Toughest / Most Reliable LED Light at 250+ Lumens OTF ?

[yalskey]

Simple yet maybe a bit tricky. Let's see who's flash-a-holic-nerdy enough to answer.

1. It must be a pocket LED light that runs on typical batteries (AA, CR123, rechargeables, etc.)

2. It must be at least 250+ lumens Out-The-Front, or 330+ Emitter Lumens... or as close to that as possible.

3. It must be extremely durable, tolerate rough use, reliable circuitry, and bottom line is it must take a licking and keep on ticking. Obviously there is a limit to how must anything can take before it breaks, but this factor is the most important.

4. A couple modes would be nice. 2 or 3 at the most.

5. Rear clicky (hopefully forward)

6. Throw / Flood doesn't matter too much, but a decent mix of both would be cool.

7. No custom builds or serious (mail away, soldering, etc.) modding.

Let me know if I forgot anything.

p.s. To help you visualize... If you had to take just 1 light into a deadly combat fight at night (nevermind UV / IR) in rough / wet conditions... and your life depended on that light's ability to take some hard use, what would you choose?

 

[yalskey]

Wow... zero love for me on CPF.

I guess nobody on this forum really knows anything about flashlights...

[sigh] :-(

 

[kramer5150]

6P with Nailbender XPG.
Replace the pyrex window with the polycarbonate lens from a G2. Alternately you could swap the bezel with a nitrolon G2 bezel, but you might have to limit ON cycles to keep emitter temperatures down.

The TK40 should be considered as well.

 

[smokelaw1]

Easy. Malkoff MD2 w/ M61 and two stage ring.

Or Surefire Lx2.

Either might not actually hit 250 otf, but the malkoff is close, I believe.

Just choose the switching mechanism you like better.

 

[yalskey]

6P with Nailbender XPG. The TK40 should be considered as well.

Thank Kramer... nice to see SOMEBODY replied to me... geeesshhh.
I've heard of Nailbender around here, but I'm not sure what his website is, or if he just has sales threads over in CPFMP.... link?

The TK40 is tough, but a bit too big for me to pocket carry.

Easy. Malkoff MD2 w/ M61 and two stage ring. Or Surefire Lx2. Either might not actually hit 250 otf, but the malkoff is close, I believe.

I've considered the MD2 w/M60/61/30. To me it's just a tad not-bright-enough for the price. I'm guessing that the MDx line of hosts is considered EXTREMELY durable and well-built? ...like "M60" quality? They just look kind of clunky / funky... I guess because it uses optics? But as you know, Gene is always sold out... even now... plus, isn't the MD2 a twisty?

SureFire LX2 is nice, but not quite the brightness I'm looking for.

 

[jcw122]

Don't forget to research tints! If your uses will be outdoors, then neutral white or warm lights should be put into consideration.

 

[aurum]

....

 

[nathan225]

what about a fenix tk 12

 

[yalskey]

Don't forget to research tints! If your uses will be outdoors, then neutral white or warm lights should be put into consideration.

I don't really care about tints, so long as it's not blue or green-ish. I never really understood why people get so into tints. White, slightly off-white... what ever... is that REALLY going to make that much difference? Besides, I prefer pure white over sickly yellowish any day. People talk about accurate color rendition, but then they buy a yellow/warm tinted beam that makes other colors look tinted/warmer than they are. And yes, I know about the whole sun being slightly yellow concept. Thanks anyway though

UniqueFire R5 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32720 ...

Seriously? I mean, seriously dude? After reading the title and OP, you are recommending that I bet my life on a $22 chinese DX piece of crap? Maybe I'm missing something here... anybody want to help me understand? Maybe this makes sense in the "million ants" tactic... you could just have two cheap lights on you instead of one big expensive one??? I'm not getting it. I do appreciate your efforts though, even though I had a smart a$$ response

what about a fenix tk 12

Now this is a good suggestion. I might look into it. I wish it was over 300 lumens OTF though.... that would be nice. I'm guessing I'd have to go with an MC-E / P7 / SST type emitter to get much brighter.

 

[pulstar]

Easy. Malkoff MD2 w/ M61 and two stage ring.

Or Surefire Lx2.

Either might not actually hit 250 otf, but the malkoff is close, I believe.

Just choose the switching mechanism you like better.

+1 !!!

Even more, someone reported in Surefire LX2 thread, that LX2 scored better ceiling bounce numbers than Malkoff m60, and were close to m61.

MD2+m61 or LX2 or E2dl, which is more LEO oriented (clickie switch, comes first on high...)

