All this light is driving me nuts!

Since I found this place, I have read like a mad man, and I have come to the conclusion that if I keep reading up on flashlights that I will go insane. :sigh: Whats a guy to do when all he wants is a light to light his way on night nature walks with his best friend? I have looked at ProPoly 3C and 4aa, inova t and x series, and the new luma crees. To me run time is important. I would like to use it as a baton but that is not essencial as my best friend will be at my side. Throw is fairly important because if my best friend perks up, I will need to light in that direction. Sheez, I even looked into the ROP or Mag85 mod... :thinking: Can someone show me the light? :wave:

I really like my U2 its great and my lottery winner lights up a huge area at dozens of meters, I recommend SF for the build quality warranty and feel of the light in your hand, btw I have family in Kingsburg right south of you.

I highly recommend either the U2 as stated above, or the A2 Aviator. I purchased a brand-new factory sealed Aviator w/ white LED's in 2004. It was the best hiking/walking light I have ever used. Unfortunately I gave it to my wife a year later for an anniversary present, who then lost it. Oh the love I have for my wife. :buddies:

Anyways, to answer your concerns, A2 Aviator or U2 Ultra are top-notch. They cost a lot, but they are absolutely the best two-cell lights that money can buy IMHO.

Rechargeable lites saves money in the long run. LED saves maintenance also in the long run. If you look around the dealer section, or the custom B/S/T section, there are many to chose from. There are also that comes in complete sets, such as the Inova T4 or the Surefire L7. Surefires are more expensive though but solidly built like inovas. Smaller sized such as the D-Mini/LP Mini also have rave reviews.

All the best ..........

When I walk my two Pooches at night I use a 3D Mag with a Terralux K-2 Drop in,
it lights up the track well with plenty of spill and lots of runtime

Sounds to me like the Propolys won't have enough spill for your purpose, too throwy beam.
Inova T2 might be more like it.

Mags Minimag LED could be good too. Set to flood for normal walking arround, switch to throw if your dog runs out of sight.

Should be easy to mod with a cree too, from what i hear. Not a trival consideration when you look at the superior efficency of the Cree's compared to Luxeon Leds.

This Seoul led using light also looks good, and its pretty cheap too. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1341 Judging from the beamshot, it seems to have nice spill and throw. But you might want to wait untill there are some firsthand-experiences posted here.

The Terralux drop-in mentioned by Torch_Boy is a good choice. With slightly less output but locally available and full factory warranty get a 2, 3, or 4 D MagLED.

The ROP is a bright option but you will only get ~30 minutes runtime (depending on your choice of cells) before needing a charge.

If You are only "starting" with Flashlights, then You do not already know what You want. Usually You are going to enter these levels (I did):

1: big light, cheap to med. price
2: big light, more output, price med. at least
3: medium light, bright output, price on the high side (maybe starting with "throw")
4: smaller light, even brighter output, less runtime, high price ("thow" thinking maybe still present)
5: EDC-able light, bright is OK, but lower level(s) present, price wherever
6: EDC-light, low-med-high levels, good quality, reasonable price

in the moment, with all those great Led around now, better skip everything than "6", get a Fenix model with the battery You like, use the most used Low setting with option for high, forget the "beating" option of a light too large to have with You all them time (and maybe switch to temporarily distract by high output into face and then RUN)

Hey, thanks for the suggestions. I will look into all them in more detail. I'm itching for more lite! But not my wallet. hehe.

You know what guys?!?! I just realized that maybe a headlamp for flood/upclose and a long thrower might do the trick?

Anyone else care to add?

Kingsburg, eh? Cool. That place is nicer than my town. hehe. Although I must say that I LOVE my town.

65535 said:

I really like my U2 its great and my lottery winner lights up a huge area at dozens of meters, I recommend SF for the build quality warranty and feel of the light in your hand, btw I have family in Kingsburg right south of you.

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You might want to take a look at the Ledbeam 3C. Not a mag, good throw,long runtime, good price.
I like mine.
Topper

One easy choice is the MagLED 3D running off alkaline D cells. Runtime is 20+ hours, throw is good. I have 2D and 4D MagLED, 3D is supposed to be better than either of them. Depends on whether you can live with the size.

Do you need lots of run time in one night (ie you might have to use it for hours searching for lost dog) or do you just not want to have to feed it batteries all the time ? If you need long runtimes, the MagLED might be all you need. If you just don't want to buy batteries all the time, then a smaller, rechargeable light might be an option. Use it for an hour or two then toss it on the charger when you get home.

If you're in the city then a smaller light will probably be all you need -- I live out in the sticks so I'm partial to big, long throw lights like the Magcharger or UltraStinger. If the light does not need to be on all the time and will only be used for "finding" and... um.. "clubbing" then you have a lot more options and might want to see if Amazon still has the sale on MagChargers.

If I was looking for a dog walking light which had to be on for the duration of the walk I would look hard at the Streamlight SL-20X LED models -- rechargeable, LEDs for 40-hour run time at moderate brightness or 150-200 lumen incandescent for (~1.5 hour runtime) when you need throw.

