Your best advice?

[Dave_5280]

What advice would you give to someone selecting their first LED flashlight?

I'm looking for general ideas, pitfalls to avoid, advertising hype you have found, rules of thumb you use, quality vs. cost, upgrade timing, etc.

 

[Sgt. LED]

Make the host something reliable and that takes the P60 size drop-ins so you can upgrade super easy as new emitters come along. Tint of led may not matter in real use. Avoid white wall hunting, it is expensive and in the end - POINTLESS. The brightest is rarely the best. Keep your mind on your heatsinking because heat KILLS led's. If it can use rechargables you will want to do it eventually. AW Li-ion cells are best overall but remember to count your voltage before firing anything up. Shipping from overseas takes too long. Shop with someone who offers the CPF discount! Buy American. The custom lights will call for your money eventually. If you are not sure if you will like it or not try to buy it used from the marketplace and save yourself some hard earned cash. You can always diffuse a thrower but you can't focus a floody light. Take your lights outside and actually use the things!

My vote is a Surefire 9P and a Malkoff M60L drop-in.
Not too big, tough, relable, and runs for a good long time on 1 set of cells.

You can get away plenty cheaper but that could also leave you somewhere in the dark holding on to a cheap dead light.
:welcome:

 

[marschw]

I'd say start with cheap DX lights; Bessiebenny's thread can be a good starting point for finding some. That'll let you find firsthand which qualities you like in a light; e.g. how many modes, collimator vs. reflector vs. bare, battery sizes, HA3 vs. stainless steel vs. cheaper anodized aluminum, etc.

 

[shakeylegs]

Best advice?

*Pants on one leg at a time.
**Never gamble with a guy named Slim.
***Understand your lighting needs and find a flashlight to match.

****Alternatively, ignore all advice and buy recklessly! Something better is always on it's way.

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

- Consider the size of the light and how you will carry it, store it, and use it.
- What type of batteries do you prefer?
- What type of beam pattern do you prefer?
- How much run time, or lumen output do you need?
- Are you willing to pay more for good customer service, and warranties?
- Pay particular attention to the type of (UI) user interface of the light, and make sure it is right for you.
- There are no bad lights talked about on this forum. It's all about finding the right light for your specific application with in your budget.

 

[DArklite]

Wear out the Search button.... and avoid KD

Stick around; you'll do fine .. and Welcome to CPF :thumbsup:

 

[kramer5150]

:welcome:
Welcome to CPF

Some things I have learned along the way...

-There is no "Absolute BEST" anything. Its more about picking the right tool for the job. The definition of "right" being whatever the end user prefers to see and use.

-Brightest is seldomly the best. This is my own opinion and many here completely disagree. Using an excessively bright light for the application can have the adverse affect and render one blind.

-Ignore Lumen, Lux and run time specifications printed on the packaging, unless its a Surefire product. Surefire is one of the few manufacturers who rate their products in a practical way, that translates to something useful to the end user.

-Research battery types (pros and cons) before purchasing a high $$$ light. IMHO this is almost more important than light selection.

-Surf the marketplace for deals and CPF discounts.

-Watch out on ebay... cons, crooks and dishonest sellers are everywhere. There was a prick not too long ago claiming the Superfire flashlights being sold on his ebay store are the "real" USA-made ones and that the ones sold on DX are fakes. CPF'ers sniffed him out and exposed the truth however.:thumbsup:

-I have had no problems buying stuff from DX, and forum sponsors alike.:twothumbs

-You have 3 general choices when picking a flashlight...
1-Long Run time
2-Lumen output
3-Small size
With todays battery technology, and emitter efficiency you can have ONLY two of the three. There is no such thing as a light that will do all-3, although some of the newer Cree-Q5 multi-mode 18650 lights are starting to break the mold.

Other than that... post lots of questions. The search tool here is not the greatest, but please don't let that discourage you from trying it.

:thumbsup:

 

[fishx65]

Depending on were you live, some of the big name department stores are starting to carry some decent Cree lights. Very easy to return them if they don't meet your needs. Just do a search in the led forum for Meijers, Walmart, Target, Lowes and others.

 

[kramer5150]

Depending on were you live, some of the big name department stores are starting to carry some decent Cree lights. Very easy to return them if they don't meet your needs. Just do a search in the led forum for Meijers, Walmart, Target, Lowes and others.

Ditto that!!
Add REI to the list, they sell Gerber, Mag, Inova and a ton of headlamps. Nice thing about B&M is you can inspect the light yourself, and return it if it is faulty. I always inspect my lights and pick the one with the emitter thats centered the best in the reflector.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

My advice comes from the perspective of a caver and field biologist.

Decide which type of battery you plan to use before selecting your flashlights.

For me, I greatly prefer lights which can use the most universally available battery available, the good ol' AA. In a perfect world where money was no object and I had a bottomless barrel of lithium CR123 batteries, I'd choose the CR123. It is certainly the superior battery with its high power, light weight, and extreme shelf life.

However, I work in a world where I need to use a LOT of batteries in many different pieces of electronic equipment (flashlights, cameras, GPS, radios, and scientific instruments) and have done my very best to standardize most of my field gear to use high quality rechargeable AA batteries. If one piece of equipment has dead batteries, I can always scavenge batteries from another device I am not using at the time. If for some reason I run out of batteries, I can purchase them from nearly ANY store in any part of the world.

As an extreme example, I was caving deep in the jungle on a remote island off of Panama last summer when I discovered that my headlamp had been accidentally turned on in my pack and I was not going to be able to safely enter the cave with only my backup light. The nearest store was 4 hours away by trail and boat. I was able to buy 4 new generic Chinese alkaline AA batteries from a half naked boy in a native Kuna indian village. Had I needed CR123's, I would have been out of luck and would have wasted an entire day in the field.

Do I own flashlights that take CR123's? I most certainly do. But these flashlights are kept as my emergency gear and are not used for every day purposes if one of my AA powered flashlights will do. I could easily spend $20-30 on CR123 batteries on a single day caving if I didn't have lights that used rechargeable AA's.

So all that being said, I'd suggest that someone new wanting a high powered LED flashlight buy a Fenix L2D and a set of Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries with charger to power it. This flashlight has lots of modes to play with, is well made, and is shockingly bright.

 

[Oddjob]

Do a lot of reading and research. There is a lot of information here and although it can be daunting, it is the best way to learn how to buy what you want or need. Some good advice posted here already. Don't be affraid to ask questions via PM or by posting. Every day there seems to be a "what light do you recommend thread" or take a look at the welcome mat. Be a sponge and read, read, read. Good luck and welcome!

 

[sol-leks]

Best advice is probably not to skimp but not to go crazy. I have definitely liked my first lights but then replaced them almost immediately. If you think you are a LEDHead, you will not be happy with second best. I'm not saying you should jump right to a 200 dollar light, but the 20 dollar dx/kd light is not going to satisfy you. Don't quibble(within reason) the price is usually worth it as long as you do your homework.
Beyond that, don't get obsessed with lumens. Having been obsessed for a little while now, I find myself hounding far more after lights with good beams rather than lots of light.

 

[Wattnot]

Judging by your name . . . you must be near me?

My first real lights before finding this site were a couple of Surefire G2 Nitrolons. My first real light after finding this site was a Fenix P2D. I use the G2's for home and vehicle but the P2D is easily carried in a jacket pocket.

I agree with the battery choice being almost as important as the light. The CR123 batteries go in the most "fun" lights!

:welcome:

 

[LED-holic]

Best advice = buy AA Eneloops, and Fenix / NiteCore lights for best value.