What I want! Maybe?

[Jasonthephoneboy]

Hello :wave: flashaholics, I'm new to the membership role, although I have been reading from your site for well over a year on and off. I have been using this wonderful site and all of you guyses knowledge to sift through lights I have been interested in over the last year. I have always been a big fan of quality flashlights, ah I remember the first time I got a real (1 watt) LED light. To me that was a thrower. My my how things have changed. I have been comparing flashlights ever since always getting a bigger brighter light. However all of my lights have been lights from wal-mart or wherever. I have only used AA batt lights, and have been very strong about only AA lights. I felt CR123's were hard to obtain and expensive, especially when I could buy rechargeable AA's. Since first finding your site about a year ago, my eyes have been opened. I have searched CPF many times looking for reviews of flashlights I have wanted to get in the past. And now even though I have a while to sit on it (gotta save up some money) I think I have made a decision. My decision comes after careful reading and searching.

I have decided to go a route of power via 18650's But that too seemed to be more frustrating than finding a light because of the potential hazards involved. The same goes for the charger. Without CPF I would have bought a "recomended" battery and charger pack, and would have ended up with a WF-139 w/xxxxfire batteries, and no prior knowledge of the potential hazards of these under-par set-ups. Being a regular guy with regular knowledge I would figure them to be safe.

First, a background. I have been an outdoors kind of person for all of my life. I have always been interested in quality lights for as long as I can remember. A Maglight is a quality light to me and will always be so. But recently I have become a volunteer fire fighter, and I want a really good light. I want one that can throw well and has a good spill. I want one that can run for a good time. I want it to be reasonably sized. Mainly I want one for a search and rescue situation, not so much an EDC. I was interested in the TK 40 but fear all the circuitry is too much. I want a light that turns on and off. Maybe a light that has high, med, low, or strobe.

So my two choices of throwers:
1st: OLight M30 Triton
Pro's.............................................. Cons
Smaller........................................... Smaller reflector less throw
I like the strobe feature..................... More modes and buttons
.....................................................1.5 hrs on high

2nd: Jetbeam M1x
Pro's.............................................. Cons
Farther output larger reflector ............Big head little body
Simple, on off, manual output .............Big head little body
selection
3 hrs on high (specs)

Batteries: AW Protected 18650 2600mAh

Charger: Pila IBC

I just want to know for a first time light which of the two do you recommend? Can you get longer runtimes from the M30? Are the times for the M1x correct? How about the circuitry (press once for high twice for low three time for strobe), is that something that wears out over time?- The reason I ask is I don't want to drop the light and have it only come on at the low level or something stupid. I am new at this so a little help would be awesome. Any other suggestions would be great.

If "modes" on the TK 40 are not susceptible to becoming a major problem, I might head that way for now. But I have had lights that have changeable modes fail on me before, so...? I may have gotten a bad taste for "modes", maybe Fenix is a much better light then that wal-mart light. Maybe some input on the TK 40 as well.

Thanks guys.

 

[BarryG]

Have you looked at the Jetbeam Jet III-Military from Bugoutgearusa.com? They have them on sale now and I have been happy with mine.

Barry

 

[joe1512]

I think the TK40 would work fine. It has decent throw and having multiple modes shouldnt be a big deal. The strobe modes are 'hidden' which means you won't access them without a special combination of button presses. So you just have the 4 modes which is desirable.

These are expensive lights of high quality so the modes should cause any issues. You can always rely on the warranty if you have problems.

The new TK45 is an option too. Brighter and more efficient, but less throw.

 

[Jasonthephoneboy]

Yeah, after comparing prices, I think the TK 40 would be a better choice. I mainly wanted to know if anyone has had problems with the TK 40. But seeing how many people use them on bikes, all that bouncing around doesn't get any complaints, I suppose it will be a good flashlight for me.

Any more support for or against the TK40 would be greatly appreciated.

 

[entoptics]

The EagleTac T20C2 might also go on your list of choices.

Pros

• Good throw, with very nice spill and smooth beam.
• 2+ hours of runtime on 18650
• Nearly as bright as M30, but better throw supposedly
• 3 modes, with simple twisty UI (clicky activation, twisty mode switch)

Cons

• Crappy pocket clip
• Slow customer service (otherwise good though)

One other option might be to "lego" together a Quark with an 18650 battery tube. You can buy a 4.2 volt head, tail cap, and 18650 body for about $75.

Pros

• Excellent power efficiency = long runtimes
• Can buy parts later and lego yourself an EDC light, 2xaa camping light, etc etc.
• Choice of UI (Tactical = 2 mode programmable, Regular = 5 brightness + 2 disco)
• Choice of tailcap (Tail standing reverse clicky or protruding forward clicky)
• Small and slim (relative to other 18650 choices)
• Nice pocket clip (although its tolerances are tight enough to possibly cause troubles)

Cons

• Likely not as robust as M30, T20C2, etc
• Not as bright as above options (210 ish lumens is still dang bright though)
• Not as much throw as T20C2 or Jetbeam (may not be a "con")

Just a couple of suggestions you may have already ruled out, but if not, they are worth checking out.

 

[Locoboy5150]

I mainly wanted to know if anyone has had problems with the TK 40.

I've had my Fenix TK40 since about October of 2009 and it's still my favorite light overall. It is the most complex light that I have come across though with its 8 AA power source and numerous light output and flash modes. It certainly does not follow the K.I.S.S. principle at all. Fenix even went beyond that with the new TK45 because that light is even more complex than the TK40 with its multiple emitters and rotating LED low mode.

Others have had some problems with their TK40s and they're outlined in this thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=253661

So far, every problem has been debugged here on CPF. The only TK40 problem that I have seen that required lights to be sent back to the vendor under warranty were a couple of people whose MC-E LEDs didn't all light up properly in low mode. With those cases one of the MC-E's four dies didn't light up when in low mode.

The TK40 certainly has a legion of followers though, as shown by this thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=256517

Don't overlook the TK45 though. It's around the same price as the TK40 but it reportedly improves on some of its features. I'll find out for myself when my TK45 arrives next Monday, 7-19-10.