Tips for a working pro?

I have tried all sorts of lights on my toolbelt, and cant find one that fits my needs. it seems ive come to the right place, and it looks like ive landed in a stellar comunity. ill get right to it then.

1. i need 120 minuets runtime or better - consider this 20 min/day average with a once a week recharge. Minimum. i use NIMH aa's.

2. i need light better than my 2XAA mini maglight, but in the same size and shape, and weight. its just not enough, and i allready carry 40LBS of tools. cant carry anything bulky or heavy. it is too yellow, and too dim for my needs. allso, i cant get the distance out of it i need on occasion.

3. I have tried a stubby LED light that from the bargian bin at ace hardware. $5.00 bought me a mag-style metal light, endcap button as opposed to twist, a battery holder for 3XAAA's, and a head with what looks like between 25 and 30 lights. it is black and you could find ones with heads that had more and less LED's on them in the same bin. i went for more. it was Excellent!
however runtime was only good for the first....half hour or so. and the head was HUGE.
probably 1 1/2". i love it, for a cheap chineese no-name knockoff (Possibly great neck?) but it was too bulky and did not last long enough per charge (i did pick up some AAA NIMH for it as well.) its a great for a standard flashlight replacement for mom and pop - but its not right for my toolbelt.

4. maglite KILLS ME with its twist on-off head. too often ill be blasting around the jobsite and taking care of buisness on the move- only to find that my head has twisted from rubbing around, and the light has been on for hours and is half dead, or gone completely. its a nasty surprise that with your help i would like to eliminate allso.

anyways, i hope i dont ask too much, i was crazy about flashlights as a kid, and maybe this will become a newer cheaper hobby for me than Overclocking my computer. (which is where i heard of you folks)
Thanks much, orionlion82, team 32
Edit: HAHA! my rank is "unenlightened" its great! i love it!

Hey there, welcome to CPF. Just be careful. You hang out here long enough and your wallet will hate you...

Flashlightreviews.com is a good place to start your searching.

What is your price range / budget for this light?

A few decent and affordable lights that come to mind are the Inova Radiant lights, Inova X1, Maglight LED...

deranged_coder said:

Hey there, welcome to CPF. Just be careful.You hang out here long enough and your wallet will hate you...
Flashlightreviews.com is a good place to start your searching.
What is your price range / budget for this light?
A few decent and affordable lights that come to mind are the Inova Radiant lights, Inova X1, Maglight LED...

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Thank you for the warm wellcome and i will give that page a read right now.

honestly, i consider a flashlight a tool of the trade. it needs to be able to stand up to my punishment, and what i listed above.

i know this is an enthusiast community, but i am not sure if hardcore enthusiast lights are the "right tool for the job" - i make my living from my tools and i cant have high strung, expensive equipment letting me down.
so really more of the pro-grade stuff is what i am looking for rather than homeowner grade stuff...

that being said, anything between $20 and $75 sounds appropriate as long as it will last and meet my needs.

ill have a look at the suggestions and reviews this second. thank you D_C.

Well, actually, I might have to point you straight away at Surefire lights, if money is no object (They're expensive! Near indestructible, though...)

For a more, ahem "budget" (or, in another word "realistic"), you can get superb performance from units like the Fenix L2T (www.fenix-store.com) for around 50 dollars.

These lights use the "Luxeon" type LEDs, which are more commonly known as "Power LEDs." They use a single light source, as opposed to many smaller LEDs, the most common of which are the "5mm" LEDs. You'll find these 5mm units in the end of every budget LED penlight, ever.

Luxeon LEDs draw more power (up to roughly 1.0 amps, where a 5mm LED will pull maybe 20ma) and as a result, are fantastically brighter. Like their smaller bretheren, Luxeons run unbelievably long (the stated 100,000 hours, of course) and generally are "regulated" - meaning there is a small circuit board between the batteries and the LED that maintains voltage and amperage at a set level. In other words, no dimming! On the downside, it means that there is often a long "tail" of often quite usable light, but this "tail" dims quickly.

More recently, Cree Semiconductor has begun producing a power LED called the "XR-E" that is superior to the Luxeon line in many ways - however, supply is extremely constrained right now and there are not that many lights using the new LED. If you can afford to wait, in two or three months there should be a hojillion XR-E based lights - if you need a light now, I recommend going with the Luxeon lights. They are a squillion times brighter than your Mag-Lite at any rate, and much whiter.

Another company called HuntLight (which you can find at the very fine site www.jsburlysflashlights.com) manufactuers excellent LED lights - some come with battery tubes for two AA batteries, as well as the more "flashaholic-approved" CR123A batteries. 123 cells are very expensive at retail, but can be purchased for roughly one to two dollars per cell at places like BatteryStation.com, if you decide to go that route someday.

Both the Fenix lights and the HuntLights have tail-click type switches which should help you with the twisting problem. In addition, many of them are roughly the same size as your Mag, which will be good for getting used to it.

