what is the best LED light for the money?

cheapo

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Jan 5, 2005
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hey, I would like an LED light for under $70. With alot of throw or overall output. Which light is best? thanks.

-David <font color="blue"> </font>
 
It'd be hard to beat an Inova T3 (Lux3)- really powerfull blast of a beam, excellent build quality with easy grippability, and a teriffic true tactical switch. They retail for about $70, but you can often find them on B/S/T or on sale for closer to the $50 range. Another popular choice would be a Pelican M6 LED (Lux1)- not quite the same power/throw as the T3 (although some like the beam more) and the switch isn't as nice, but it's a bit shorter, a bit cheaper ($46@batterystation) and it feels great in the hand.
 
I bought one of the Lenser Luxeon V2's for $40 and have never seen anything so small, so bright. I had read that someone used it for a few hours and still attained 467,000 mcd on their equipment. That's friggin' BRIGHT!!

It's extremely bright and gives off a pure white light.

The only gripe I have with it, is that the switch button can easily be ripped off just by putting it back in the sheath as it protrudes and is made of soft plastic/rubber. The company obviously knew there was a potential problem with this. How do I know this? Well they put an extra button in the base like Mag does with their extra bulbs. I ripped both of them off in less than 2 months and took it back. The store owner gave me a new one and to keep this from happening again, I put some 1" heatshrink around the area to protect the button. Even though this has happened, I would have no other light on my belt. This has worked great since November. I'm an Industrial Maintenance Tech and my lights take a pretty good beating. This one holds its own.

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My next purchase will be the new Luxeon V2 Gigachip 5-watt 10.5 inch model.

http://www.quality-items-flashlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=143
 
Nuwai Q3 at about $40, 3 watt 1x123 with a nice beam. Not a super thrower (small reflector) but plenty of output.
 
If it doesn't need to be pocketable, the Elektrolumens FT-3C is a lot of light for the money at $50.

Next step down in size, I'd look seriously at the second gen Streamlight TL-2 LED though I haven't personally used one yet. Glowing review over on flashlightreviews.com

At the under $50 price point and much smaller form factor, it's hard to argue with the Nuwai Quantum III. You can even get choice tints right now for under $50.

The Inova T3 and X03 are nice lights for sure and have a nice feel to them. I just am of the opinion that they are a tad too large to carry conviniently and for general use, prefer more spill.
 
I have a T3, T1, and a QIII. If size doesn't matter I would recommend the T3. I EDC the T1, and the QIII is strapped to my B.O.B. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Blades
 
For about $60.00 You can also get the
3D 3watt Blaster from Elektrolumens.
Comes with a custom machined body!
Long runtime!!!

-Rebus
 
The Nuwai Q3 3 watt single cell Cr123 is very bright and better quality than I thought. Very impressive light with very white light (at least the one I got - most 3 watters are fairly white)
 
$70 is the perfect range for my favorite little stock light, the Q3R. R meaning rechargable. Get the special price for a charger and a couple of batteries from http://www.batterystation.com/cpf.htm

$40 for the light
$18 for the charger with one battery
$58 total!!!

The R will give it about 1100 LUX at 1-meter! That's a lot of throw and a whole bunch of lumens too. When compared to 650 or 700 with a regular battery.

Do a search for Q3 rechargable to find the thread.
 
I'm not very familiar with LED lights, but someone gave me a SL Jr Luxeon and I was very impressed with it, considering the under $40 price tag. Plus it uses AA batteries, so that probably means it's cheaper to run, depending on how cheap you get your AA's for.

But as I said, I would defer to the other posts above. Just wanted to mention the SL JR LUX.
 
cheapo,
As always, that depends! Are you going to use this light every day for an hour or two or use it once a week for a few minutes? What is the maximum size you can handle as well as run time? Will you use rechargable batteries or want the unit with the pack built in?
The Q-III and Inova T3 would fit your budget, I saw a T2 in action and it is a really nice light! If a maxiumum output rechargable eye fryer is what you want, the upcoming Inova T4 uses a rechargable lithium-ion pack and should throw some serious lumens.
I just wish I knew when the T4 is coming out, first October 2004, then January 2005 then....
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif
 
Inova T3 is my favorite, by far. You can get one for $50 at BatteryStation or Botac. At that price point, though, I would VERY strongly suggest you look into the Streamlight Strion. In has about twice the throw of the T3, is smaller, and is rechargeable.
 
Wow! I have the 2xCR123 Pelican and now a 3?! For 59 bucks thats got to be one of the best if not "THE" best buy out there. Now I have to justify this one after just buying the TriStar Phaser.

Troll
 
My case may be an isolated one, but I dropped an Inova X03 (same basic light as a T3) 3-4 feet onto a wood floor and it stopped working. No easy way to fix it either because of the design. I've accidentally dropped several Surefires and Streamlights from a greater distance onto concrete, and they all still work fine. I'd recommend either a Pelican M6 or Streamlight T2.

-Keith
 
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