Need some help

I have $200 to spend on a new L.E.D flashlight, im leaning towards surefire but what would be a good one?

Welcome to CPF, and watch your wallet.

There are many great LED flashlights available, especially significantly under the $200 price mark you indicated. It really depends on what you're looking to do with your light. Once you give us an idea of what you plan to do with it, we can give you some good suggestions. There is no one light that fits everyone's needs. I'm curious, is there a specific reason you are looking at only LED and not incandescent as well?

it you squeeze a few more dollars you could get a U2 from www.opticshq.com


awesome prices and the U2 can fit just about any practical need IMHO

Well i am moving to Oregon and i usually go towards the woods. I Will like a Flashlight that has Good overall spoting capabilities and some sort of sidespill. I mostly would like a l.e.d for the fact that they indestructible. I will go for a incandescent but mostly would like a l.e.d.

For the opening price of $205 you can get a McLuxIII-PD Here

You can always add the nice Ti stuff later if you want too.

With the notable exception of the E1L, E2L, and L1 (all of which use the same KL1 head -- the L1 just has the electronics in the body instead of the head like the other two), Surefire's LED lights are designed more for "flood" rather than "spotting." So, I'd recommend considering those, although they are not as bright as the other offerings, they are better for what sounds like your intended purpose. However, they do not have much sidespill. Another light I'd suggest is the A2 Aviator, a hybrid of incandescent and LED technology, giving you a nice soft flood for reading or walking around, and a powerful incandescent beam that cuts through fog for spotting.

Since you can have pretty impressive throw and brightness for considerably less, I'd also recommend the Fenix L1P and/or Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Luxeon (or the 2C Luxeon) as well. Both have good throw for spotting, but have a decent sidespill as well. The Streamlight is brighter than the Fenix but the Fenix is much smaller.

You can pick up a Surefire A2, Fenix L1P, and Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Luxeon for $220.

Surefire A2 -- $150 shipped -- http://OpticsHQ.com with the CPF discount (see greenLED's CPF Specials thread, linked in my sig)
Fenix L1P -- <$40 shipped -- http://Fenix-store.com
Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Luxeon -- ~$30 shipped - http://Fox-Intl.com

Its sounds like The A2 is a good light but i would like just one for all my purposes I have a Inova T3 it has a good beam but not enough sidespill i really like the Surefire L.e.d Lumamax series an was looking throught the runtime charts an they dont have very good consitency as my Inova. What i would like is a good spoting light with sidespill, not HUGE an brighter than my Inova. I could afford the U2 is that a good pick or the L6, or L7 how are their runtimes, consitency, overall beam quality?

I definitely think that hiking in the woods requires two lights.

LEDs are nearly indestructable, but any electronic circuit can fail. And you sure don't want to get stuck in the woods without a backup.

I'd consider a Surefire L2 (about $135 from OpticsHQ) as my main light. It's quite floody, but very, very bright. The lower output second stage is plenty bright for walking, but the 120+ lumen output (my personal estimate) on high is great for identifying just about anything within fifty feet of you.

For a back-up light, I'd choose a small incandescent thrower. Perhaps a Streamlight Scorpion or a Dorcy Spyder; relatively inexpensive light (around $30).

I wouldn't use a collectable or limited run light in the woods, too much chance of dropping one and never finding it again. The lights I mentioned are high quality, but they won't 'break your heart' or your bank.

I was just suggesting what you could do with $200. The A2 is a superb light on its own -- most days, it's the only one I've got with me.

HDS U60 and a R123 and charger, all the way - it's like 2 or more lights in 1 - fits almost every need!

You get brightness and runtime, custom levels for every situation and SOS/strobe mode for the BAD situations, all in one very compact convient package!

I have LOTS of lights, but the 2 that I always have on me for every work assignment, S&R mission and recreational outing are my U60 and my old school ARC AAA with a Nichia CS U-bin upgrade.

Josh

If you must want a SF, i would say A2 is best for first SF. Forget about it being half incan. And i am sure you will forget it is a half incan. Truely THE Best surefire that is out there. Note** WH LED does have a bit of blue tint. Hardly notice when normal use, does show on white wall.

Pure LED I will say L4 or L2. my L2 is a bit whiter than my new L4. I think mine has tint prob. Other people's L4 seems nice white as well. L2 sure is slight brighter. I used to think my L2 is too long, but after carry so many surefire.....L2 is actually sits better in baggy/loose pants. (i nver use clip, cuz 5th pock on jeans will create wear mark on light bezel.) I carry more of my L2 than L4.....the low on L2 is only mode i use. i only use High to gather people's WOW. 2 level is simple and fun to play and use.


Then, there goes most talk about U2. Mine was a lucky one, no tint, no donut, a pure breed U2. a nice light to use, yet, my opinion not the best light to carry. U2 got carry less and less by me. It is bulky in design. 6 level is a bit too much......i think 3 level will be more than enough. 6 level is more showing off than practical. it is a over $200 light, now mainly sit at home. A lot of people's U2 is not as lucky as mine, had few problem....so, i ask you to think it through about U2.