 

[Noctis]

Surefire 6P bored for 18650(don't have to send one in, just buy one from ElectronGuru)w/ Crenelated Bezel, Type III HA + Malkoff M61.

The M61 uses a reflector and Cree XPG. You can send an e-mail to Gene asking him to drive the emitter to 1.4 amps if you want it brighter. But if "toughness" extends to the module as well, I can't think of any other aside from a Malkoff.

You can use one of Nailbender's SST-50 drop-ins for 400+ OTF lumens. Though your runtime will be limited by heat, and you might need to use some copper tape and thermal paste to help with heat transfer.

 

[Locoboy5150]

I never really understood why people get so into tints.

Probably because they're into night hiking. If you go outside in a wooded area at night, take a cool white LED light and an incandescent light with you and compare them to each other. The results might surprise you. They sure surprised me, that's for sure.

 

[kramer5150]

As for durability, any of the CPF caver lights mentioned in this thread are worth your consideration. Note however that they are not going to be 250+ OTF.

Heres the thread for Nailbender P60 modules

It should also be mentioned that no light, no matter how well made / designed is fool-proof. If you are gearing up for a situation where reliability is critical, you need to be thinking about an entire lighting setup. That needs to include backups, spares, backup power sources and maybe even field replacement parts. In this respect many of the DX lights could be preferred, for the simple fact that they can be field stripped and serviced, with interchangeable parts.

 

[MattK]

Olight M20 R5

 

[DM51]

UniqueFire R5...[Idiotic DX link removed - DM51]

Seriously? I mean, seriously dude? After reading the title and OP, you are recommending that I bet my life on a $22 DX piece of crap?

LOL

 

[brightnorm]

Depending on how you define "pocket" there are other lights available. For instance the Malkoff MD-3 Wildcat (hopefully soon available). 550 OTF lumens, 6-3/4", 1" body, 1.8" Head.)

http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/malkoff-md3-wildcat-p-77.html

Or the Wolfeyes Explorer, less than 6" long,1" body, 1.65 diameter head, 580 L (probably emitter lumens). Many other excellent features

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=233676.

I have the Explorer and it easily carries in my front pocket, or in a compact belt holster.There have been some Wolfeyes model changes and omissions, but if you look here you will see several lights appropriate to your needs. Unfortunatly, some are not available but hopefully will be in the near future.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/productList.aspx?uid=1-139-160

You could also see what used lights are available in CPF Marketplace.

Brightnorm

 

[AusKipper]

Simple yet maybe a bit tricky. Let's see who's flash-a-holic-nerdy enough to answer.

1. It must be a pocket LED light that runs on typical batteries (AA, CR123, rechargeables, etc.)

2. It must be at least 250+ lumens Out-The-Front, or 330+ Emitter Lumens... or as close to that as possible.

3. It must be extremely durable, tolerate rough use, reliable circuitry, and bottom line is it must take a licking and keep on ticking. Obviously there is a limit to how must anything can take before it breaks, but this factor is the most important.

4. A couple modes would be nice. 2 or 3 at the most.

5. Rear clicky (hopefully forward)

6. Throw / Flood doesn't matter too much, but a decent mix of both would be cool.

7. No custom builds or serious (mail away, soldering, etc.) modding.

Let me know if I forgot anything.

p.s. To help you visualize... If you had to take just 1 light into a deadly combat fight at night (nevermind UV / IR) in rough / wet conditions... and your life depended on that light's ability to take some hard use, what would you choose?

The bolded bit is your weakest link. If you want ultimate reliability you really want a twisty.

RA makes a twisty that is apparently very reliable (no first hand experience from me)

"Very Reliable Lights" that meet your criteria (except lumen output, but a well driven R5 is probably as good as your going to get for now) would probably be:

Quark Turbo (more than 3 modes, but only 2 once programmed)
Quark Tactical (more than 3 modes, but only 2 once programmed)
Olight M21
Fenix TK12 (UI may be a bit funky, but you sort of end up with 2 modes)
Eagletac T20C2 (again UI may be an issue for you)

 

[WadeF]

Sounds like you are describing the Dereelight CL1H V4 with the new XP-G drop-in.

 

[KingCanada]

You'll probably never be able to tell the difference between 200 lumens, and 250 lumens. With that said, just get a Surefire LX2.

 

[jimmy1970]

Easy: Surefire 6P with Malkoff M60/M61, Z49 tailcap. This is a virtually indestructable combo.

My personal favourite combo: Surefire 6P, Malkoff M60, Stainless smooth bezel ring, Z59 tailcap - nice hefty combo that feels like it would survive a direct missile strike!

James.....