Please help a newbie.... looking for beginner light.

Hey,

I always dive into new hobbies, that's my problem. I always start randomly buying things. The flashlight is my new thing. I want a compact bright one.

(it's funny I was reading an argument regarding incandescent vs compact flourescent lightbulbs in your house, then somebody mentioned dimmable LEDs in the future... and i thought, HEY i want a nice LED flashlight)

Unfortunately I don't have much money. So I'm looking at the lowest of the low end.

I'm looking at 2 lights right now. The first is a slightly more expensive one. Fenix L1D. The original reason that drew me to this is that it uses AA and the place I'm looking to buy from, you can get a knife with it. (Yeah, I'm starting to poke around knife forums too.. maybe get a Spyderco Byrd while I'm at it...).

I'm a photographer so I have a ton of NiMH AAs around (for my strobes). But then I realized, NiMH cells lose their charge after a week or two. Even though it's high cap, what good is it if it's empty!

The same place I looked at has a special with the Aurora Nichia Jupiter. It looks like the cheapest one there (<$30). However, it's "only" 1.5W so I'm not sure if it's powerful enough.

What will I be using it for? Who knows. I want to buy one, stick a cell in it, and leave it in the car for emergencies. NiMH AAs definitely wont do the trick. I suppose CR123As will.

I'll buy another for my kid sister just to leave in her backpack... who knows when she'll need a light... and it doubles as a safety device too.

I poked around even more and found out there are RECHARGABLE R123 cells you can buy from this site (I hope they're still available). That would be great for me. I'd hate having to buy batteries every so often.

Thoughts? Recommendations? Thanks a lot!

Try this one
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1285

its $27 shipped, has dual mode hi/lo. and also one of the brightest lights out now.

But then I realized, NiMH cells lose their charge after a week or two. Even though it's high cap, what good is it if it's empty!

Click to expand...

Welcome to CPF.

Sanyo "eneloop" cells are supposed to hold their charge for up to a year...they come in AA flavour.

If you are going to leave the light in a car or something you should probably go with primary lithium cells though (10 year shelf life and they last a bit longer than normal alkalines).


CFU

If you are looking for something small 1xAA or 1xCR123A, take a closer look at the Lumapower M3, This flashlight will use both AA and CR123A (included Li-Ion 3.7v cells). Though it is $78.95 shipped.

Another small AA/CR123A flashlight coming out soon is the Rexlight REX1.0/2.0, it should only cost about $30 plus if you want a battery tube for CR123A it will cost a little more.

Both flashlight is not out yet, but should be out very soon.

Or else have a look at this list:
.::List of flashlights using the Cree XR-E / Seoul P4 LED::.

Welcome to CPF.

The PalmBlaze looks pretty bright, but I haven't seen one with my own eyes. The LumaPower M1 and DMini are two of the exciting lights out now and aren't terribly expensive. And the M3 looks very interesting. I can't wait for that one.

Not sure which Jupiter light you were looking at, but yeah... there's no way it will be in the same output class as the Cree/SSC. Not really even in the same class as a decent Lux III. Plus a lot of the Jupiter lights have a moon beam. As in it puts out a round circle of light with no bright center. A lot of people don't like that.

I havent gotten mine yet but read about the Fenix LOD CE to put on your keychain. Would be good for emergencies and you'll always have it when you need it.

Order I get my lights in
Keychain
EDC
Car
House

x2x3x2 said:

Try this one
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1285

its $27 shipped, has dual mode hi/lo. and also one of the brightest lights out now.

Click to expand...

Yes! It's crazy bright, it will knock your socks off.:naughty:

Low cost batteries for the above light:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1283

And the charger:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251

If you want the most bang for your bucks, this is the way to go. You could easily spend far more and get much less.

If you have never owned a led light, try mag 3AA 3 watt led light (from home depot, target, walmart -). It will suprice you how bright they are for about 23 bucks.
Another one to try is Streamlight propolymar 4 AA Lux model (carefull when you shop there are a few propolymar model and you want the lux model.). It is highly rated here on cpf, lifetime warranty, super bright, great beam, for about 25 bucks. here: http://www.fox-intl.com/searchresult.asp?id=3034

Cheapest AA single cells with Cree (newest and brightest LED) is Jetbeam CR-E. I just got mine from one of the groupbuys and I love it.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/147091

All above lights will run with lith primery cells and these cells will last 10 years(Claimed) on the shelves. And they will run great with Nimh cells - given the selfdischarge issue.

If you are looking into CR123 lights, I would recommand Fenix P1D-CE. There are a few peeps here that don't like it but I love mine and it is a pocket rocket!! You won't find a better value, in my opion. (this can use RCR123 rechargeables, thou your 3 levels will look the same to your eyes until the cell volts drops to near 3 V. This light is even tooooo bright to use close quarters and it throws like there is no tomorrow.
fenix-store.com/ is the place. You can find a CPF discound, look thru dealer section. I think the code is "CPF5"

Have fun and may the beam be with you!!

