Ideal all rounder led? Need some advice...

I am looking to purchase a led light for my father as he recently bought a house in the bush. What I'm looking for is a reliable flashlight that can be used both for bushwalking and investigating strange noises etc. so two stages of light would be a good idea. Also the light must have a reasonable amount of throw so it can be used to search the property at night. Not looking to break the bank but I need something he can rely on so I will pay for quality. I own a surefire L2 which is great but the light for my father needs more throw for it to be useful as his sole flashlight. Any ideas? cheers

Not sure what would break the bank, but a U2 would fill the bill. Six light levels with a high that will out throw a L2. They can be found in BST for a little cheaper sometimes. Put in some 18650 batteries and you are good to go.

yeah thought about a U2 but it really is a bit too pricey. I suppose I could spend up to $150 BUT cheaper would definitely be better... The Nuwai lights look interesting, anyone have good/bad experience with them?

The VB-16 is an affordable alternative to the U2 that you can also consider. Wits End is selling a CPF version of it & you can check it out here.

www.flashlightreviews.com also reviews it (or a prototype of it) as the "Vari-brite 16" or something like that.

You could always get him some basic headlamp for walking around, and then the venerable 6P for Bumps In The Night...

Well, when budget is a concern, often two quality flashlights will be cheaper than a single one with dual levels of output.

Sounds like maybe something like a Fenix L1 or L1p for the closer in use and either the Dorcy 3D Super 1W, LEDBeam 3C light or Streamlight 3C Propolymer for more throw when scanning greater distances.

cratz2 said:

...often two quality flashlights will be cheaper than a single one with dual levels of output...

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That's good advice. A single light is ideal, but except for the Vari-Brite 32L, I can't think of a great-throwing, modestly-priced, multi-level LED light.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/britestuff_vari-brite.htm

As already stated, the LEDBeam 3C has excellent throw and is just $25:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/ledbeam_3c.htm
http://www.ledbeam.com/

A possible companion light to the LEDBeam is the Nuwai TM-301X-3, with two-level output, for $42:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nuwai_tm301x3.htm

Both of those together are just $67.

I definitely support the notion of two lights (without any dual level function).

One reason is focus. If you want throw, you want a tight focus. A tight focused light will be TOO bright for any kind of close up work where you will want a broad beam.

How about this?

1 Streamlight ProPoly 4 AA Luxeon (great throw!)
1 Petzel Zipka Plus headlamp 3 AAA

The Zipka Plus is compact and can be held in the hand like a flashlight or quickly and easily slipped over the head for a hands free headlamp. It has 3 brightness levels.

Another nice light to throw in is the Dorcy 1 AAA ($6 in the U.S.). It has a rubber collar that is easy to clench in the teeth when necessary and makes a great back up light. You can always scrounge 1 AAA battery if you have any around.

The Nuwai TM301X3 is pretty nice. I've only had mine for a few days so I can't be certain of its reliability, but being two-stage it's pretty useful. It doesn't have lockout, but the switch isn't very likely to get activated by mistake.

My vote would be for a Propolymer 4AA Luxeon. It has great throw and output and has 4 hrs of regulated runtime. An absolutely great light.

However, if you want a very far throwing light, nothing beats an incandescent light such as the Pelican M6 or Streamlight Tactical Light 3.

Pelican M6 HA: for about $100 you get a regulated LuxIII, great quality (it's a Peli, wadda you expect? ), and one of the best beams and throw out there. The Peli's M6 reflector is simply superb. Check them out at batterystation.com (CPF Specials thread).

Thanks for the advice, two lights does look like the better option. Given me much to think about. cheers

you DEFINATLY need a flashlight that can throw, Streamlight 3C Luxeon comes to mind, its cheap, only like $26, lasts quiet a while on C batteries

I would second joema for the ledbeam:rock:

ok, once again thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it! I'm leaning towards getting a streamlight propolymer for the throw light, seems like a great light. I just need to know whether the 3C version is significantly brighter than the 4aa version or whether the only benefit of the 3c is extended runtime? Can't decide whether the added size and weight is worth it.

I've got a fenix l1 (R bin lux from lighthound!) on order so if it's good i'll order another l1 for my father to use for close range stuff. Those two lights should pretty much cover his needs.

propolymer 4AA is a very good light..I got 5 ..and I like all of.....

You might even consider 2 lights-
An Inova X5 for close range use around the house, and something like a Pelican M6 for throw.

Another option would be a Streamlight TwinTask or TaskLight. Most of these models have different light output levels.

ok, once again thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it! I'm leaning towards getting a streamlight propolymer for the throw light, seems like a great light. I just need to know whether the 3C version is significantly brighter than the 4aa version or whether the only benefit of the 3c is extended runtime? Can't decide whether the added size and weight is worth it.

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Someone asked this before, and I'm pretty sure the conclusion was that the 3C isn't much brighter as far as overall output goes, but the beam is more tightly focused, so it'll throw farther than the 4AA. Also, like you said, the 3C will last longer on a set of batteries than the 4AA.

Either of the SL Proly Luxeon lights are superb. They have excellent throw for a 1 watt LED light. However they are ultimately just 1 watt, so have limited output.

The LEDBeam has almost double the throw and double the output and is just $25. It's a great deal if you don't mind a physically larger light. It's unregulated but has pretty long run time.

By far the best throwing commercial LED light is the LED Logic Striker VG. It has both tremendous output and throw, and has two level output. It actually out throws the UK Light Cannon, which is a High Intensity Discharge incandescent light. It's $109 from Batteryjunction.com.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/ledlogic_strikervg.htm
http://www.batteryjunction.com/ledlostvgtaf.html

joema said:

By far the best throwing commercial LED light is the LED Logic Striker VG. It has both tremendous output and throw, and has two level output. It actually out throws the UK Light Cannon, which is a High Intensity Discharge incandescent light. It's $109 from Batteryjunction.com.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/ledlogic_strikervg.htm
http://www.batteryjunction.com/ledlostvgtaf.html

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only 20 mins of run time with AA lol thats hardly usable as a household/emergency flashlight. the best option is a flashlight that uses C batteries, they have very good output, and they last quiet a while even in storage. either the ledbeam 3c and SL 3c lux is probably the best option