Value choice to stick in the glove box of my car

[speedlever]

Small category is fine. I'll use a single removeable 18650 protected battery for power and recharge in my lii600 or Vapcell S4 Plus. Prefer LED. I can buy from Amazon or any of the local big box stores (NC). Not particular about anything else that I can think of. Decent lumens. Adjustable from flood to spot would be nice, but not necessary.

Not looking to spend hundreds. Prefer under $50 since I'll need 2 or more.

Tired of conventional cells being dead/spewed when I need them.

 

[QMT93]

Try Lumintrail headlamp. It's been my EDC for a year since I bought it, even now that I have a Malkoff M61HOT. $20 before tax on Amazon, and the headband is even included. High-Medium-Low, turn on at last mode, double tap for strobe.

Sent from my LM-V450 using Tapatalk

 

[xxo]

Maglite 2C ML25 with a 18650 battery adapter.

 

[AstroTurf]

how will the 18650 be affected by the heat of the glovebox?

Small category is fine. I'll use a single removeable 18650 protected battery for power and recharge in my lii600 or Vapcell S4 Plus. Prefer LED. I can buy from Amazon or any of the local big box stores (NC). Not particular about anything else that I can think of. Decent lumens. Adjustable from flood to spot would be nice, but not necessary.

Not looking to spend hundreds. Prefer under $50 since I'll need 2 or more.

Tired of conventional cells being dead/spewed when I need them.

 

[Scotty321]

Streamlight 2L-X USB

It has a bright spill but the hotspot is enough to give it a little range, it takes either 18650's (must be small button top) or 2xCR123's, mechanical lockout, decent run times, simple 2 mode UI, not "too pretty" to get dinged up, and can be found online or even at your local Cabelas (currently on sale) for under $50 if you don't get the 18650 battery with it. However, it does rattle if shaken with CR123's.

That being said, I might suggest CR123's for glovebox storage. Even Li AA's or AAA's should last fairly long in a glove box if there's no parasitic drain. You might also consider flashlights that have a mechanical lockout (especially if they have an e-switch). Additionally, if you are thinking that it will sometimes be needed to change a spare tire or work on something under the hood, a right angle light with a magnetic base comes in very handy.

 

[Poppy]

I like the Convoy S2+ for less than $20. It is a cigar sized 18650 light.

I would not be concerned about 18650 in the heat of a glove box. True the heat is not good for them, but they do survive. I have one in my car for a few years, recently I topped it off, after I found it in there, I had forgotten that it was there, it was at more than 75% full. I also have a convoy S2+ very readily accessible.

If you remember the "Garmin" GPS navigation system? They were powered by an 18650 battery, and they were often not just in the glove box, but permanently mounted on the dash, getting pounded by direct heat rays from the sun. At that the batteries lasted for years.

I think that it is important to have a red traffic wand diffuser for any light you choose to keep in your car. Fenix makes them with a few different dimensions. I actually have a rayovac virtually indestructible 2 AA light and a red diffuser for it in a vinyl bag attached to my ashtray.

I keep it filled with Duracell NiMH rechargeables, and a spare/backup 4 pack of Eveready AA lithiums.

 

[speedlever]

Try Lumintrail headlamp. It's been my EDC for a year since I bought it, even now that I have a Malkoff M61HOT. $20 before tax on Amazon, and the headband is even included. High-Medium-Low, turn on at last mode, double tap for strobe.

Sent from my LM-V450 using Tapatalk

Hadn't considered a headlamp. Thanks for the idea.

 

[speedlever]

Maglite 2C ML25 with a 18650 battery adapter.

I'll check that out. Thanks!

 

[speedlever]

how will the 18650 be affected by the heat of the glovebox?

Good question, but I don't think that's a problem. I hope!

 

[speedlever]

Streamlight 2L-X USB

It has a bright spill but the hotspot is enough to give it a little range, it takes either 18650's (must be small button top) or 2xCR123's, mechanical lockout, decent run times, simple 2 mode UI, not "too pretty" to get dinged up, and can be found online or even at your local Cabelas (currently on sale) for under $50 if you don't get the 18650 battery with it. However, it does rattle if shaken with CR123's.

That being said, I might suggest CR123's for glovebox storage. Even Li AA's or AAA's should last fairly long in a glove box if there's no parasitic drain. You might also consider flashlights that have a mechanical lockout (especially if they have an e-switch). Additionally, if you are thinking that it will sometimes be needed to change a spare tire or work on something under the hood, a right angle light with a magnetic base comes in very handy.

I'll look into that. I already have some batteries earmarked for this usage, some Panasonic 3500 mah 18650 batteries.

 

[speedlever]

I like the Convoy S2+ for less than $20. It is a cigar sized 18650 light.

I would not be concerned about 18650 in the heat of a glove box. True the heat is not good for them, but they do survive. I have one in my car for a few years, recently I topped it off, after I found it in there, I had forgotten that it was there, it was at more than 75% full. I also have a convoy S2+ very readily accessible.

If you remember the "Garmin" GPS navigation system? They were powered by an 18650 battery, and they were often not just in the glove box, but permanently mounted on the dash, getting pounded by direct heat rays from the sun. At that the batteries lasted for years.

I think that it is important to have a red traffic wand diffuser for any light you choose to keep in your car. Fenix makes them with a few different dimensions. I actually have a rayovac virtually indestructible 2 AA light and a red diffuser for it in a vinyl bag attached to my ashtray.

I keep it filled with Duracell NiMH rechargeables, and a spare/backup 4 pack of Eveready AA lithiums.

good ideas. I've heard of convoy. Will check that out too!

 

[speedlever]

Small category is fine. I'll use a single removeable 18650 protected battery for power and recharge in my lii600 or Vapcell S4 Plus. Prefer LED. I can buy from Amazon or any of the local big box stores (NC). Not particular about anything else that I can think of. Decent lumens. Adjustable from flood to spot would be nice, but not necessary.

Not looking to spend hundreds. Prefer under $50 since I'll need 2 or more.

Tired of conventional cells being dead/spewed when I need them.

So after reviewing your suggestions here, and in conjunction with r/flashlight, I ordered a Convoy S2+ and a Wurkkos FC11. Some of the suggested lights were no longer available on Amazon. Things must change pretty quickly for Amazon.

Flashlights are like watches to me... you can just go crazy getting different models/features and end up with quite a collection. Must be the gadget geek in me. I recently got into UV flashlights and bought a Beast V3 365 that I'm quite happy with.