Source here in Australia...

Hi all, noob here, need advice. I've spent a few hours going through posts to get an idea of what to get, but waaay too much information. I understand this has probably been asked before a bazillion times, but hey, you're fanatics right? so I'd appreciate a bit of a hand if you all don't mind.
Need a new light, but decent lighting is a bit hard to find here in Melbourne.
Need recommendations for online stores from the US, too.

Prerequisites;

1. LED, regulated, prefer lux I, or III, etc not 5mm.

2. Must run AA's (1.5V), maybe 4 of? more if it's worth it (lumens/throw) else even a really efficient 2 cell would be nice...

3. Good life on battery charge ie; efficient.

4. Smaller the better. Saying that though, my first priority is output.

5. Did i mention output? Brighter the better - prefer something not too tight. Super narrow spot not really practical.

This will be used for emergency/maintenance work on bikes during races/safari's etc so therefore the need to be smallish (I carry enough stuff on the bike as it is...), and pulling apart the cases or repairing tubes etc at night is a pain. Oh, it's gotta be tough too, no flimsy design/materials.

Have seen some killer modded lights eg; https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/120198 - do these things come up for sale at all?

Anyone else here from Aus? Had any experience with ordering from O/S?

Appreciate the help, thanks all,

Cheers

AA's in a Luxeon?
Hmmm
goto the Computer Swap meets, there's a Asian Dealer who sells lights direct import from China, like Nuwais and the AA lights, I remember she does Box Hilll swap meet...You can't be a Fenix Light from those people though.

There's always Jaycar. www.jaycarelectronics.com.au
if you want a phyiscal presence, or the outdoorsy shops on Lt Lonsdale Street in the city...
Personally i'd just order from Lighthound
www.lighthound.com
in the states.

Ive bought from overseas. Im located in adelaide
the fenix torches are good
www.fenix-store.com
I bought the L1P and was very happy with it, prompt shipping too

I have also bought from elektrolumens - an XM3
http://elektrolumens.com/4_SALE/For_Sale.html
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36
there are some real crazy lights there

the xm-3, and blaster juniors are good prices
they also ship quickly

dctorch said:

Ive bought from overseas. Im located in adelaide
the fenix torches are good
www.fenix-store.com
I bought the L1P and was very happy with it, prompt shipping too

I have also bought from elektrolumens - an XM3
http://elektrolumens.com/4_SALE/For_Sale.html
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36
there are some real crazy lights there

the xm-3, and blaster juniors are good prices
they also ship quickly

Click to expand...

Just adding confirmation that 4sevens from the Fenix-Store ships quickly to Australia, and so does Lighthound.

The elektrolumens XM3 sounds like a tough (but larger) 2 x AA, thinking about one of those in the future for my brother to take on camping trips as he is always complaining about his Mini-Mag but he only likes the AA size, but the Fenix size lights are really good for EDC in normal casual clothes.

Hey Ayashko, where are you situated in Australia?

If you are in Sydney, we are planning to have a meet in June. If not, Im sure other areas have plans for meets at some stage.

Fenix is probably your best bet. L2Ps have flatline regulation and if are pretty bright, especially if you've never used anything beyond a maglite.

Dorcy is also quite good if you can get your hands on some.

My brother has obtained some 3xAA lights off ebay which are not regulated by are dirt cheap and are decently bright.

Lighthound is an extremely good source for lights to Oz, Fenix store is another one.

Also the CPF Buy sell and trade section is awesome for getting great deals.

Hi Ayashko: welcome to CPF!

Welcome to CPF,

Here is a local distributor in Melbourne,

www.torchworld.com.au

Welcome to CPF! Great to see another Melburnian here!

Fenix lights are great value. But the finish on them is crap and it tends to come off really quickly. If cosmetics matter to you then I wouldn't recommend fenix. Mind you sooner or later the finish on these lights will wear off. That is unless you buy a polymer bodied light.

Check out this light, runs on AAs, seems to be good: http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/uk_fire.htm

I've got a few lights you might want to see: HDS EDC Ultimate 60 XR, surefire L4, surefire A2. Look them up if you want more information. Drop me a PM if you'd like to see em.

How much are you looking to spend? Any reason you're restricting yourself to AA? Some of the rechargeable li-ion solutions are pretty good.

I think some lights that fit your criteria are (in no particular order):

Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Luxeon
Underwater Kinetics Fire or eLED Zoom
Fenix L2T or L2P
Gerber LX 3.0 (not regulated though)

I have ordered to Sydney without a problem from:

Lighthound.com
Brightguy.com
Glowbug.com
Torchworld.com.au
Photonlight.com

Enjoy choosing. Remember you can always buy 2, or 3, or 4, or 5.......

Rob

You can also take a look at these:

Ultrafire 601A (2xAA)

Ultrafire 602A (1xAA)

That site is run by fellow CPFer Dae. The pricing on the site includes shipping to anywhere in the world.

I agree with Rob187. I would recommend the Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Luxeon. It's very bright for a Luxeon I and runs for over 5 hours at full brightness on the latest rechargeable AAs. Lots of these on ebay. Won't break the bank either. Or you could try the new Underwater Kinetics Fire which is even brighter but looks weird.