First nice light for noob?

Alrighty,
This is a whole new world for me. I'm used to my big 'ole maglight for my "bump-in-the-night-power-outage-where-the-hell-did-that-screw-go" go to flashlight, but I need to upgrade. I like the idea of something I can carry in a coat pocket etc if I need to. Now, I've researched some lights to the best of my ability, BUT all the research doesn't mean that much if I really don't fully understand Lumens, etc. I do understand "throw" to be how far an effective beam goes? Correct? And I do understand that LED's offer superior life at the cost of reduced throw and being easy to wash out. Correct? Anyway, here are the "contenders". I do know that I want it bright, and I want it to last long. Any info would be greatly appreciated by this noob...

Surefire
E2E
A2
C2 Centurion
C3 Centurion
L4
L2

Pentagon
L2 3w

If you saw this post on ARFCOM or USN, I apologize for the redundancy

Rich

Hey Rich

You are correct about throw. What exactly do you want the like for?
If you are looking for something pocketable and with a bit of throw then the E2E is a good choice as is the A2.

pocketable isn't key. It's mainly for "bump in the night" use, and maybe back yard investigations (you know, is it a racoon, neighbor's pit bull , or "other"). That kind of thing.

If you'd rather not spend a lot, the Streamlight Twin Tasks (1L and 2L mainly) are decent LED/Xenon lights.

The LEDs are quite usefull... the Xenon beam is kind of a flood rather than spot.

Another decent light is the Streamlight Pro Poly 4AA LUX. It's pretty bright, quite throwy but has good spill if the spot is too bright.

Trumpet said:

pocketable isn't key. It's mainly for "bump in the night" use, and maybe back yard investigations (you know, is it a racoon, neighbor's pit bull , or "other"). That kind of thing.

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If thats the case then I would get the C3 Centurion.

Hey Trumpet, welcome to CPF...


I think that 'bump in the night' use would seem to indicate the following:

1) You want to see everything in your field of vision clearly and correctly.

2) You don't want anything or anyone to be hiding in gloom, shadow etc.

3) You may want to be able to use the Flashlight as a Makeshift club to defend yourself with if attacked.

4) You want it to work when needed.


Erm...that's it. From your list go for the most powerful and longest and heaviest. Runtime is probably not an issue beyond the first ten or twenty minutes - go for the C3 with a P91 bulb - up to 200 lumens for plenty of time to sort out your house/backyard etc. (IE twenty mins) Or the stock P90 bulb at 105 lumens for 1hr - I'm sure it will take a beating too!

Good luck and I hope you don't have too many bumps!!!



Be lucky...

How about a Tigerlight? About the same heft as a Mag, recharges, and BRIGHT AS HECK.

Failing that, any of Surefire's two-cell offerings will treat you just fine. Including the Surefire G2, which is what I started with. Don't forget Streamlight either, which offers competitively priced lights that compare well to Surefire's.

If you're looking for a quality and fairly inexpensive light with enough heft to be used as a club should you need to, and also very bright, the Pila GL3 would be a great choice for you. It's sold at JSBurlys.com and you can read my review here: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=122737

How would y'all rate the Gladius? I found 'em for $169.

Trumpet said:

How would y'all rate the Gladius? I found 'em for $169.

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I hear it is a good light, but it's not one I'm terribly interested in. Too complicated for my tastes.

A cheaper option/alternative to the C3 Centurion is the 9P and this strike bezel.

Strike Bezel - http://www.lighthound.com/sales/gp_flashlight_accessories.htm

9P - http://www.lighthound.com/sales/surefire_9p.htm

Hello Trumpet

Welcome at CPF

You are a noob, but this could be an advantage, so you have'nt money blown away for lights.
When you will read a lot of input in different threads in this great forum, you can save your money.

This links could be helpfull:

Flashlight Reviews and LED Modifications

WWW.LEDMUSEUM.ORG * THE LED MUSEUM - Reviews of LEDs & LED Flashlights - Gallium Indium Nitride UV, violet, purple, blue, aqua, turquoise, green, white. Also Gallium Arsenide and others. New LED MUSEUM! GaN, InGaN, SiC, GaAs, GaP, GaAlP, ZnSe, LED flashlight, LED flashlights. Formerly For The Love of LEDs

Zaklamp test

And realy bright Led-lights with good throw are the multiple ones. Take a look at ElektroLumens site.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/115929

Best regards

____
Tom

Get a SF U2

The U2 is just too expensive for me right now. How would you compare the C3 and the M2?


I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time....and money...here:rock:

I do not own one but by all accounts the A2 is phenomenal!

I own an E2e also and it's great! and pretty small!

Now with that out of the way I will say that taking my bank account into consideration I am a huge fan of the G/P/Z/C series lights. Now I know that a C3 is getting towards the price of an A2 but what the A2 offers in single-light versatility the G/P/Z/C lines offer in multiple-light platform versatility.

I love adding on to my 6P. My 6P was my first serious light that I bought just over 2 years ago and I still love it. I added a KL3. I tryed the P90 with R123s. I got the 3 watt drop-in. I added the extender and can run the P90/91 on primaries or rechargeables using 17500s for longer runtime. My next project will be a second extender and a KT2 turbohead so I can run the M3T lamps on rechargeables or the M4 lamps on primaries.

Now after buying all this I have spent more than an A2 costs but I have different heads, different combinations I can put together, different lamps and batteries to take care of. This is what a flashaholic thrives on, right?

Just so we're clear I'd still flip if I could lay my hands on an A2. I just take great satisfaction in playing with my big boy legos.

So I'd say the C2/C3 would be a great first light if you think you might want to spend a little now and add on for more fun later. If you only want one light (shame on you) get the A2 and be done with it.

I have to say, Cypher is absolutely right. The A2 is the only light I actually *need* as far as lighting goes. It covers any "need" I might have. If you want a light that will ruin any excuse you have to buy another light, the A2 is the one.

if bump in the night is what ya want, i would suggest the pila gl2 wif the 3watt led module. but of course... we have to wait until jsburlys is back online..

Trumpet said:

pocketable isn't key. It's mainly for "bump in the night" use, and maybe back yard investigations (you know, is it a racoon, neighbor's pit bull , or "other"). That kind of thing.

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Nothing like a big, spotlight for "what the hell are you doing in my yard?!" lighting if pocketability doesn't matter.

The A2 is a classic and will meet your needs, as well as allow to walk around the house using the LED's only.....but if you want a great deal, look at the clearance sale on SF D3's. Can't beat the output of a three-cell Surefire.

http://www.lapolicegear.com/sud3deflsppr.html

carrot said:

The A2 is the only light I actually *need* as far as lighting goes. It covers any "need" I might have. If you want a light that will ruin any excuse you have to buy another light, the A2 is the one.

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Emphasis mine. Carrot is soooo right about that! But for more "tactical" applications, there might be other options. Since you mention bumpinthenight, will this light be used in conjunction with a weapon?

greenLED said:

Emphasis mine. Carrot is soooo right about that! But for more "tactical" applications, there might be other options. Since you mention bumpinthenight, will this light be used in conjunction with a weapon?

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Possibly, although I do plan on getting a TLR-1. As of today I ordered a SF C3, L2, and two G2's. It has officially begun :rock: