What's the consensus on this flashlight?

[StarHalo]

Plus with those display packages it shines into a little mirror. Great for blinding a potential customer

My first ever quality LED flashlight experience was at Target with an Inova X5. I had seen it being used on the television show CSI:Crime Scene Investigation (the UV version in that instance - great for finding "fluids") and was intrigued by the idea of a multi-LED unit that was essentially carved into a solid slug of metal, and lo and behold, there it was on the shelves at Target. So I'm holding the blister pack and being impressed by the aesthetics and weight, and notice the little "try me" hole at the bottom, so like a newb I hit the button and look into the light -

A good 20-30 seconds passes here as I stood in the middle of the isle completely and utterly blind. There may have been people trying to get by me or children trying to steal my wallet, but to this day I'll never know. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed and the X5 eventually became my first "serious" flashlight. Though even in its time the output was just decent, the waterproof 1+ ton crush rating is still impressive by today's standards, as is the fit and finish.

As far as buying one now, I'd prefer to go with something that puts brightness/efficiency first and is tough enough for day-to-day use. It's good to know that you could back over the Inova with your car in the rain, but I'll take something not quite as overbuilt if it excels in brightness and runtime - definitely the Fenix P3D Q5.

 

[Snow]

These were gifts from a good friend. Previously, I had not owned nor used Inova lights. I don't know what the nominal nor measured outputs happen to be. Those figures are not important to me.

What I value from these products is their usefulness in the event that I need light in a circumstance involving the use of my automobile such as map reading, changing a flat tire, or looking for object lost in the dreary depths of my glove compartment, trunk, underneath the seats, or between the seats and center console.

They remain nestled in a soft nylon case from countycomm and in my glove compartment with a box of SF123 next to it.

I have read on this BB as well as on EDCF that Inova will be upgrading these products to the more efficient, higher output LED.

The build quality is exemplary and I am happy with these products.

That's a nice pair of lights, especially with those lanyards. Can you tell me what that braid is called? I'd like to make one or two.

 

[KeeperSD]

That's a nice pair of lights, especially with those lanyards. Can you tell me what that braid is called? I'd like to make one or two.

That would be a snake knot