Now, Mag Instruments does make a line of LED lights and to be fair, they are quite good. However, due to some design limitations of the Mag Lite LED systems, they can be found to be inferior to more directly LED-based light sources. Like all semiconductors, LEDs produce a little bit of heat at the diode - this heat is not projected forward, rather every attempt is made to sink this heat away from the LED itself, usually into the flashlight body. As an LED heats up, it gets dimmer - in the case of a "MagLED," this dimming happens noticibly, and very quickly, because the LED cannot shed its heat well enough in the system Mag Instrument has in place.

If you just can't stand stock things (I can't!) there are a truly enormous number of "modders" on this board that will take your tired old Mag Lite and turn it into something truly spectacular. I use modified lights every day in my job, and I abuse them heavily - they all come through shining and smiling. It's really amazing.

Oh, and welcome to CPF. We're an expensive lot - but we can be helpful, too!

Welcome to CPF, orionlion82! This place can be dangerous to your wallet.

Sable did a very good job of summing up the information to be had here... and the only light I can think of that would suit your needs is the same that Sable already mentioned... the Fenix L2T. It's only slightly wider in diameter than the Minimag, but will fit in the same holster (it also comes with its own).

Don't be fooled by its Chinese manufacture, as Fenix is an up and coming company that actually listens to feedback from its customers and is constantly improving its products. The same model L2T has gone through several minor revisions to continually offer a better value over the past months. Back when I joined CPF a year ago, the hot light was the Fenix L1P, now discontinued, and there were many stories telling of the light's durability -- a few have gone through the laundry and remained watertight... one even went down several stories in an elevator shaft and came out working just fine. My own L1P (which I have currently lost or misplaced) has seen quite a bit of action and, though battle scarred, functions as perfectly as the day I got it.

David at Fenix-Store will also replace your light should it break during normal usage, so you can expect no problems with the lifetime warranty.

I'd second the Fenix L2T. I'm not sure that Surefire torches are really what you need, in the $20 - $70 range there are only a few choices, and although very nice lights, the runtimes might not be what your after (45 minutes - 1 hour tops for the G2, 6P, 9P).

Yep Fenix L2T or the equivilant Jet Beam or Liteflux. I have an L2T and love it.

Another for fenix L2T. Espically when using AA NIMH batteries.

I'm suprised that not one of you guys suggested PP LUX yet!!


See some of the posts here and see if you like it. From the sound of the job usel, I would highly recommand PP LUX. Can use NiMH, long long run time and blah blah blah blat!! Do a search with [sl pp lux] on this forum and there are millions of posts about this light. Read up and have fun. You can pick up one for about 25 clems.

Have fun.

Noob

Any chance that you will ever be working in a hazardous environment where you will need a light that is rated for such use? Just a thought. Being in IT I never considered that unitl I worked for a chemical company that had man many processes where hydrogen was used. That required some serious changes in equipment for me. The lights were easy, the laptop required some more time and $$$$ to find a solid solution.

Newuser01 said:

I'm suprised that not one of you guys suggested PP LUX yet!!


See some of the posts here and see if you like it. From the sound of the job usel, I would highly recommand PP LUX. Can use NiMH, long long run time and blah blah blah blat!! Do a search with [sl pp lux] on this forum and there are millions of posts about this light. Read up and have fun. You can pick up one for about 25 clems.

Have fun.

Noob

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I`ll second this recommendation. Super bright, long runtime(3.5-4 hrs.), inexpensive($30), uses AA batteries, easy to recognize, in the yellow color, amongst your tools.

orionlion82 said:

i make my living from my tools and i cant have high strung, expensive equipment letting me down...so really more of the pro-grade stuff is what i am looking for rather than homeowner grade stuff...that being said, anything between $20 and $75 sounds appropriate as long as it will last and meet my needs.

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It never fails. No matter what a poster specifies as his requirements for a light, some people will always suggest Surefire and Fenix.

Why would anyone reading these requirements recommend a Surefire? The few Surefires available for less than $75 are obviously unsuitable for his purpose.

At least the Fenix lights are within his price range, even if they aren't the best solution for him.

Take a look at the Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLED Zoom and Unilite:

http://www.brightguy.com/products/UK_4AA_ZOOM_eLED.php

http://www.brightguy.com/products/UK_4AA_Unilite_ZOOM_eLED.php

Also look at the Streamlight PP 4AA Lux and 4AA LED:

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_ProPolymer_4AA_LED_Flashlight.php

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_ProPolymer_4AA_LUXEON_LED_Flashlight.php

I own these lights and can attest to the fact that they are ideal for use in tough environments where they are likely to suffer abuse. They can use rechargeable NiMh cells, and will produce constant, non-dimming light for hours. These lights are better than any Fenix for use as a heavy duty light on the job. These lights are very rugged, totally waterproof, and safety rated. They have a better warranty than Fenix: lifetime, backed up by well established American manufacturers.

