Upgrading my 5 year olds flashlight

He just turned 5 and needs to add something a bit bigger to his collection.
I would like it to be pocketable, very bright and tetherable.
I have been away from the forum for a bit now, the last light I bought is the P1 when it came out. Hunter now has two little sisters that will keep me from putting the 11 months of research into this.. I was hoping for some suggestions.
Thanks!
David

I would suggest that you look at the new Novatac (Formely HDS) lights that are out soon. Pocket size, bright (up to 120 lumens), and super durable. I don't know what your prize range is, may be a bit pricy..

www.novatac.com

I have pre-ordered the 120-p model.

Sakkath said:

I would suggest that you look at the new Novatac (Formely HDS) lights that are out soon. Pocket size, bright (up to 120 lumens), and super durable. I don't know what your prize range is, may be a bit pricy..

www.novatac.com

I have pre-ordered the 120-p model.

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+1

For a five year old I was thinking Fenix as I'm sure they will beat ands lose it. Kids are great at losing stuff!!! LOL

I will look into the one mentioned, two votes in two posts is a pretty good indicator.
I am not terribly concerned about cost, he hasn't lost any lights yet and uses them daily.

My vote would be for a Fenix or one of the cheaper lights from DX. I'm sorry, but the suggestions of a Novatac for a five year old made me laugh. I'm not old enough to deserve a light that good (and expensive) yet. :laughing:

Geoff

Oh thats a flashlight for a five year old..

I thought the title was "Upgrading my 5 year old flashlight"

One "s" can make a lot of differense

About the five year old: I have to agree with the ones saying Fenix, I think it's just right for him/her. Novatac is a bit overkill

Some of the RiverRock offerings at Target are pretty decent for price. The 12.99 1AA green one has has a 30 hour runtime with an extremely bright spotlight type beam while the $20 1AA-1W black one has more of a conventional beam. Both models look like they can take a few bumps and tumbles.

My four year old is quite torch savvy ( No suprises there ) and is more than happy with a variety of single level lights - Civictor, Fenix L1P, Dorcy Hawkeye and Super 1 Watt ( The strobe perplexes him!), not to mention Mags with and without LED drop ins.

His default position is to shine it in your eyes so I restrict him to relatively low level and low cost lights like that.

Incidentally, I applaud the person who would give his five year old a Novatac!!:naughty:



Be lucky...

Well, they aren't super bright compared to some, I would recommend any of the Inova lights that would fit what you are looking for. The Inovas are hell-for-stout, which would be good for a 5yo, IMO. Something like the X5, while not their brightes model, by far, also runs a very long time on a set of primaries.

What is he doing with these lights, BTW? I can't think of a lot of things a 5yo would need a super bright light for, personally.

My son and I hunt daily, mostly coyotes, and find ourselves watching the sunset from the bush at least 4 days a week.
He is upgrading from an EL, needs a bit more flood and I am not fond of the diffuser. Not a typical 5 year old, the flashlight wont be used as a eye shiner by him (his sister is another story though..:duh2
The light is a necessity if we have difficulty with our quads or simply walking out of the woods. He drives his own 110cc quad with no difficulty, and I won't even get into his rifle..
We live in the country and spend our time outdoors, I hunt predators for a living and he comes to work with me the days he is not in school or doing his sports. The light wont be an entertainment device, it will be something to replace the one he uses and carries daily, just time for an upgrade.
The Novatac looks like something I would like, but he would need something a bit more user friendly, 2 stage would be nice, but single will do. I will take reliable over durable for this purpose, it won't take too bad of a beating.

How about a Fenix P3D or a Surefire E2E or a Surefire G3/9P etc etc

Incan or LED?

second on the lights from DX. Cheap and bright and runs on AAs.

Can also look at Lumapower LM30x. 2 stage and well made.

My sons(7 and 9) are carrying the Lumapowers, they have alot of dinks and scratches but still carry on working. And they have very simple interface like off-low-high-off just by clicking on the tail switch.

Sean

Again, thank you.
LED is what I am after I think, also I would prefer lithium batteries, I have piles of them around here already.
What is a "DX" light? I have been reading a lot about the new models as well as the companies that changed names, it sure doesn't take long to fall behind in keeping up with this stuff..

Pydpiper said:

What is a "DX" light?

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DX is short for Dealextreme, alot of cheap lights there.

www.dealextreme.com

THE GENERAL STORE in Eastgare Mall (right next to The Bay mall entrance) now carries Nuwai and Fenix Flashlights. From QIIIs at $29.95 to the Fenix CE models. Nothing beats try before you buy. (hint: bring your own batteries).
My experience there on post 2:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/168614
They are a sub-retailler of http://www.j2ledflashlight.com/

The P1-CE is due out at Fenix-store and lighthound this week or the next. 90 lumens vs 55 for the P1 and $5 cheaper. Single mode twistie.

DX (DealExtreme) and KaiDomain sells the cheapest lights they can find out of Hong Kong. Well you gets what you pay for.

EDIT
Last time I was there THE GENERAL STORE had the folowing 123 lights:
Nuwai QIII
Nuwai Aurora
Nuwai QIII's big mother (don't know if it's the 3 watt, 5 watt or both) 2x1233A.
Fenix P1D-CE twisty multilevel
Fenix P2D-CE twist for mode, click for on-off, change levels. I believe the L1D-CE (1AA) and L2D-CE (2AA) bodies will fit the head/tailcap.
Fenix P3D-CE twist for mode, click for on-off, change levels. 2x123A Brightest Fenix to date in turbo mode.

in case you are really not up to date the -CE stands for Cree Edition. The Cree LEDs give out twice the amount of light as a 3 watt Luxeon for the same power input.

How about a Gatlight: http://www.lumencraft.net/shop.htm
They are bright and fully adjustable.

Pydpiper said:

I will look into the one mentioned, two votes in two posts is a pretty good indicator.
I am not terribly concerned about cost, he hasn't lost any lights yet and uses them daily.

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Get something cheap and rugged. A 2aa minimag with a bright-colored body might be a good choice. Put in rechargeables in case he leaves it on all night.

paulr said:

Get something cheap and rugged. A 2aa minimag with a bright-colored body might be a good choice. Put in rechargeables in case he leaves it on all night.

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Wouldn't an LED Minimag or that Brinkmann mini-mag clone be a better choice? More durable, longer runtime, decent price?

Comedy 120 Lumen option
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Dorcy_K2_414295_LED_Flashlight.php

Pydpiper said:

I am not terribly concerned about cost, he hasn't lost any lights yet and uses them daily.

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Consider engraving your address or phone number on it. It comes in handy.

Sakkath said:

Oh thats a flashlight for a five year old..

I thought the title was "Upgrading my 5 year old flashlight"

One "s" can make a lot of differense

Click to expand...

I had to read it twice to get it too. I think there's an apostrophe missing.

Pydpiper said:

We live in the country and spend our time outdoors, I hunt predators for a living and he comes to work with me the days he is not in school or doing his sports.

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Ah, the way things used to be. :thumbsup:

I too would have said DX or KD, but if you're upgrading perhaps you want something a bit more upmarket?