E1L. A nice small buddy for a change. its bezel just simply nice to look at. A really really focus beam compare with Fenix L1p. I enjoy see "line" of light in dark. this is tightest light i got from surefire. Daily use is great. but, i use more of Fenix L1p more than my E1L. L1p side spill allow me to see more. have to mind you. E1L is small, but not "wow small" it does have wow for its power. again....L1p to me is more useful, and much cheaper....so do u really want to go for a $90 E1L...i leave u to decide.

L1. Mine is old style. I don't get the current one because too similar with my E1L bezel. This one i got have a bit blue tint on low. it is good over all light for daily needs. The runtime 20hour + (they say 50) is prtty good. Low is nice to use without disturbing too much people around. it shows "line" as E1L, not as visible. The new L1 will perform much better in throw. 90hours is real great. People will often judge it being not so "bright"....having so many lights now, "do i really need a brightest light??" it is light good for all around daily use. if not for self-D, L1 is pocket friendly build like tank. i got older version for its side spill. L1 is known for throw.

I think that is all my surefire LED i own. Are all most talk about. A2 was my first surefire.....because my curious nature, i had to purchase other SFs to see how good they really are. from LED line, A2 is truely my favorit. IF i had one, i will only keep the A2. L2 comes second. L4 next (mainly no low, though you can mod 2 stage, but i did not.) L1> U2,then E1L.

$200 is a lot of money, there are a lot of custom lights that are better than SF for cheaper. Do you really want to go for SF?? if i start over all again, i will only purchase A2 & L2 (L4) & M3 from SF. other might not care much.

hope that helps.

I really do want to go surefire. So now I have $300 to spend on a Ultra Bright L.e.d I really like the styles of the L5,L6,and L7 U2 is a good light an the A2 is nice but only 50 lumes which is not that bright compared to other 100 lumen lights. Thanks for All the Help. just want to buy one light

skalomax,

Don't make the mistake of thinking that more money will get you a better performer. In my opinion, at or around $100, you pass the point of diminishing return. You will start getting less for your money. If you want a Xenon light, SureFire is hard to beat, but their LEDs aren't as competitive as their Xenons. DO NOT get the U2! There are many, many threads on this forum describing the unconcionable quality problems with that light. You are unlikely to get a "good one".

Look at the Nuwai ALX-352L. It is a Luxeon V light with 3 different output levels. It is very bright, and has good throw for spotting, but plenty of spill. The lower levels would be great for walking a trail, and will preserve battery life. It can also run on rechargable Lithium Ion batteries. It is high on my list of lights to buy. It is around $90. See its review here:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nuwai_alx-352_alx-032.htm

As an example of price/performance, my $30 Golston 7W is one of the brightest, best throwing CR123 powered LEDs around. It outperforms lights costing three times as much. You should get one and keep it in your car door pocket.

Here's another good choice: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1333513&postcount=1
I believe this multi-level light is the same light as the pre-production light reviewed here: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/britestuff_vari-brite.htm

My point about the multi-level lights, is that a flashlight with good throw sucks at lighting a rough-trail at night. For that, you need a dimmer, floodier light. It is possible to have the best of both worlds in one light especially if you use some kind of "beamshaper" (look it up).


Save your "extra" money, or better yet, buy MORE lights! CPFers will do one of the following with a wad of money:

1. spend hundreds of Dollars on a single high-end light that may only slightly outperform a $75 light

2. Buy every light they want until they run out of money.

The bottom line: once you dedicate $200 for a flashlight, you HAVE to spend it all on flashlights.

Bernie

The A2 is rated at 50, but in tests done by other CPFers here, it is actually putting out 79 lumens. Also, lumens is measured as total amount of light output, and the Surefire LED lights put out a wider beam, with less hotspot.

The A2 puts out a tighter beam with a more intense hotspot than the LED lights you are considering, so it will appear brighter.

Additionally, it's been observed that you get better color rendition with an incandescent than with a LED, especially outdoors.

You shouldn't get stuck on lumen ratings. It's tempting to want to buy the most "powerful" light out there, but lumen ratings are only on paper -- they don't really tell you what the beam is like, and what the intended usage of the light is. Additionally, lumen ratings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it is pretty impossible to compare lumen ratings across the board.

carrot said:

Additionally, it's been observed that you get better color rendition with an incandescent than with a LED, especially outdoors.

Click to expand...

Carrot,
Reconsider this statement. I don't think it's what you meant.
Bernie

My suggestion to you would be an HD 45 from McGizmo. You can find the faq thread to answer some of the important questions in his forum, here on CPF. You can have a 3Watt led HD45 for $185. Low power , still brighter than some lights on high, 18 hours! High 1 hour and 45 minutes! The reflector used is dynamite, incorporating hotspot and throw with great spill. Check it out. You can also get a 5 watt version. Low for 7 and a half hours, high for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Both versions can be ordered from the Sandwich Shoppe ( Wayne Yamaguchi) Good luck.

Well it seems that a Incandescent is a smart choice. But what will have a greater throw? L5, L6, L7, A2? I strictly want to go Surefire. Thanks for all the HELP!