The Holy Grail Of Flashlights

Re: The Holy Grail

Since you seem to be wanting CR123, maybe the Fenix P3D Q5. Smaller in size, many times brighter.

Its does not have the look im after realy

The PD3 Q5 may have more power but I find it has
To many settings
20-30 lumens on low and a high setting would do
The L1 is nearly there.

The holy grail of flashlights? The one you have in your pocket when you are stuck in Mammoth Cave during a blackout .

Seriously, there is no such thing, they always keep improving, and you keep wanting new and improved, at least that is how it works here usually...

Lee1959 said:

The one you have in your pocket when you are stuck in Mammoth Cave during a blackout .

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Been there!

I went on the Wild Cave Tour in the early 90's and was provided a hardhat mounted Petzl light. Got to keep the official branded hardhat, sadly they wanted the light back.

In the same situation today, my 24/7 would do quite nicely.

novatac 120p? you can program it to from 0.08 lumen to 120 lumen in 4 levels, for some, having a programable ui is adding complications, but you can use the preprogrammed settings or program yours once and forget about it, and you can control it with one hand (easily and fast, there are others you can control with one hand but complicate the grip).

maybe a 120t would be better...

i absolutely like my 120p, build quality seems very good, above fenix (i have a l1tv2 and an l2drb100), and the programmability and versatility is great.

Its the flickering in the lower levels that get me, tho at 0.33lumen or above it seems to be gone, and it only appears when the battery is really low and when its been on high for some time and then going directly to lowest.

seems some novas 120p are free from it tho...

about looks: that is a very subjective matter, but hds edc series and novatacs have the same model i really like, which is a result of functional aesthetics.

the knurling and the "waist" work great for many grip styles.

like Lee1959 said there is no holy grail, but from the ones i have tried (which arent much to begin with) the novatac 120p seems to be closer to what you look for, from useability to output requests...
its also a light that has made all my others mostly sit unused or as emergency backups or to just play with.

Nodding towards Lees point, LEDs are improving at such a pace that on a pure "how much light" aspect the Holy Grail will likely always be just around the next corner for a long time to come

However, there are some items like a really nice mechanical watch, that is nowhere near as accurate as a $5 digital, or an nice old car which is nowhere near as fast or reliable as newer cheaper models that can continue to be appreciated beyond pure performance, classics if you will, and there maybe some light equivilents.

For me, McGizmo's TiPD-S is just about a perfect EDC and I will continue to carry it long after the next big LED comes out and probably continue to appreciate it (but more likley upgrade it) when it's current P4 LED is so far superceded it makes no sense to carry.

It is beautiful to look at, exceptionally functional, transparent in its simple but clever design and has the most perfect beamshape (for my needs) I have come across.

For me this is a holy grail, but probably not THE Holy Grail:twothumbs.

It has also been available in Aluminium and HA which offers a cool light for less $$$ and is more akin to the SF finishes in your collection.

I've seen a black KL4 with the bezel from an E2D attached to it with a McE2S talicap in black. This is essentially the E2D that you described. If you need more output, send it to Milkyspit for a board/emitter upgrade. Sounds like the holy grail, at least to your specs. Might cost a few $$$, but based on your collection, you're willing to invest in nice lights.

Even though it is not out yet, the HDS Twisty is approaching my perfect light. It is almost overbuilt and I'm sure it will live up to specs. It looks as though Henry has planned for any contingency in its design. The only thing it is lacking is programmability but the set levels are pretty much where I like them anyway.

Valpo Hawkeye said:

I've seen a black KL4 with the bezel from an E2D attached to it with a McE2S talicap in black. This is essentially the E2D that you described. If you need more output, send it to Milkyspit for a board/emitter upgrade. Sounds like the holy grail, at least to your specs. Might cost a few $$$, but based on your collection, you're willing to invest in nice lights.

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+1, I think Valpo Hawkeye hit the nail on the head.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=175864

Get in touch with Milkyspit, tell him what you want, and more than likely he can make it or mod it for you. Happy hunting!

I know I'm not really adding to the options, but what little bit of time I've spent here the one thing that really stands out is that just about EVERYONE will recommend a different light when a question like this is asked. There seems to be no real answer to just about every question asked on here. There are so many good options in the consumer flashlight world that nothing seems to stand out, much less a few lights. This seems to go for all levels. I could ask what is the best single AAA and I'd get 25 different answers. I only mention this because this is good and bad. Good because of the choices given and the knowledge of most people here. Bad because it can make for a hard decision on which to purchase.

My advice is use whatever is recommended here as a starting point and if possible check each light out if you have a tactical store nearby.

The first light with an LED capable of handling 50 watts while maintaining a luminous efficacy of 200 lm/w would be my holy grail. 10,000 lumens in a near zero degree collimator / reflector would be pretty insane. I wonder if this will ever even be possible...

Thanks for the replies there are some useful tips
That I will look into a bit more.

waspish said:

Surly it would be better to have a flashlight that may not be as powerful but you have with you in your hour of need!

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Yes it is, and therefore I'd suggest a small AAA powered light that you attach to your keys. Don't know about you, but I sometimes forget my lights, wallet, cellphone and pretty much anything else except my keys.

Suggestions in no particular order: Arc AAA-P or Fenix L0D. Streamlight also makes a couple of models, but I forget their names. They may not be the brightest out there, but a light in your pocket is worth ten on the shelf.

+1 I have that exact set-up!

The Holy Grail of flashlights doesn't exist yet. My Holy Grail would be the new HDS Twisty made of titanium with a 2x123A tube and the LED be easily upgradable. Unfortunately, this light will almost certainly never exist.

If Holy Grail means the ultimate and almost unnattainable, I'd have to say that the current Holy Grail of lights would be the Surefire "Beast" if only because most of us can't afford one (therefore unnattainable).
A close second might be a Polarion.

That's my .02 lumens, and I'm sticking to 'em.

For something in between the L1 and U2, there are a lot of marketplace choices. You turned down the Fenix P3D because of styling... what about the Regalight WT1? It's plenty powerful and the form factor is probably somewhere between the L1 and U2. If you want expandability, the Dereelight CL1H V2 is a nice choice. There's also the Olight T20 Q5. But if you want to keep small, I'd say go with a Novatac EDC-120P. I'm sure there are other good candidates out there, but I think these are worth looking into based on what I've researched so far.

Between the L1 and a U2 would be a milky modded L1.

The closest thing to the holy grail is the McLux Lunasol. Two levels, the high level uses a reflector-focused Cree for good throw while the low level uses six 3mm leds for a smooth flood. For close-up use (the typical application of the low level of a multi-level light), flood is much more useful than throw.