Pelican lights are also reputed to be very good for work environments, but I have no personal experience with them:

http://www.brightguy.com/manufacturer/pelican.php

Good luck in your search for a decent working light.

The G2 might work for you. Cheap as well you could even buy 2 and rotate them for under $75.

If the G2 with the drop-in 3 watt LED from Bug Out Gear (or something similar) will work with rechargeable cells, then that might be a good choice. The Fenix is an excellent light and I have several. However, the SureFire G2 has (for me) a perfect body with good non-slip grip if wet or greasy, the Nitrolon is very tough, won't dent, absorbs impact, doesn't conduct electricity or cold to your hands. I use mine with the standard incan lamp and internet purchased CR123 cells because I don't put a ton 'o hours on it every day.

I carry only about 15# of tools in my leather electrician's pouch so the Princeton Tec Surge, with its eight AA NiMH cells, rides in the loop meant for the old industrial 2D cell flashlights. The Surge is more compact than a 2D light and provides 7.5 watts of bright light - more than the Fenix or G2, however, it's twice as large & heavy.

I don't want to but the Fenix L2T sounds like a great choice for your needs. The runtime should be in range as it has high/low and you'll probably use low most of the time. It also runs great on NIMH rechargeables.

Check out the review here: http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1t-l2t.htm

And here if you want to buy one: http://fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_50&products_id=72

Good luck and welcome!

Although the L2T is nice (i own one myself, its my EDC), im not sure if the spotty-beam type would be right for your kind of work. I could imagine you needing a more floody type of beam.. but then again, i dont really know what u'll use it for.
Runtime with NIMH's on high would be right on the spot, tho. It also doesnt mind dropping it, i dropped mine a few times.. got a few scratches now, but still works just fine.

Another option would be the new Minimag LED with a RAM tailcap wich gives you a tailcap-clickie. Sold for 6$ at lighthound (only made good experiences with lighthound so far, btw).

This would give you the option of having a more floody type of beam with a clickie switch with a good runtime, in a cheaper package - a total of 30$, compared to the 45$ of the Fenix L2T.
Going for the cheaper option might be wise anyway, since in about 1-2 months we'll probably see loads of Cree-using lights anyway, wich will be way brighter / have longer runtimes than the old incans or luxeons Leds.. you'll probably be buying a new light then anyway. I know i will.

Review of the Minimag LED: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_minimagled.htm (i'd expect a better regulation with NIMHs, test was done with Alkalines)
Review of the Minimag (incan): http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglight_minimag.htm (just so u get an idea how much better the LED version is )

/EDIT: Ah, i forgot.. im not sure if the LED Minimag works with the tailcap switch. Better ask arround if it works in case you'll decide to go with Minimag LED + Ram Tailcap.

orionlion82 said:

...i need light better than my 2XAA mini maglight, but in the same size and shape, and weight....maglite KILLS ME with its twist on-off head...

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As already mentioned the new LED-based 2AA MiniMag is pretty good. Much brighter and longer running than the incandescent version, it's about $24. Unfortunately still twist-switch just like the old one. Review: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_minimagled.htm

The Fenix 2LT is good, about $45. Tail click instead of twist switch: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1t-l2t.htm

If you don't mind paying a little more, Elektrolumens is taking orders for their Decree-XRE-1, which uses the new Cree XR-E LED. It's a tough, simple, workhorse light. Running on a rechargeable 18650 battery, it should produce about 80 lumens for 3 hours. That's vastly brighter than the above two lights. It's about $69.00, but you'd need to get a 18650 battery and charger kit separately:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=141952

Streamlight Jr Luxeon. Clickie tail cap, new version has longer runtime. I use mine for working on cars because it has a smooth wide, even beam. Plastic lens too so if you drop it on a bolt sticking out, it won't shatter like glass.

I have the L2P, which is a single level now discontinued version of the L2T. I have used it daily since May, and it is still running strong. If I had a reason, I would buy an L2T in a heartbeat. If the brightness is not required, the L1T would work too.

Aware that you are looking for pro grade tools, with 120 minutes runtime and a budget of $20~$75. For lights that will last and not fail you, a budget of $150~$200 will be more realistic and give you more options.

I am going to suggest the 1 cell Surefires E1E retails at $79. By itself is over your budget by $4 and provide 15 lumens for 90 minutes. It may be small size but it is not a toy. But pair it with a KL1 LED bezel $59 and you will be able to squeeze 25 lumens for 240 minutes out of a single CR123 cells. For a total of $138, you have the best of both world. True colour rendition of incan or extended runtime of LED.

If you find it too small for your hand, you may want to consider a 2 cell version,
a) E2E+KL1 or E2D+KL1 for about $169.
b) Surefire G2 @$36 + KL3 @$65 for about $101

The combination that I like is E2D +KL1.