compared to a 2D everready

ok so we recently had a pretty bad earthquake here in hawaii, which resulted in a prolonged state wide powerouttage. As night fell and i began to break out my flashlights (1 Mag AA, 1 2D enegizer everready, I'm a new flashlight aholics) i found that realistically all i really needed was the Everready for my personal use. I guess a huge beam would be useful here and there, but i think the Everready is sufficent.

So that brings me to my question, im looking for a small to med sized led light which runs on 123's for an extended period (2-3 hours continous use) but with a beam that will come close to the 2D everready in terms of output and throw.

please help thanks

Why go with 123's? There expensive! If you want something similar to an Ever-ready, how about a 2D (or) 2C maglight, with the 2-Cell maglight led drop in?
It will be in a nice setup, Last you a long time with batteries, and will provide a beam that is much nicer then your ever-ready.

-bobby

Pretty much most 3W LEDs will give you the same light output as an Everready.
A Fenix L2T will give you long lasting brightness with multi-level and it uses cheap AA batteries.

A 2D MagLED will give you a brighter beam than your 2D Everready too and give you more run time than your goal of 2 Hours.

Understanding what you need is the sure sign that you have yet not succumb to flashaholism .

As others have mentioned, a CR123 light might not be the best choice in the event that batteries are not available. Since you're already familiar with the use of a MiniMag, you might want to take a look at the new MiniMag LED lights in 2AA and 3AA versions. The 2AA light will throw further and output more light than the 2D incandescent light, and the 3AA version is better ... really really nice, for its price point and even when compared to lights costing many times more. Both are capable of running at or exceeding the 2-3 hour run time that you desire.

Locally, there is a vendor on Oahu that sells a low priced high powered LED light under the brand name of LEDBeam (ledbeam.com is the web site) that is very good, though it is a little fragile compared to other aluminum flashlights. Those lights use C batteries and are considerably brighter that what you might need and are probably larger as well, though the pricing could be less than what you might pay for a MiniMag LED.

HiKing808 said:

So that brings me to my question, im looking for a small to med sized led light which runs on 123's for an extended period (2-3 hours continous use) but with a beam that will come close to the 2D everready in terms of output and throw.

please help thanks

Click to expand...

actually ever since i've found out about this forum (2 weeks ago) i've spent around 5 hrs a day reading through stuff and switching over to flashlightreviews etc. i am trying to narrow and finalize my wish list, or i will not be able to be a productive citizen any longer.

in addition, from my recent experiences (earthquake) i have realized that some of my lights on my list are a bit excessive i.e. AE 24w hid power light. to tell you the truth i can't even see clearly beyond 50yards anyway so what do i need a light that shines further than i can see. don't get me wrong i still have a list consisting of 10 different flashlights! but i cant seem to narrow any further
just for fun here they are

Prinston tec apex- for a headlamp
UK lightcannon HID- i don't even go spearfishing anymore but "you never know"
surefire u2- car light and sort of general purpose small light
freeplay jonta- crank light with no need for batteries
surefire M6- i guess i may need some throw LOL
lightwave 3000- extended flashlight with 700hr battery life
PhotonFreedom max-keychain light for just incase
GlowToobe FX- signal and marker light, also small flood/tent light
Nuwai 16 bright nichia led lanter- led lantern
Coleman Northstar dual fuel lantern- you never know when you might need a fuel lantern

so as you can see i got problems,

The $11 PR-base SMJLED is probably closest to the output of a 2D but it has a much smoother beam and whiter light. The kicker is putting it into the same 2D Eveready gives you 1 week of continuous runtime on 2 "D" cells and putting it into a 2 "AA" light provides 20 hours of light!

The Waipahu Walmart had the UK LightCannon 100 but it wasn't cheap at $212. The same HID guts fit in a $240 1.5D Maglite running on 4 123As... or on 8AA which is my very favorite light. Bright as a hotwire but puts out 2 hours of light on rechargeables and even 90 minutes on alkalines(!) in a handy-sized package... but then you can't take it diving anymore.

bfg9000 said:

The $11 PR-base SMJLED is probably closest to the output of a 2D but it has a much smoother beam and whiter light. The kicker is putting it into the same 2D Eveready gives you 1 week of continuous runtime on 2 "D" cells and putting it into a 2 "AA" light provides 20 hours of light!

Click to expand...

^That. Except you can get them here for 8.99 with free shipping: http://www.lighthound.com/sales/arcmania_led_upgrades.htm

Bulb at the top of the page.

Even better price! With that kind of monster runtime and the ability to use lithiums for storage, it kind of makes the crank lights unnecessary.

And before anybody asks why not spend the same money on the similar River Rock 0.5w light, I should point out the closest Target is some 2500 miles away and it's not available online (except as a Nuwai). Lowes' does carry various 1w Luxeon Taskforce lights including the rubber Taskforce 3AA, and then there's Sears' 3AAA with its removable PR-base 1W Luxeon. It fits a lot more lights than the MagLite LED one.

The PR-base bulbs are really nice because you can put them into near anything. But for a nice combination of brightness, size, and price... the AA MagLEDs or SL Propolymer Luxeon are great!

Since it makes sense to EDC a light, I go with a SF E1e with a KL1 LED head. The single 123 cell and small size gives me a nice amount of light and I can carry it in a SAK (Swiss Army Knife) pouch on my belt and completely forget it's there until I need it. Very easy to carry at all times and with a fresh battery in the same ball park as most "normal" 2D lights.

MiniMagLED 3AA is cheap and provides as much (but more reliable) light for several hours, but larger than a single battery LED light.

For an inexpensive blackout/power outage room light, I use a cheapo 4AA lantern (about $3) with a NiteIze PR LED drop in. This drop in isn't my choice for a handheld flashlight because it is not as bright as the 2D and some other drop ins, but in the lantern it gives a nice low level glow for the room or tent when there's no other light. A 2D light doesn't sit in its tail too well but this lantern is made exactly for this type of situation.