Greetings from the Dark Side!

I'm a member of the Gunsnet.net forums, with a mild propencity for flashlights. Now, while browsing the forum, I came across a thread t that wound up something like this:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shikkapow
Never, ever be amazed at what google can find for you:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/

Rivals gunsnet with the amount of traffic....



we should assimilate them]


edit: holy poop, theyre like a less deadly version of us! Quote:
Which 5 lights can you not live without. ( 1 2 3 4 )

Click to expand...

So, can anyone reccomend a decent flashlight, (probably LED, with a good mix of battery life and brightness,) for someone who isn't obsessed?

And a review of these cheep lights: http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Lights.html

I need some 'disposable' lights to throw in my toolbag, and don't have to worry about droping down a manhole, etc.

--Cevulirn

ROFL And my father-in-law is a totally obsessed weapon collector. Massive collection of M-1s, 1911s, a tommy gun (license of course), M16s, a bunch of Czech and Soviet-era weapons, bayonets, and the list goes on...

Check out the LEDBeam (www.ledbeam.com) Great LED thrower, $24 with free shipping, and runs and runs on 3XC cells. That should do the trick.

Welcome aboard!

Alright, let me refine one of my statements... I believe that I'm looking for a 'Pocket rocket' type flashlight, for less then $100. I kept a coast 'turbo torch' 3AAA (with a single LED) for a while, but lost it this spring, and have had to make due with a Bass Pro Shops brand replacement.

I only own 6 guns, (2 .22's, 2 rifles, and 2 .45 Auto pistols.) But thats not getting into blades...

Welcome aboard

You'll get lots of input on lights, so tell us what your main use will be to help narrow it done some.

Greetings, welcome to CPF. It aint how many guns ya got but how well ya use them .

Pocket rockets eh? you might like the Fenix L0P L1P P1 LT1, the Orb Raw, LRI Proton, those are some very intense small pocket lights, but remember the brighter the light the shorter the runtime usually. You will need to find a balnace that works for you. You might do well to spend some time looking at Flashlightreviews.com that will help you narrow your search down and get one of the best reviews on a light out there.

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

Check out the JetBeam, one of the Fenix lights, the Pelican M6 LED, ...

Take a look at www.flashlightreviews.com for a comprehensive list of reviews and performance for a long, long list of incans and LED lights.

I warn you, this is addictive... like you didn't already know that.

Alright... Main use... Well, for the more expensive one the intended use woud be one part 'just incase I need to find something, or navigate in the dark,' (Mostly indoors, or smaller areas, as I live in the metro Atlanta area, the other part that I'd be keeping in mind is use as a tactical light, I.E. If I come home, and find the door broken, and I need to grab my XD and make sure the house is clear, or other outlandish situations.

BUT, I don't want to deal with the expensive batteries, and <2 hour battery life of Surefires.

Cevulirn said:

I believe that I'm looking for a 'Pocket rocket' type flashlight, for less then $100.

Click to expand...

You may believe that now, just read here for a while and that will change.

Some things may help further refine your requirements:

• What battery size and number do you prefer? AAA, AA, CR123 - One, two, three
• Runtime expectations? May influence the previous requirement.
• Output expectations? May influence the previous two requirements.
• Type of usage, (suburban, camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, etc)
• How big is this pocket of yours?
• How deep are your pockets? Although you have said $100.

I'm sure that give it a couple of hours you will have lots of suggestions, don't know how many will address your question though.

Runetime, I would like to get at least 5-6 hours per battery set. Doesn't particularly matter which kind of batteries.
Usage will fall under the Suburban catagory. I don't get out of town enough.
I have very large pockets, a 1inch diameter x 4 inch long is plenty small, but I could go a little larger.

I'm not a lightaholic, but I wan't something decent. If I was going to spend more then $100 on something, it would probably be a weapon though.

Output? I don't know. I have an immitation surefire, (El cheeop cyclops,) that says its 80 lumins. I'd like to get at least that, but I don't know whats available.

First off, welcome to CPF. You might think you can stop at just "one or two decent lights" but you'll be soon proven wrong.

Under $50 and using alkalines:
- Fenix L1P or Fenix L1T -- or the L2P/L2T if you want a little more brightness
-- http://fenix-store.com

- Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Luxeon -- bigger, but also brighter
-- http://fox-intl.com

Keychain size:
- Arc AAA Premium -- it may be small, but don't underestimate its usefulness
-- http://arcflashlight.com


Under $100 and using lithiums:
- Inova T2 or T3
-- http://batteryjunction.com seems to have the best price

- Surefire E1L or E2L (discounts from both OpticsHQ and Spyder Tactical Supply)
-- http://opticshq.com http://tacticalsupply.com

All three of the above lights are bright, but they use lithium CR123 batteries
-- which you can get from Amondotech for $1 each.


