Very Good Flood Light Under $50?

Hello everyone,

This is my first post.

And since searching with most of the threads in here, I am still clueless on which flashlight to buy. I am looking for a very good flood light or wide beam flashlight that is under $50.00. There was alot of noise regarding about the Surefire L4 being good flood light, but at the moment I cannot afford to buy one. Hopefully soon one day. If you have any pictures to share kindly post it here or email me.

I will use the flashlight mostly outdoor. And wanted to have a bright flood light on my pathway to avoid any accidents. So far, I've search Inova x5 and Brinkman LX. Are they good to what am I looking for?

Thank you very much and I really appreciate all your help.

BTW, I learned alot just by reading on this forum regarding flashlight, it was really WOW! to me.

How about a Surefire G2 or a 6P? You can always add to yhe 6p later on if you want it brighter..

Peak's McKinley 7 LED High Power Snow... will get you there... yes under $50 .. ans US made

Inova X5 is a nice smooth wide flood, however you said BRIGHT. While bright is subjective/relative, the X5 is good for walking, hiking, and small close range tasks in the dark, but it's not for lighting up the path beyond 15 feet. I have one and keep it in my backback. Great quality construction in my opinion, and $35 is a very attractive price. Approx. 6 hr run time. Check out http://flashlightreviews.com

The Fenix lights are great choices and the Inova XO is also a good choice. If you want an incandescant light, the Surefire G2 and the 6P are what I would consider the best choices under $50.00.

My recommendation would be the Inova if you can find it.

Good luck.

-Goatee

Thank you everyone for the replies. I was also intrigued about the Surefire's G2. The company was saying that you can also use this as a defensive weapon as when you point the beam to your opponents eye it will blind it temporarily. Are all the lights created equal regarding having it as a defensive weapon? (ex. blinding temporarily)

Is the Inova X5 has a capabilities of blinding the opponent temporarily?
What is the rule of thumb regarding how bright it will be to blind the opponent temporarily?

Surefire G2 right now has an advantage for me as I can use it defensively. But, are they close enough with Inova X5 smooth wide flood? or they surpasses the Inova X5 for its wide flood? Please help me so that when I buy a flashlight, at least I will not have any doubts. And you guys has more experience with this, thats why I go for it.

Thanks again.

I think the Streamlight TT 2L might suit your needs. It has two modes, xenon and 3 LEDs. The xenon beam is simply a huge flood. At about 20ft it will light up an entire garage, while something like the SF G2 will light up about half of a garage at that distance due to its more focused beam. It puts out about 50 lumens for about 2hrs. The LEDs run up to 28hrs. This is good for close and medium range lighting. The Surefire G2 would probably be good except you will be using up batteries like crazy. My main complaint about the Streamlight TT 2L is that it can't be focused very tightly and is more of a huge flood light. That sounds like what you are looking for. Its definitely less than $50 as well. In case you run the batteries down on the xenon mode the LEDs will still provide light for several more hours.

Another option is the Streamlight Scorpion. It is as bright or brighter than the SF G2 but you can focus the beam to either a tight spot or flood. It has a textured reflector so widening the focus is not as bad as a Maglite. If you focus it really wide you do have the black donut hole appear but the artifacts and hole are not nearly as bad as a Maglite with its smooth non textured reflector.

noypi said:

Is the Inova X5 has a capabilities of blinding the opponent temporarily?
What is the rule of thumb regarding how bright it will be to blind the opponent temporarily?

Click to expand...

Hello noypi and welcome at CPF

No, the Inova X5 is a great floody light, but not for this case. There is no definated rule about this, but the more throw - the more blinding effect. For me a light should have a good combination of throw and sidespill, for walking too.
For example, when I hear a noise about 20 meters far away, I want be able to look at this distance, but this is only me.

I own a X5 and it's usefull and well build, of course, but for walking outdoors I would take another one.

Take a look at the Fenix L2T, 2 brightness levels, in your price range, you can use Alk's, nimh's, Lithiums and a good combination of throw and spill.


Best regards

_____
Tom

I really like the X5, it is one of my every day carry lights and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a floody beam. Its runtime is great, it throws plenty of light, and it carries well in a pocket do to its straight case design.

Hello again, wow, you guys are really helpful, its not even 24 hours since the first time I posted and here I go learned alot of things.

From the recommendations that you guys have, I have an attention to Fenix L2T. Its sounds promising. I was reading its review @ flashlightreview.com and saw the the beam at 1 meter. does anyone know if that light is coming from the spot mode? if so, then the wide spillbeam should be wider then.

I also have my attention to the Nuwai TMX-301X-5. It will be a little expensive by $10 but I will take a consideration with that.

So far, I am debating between the two.... Fenix L2T or Nuwai TMX-301X-5. Any idea?

Thanks again,
noypi

I had the TM-301X-5. Some call it a "poor man's L4", as the beam patterns are similar.

However overall I wasn't impressed with it. The tail switch was very hard to press, the facets on the metal body were somewhat rough to hold. As expected it was a very floody beam, useful more at close range.

I also had the Streamlight Scorpion incandescent. It was a good light, but I'm not convinced of the value of a focusing beam. Rather a well-designed general purpose beam (like the Surefire G2) I think is better.

Often underappreciated is the value of multiple output levels. Especially for night use at close range, a single output level from a powerful light is often too bright.

My recommendations would be: Surefire G2 (incandescent): http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/surefire_g2.htm, or the Streamlight Twin Task 2L (hybrid): http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.php?Sku=STR51015

Just keep in mind with the Surefires that you have to buy lamp modules after the first one burns out and batteries for it can get pricey.

Good prices on Inova here

http://www.botac.com/inova.html

Another, and much better source for Inova :
www.batteryjunction.com
I got one there,good service.

dasanii19 said:

Good prices on Inova here

http://www.botac.com/inova.html

Click to expand...

There have been many bad reviews about Botach Tactical around here. I have personally had bad service from them and would not recommend them at any price.

surefire g2z with the standard lamp

Welcome,

Fenix make a range good lights for under $50.00
www.fenixlight.com

thanks guys for all the infos. after a couple of days of research, i come up with two flashlight to compare. i know there was tons of them out there, but for now, i will go to either 1. SureFire G2 and 2. Fenix L2T.

the next thing concern will be the battery issue. please help me decide which is more convenient and practical. i am also leaning towards a rechargeable batteries.

if there's any good rechargeable 123a lithium battery, please advise me so.

if there's any good rechargeable AA NiMH (2300mah), please advise me so too.

thanks,
noypi

Since you want flood, I'm surprised that no one's mentioned the FM34. Wait, that would take the price over $50. If you downgraded the G2 to a Brinkmann Maxfire LX (or whatever they call their G2-like light) it would be under $50. I can't guarantee that the diffuser would fit, though.

I think you don't only want flood when running down a trail. And you also don't want only spot when running down a trail. You want a bit of both. That's part of the reason why I got a U2 -- it has both. The throw is on the lower end of the compact flashlight throw scale, but it works. 27LT by McGizmo is the same idea but with a luxeon 3, so more throw but less overall light output. Unfortunately both lights are around $200. But that's the beam shape I'd look for, even in a $50 light. Part spotlight and part floodlight. But for a specific $cheap recommendation you'd need someone who has seen a lot more beam shots than I