If you don't want to mess with a charger, the Streamlight 3C-XP is the same idea but running off regular C cells with much longer times and less brightness -- 300 hrs claimed on LED, 5-6 hours on xenon with 50 lumen output (vs. 150-200 for the rechargeable).

If you are looking for something inexpensive then I would look at the MTE 3W Seoul Semiconductor Z-Power LED Flashlight. It is new so we dont know what to expect, but I have one on order. 2 stage will allow for long runtime on low and decent runtime on high for spotting. I have bought their other flashlights and they have been good. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1322

The other choice if you have a decent budget would be the Lumapower M1 which I have heard good things, and you can buy it from www.batteryjunction.com.

TORCH_BOY said:

When I walk my two Pooches at night I use a 3D Mag with a Terralux K-2 Drop in,
it lights up the track well with plenty of spill and lots of runtime

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How do you think about the quality of this Terralux drop in?

Frids

These is great info! Keep schooling me! And maybe the new and lurkers alike. hehe.

There have been many good suggestions for lights. I will address the Light As Baton recommendation. I have a 4D Mag with an LED upgrade for walking around at night. Huge run time. It works great as a baton and it wouldn't bother me to bang it up because it is easily and speedily replaceable at nearby stores. Even the stock MagLED upgrade has plenty of throw for nightly nature walks. It also isn't that expensive. Pick one up at Home Depot for under $30. I also have the Mag D sized belt holder. It's a little heavy on the belt, but convenient if I need both hands. It's a little strange to have an even brighter light in pocket. Goes against common sense that the little light is brighter than the big one. To put it bluntly, if you are planning on using it as a baton, it should not be something too valuable in case it is damaged/destroyed/lost/confiscated. Aluminum just isn't the best materiel for a baton and if used it will be damaged and probably taken as evidence by the police. No guarantees about getting back. It does have the advantage that it's not really considered a weapon and you have a legitimate reason for carrying a flashlight at night. You should really have some training. It's not as simple as you might think to use a baton against knife and using it against an unarmed individual threatening you would most like get you excessive force charges. Maybe against multiple assailants, but again, it's not as simple as you would think to use a baton against them. Unless you are fairly strong the 4D is kind of on the slow side; you will be able to move a 4C light faster and easier. I don't see them around as much. You probably would have to order it over the internet. Be around $40 with MagLED upgrade and shipping. And yes, more reach is better, so a 4 cell is the shortest I would use. Not going to address the use of smaller lights as koppo or yarawa sticks at this time.

Fry's has 4C Mags - I got a couple for my noise mods. Do you have a Fry's nearby, RdlyLite?

Light-as-baton sounds great in theory, but in practice is kinda sucks. A real cop carries and uses a REAL baton, like the PR-24 I keep in my truck, or an extendible all-steel ASP. Most bozos have very hard heads and you risk not only damaging the light, but losing the illumination which helps you keep track of your assailants.

Don't even consider using or carrying a knife unless you're a martial artist. Knife fights are nasty and bloody affairs, and generally nobody wins. First person to pass out from blood loss loses. I've seen the results firsthand and it isn't pleasant.

Here in TX we allow the civilized practice of licensed concealed handgun carry. I normally don't feel the need to shoot drunks or the typical bozos I run into, so rely on Fox 5.2 or Freeze +P sprays, both of which are law-enforcement formulations. A couple of squirts in the face takes the fight of just about anyone except a person jacked up on PCP.

As a backup, consider a handheld stunner, 500KV level, which is about one notch less than being tazed.

Neither of the above will get you sued or locked up, unless you live in a liberal wacko state, and although painful at the time, cause no real damage.

[sarcasm mode ON]
Now if you live in a liberal wacko state, it is better to go ahead and allow yourself to be killed or maimed. After all, that poor and undoubtedly misunderstood felon has rights, and you wouldn't want to abuse them by actually fighting back. After all, he might get injured, and thereby institute a lawsuit against your estate. In this case, it's better just to run away!
[sarcasm mode OFF]

Barring the use of lites as bludgeons, or any other weapons, I recommend a BIG dog!

Bets Wishes,
Ron

RdlyLite said:

... and I have come to the conclusion that if I keep reading up on flashlights that I will go insane.

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well, being here at this forum and posting this already justifys your insanity...so emphasize it, dont hide it

Personally I dont agree with search_and_rescue, U2 and A2s are good lights yes, but their not a good starter light...maybe it is in your case, but I've came a long way before truly undersyanding what makes a good light a "good light"

theres a seemlingly endless search for the light that you need, as situations could change without notice wherever you are. I'd stay away from the mag85/ROP design if you wanted long runtime. ROPs are major candidates in Intensity and wow factor...but for everything else, there are cheaper lights that can fit your needs.

FirstMain said:

Barring the use of lites as bludgeons, or any other weapons, I recommend a BIG dog!

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Check! Well, not really my mutt is viscious but is only 60+lbs. But you know, come to think of it, I have seen him in action and he has what it takes to take someone down. Heck, my dog can have at anyone/thing and I can pounce and that can be the end of it.

Interesting enough though...