What is this year's 4AA ProPoly Lux? (looking for a Christmas gift)

Germ

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I'm looking for Christmas gift for one of the guys at work. He mocks my flashlight interest, but I think he could be a fledgling flashoholic.

He didn't seem too turned on by my Fenix P1D CE Q5. He did like my Leef bodied 2x18500 with the P91 lamp.

I was considering getting him a SureFire G3. A not too expensive ($47 US at a local gun shop) and useful light. I feel like I'd want to get 2 17500 batteries and a DSD charger too so he could really USE the light. That kind of throws me over budget though.

If it were last year I would consider the Streamlight 4AA ProPoly Lux. That is a light anyone could love. Great form factor, beam, long runtime, common batteries, and not too expensive at all. If they came with a Cree or Rebel LED I'd get one for him now.

Am I missing any good lights to consider? I'm looking for something in the $50 or less range that is useful and has a bit of a wow factor.
 
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this_is_nascar

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I would re-consider and give him the Poly. It's obvious that he can't/won't appreciate what a Cree brings to the table. Get him the Poly. It's a great light and won't be hard on your wallet.
 

saildude

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I have a couple of ProPoly 4AA Lux and like them - reasonable price, good run time and still good light output - give it another thought - when shown to others there is still a wow factor - I am giving ProPoly 2AA led lights this year -

one of the problems I had early with light selection was to sort out the difference between "wow" and what works best for what I use a light for. I.e. I use a Pelican 2440 ( 5 led flood light ) or ProPoly 4AA Led ( 7 led flood ) when working on engines in sailboats because lights that have a bright central beam have too much focus and leave too much in the shadows.

mb
 

Germ

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Thanks guys.

I hadn't considered the 2AA ProPoly. I'll check for reviews.

Neat or practical would suffice instead of wow. The Energizer Hard Case Tactical swivel head or Streamlight Sidewinder would be cool if they were executed better. I agree that practical and useful are better than wow.

The guy has dogs, so a good walking light seems in order.

The G3 seemed affordable and he could upgrade to the P91 lamp if he wanted. Battery life would suck though even with the P90 lamp and I wouldn't want to give him something he wouldn't get much use of.

Actually, I bought the G3 already, but I'm keeping this one :D. I just ordered 2 17500's from Lighthound. I'll see how practical this set up is.
 
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Duff72

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pro poly all the way and +1 on the aa sugestion by nascar 123's get expensive at local camera shop or pharmacy
 

ZMZ67

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Have you considered the Energizer Hard Case PROFESSIONAL swivel head?At $34.97(Lowes) it is cheaper than the Sidewinder and the Hard Case Tactical.The Professional also uses a CREE as the main LED and is reasonably bright with good throw.The secondary LEDs are Red(2) and Green(1).No IR like the Tactical has but there are two brightness levels for the main LED.
IMHO the Hard Case Professional is a good value for the $ though it hasn't been out long enough to provide a proven track record like the Pro Poly 4AA.
 

Germ

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ZMZ67, do you have a link to the Hard Case Professional swivel head? I haven't seen that at my local Lowes. They've been out of the Cree TaskForce for a while too.

I agree, for a non-flashaholic a light that takes 123's is a no-no. That is why I was going to include a box of a dozen SureFire 123's or 2 17500's and a DSD charger. I haven't committed to the G3 yet though. Maybe I'll pass this Christmas and wait for the right light to come along.
 

joema

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...If it were last year I would consider the Streamlight 4AA ProPoly Lux. That is a light anyone could love....If they came with a Cree or Rebel LED I'd get one for him now.
Excellent question. The SL 4AA PP Lux was a perfect "gift light" for all the reasons stated. Even today -- it's still pretty good.

As already stated, you definitely don't want CR123A primary cells on a gift light. You want either AAs or RCR123A + recharger. Believe me on that -- I've learned the hard way.

I guess something like the Fenix L2T would come closest nowadays. 2AA power, choice of rechargeable, alkaline or lithium AA. Two output levels, no confusing strobe or blinking modes. Small/convenient form factor.
 

kavvika

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Brinkmann Maxfire LX + DX Cree drop-in module #1434 + 1 (or 2) of AW's 17670's and an Ultrafire charger. This is my favorite light, and I use it all the time. Stays in regulation for nearly 2 1/2 hours with that cell. He should be set for life. Although, I did think the light looked pretty cheesy with the plastic grips, so I took them off and wrapped the light with electrical tape.
 

ZMZ67

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ZMZ67, do you have a link to the Hard Case Professional swivel head? I haven't seen that at my local Lowes. They've been out of the Cree TaskForce for a while too.

I agree, for a non-flashaholic a light that takes 123's is a no-no. That is why I was going to include a box of a dozen SureFire 123's or 2 17500's and a DSD charger. I haven't committed to the G3 yet though. Maybe I'll pass this Christmas and wait for the right light to come along.

