Best LED tactical light for the $

Black_Snowman

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I want to upgrade my SL TwinTask 2L EDC and I've decided I want an LED for the bulb reliability. I plan on also carrying a cheap long-life LED for mundane tasks. Here's the usual suspects for questions.

1) Price Range: Best value, preferably under $100. But price takes a back seat to meeting the requirements. I'll spend whatever it takes, I just don't want to buy a $200 flashlight when there's a $75 flashlight that will meet my needs just as well.

2) Format: Flashlight

3) Length: Palm sized, 3-5" I want something easy to hold on to but I can still carry on my belt without it taking up too much space.

4) Width: Narrow

5) What batteries do you want to use? CR123As or NiMH common cells.

6) How much light do you need? From what I'm reading here 60-100 Lumans, correct me if I haven't read enough of the right things. :)

7) Throw vs Flood: I'd like a balance, but err on the throw side.

8) Runtime: Prefer at least a half hour.

9) Durability: Critical (CCW)

8) Switch Location/Type: Circle all that apply. Momentary Switch at a minimum + some sort of contant on

9) Operational Modes: On/Off (the good ol' K.I.S.S. principle).

10) Special Needs: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Circle any below or write in your own comment(s).
• Holster: Be nice if there are common holster options. I already have a Bianchi #37S I use with the TwinTask.
• Waterproof – shallow water, shouldn't need to be more than a few feet.
• Corrosion resistant

So, what would you recommend? Right now I'm leaning tward the Pentagon L2.
 

MattK

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Surefire L4 meets/exceeds all criteria but is's $160.

LedWave X-55 - VERY similar to the L4 and about /12 the price at $85. Same 5W emitter, similar optics and beam qualities.
 

Valpo Hawkeye

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Except that the L4 is a 'wall of light', not a thrower. An XO is close as well, but doesn't have nearly the output. An XO3 is an option, too, though I don't care for the beam characteristics myself.
 

Hendog

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Jan 3, 2007
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Hey guys this is my 1st post. Have loved being a fly on the wall. I just got a new light from advance mart thats amazing especially for the money. It uses the the K2 led and has a great beam. check out the link.

http://store.advancedmart.com/pak2luledfl2.html

So wanted to spread the great find.

Hope someone does a full review on it.
 

Black_Snowman

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Wow, for $40 the PalmStream K2 seems too good to be true, but even if they've severely exaggerated the run time and Lumens it's still very competitive. For the money, I think I'll have to give one a try. Even if I don't settle on it as my EDC, it still looks like a nice flashlight to have.
 

Black_Snowman

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Well, after living with the PalmStream K2 for a while I have to admit. I'm impressed. Bright, great throw, compact, momentary / click switch is hard to click constant on by accident, o-ring sealed battery compartment, permenant sealed electronics. Haven't used it long enough to tell battery life but at this point I'm not complaining. Way more throw than the incandecent on my TwinTask or the G2 demo I tried at the store. You can see the beam on the wall in a well lit room.

This is definately a light that needs some in depth reviews.

Came with the light, a decent belt pouch (not great), and 2x CR123As made by Duracell. I'm very happy for the $.
 

GetSome

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Dec 25, 2006
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The k2 looked like an ideal tactical LED light to me as well. I ordered one, I'll write something up for you guys once I get it.
 

Lee1959

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Sounds like you are describing an Inova, either X or T series to me personally. I would check them out at Flashlight reviews to see exactly what model you like.
 

mhubble

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Heres my PALMBLAZE that I sandblasted and recoated with flat black Duracoat. Mounted in a Command Arms weapons mount. Fits in the FAS3 Model perfectly. Ive been doing a run time test for the last 3 hours. Ive been running it 15 min on, 15 min off. The first 45 min of run time it stayed 100% brightness. Would also get very hot after 15 min. After that the brightness started dropping. At 1 hour of run time it had dropped to about 60% brightness. After 1.5 hours its at about 50% brightness. Its been going for another 20 min now and its still at 50%. The heat problem stopped as soon as it started to lose brightness. The batteries are the duracells that came with it. After I run these down Im going to try a set of surefires.

EDIT - Its run for a total of 2 hours now and still at 50%. I checked the batteries both read 1.4 volts.
EDIT - Ran it for another hour and still never dropped below 50%, Batteries read 1.4 volts.

p1130005ve6.jpg
 
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Blindasabat

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In quality for the money, I think Inova is one of, if not the best. Surefire is actually up there as well despite the cost because of their reliability and toughness. About the same as Inova, but more expensive. Some Streamlights are up there in value too, but you have to pick a good one (their range varies) and I don't think they are as good as Inova.

Lee1959 said:
Sounds like you are describing an Inova, either X or T series to me personally. I would check them out at Flashlight reviews to see exactly what model you like.
 

howl of the yeti

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Black_Snowman said:
Wow, for $40 the PalmStream K2 seems too good to be true, but even if they've severely exaggerated the run time and Lumens it's still very competitive. For the money, I think I'll have to give one a try. Even if I don't settle on it as my EDC, it still looks like a nice flashlight to have.

And they really stand behind their product!

"[font=arial, helvetica] Unless noted otherwise, items are covered by a 90 Day limited warranty, against defects and workmanship. Many products are covered by manufacturer's warranty for one year or more. If you purchase a product from us and have a problem a reduced cost, if available."[/font]
 

MattK

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You can always buy a Surefire with less output and a a lifetime warranty for 4-5 times as much. :)

Note; we sell the PalmBlaze but my reply, the first to this thread, was to suggest the L4.
 
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