Cheers.

kai-wun said:

...I want a compact bright one.
...
What will I be using it for? Who knows. I want to buy one, stick a cell in it, and leave it in the car for emergencies. NiMH AAs definitely wont do the trick. I suppose CR123As will.

Click to expand...

Primary 123A cells are the way to go for your purpose. I like and use a Streamlight Stinger in my car. Another good choice would be a SureFire G2. If you want an LED light, the Streamlight Stinger LED would be a good choice -- there are many, many others.

The Aurora Jupiter is 'old' tecnology by todays standards. Not bright for a 1 watt LED. Worse it is a spotlught with NO sidespill.

What model of Fenix are you looking at? The current Fenix 1AA lights are:
Civictor V1 $27
L1S $32.50
L1T $43.50
L1D-CE $54 (the knife is for picture taking to show size, you do not get one)
There is no L1D model
http://fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=22_50

The Fenix 1AA lights that come with knives are
L1S $38
L1T $49
Notice they are charging $5.50 extra for the knife.
http://fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=22_52

You can get a 5% discount at the Fenix store if you type in CPF5 in the discount coupon box during checkout (on orders over $20).
The Fenix store does not charge for shipping. Shipping costs can be as much as $7-9 at other stores if you live outside the US.

Aurora Jupiter
Throw 21
Total output 8.25 =11.5 lumens
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/aurora_alj-012aa.htm

Civictor V1 $27
Throw 24.8
Total output 22 = 30.5 lumens
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/civictor_v1.htm

L1S high $32.50/$38 with knife
Throw 22.9
Total output 16 = 22 lumens
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1s-l2s.htm

L1T high $43.50/$49 with knife
Throw 23.77
Total output 19 = 26.5 lumens
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1t-l2t.htm

L1D-CE $54
Flashlight reviews does not have a review of the L1D-CE but total output turbo mode is roughly twice the L1T high. See CPF review subforum for reviews.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151460
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=152650
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151870
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=154154

Welcome, The M@GLed 2AA or the Fenix are great starter lights

If you are going to leave it in the car I would recommend *not* getting an LED light, as while browsing other forums I noticed a mention of a fairly reliable Chinese brand of LED lights that failed when kept in a glove box. That makes me wary of exposing LED lights to lengthy periods of heat. I'd choose a Surefire G2 (~$30-35) or a Brinkmann Maxfire LX ($17-20) instead. Simpler construction, so less parts to fail. And lithium batteries have good shelf life.

kai-wun said:

I want to buy one, stick a cell in it, and leave it in the car for emergencies. NiMH AAs definitely wont do the trick. I suppose CR123As will.

Click to expand...

If you're getting a light for this purpose then definitely go with lithium batteries (they come in AA and AAA sizes also) as they'll give you a 10 year shelf life. As others have mentioned the Fenix is a great starter, but for a car handheld light I'd go with a MagLED 2AA and load it with Energizer Lithium AAs. It's relatively inexpensive, takes easy to find AA and projects a bright beam. Ideally a headlamp would be best in a car as if it's an emergency you'll most likely need two free hands and be able to see what you're doing. A Princeton Tec Quad comes to mind but check out the headlamps forum section for recommendations.

Newuser01 said:

If you have never owned a led light, try mag 3AA 3 watt led light (from home depot, target, walmart -). It will suprice you how bright they are for about 23 bucks.

Click to expand...

True to that man. The Maglite 3W LED is what STARTED my kinda new obsession......... LOL ...........!

+1 For the Surefire G2. It's amazingly compact, outstanding construction and in my opinion, one of the truely good values that Surefire offers.

Want a good light for the car? Garrity Life Lite - hands down. Less than $3 at Walmart. Put one in the trunk of each car in your family. And before you guys laugh, listen to this logic. If you have a flat tire at night & need to get out a flashlight and set it down on the ground next to your work area, the last thing you want to do is take an expensive light (like an HDS or Surefire) and put it on the ground where it's going to get dirty, scratched up, possibly knocked over, etc. That Garrity Life Lite is brighter than you would expect, lasts a long time (check out the review on flashlightreviews.com), has a body that can easily stand on end (which is contrary to most cylindrical flashlights), has a glow-in-the-dark switch (works darn good!) and if it gets wasted, who cares - it was a whole $3. Don't get me wrong, it's not a flashlight to lust over, but for the sole purpose of vehicular emergencies and routine use, it is great.

For your sister, this is a hard one without knowing more specifics - such as her age and how much she actually will value a quality light. If she is very young & could care less about what light she has, heck, get a Garrity Life Lite too! Don't blow money on something like a Surefire unless she can both use it to it's potential and appreciate the expense that went into it.

Flashlight for yourself? I would recommend waiting till April/May when Novatac puts out their new EDC models. Most likely you'll thank yourself for waiting and not spending money on brands you may not be satisfied with along the way. If you can't wait that long, there's an HDS EDC Basic 60 on Ebay right now for $62.89 (and growing) - check it out.