Looking for a new compact light with good output without the cost.

I already have an old style Inova X1 but it's not cutting it for night time use. I need something with a better peripheral beam. I'm not looking to spend a great deal of cash, $50 tops is my budget.

I have been told Mag LED's are pretty hard to beat, but I can't find any picutres of the output.

Any suggestions?

I have not used the Mag LED's yet, so I cannot comment or help you there, but I have used some other lights within your price range.

The Pelican 2330 (non-reg 1 W LED) has a really good beam quality with good sidespill/peripheral. You can get it for well less than $50 on ebay, especially now that the Pelican 2390's have come out and push $80.

Having used both of these lights, I cannot say a huge advantage of the $80 2390 over the $40 2330. In fact, I would have to say that I like the original Pelican 2330 a little more because of the finish. The black HA-II feels better than the rough gray HA-III.

So, in closing, I would submit the Pelican 2330 for your consideration.

You may want to start by reading the reviews at http://www.flashlightreviews.com

Well if 50,-- is about what You want to spend, look at a Fenix L1D-CE or L2D-CE

Mag-leds are cheaper, right. But there are so much cons to them.
If they had been released when they were 1st proposed from Mag (I received the 1st info a bit more than 3 years ago), they had been great THEN.
And even cheaper NOW, with all the new technology available.
But they were released now and are nothing to the medium flashoholic (by giving Your, very reasonable, price, You show that You are one).

yellow said:

Well if 50,-- is about what You want to spend, look at a Fenix L1D-CE or L2D-CE

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If I were an LED / $50 man, I would definitely buy a Fenix. No question.

Yellow, I took a look at other Fenix models and I really like the P1D-CE. Unless I find something else, I think I will have to save my cash and go witht his one. I want something small I can secure to my belt with a holster, and this light seems small and powerful, plus it has 5 modes.

yes you are also right, while I'm not crzy about flashlights, I do use them for their intended purpose at work, and I like to stick with quality, thats why I'm here

WhiteFox said:

I already have an old style Inova X1 but it's not cutting it for night time use. I need something with a better peripheral beam. I'm not looking to spend a great deal of cash, $50 tops is my budget.

I have been told Mag LED's are pretty hard to beat, but I can't find any picutres of the output.

Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

The Mag LED has a narrow beam.

A good floody light is not that easy to find. A Pierce M10 might do it for you - they have been on sale at $70 - or you can look for a Lux V light like the Nuwai TM-301X-5 which will be under $50 - if you can find one. Good luck with your search!

Edit: I found TM-301X-5 on Ebay from eliteLED at $71 delivered. Good choice if you can find a deal or spring for the extra $20.

If I were you I wouldn't even be looking at anything that still uses Luxeon technology as they are old news and have been completely outdone.

Look into one of the new Cree based lights. There are quite a few of them available now right around the $50 (or less) mark. Of the ones in your price range the L1DCE or L2DCE are your best bet in my opinion. They use either 1 AA cell for the L1DCE or two AA cells for the L2DCE. They have 4 levels of output ranging from dim to very very bright, and also have SOS and Strobe modes for emergencies.
I highly reccomend www.fenix-store.com if you are going to purchase one of these lights. They have free shipping and EXCELLENT service!

On second thought that L2DCE is pretty nice looking, but it's sort of big, I can't imagine what it would be like having to sit in a car or something with this thing strapped to my waist. I'll have to find some beam shots. I like the use of AA batteries though.

What is the benefit of Cree vs Luxeon? Runtime and brightness?

You might wish to take a look at the Free.Light Spartanian

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=150902
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=148441

Available here: http://www.batteryjunction.com/spartanian.html

Looks kinda hard to beat for $40. I'd pick one up, myself, but I'm hoarding my scarce financial reserves for one of the two lights I really want, neither of which has shown up yet. (Tho the LP M1 XR-E comes damn close to one of them.)

benefit is 1st of all: tighter tolerances --> You get the powerful led and the color tint You think of, at luxeon its quite a lottery with 30 % difference in output for the "same" led
then double (even more) output at same current (say brighter and longer runtime)
less heat produced (improving the lifetime of the led)

most other lights than the Fenix D-models are more on the MAX output and thus low runtime, thats why I like the Fenixes.

