Here's another what light should I get question

As I am quite new to this whole flashlight thing, I'd like your input on this.

I want to buy a new light, but I'm looking for some features

- LUXEON
- Metal body (preferably HA3, but HA2 will be good enough)
- clicky switch
- Hi + Low beam
- around 100 lumens on high beam
- adjustable beam
- possibility to convert to rechargeable

Maximum of $ 100 to spend on it. Light I found so far that comes closest is the Surefire L2, but thats too expensive...

I don't know of any light that meets all of your criteria. You may have to compromise.
One possibility: find a great deal on B/S/T on an old SF U2.

The Inova T4 is rechargable would be a good choice. It fits your descriptions and budget but does not have an adjustable beam.

Maybe you should save up for a surefire...

Doesn't maglite have a patent on the adjustable beam(as silly as it sounds)? So that criteria rules out almost any light except maglite, I believe.
And the Luxeon criteria rules out all the maglites, so a mod it is.

Adjustable beam seems to me like a pointless MagLite 'feature.' IMO there are no Luxeons with an adjustable beam unless you count adding a beamshaper. If I were you, I'd just take the L2. You can get it from OpticsHQ for $124 with the CPF discount. Free shipping. If you read the review at Flashlightreviews.com you'll see that it doesn't last very long on high, but most people on CPF agree that the L2 is great anyway, because its low output tends to be good enough for most general-purpose lighting needs. 15 lumens is a respectable amount at night.

Welcome to the forum. Go for the U2 ! A small well machined
lithium powered variable projector of bright white photons
with functional simplicity, magnificent design, a tough exterior
finish and a warranty that is one of the best in the business.


You'll save money in the long run !!!! ................ :naughty:

carrot said:

Adjustable beam seems to me like a pointless MagLite 'feature.' IMO there are no Luxeons with an adjustable beam unless you count adding a beamshaper. If I were you, I'd just take the L2. You can get it from OpticsHQ for $124 with the CPF discount. Free shipping. If you read the review at Flashlightreviews.com you'll see that it doesn't last very long on high, but most people on CPF agree that the L2 is great anyway, because its low output tends to be good enough for most general-purpose lighting needs. 15 lumens is a respectable amount at night.

Click to expand...

Can you explain to me how 165 -5% is 124 ??

MayCooper said:

Can you explain to me how 165 -5% is 124 ??

Click to expand...

Sure. There are two discounts CPF gets from OpticsHQ. The first one is much lower prices -- which are hidden from the public to avoid negative attention from Surefire -- you have to buy a $5 membership to OpticsHQ and at checkout, you use a $5 coupon. Then, when you buy a light, you enter the 5% CPF discount code. I was confused by this myself. View this post for the details. https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1133154&postcount=11

Personally, I think you are asking the unreasonable. I think you'll have to drop at least two of your requirements.

First of all, 100 'real' lumens is a challenge. Even U-bins can be as low as 87 lumens when driven to spec so that dictates a Lux V which usually compromise throw. It would be much easier to have a Lux III and use a beamshaper for more diffused output that it would be to have an adjustable beam with a Lux V. And most of the lights that have high and low outputs are either kinda cheesy or over $100.

If you MUST stay under $100, I think the Nuwai Q3 with a UX1L star swapped in run on an R123 cell with the 2 stage clickie would be your best bet but unless you happened to just find one already modded and being sold as used, it would probably cost you 'about' $100 assuming you can swap the star yourself... that's more than a Surefire E1L and then a beamshaper is just another $25 or so.

I don't know... it never hurts to dream or look to the future, but it just seems your request is either impossible at this point or you're going to sacrifice a LOT in the quality department.

Nothing unreasonable about it... I just said that I was looking for certain features, not that it has to have it all... (although that would be sweet )

Anyway, adjustable beam seems to be hard to find on a led light (I think the older Pelican M6 led models had it). So that drops to the bottom of the list...

A nice amount of throw would be good tho (already have a few lights that do a nice flood). 80 to 85 lumens would be enough I guess, although more would be appreciated

I've been looking at some secondhand surefires, but haven't found the right one yet... Oh well, I'm not in a hurry with it so I'll take my time...


thanks for the advice so far, more info is always welcome

You might be in luck,
Andrew Wynn is working on a project called BAM which is a drop-in mod for Mag C and D flashlights. It will use either 2 LuxeonIII's, 3 LuxeonIII's or 4 LuxeonIII LEDs and it takes 90 seconds to make the conversion. To adjust the output, twist the head for low 20 lumens, medium 80 lumens and high around 150 lumens (in the case of two LuxIII's) Take a 2D Mag and sleeve it for 3C and enjoy. It will run on three alkaline or preferably 3C NiMH cells and regulate the power for even output.
I think the 2 Luxeon model is $79 or around there so with the 2D Mag, it will meet your $100 requirement. He is supposed to introduce them in time for the 2006 SHOT show in 2/3/4 LED configurations. There are options to put premium U-bin LEDs as an extra cost for 174 to 226 lumen output at the LEDs. They will use 20mm reflectors and will give decent throw with good sidespill.
The BAM mod will fit C or D cell Mags and in the case of the 2 Luxeon version, must run a 3.6 to 6.0 volt (3 to 5 NiMH cells or 3 to 4 C or D alkaline cells) Not sure if the 3C Mag is still available but it would be the smallest light to carry around with punch.
The beam is not adjustable.

This light meets your lumen request & stays in your price range. The nicest thing about this light vs 99% of the other luxeon lights is that you don't have to remove the batteries & recharge them. It recharges in-situ, AC or DC: http://www.eliteled.com/products/flashlights/inova-t4.html I got mine from eliteled because they have the best customer service, which is the most important thing to me when spending $100.

Regards,

John