See "greenLED's CPF Specials" in my sig for other great deals on flashlights.


Edit: Based on new requirements you've given, I'd recommend either the Fenix L2P/L2T on NiMH batteries or the Inova T2. You could actually get both for a little over $100 total.

against all your wishes I still recommend the A2 Aviator from Surefire. Sure it uses expensive batteries, sure the incan lamp only runs an hour on the batteries, and sure it's expensive, but it's still my recommendation for you. I love mine. The output is actually around 79 lumens with the incan and 3 for the led mode - I started out like you just kinda wanting a good flashlight so I got it and really use it a lot now. It will definately be the brightest flashlight you've ever owned prior to discovering CPF.

Greetings and Welcome to CPF!

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy!

how about the streamlight strion? it is rechargeable and is smaller then a minimag AA.

Oops.. accidentaly reposted instead of a new post.

My prefered dimentionsare 1 inch diameter, x 4-5 inches long. Anything less gets lost in my pocket, as I am 6'3 and weigh over 260 lbs. (Heavy build, though I could stand to loose 15 lbs.)

Although it looks like the feature set that I'm after would cost me almost $200... I hope I can find a decent light I can afford.

Welcome to CPF, Cevulirn! I'm sorry to say, but *you guys* 've been assimilated. :nana: (J/K)

Cevulirn said:

Runetime, I would like to get at least 5-6 hours per battery set.

Click to expand...

I'm afraid to say you won't find a small and decently bright light that with that kind of runtime.

As far as your tactical requirements, Pelican, Streamlight, and SureFire come to mind first. Don't scratch off lithium 123's from your lights right off the bat. There are a couple of vendors who offer special prices for CPF members (not just on batteries). Feel free to drop by my "specials" thread for more info and links.

Finally, let me add that a visit to flashlightreviews.com and theledmuseum.org will provide you with lots and lots of solid info to make a more informed purchase. There's tons of info on those sites and in here; feel free to ask any questions. We'll make something up (carrot is especially good at it).

Quote: "edit: holy poop, theyre like a less deadly version of us!"

My wallet would like to challenge that statement!


Welcome!

This looks like the feature set I want, but costs about $100 too much.
http://www.tacticalsupply.com/product/49/1_4/surefire-l2-lumamax-led.php

I carry a knife in the $50 to $100 range, I figgure I could spend the same on a decent light.

Has anyone put 3-5 3watt LED's in one light, with a variable output?


http://www.tacticalsupply.com/product/533/1_63_115/twin-task-night-com-xenon-led.php
This looks like it might be the ticket.... Any reviews?

:thinking: Then, check out what HDS Systems have to offer. They're discontinuing their "42" line and they are selling for $100. There's a few on the Battery Station CPF Specials page.

For that same price range, I'd also recommend the Pelican M6 or the Streamlight Strion (rechargeable), but they don't have the variable output you're looking for.

I'll just mumble something here...

A lot of newbies to flashlights and even sometimes light veterans tend to overestimate their needs. For instance, what kind of situation do you expect to be in where 5-6 hours on one set of batteries is important, with some kind of respectable (read: 20+ lumens) brightness? I used to look at Surefire's "60 minute runtime" estimates and think to myself... "man, does that suck," but now that I've got a few of these "60 minute runtime" lights I find that indeed I do not really need to be running a light for hours and hours. On my favorite light, the Surefire A2, I find myself replacing a pair of batteries about once a month, and I live in a pretty urban setting.

A lot of times, the best answer to this need for long runtimes is to look for a dual output light -- and Surefire seems to be one of the best commercial manufacturers of dual output lights, such as...
the Surefire A2, an incredibly versatile light, often underestimated in its output, for about $150 from select retailers (see greenLED's Specials thread),
the Surefire L1, a light that is easy to discount for its "low" output beam, but dazzles in real life usage for about $110,
or perhaps even the Fenix L2T, which should run for around 4 hours on high with NiMH batteries and much longer on low, and around $50

Then there's also the Inova T2, which will run nearly six (6!) hours at one brightness level but at a very respectable amount of brightness. It's only $55 and currently based on your requirements, I'd highly recommend it over your other choices... unless you wish to spend quite a bit more cash.

Understand completely................I was (am)a collector from your side, somehow ended up here several years ago and have great fun here. Flashlights get costly, too!

A SureFire L4 with a "2 stage" switch, may be the one you're looking for; Very nice flood beam for situations, as you describe.

Take a look at the McGizmo forum. Click Here Alephs are still available also

click Alephs

Really nice "Customs", compatible with some SureFires.

Welcome, look around and stay awhile!