2 AA (L2D-CE) is quite larger than the 1 batt model, but brighter and longer runtime. Its a tradeoff.
(btw: if Fenix would offer a 3 AA model, I would not be surprised if it were shorter than the 2 AA MagLed (which is unnecessary long), but still some ppl think the MagLed is pocketable.
(wonder why, I like my L1D-CE)

Isnt the P1D-CE more expensive?
(I also like a clickie switch more than the twisty I need 2 hands for)

If I were you, I would wait for the Rexlight 2.0. You should be able to get it with 3 different tubes(1AA, 2AA, 1CR123) at around $50.

SEMIJim said:

Looks kinda hard to beat for $40. I'd pick one up, myself, but I'm hoarding my scarce financial reserves for one of the two lights I really want, neither of which has shown up yet. (Tho the LP M1 XR-E comes damn close to one of them.)

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so which ones are the two lights that you really want?

plus, what feature does the LP M1 XR-E lack that you need?

Yellow, thanks for clearing that up.

Lightbug, enlighten me on this Rexlight.

If the L2D CE is too big, get the L1D CE. It will be the same brightness except for the top level, just won't run as long. The 1AA and 2AA battery tubes are interchangeable. Dave doesn't sell the tubes separately right now (the lights are too new and in short supply) but he will start selling them when the supply fills out, hopefully within a month or two.

Welcome, The new fenix Cree flashlights are well worth the money, they are Multilevel
and are brighter than the M@Gleds. For the value the M@Gled 2AA is far the cheaper option and much brighter than the Inova X1

I second the Free.Light.

I bought one and like it a lot. It is a little bigger than I thought (I have been spoiled by higher quality lights at 5-8 times the cost) but it feels great in the hand. I bought mine from batteryjunction.com. Go there and click on the cree lights link. I am starting to like the Free.Light better than my P1D and P1D-CE (not for size or performance but simplicity). If you want smaller look for a fenix P1. I think that is an amazing flashlight and it fits great in the pocket. I hope they come out with a cree version at the same brightness and size but twice the runtime.


Good luck,
rob

flashy bazook said:

so which ones are the two lights that you really want?

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I dunno. Both? Neither? Truth be told: I don't know what I want. I do think I haven't seen it yet.

flashy bazook said:

plus, what feature does the LP M1 XR-E lack that you need?

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It's not so much that there's some feature it lacks that I want, as much as I'm confused by the fact that the Mini-D appears to have more throw, but the M1 has much longer run time. Then there's the fact LumaPower's re-working the M1 to drive the emitter at 1A, and I can't seem to get a definitive answer as to whether that's a Good Thing, or not.

I have a Nuwai TM-301X-3 (Luxeon 3W) a friend gave me Christmas-before-last I really like. I started out thinking of getting myself another of those. It's nice and bright on high and has a nice low. It's a nice, handy size. I keep it in the car. I was thinking of getting another for in the house. But I started looking around here to see if maybe I should look at something else, instead. Maybe that was a mistake, cuz now it seems I'm stuck in an endless loop, looking for the "perfect" choice. I've so far "settled" on about a half-dozen different lights, only to change my mind again.

WhiteFox said:

Yellow, thanks for clearing that up.

Lightbug, enlighten me on this Rexlight.

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Me too.


http://www.kaidomain.com/rexlight/

wow, that Rexlight in natural is great, I am thinking very hard.
Natural HA, double O-rings, 14500 or AA, "remember" last setting, low-med-high-special modes setting, low mode flicker reduced, low settings with Li-Ion, ...

only con is this here:

Here is some power consumption data measured at Rexlight:

- 1.2V NiMH 2500mAh: 40-50mA/110-120mA/350-380mA (low / medium / high)
- 2.4V DC power supply: 60-68mA/145-155mA/550-580mA (low / medium / high)
- 3.7V DC power supply: 340-350mA/360-390mA/720-760mA (low / medium / high)

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if it were ~50 / ~350 / ~900 from the power supply, I would immediately get it.
Is it possible that these figures have been shifted by accident? With lower input Voltage they should be higher.

The link is more of a "feeler", right?