??what to buy??

[trapperjay]

I'm new here, wish I would have found the site several months ago. I purchased a Streamlight XT HP that I'm not happy with. It's just too large for what I do. I'm out early and late sometimes hunting, etc. I need somehting compact but powerful with a good battery life.

Any suggestions?

 

[yellow]

I think You mean a Stinger with "XT HP"?

options:
1: You already have a good charger for Ni-Mhs (~40-50,--) and cells (~20,--)
--> Fenix LD20, Fenix TK20 or Jetbeam Jet 1 model, or ...
at least something running on 2*AA.
pro: small,
con: possiby not the throw You liked

2: You dont have charging equipment for Ni-Mh
--> a light running on 1*18650 Li-Ion cell + protected 18650 Li-Ion cell + double slot multiformat Li-Ion cell charger
because this is cheaper than Ni-Mh and the 18650 houses 1/3 more power in cell than the 2 Ni-Mhs.
Jetbeam Jet III Pro Ultra


PS: there are several other quality makers You will read in here, the makes above are the ones I know in personal and thus can recommend. Imho they give the best value for the money with the most rugged and long time working quality.

 

[Saint_Dogbert]

For hunting/outdoor stuff, I'd reccomend any single- or double-cell light with a neutral or warm emitter, running on rechargeable AA NiMH eneloops or else CR123A lithiums. I think an Eagletac P10A2 or P10C2, available at PTS-flashlights.com in the neutral emitter configuration would suit your needs well.

There may be other options with lower low modes and warm emitters if you want longer runtime, but I can't think of any specifics.

 

[Gunner12]

I've never been hunting so I don't know what's needed. I'm guessing good throw, smaller size, and good color rendering?

How much throw?
What price?
How much runtime?
What batteries?
Multimode?

A Dereelight DBS with the Q3 neutral white LED could work too.

:welcome:

 

[old4570]

Any half decent R2 or Q5 should do the job just fine , just get a multi mode , which will allow you to chose a light level for your needs ..

What batteries did you want to run ?

CR123A Primaries [ non rechargeable ] , rechargeable CR123A , or 18650 .
Or supermarket batteries , AA AAA C D .

 

[trapperjay]

WOW, what a "warm" welcome to the board!
I will try to answer some of the questions (the ones I understand).
Throw: I have no idea what that means.

Batteries: I'd like to run a rechargeable if possible. A light I can compare to, that I don't mind toting-around, is the MiniMag 2cell. But, I'd like a little brighter light with a longer battery life. I need a couple hours of strong burn time.

Price: I'd like to keep it at or around 50-60$$

Yellow--you are correct, I did mean to say "Stinger"

 

[trapperjay]

I may be asking too much from a light, but I'd prefer not to have that deadspot in the center of the beam.

 

[yellow]

deadspot?

 

[divine]

Deadspot is the donut hole in the MC-E and P7 beams.

You might want to look into a rechargeable incandescent. Something with a lumensfactory lamp would be good, maybe a solarforce host.

I remember a while back a hunter made a long post about using LED lights, then trying an incandescent and it made his search of the blood trail MUCH easier.

 

[PsychoBunny]

I agree with Dogbert on the warm tint.
You dont want cool blue/white light out in the woods :shakehead

I found that out the hard way.

There are MANY lights that would fill your needs.

Just go over to 4sevens.com and go shopping!

 

[Toaster]

Well correct me if I'm wrong but the Stinger XT HP has about 120 lumens, 20-25,000 lux @ 1M throw, and about 1 hr runtime. If you want a light that has neutral tint LED or incandescent, outputs more lumens, throws farther, has longer runtime, is smaller, and is not a piece of junk then you will need to spend more than $50-60. The light that best fits that description imho is the Dereelight DBS V3 with Q4-5B LED. It is significantly over your budget, but it does meet every one of the criterias you listed.

 

[Gunner12]

Throw is how far the light projects. How much do you need and how well do you need the subject to be illuminated at that distance?

I think a good light for you might be a Fenix TK20. One of the furthest throwing stock 2 AA lights, neutral white LED too!(the normal white LEDs you usually see are cool white, neutral white is between incan tint and sunlight tint) Low mode has more output and runtime the then Minimag. High mode has even more output.

If your willing to buy a new rechargeable system, a Dereelight CL1H(with neutral white LED module) or another 18650 and P60 compatiable light(with neutral white LED drop-in) might be a good choice. 18650 is a Li-ion battery. It is 18mm wide (first two numbers), 65 mm long (3rd and 4th numbers), and cylindrical (last number). P60 is a type of module that Surefire started and many lights now can use. Lights that can use the P60 type module range from under $10 to over $100. Module/drop-ins have the same range of costs (budget drop-in vs custom drop-in).

Wait, the Stinger XP HT? That's a lot of throw that a LED light needs to match. You'll need one of the more dedicated throwing LED lights if you want LED. The head might be similar size but the body should be smaller for the LED light.

 

[sappyg]

I'm new here, wish I would have found the site several months ago. I purchased a Streamlight XT HP that I'm not happy with. It's just too large for what I do. I'm out early and late sometimes hunting, etc. I need somehting compact but powerful with a good battery life.

Any suggestions?

check out the SF e2e. i've been very pleased with mine in the woods and elsewhere running a LF HO-e2R bulb in mine. you get lots of throw AND tons of spill in a very small package with about an hour of run time. it will blow your budget but it is a top shelf set up.
something more in line with your budget might be a SF g2 with an LF SR-9 powered by 2 RCR cells or the same set up in a solarforce host might even be better for you and really keep within your budget.
i usually hunt the foothills of the blueridge mountains and beleive me lighter is better. i prefer incan for a main light but i do take along a d10 for backup.
happy hunting.

 

[trapperjay]

thank you for all the suggestions. I talked to the folks at 4sevens and they helped me to decide on the LD20.

 

[curiousone1]

I am looking for a relatively inexpensive ($60-80$) single RCR123 EDC.....I am contemplating either the Dereelight C2H or the Wolf Eyes Angel CX......opinions?