Sorry, I don't know of an online source.Another CPFer was unable to find the light on Lowes online store.I believe he bought one over on the Marketplace B/S/T section.There is a review of this light in the reviews section of CPF but I don't remember any mention of an online store that offers it.I am not even sure if this light is on Energizer's web page.:thinking:
 

Germ

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Thanks ZMZ67, I found that review. The Hard Case Professional is sounding better all the time. I'm thinking I might even want one myself. I was rationalizing that I need an angle head light to clip to my belt to free a hand for walking a friend's dogs or other tasks. The Sidewinder just didn't do it for me and neither did the Pentagonlight Molle.

I wonder what went into Energizer's selection of LED's? Why dump the blue LED of the Tactical and replace it with a green one? Why two red LED's? What the world needs is fully configurable lights :D

Gnufsh, an upgraded ProPoly sounds great. I'm not brave enough to give it a try though.
 

Germ

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As already stated, you definitely don't want CR123A primary cells on a gift light. You want either AAs or RCR123A + recharger. Believe me on that -- I've learned the hard way.

I'm curious joema, how did you learn that you don't want a gift light that uses 123's?
 

joema

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I've given many lights as gifts. Every time (without exception) the recipients of a CR123A light just quit using it after the batteries ran down. This is despite showing them how to get new lights on the internet, etc. If I include a pack of fresh batteries, that prolongs it until THOSE run down.

By contrast each time I've gifted a AA light, or an RCR123A light (with charger), they keep using it. Getting new AA batteries or recharging a battery is familiar to them. Buying CR123A cells on the internet or paying $6.00 per cell at a retail outlet is not.
 

this_is_nascar

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I've given many lights as gifts. Every time (without exception) the recipients of a CR123A light just quit using it after the batteries ran down. This is despite showing them how to get new lights on the internet, etc. If I include a pack of fresh batteries, that prolongs it until THOSE run down.

By contrast each time I've gifted a AA light, or an RCR123A light (with charger), they keep using it. Getting new AA batteries or recharging a battery is familiar to them. Buying CR123A cells on the internet or paying $6.00 per cell at a retail outlet is not.

Same hear, that's why I 1st mentioned it. It also holds true (in my experience) with coin celled lights. As soon as the battery runs out, they throw the light in the drawer, trash, etc.
 

Lighthouse one

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I picked up one of the Lowes Task Force 2 "c" cell cree lights. Lots of throw. Uses a plastic lens- but it's decent. A good light for a regular joe. Says "60 X" on the package. $30. Not in every store yet.
 

9volt

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At $50 for a gift light I'd be inclined to go small with something like an L0D-CE or an ARC AAA. You can never have too many little lights like that.
 

Germ

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Sounds like good advice on the batteries. When I got my parents lights a year or two ago I got them 4AA ProPoly Luxes and they love them. I knew a 123 batteried light would never work for them.

I've grown to tolerate 123 lights. I live in an army town and a couple of the supply stores here carry SureFire batteries for not much more than you can get them online, so that's cool. The Fenix P1D CE Q5 really seems to make 123's practical with it's great output and long runtime. I have a SureFire E2D that hardly got used before I got a FiveMega Strion bulb adapter so it could use 17670 rechargeables.

Darn it, it looks like the L1T and L2T lights at FenixStore don't ship until January 2008.

The friend at work doesn't seem like an EDC kind of guy. I'm sure he liked the P1D CE Q5 I showed him, but that was a few weeks ago. It seems like he was more into the brighter, bigger lights like the Leef bodied 2x18500 with the P91 lamp or the ROP. The showings were all indoors with the lights on too, so that makes the smaller lights less impressive. The big incans are really impressive with the amount of heat they put out the front :) Whenever I get something new and interesting I like to show them to the guys at work to show them there is life outside of MagLites.
 

Germ

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I got two Energizer Hard Case Professional swivel head lights last week. I played with one for a few days. Nice light, but I just couldn't get into it. I think I've turned into a flashlight snob. The clincher for me was the beam. The beam wasn't terrible, just not great. The beam didn't have a lot of spill, had an off center Cree doughtnut, and some smudges from the plastic lens. The light needs an orange peel reflector and a glass lens. The lamp/reflector is deeply recessed too, good for protection, but not so good for the beam as it cuts off the sides of the spill. It is not very bright by today's standards, but that probably accounts for it's good runtime. Other than the reflector, which looked kind of cheap, the light seemed tough and well made. I thought it was too large considering it just used two AA batteries. I liked that it was a swivel head, but I think I want a side clip so I could clip it to my hip. The light was awkward clipped to the front of my belt and walking made the beam bounce around. Alas, I returned both lights.

I was pretty obvious at work, questioning the guy about lights. He said he would like a light that used 123's (I told you he had flashaholic tendencies :D). He said he did like my P1D CE Q5, but he sounded like he would prefer a clicky. A Fenix P2D sounds like a good option.

Any other ideas for a gift light?
 
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