LED flashlight

Hi all!

I am new here, and I'm looking to buy a new LED flashlight, I wondered what your recommendations would be.
I'm not a flashlight collector so I don't have any at the moment, except my minimag, which I'm looking to replace.
Basically my requirements are to use it round the house, camping, and on night walks, so ideally I would like a flashlight with the following features (if possible)!

-Less than $50
-Runs on AA or AAA batteries (alkaline if at all possible)
-A usable battery life of at least 4-5 hours
-Bright enough for me to see a reasonable distance when walking
-I prefer the look and feel of metal flashlights too.
-Also fairly small and transportable
-(Added) I quite like the switch to be in the base - a click or twist I don't mind

If anyone can recommend a decent light to me that would be great.

Thanks!

I would be looking at the Fenix lights specifically, the L1p or L2p. They can be found here: http://fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=22

Two recent favorites come to mind, the River Rock 2AAA and the Inova 1AA. Both can be found at Target for $10 and $20. Both are metal, smaller than a minimag, and will give the runtime you want. Another great all purpose light is the UK eLED 4AA that will give more throw. A bit larger, but better weather resistance and runtime. That one is available online for around $25.

By the way, welcome to CPF.

Geoff

I will second Turtles picks, the RR AAA and the Inova X1, I have both and they are great daily carry lights with very good run times, which is the only flaw inthe Fenix in my opinion, its very low run time.

I would check out Flashlight reviews (CPF member quickbeams excellant site and MUST reference for flashight purposes) and compare lights there you will see what I am referring to about run times.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html

While I haven't tried the River Rock, it would seem that it would be hard to get 4-5 hours runtime plus the ability to see a "reasonable distance" without going to something like the Inova X1. Of course, remember this means a light with absolutely no sidespill (X1 on Right).

IMO, If you want throw & brightness, a Fenix would be appropriate; if you want runtime, something like the River Rock or Inova would be appropriate.

You could try the River Rock 2AA or 2C. These are good looking metal lights and have a fairly tightly focused beam, so if you're looking for a longer distance light this may be an option. Be aware that you'll get a lot less illumination at your feet than other lights. Not sure how long the battery life is on these lights. These can be found at Target for somewhere in the $20s.

(Edit: after re-reading the question, the following light doesn't really fit your requirements. Sorry about that.)

Another great light I bought recently is the Task Force 3W 2C from Lowes for $40. It puts out a lot more light than any of the RR lights I've seen and comes with a belt holster. You'll get about 2.5 hours of good light from a set of batteries. There's a review on Flashlightreviews.com (I like this light a lot)

-Less than $50
-Runs on AA or AAA batteries (alkaline if at all possible)
-A usable battery life of at least 4-5 hours
-Bright enough for me to see a reasonable distance when walking
-I prefer the look and feel of metal flashlights too.
-Also fairly small and transportable

Click to expand...

Sounds like you were describing the Fenix L2P. Below is a quote from the website provided by seaward. Check it out!

* Uses a 1-watt 100,000-hour R bin Luxeon LED, no need for a fragile incandescent bulb
* Constant brightness: 46 Lumens
* Two 1.5V AA batteries , inexpensive and widely available
* 4-hour full brightness with Ni-MH battery
* 5.58" (L) x 0.79" (D)
* Made of aerospace grade aluminum
* Type III hard anodized finish, highly durable
* 69-gram weight
* Waterproof
* Toughened ultra clear glass lens with AR coating
* Push-button tail cap switch
* Capable of standing up firmly on a flat surface to serve as a candle
* Colour: Black
* Included Accessories: Belt Pouch, Lanyard, Extra O-Rings, Spare tailcap boot.

Thanks all for your responses.

The Fenix L2P does look like a pretty good choice at the moment - I was just wondering what its runtime is with alkaline batteries, if it is 4 hours with Ni-MHs.
I can't seem to find any stuff about the River Rock on google, could someone point me in the direction of a website with some more info on it.
However with this and the Inova x1 the beam looks too focused, I could do with a bit more sidespill.

Thanks again.

rd9831 said:

Thanks all for your responses.

The Fenix L2P does look like a pretty good choice at the moment - I was just wondering what its runtime is with alkaline batteries, if it is 4 hours with Ni-MHs.
I can't seem to find any stuff about the River Rock on google, could someone point me in the direction of a website with some more info on it.
However with this and the Inova x1 the beam looks too focused, I could do with a bit more sidespill.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

You might want to spend some time reading reviews of various lights at this link:

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledleft.htm

Thurmond

The old Inova is the one whos beam is a spot no sidespill beam. The new Inova has a reflector and is a very useful little flashlight with plenty of spill. Look at the review on Flashlight reviews.

The Fenix is a nice light too, please do not get me wrong, I just prefer something with more run time even if it is not quite as bright . So even if I wanted more distance and brightness, I would go with the Inova X0 with its greater run times over the LP2. This is very personal and subjective to ones needs.

LED Museum doens't have any RR reviews. I have some RR lights at home and I'd be glad to take some beamshots tonight compared to other lights if anyone is that interested. Anyone recommend a good free image host?

This light is the same as the River Rock 2AAA -- it's just a rebranded light from Target... for only $10. However, unknown runtime and lack of waterproofing prevents me from recommending this light.

I would recommend the Fenix L2P for your purposes. It's exactly what you're looking for by all criteria. Chevrofreak has made runtime graphs comparing the L1P and L2P on alkaline and NiMH.

Flashlight Reviews has a review of the RR 2AAA under its real name, Nuwai 311H.

Geoff

Hi rd9831, the Fenix L2P or even the Fenix L1P is the one you want. You will believe me when I tell you that these lights will not disappoint. One word of warning. Once you get an L1P or L2P, it'll be hard not to get the other.

I would suggest you take a look at the test done on the SL 4AA Propolymer luxeon at http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_propolyluxeon.htm

It is also available in Black and is a steal at $22.95. I bought mine from fox international. The only drawback is that it's a polymer body and not metal.

Tachy

I'm surprised that it took that long for someone to suggest a ProPoly 4AA Luxeon, but I agree with Tachyon. Given the uses you've listed, that would be the best value for your money. While it does use a plastic body, do be aware that these days, there's plastic, and then there's plastic. The polymer material that is used with the Streamlight product is probably as durable if not more so than metal. Their polymer based products are frequently used for both industrial and public service rough usage environments (e.g. fire-fighting), and some police departments now issue the Poly Stinger as a standard issue light (tougher for a bad guy to say that some mean cop beat him up with a 6" plastic flashlight ). The size shouldn't be an issue though it won't disappear into the palm of your hand, and it's still small enough for you to put into your pocket.

I will also suggest the 4 AA SL propolymer luxeon

http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_propolyluxeon.htm


i might just buy another,.. just because

I think the only reason no one mentioned the streamlight is because he specifically said in his opening post that he prefered a metal flashlight.

I did run 2 different Nuwai/RR 2AAA lights for eight hours each on fresh alkaline cells. They were dim at the end, but still putting out enough light to walk a wooded path. I think they're great for $10, but I do carry an L1P now full-time and my L2P is even brighter and longer lasting.

If you'd like to keep your MiniMag but want a lot more light from it, you might want to look into a replacement for the bulb, such as this Model TLE-5 MiniStar2 available at this website...http://www.led-replacement.com/tle-5.html