I wouldn't be playing with my Scorpion like I had previously. When I use a flashlight outside the car at night, I always go for the traffic cone light made by Hipwell. Very practical for automotive use. My dad has had one in his car since I was little (25 years ago).

 

[jbrett14]

My first post here, but have read through many. Great site. A few facts: Last year I purchased 4 different Princeton Tec LED lights from 4 different stores. 3 of them have failed within a few months. The Attitude, which I really liked at first, now flickers like an old $1 cheapo. My Impact has failed completely. I now have 3 brand new Streamlight Poly 4AA LED's, and love them. Stick some Lithium AA's in them and you have a great glovebox light. I don't know of a brighter 4AA light that will run for 20+ hours on a set of batteries.

 

[jbrett14]

Forgot to mention: even though the SL Poly 4AA LED does not have great distance in throw, it is better than one would think. I had no problem spotting flying squirels at the top of full grown maple trees, in the middle of the night, in northern Canada. If it can do this, it should serve anyone well for side-of-the-road tasks.

 

[JerryM]

jbrett14,
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif
Man, what you doing out in the middle of the night looking for flying squirrels in the tops of trees?

Your first post and you are already as crazy as the rest of us.

Aren't flying squirrels cute? I think I'll get a couple of lights and go outside - except we don't have any here in southern New Mexico.

Welcome friend. Thanks for the smile your post brought to me.

Jerry

 

[flashfan]

Underwater Kinetics 2L in each car. 1)Compact, 2)water-tight, 3)twist-on (less likely to have accidental turn-on, which translates to dead batteries), 4)long-life lithium batteries, 5)bright w/ good reach, 6)reasonably priced, 7)plastic body that won't scratch/dent other "junk" in the box.

Also have a Radio Shack compact fluorescent in the center console for map reading, other close-up tasks.

 

[jbrett14]

Non-flashlight reply

Well Jerry, I told the kids I would take them out after dark to explore in the woods. I wanted to see how well my new light would shine in the trees, and was startled when a flying squirrel dropped straight down toward my light then glided just over my head. After that happened, we spent the next 30 minutes shining for these little critters with success. I actually reside in Michigan, but vacation in northern Ontario often, where my family and I can enjoy the natural beauty of God's creation.

 

[JerryM]

GREAT. I bet the kids enjoyed that. And Dad too.

I grew up in E Texas and Arkansas, and I think that is the last places I have seen flying squirrels. They are really cute. I did not know that they were out after dark. I would think that the owls would get a fair number of them.

Sounds like a great vacation.

Jerry

 

[gadget_lover]

Each of my cars has at least two lights. One with a bright beam so I can examine the underbody in broad daylight and one that will light up for a long time (days in some cases) if I'm overturned in a ditch. They run lithiums.

The dorcy Spyder is nice and bright as well as small and cheap. There is one in each car. The streamlight TT-2L has the long runtime plus bright light, so it rides in my car. I believe in redundancy so each car also has a 1 or 3 Nichia 5mm 2AA based light. My wife likes the idea of a club, so her car also has a 3 'D' cell maglight with xenon bulb. My truck has a big Mag too.

Extra batteries are the key to long runtime, as someone else has pointed out.

Daniel

 

[beakman]

Our 2 cars each have a Streamlight Twin-Task 2L in them. Lithium batteries for long term storage, LEDs for long use and close-up lighting, and Xenon bulb for brightness. At $30, not real cheap, but replaceable. Works for me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

the beakman

 

[jbroker83]

My cousin is a Highway Patrolman in Colorado Springs...he was telling me about this time that a man lost control of his vehicle around a bend in the mountains, and his car rolled down a bank approx. 50 feet. He had a Princeton Tec Surge in his glove box and shined it up towards the road, and since this was at night, in the mountains, a remote area, passing traffic had no problem seeing the bright beam and getting help. So the glove box light potentially saved this man his life. Now, before anyone blasts his decision of having a Surge, I give props for the guy actually having a light in his car, as probably the majority of non-flashaholics don't consider a flashlight as a requirement in the glovebox.

 

[SKYWLKR]

I voted for a 2AA (I use the light's a lot)I would like a 5mm set up maybe a 3-5 LED array.

like a opalec in a MM or somthing similer. or the brinkman LED light

But I tend to have a flash light on my person at all times any way though so it's not a high priority.

 

[paulr]

Why would anyone criticize the highway patrolman guy's choice of the Surge? It's a great glovebox light. The one problem I've heard about it is air pressure buildup inside if the cells emit gas, which frankly puzzles me because there's a catalyst bead inside that's supposed to absorb the gas. Somebody recommended drilling a tiny hole in the Surge body to prevent the buildup (compromising the waterproofness, but that's ok for a glovebox light).

I have a Surge in my own glovebox, replacing a cheap 2D light. The TT 2L is another good choice. I really do think any type of small 5MM led light isn't bright enough. In fact I could even see backing up the Surge with a Vector spotlight, though that would go in the trunk or behind the driver's seat, rather than in the glovebox.

 

[Badbeams3]

I have a TT 1L in the glove box. A TT 2L might be a better choice as it has a longer run time...but I only have one 2L and like to play with it so it stays home. The 1L has never been out of the glove box so the batt still should be 100%.

Ken

 

[attnspan]

When the AAA lithiums become available, I'm going to give a serious look at the Streamlight Trident for my glovebox. One LED for map reading, three for most everything else, and a xenon bulb when more light is absolutely necessary.

Until then, I'd say the 2L Twin Task is a great glovebox light. To me, it's a little too bright for map reading (a single LED setting would be nice here, too) and a pain for changing tires solo, but it's compact, versatile and runs on temperature tolerant batteries with a long shelf life, all of which make it great for glovebox duty.