3/4C flashlight

[size=+2]lamp has arrived, see post dated 13-3-2008[/size]

Hi, I'm back after a long time

I'm looking for a "general purpose" flashlight, which can run on 3 or 4 C-cells. I don't want to mod it, I have bought some parts in the past and have never gotten around to upgrade my maglite 3D.
It's going to be used around the house and in the car. No special needs.

I found the Streamlight twin-task 3C and it looks like a real nice flashlight. Leds for long runtime and a xenon bulb for when you need a strong beam.

Are there any other lights in this category? I already have a 3D maglite and am disappointed with the amount of light it produces (I think I'll order a terralux opgrade for it, when I order my new flashlight). So the new light has to perform better than the maglite.

Thanks for your help

There are a couple of lights in this thread that might suit your needs.

The best performing single LED "drop-in"(you'll have to modify the reflector by cutting off the post, or buy a precut reflector) is the Malkoffdevices drop-in.

There aren't many 3-4 C or D cell lights with the current gen LEDs. The above linked threads has the two most common ones.

+1 on the Malkoff Devices, Gene is a great guy to do business with, his products are great (when you can snag them, as they're usually gone within an hour of him releasing a new batch) and shipping's ultra quick.

For what it's worth malkoff drop in is way too bright for use in/around the house and car. Even my ssc magled (~120 lumen) is too bright for anything up close.

The Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 4W LED 3C Flashlight- RAYSE4W3C
has been well reviewed and can be purchased at the following link.
http://www.rayovacdirect.com/p-37060-rayovac-sportsman-xtreme-4w-led-3c-flashlight-rayse4w3c.aspx

Also the SmartFire M-504C Cree Flashlight (4xC Cells) $28.55 at DX is nice and may be cheaper to ship to the Netherlands.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6411

Some waterproof flashlights would include the UK SL4 eLED or the Streamlight ProPolymer 3C Luxeon. Princeton Tec also makes a similar light, but I've had better luck with UK and Streamlight.

And there's always the Lowe's Task Force 2C, which is a great thrower for the price.

Thanks all for the tips!

That smartfire flashlight also looks like a nice light. Thanks for pointing out that dealextreme website to me. They also have some cute 1xAAA and 1XAA flashlights, which cost next to nothing and have free shipping.
I think I'll choose that one over the Streamlight. According to a review I found, it puts out more light on high than the twin-task and it has 3 modes and it has a longer runtime on medium than the TT with the xenon (and that mode puts out the same amount of light).
It also uses 4xC batteries, which is perfect, since I have 4 high-cap nimh C batteries
The only thing is, is that the streamlight is a lot prettier

I'll place my order when I've picked out the AA and AAA lights.

Thanks again

For AA and AAA lights make sure to pick the ones with the current gen LEDs(and getting good reviews), more then twice as efficient as the Luxeon I, III, V and K2 LEDs.

Shipping from DX would take 2 weeks to a month.

I hope you like the light!

Thanks, I noticed that not all (even very few) flashlights from dealextreme get good reviews.
So I'm busy checking the offerings here on CPF. But DX has about 20000 flashlights, so that might take a while.
For now, I've found the ultrafire C3 and a MTE flashlight that use AA batteries.

How do I recognize a current gen LED? Are there popular types that I should look out for?

The main ones are the Cree XR-E, Seoul P4, and Luxeon Rebel (links are to their respective sites on DX).

Cree, look for the distinctive metal ring and that line(Cree XR-E Q5 as an example, the newer ones have a silver base).
Seoul, look for the 4 silvery things around the dome.
Rebel, look for the small LED dome(smaller then a 5mm LED, the dome is around 1.5-2mm in diameter).

Raymond said:

Thanks, I noticed that not all (even very few) flashlights from dealextreme get good reviews.
So I'm busy checking the offerings here on CPF. But DX has about 20000 flashlights, so that might take a while.
For now, I've found the ultrafire C3 and a MTE flashlight that use AA batteries.

How do I recognize a current gen LED? Are there popular types that I should look out for?

Click to expand...

Current generation emitters are under the catgories "Cree" (Q5 bin is the best), "SSC" (U-bin is the best), and "Rebel" (0100 bin is the best).
Those even have sub-categories by battery type.

some examples of lights running on primary battery sizes that I know are pretty good are:

Cree Lights:
VB16 2CR123 16-mode

SSC Lights:
VB16 Natural HAIII 16-mode

Rebel lights:
MTE AA 5-mode, 1-mode
Tiablo AAA 2-mode


Most of the stuff at Kaidomain.com is duplicates of DX stock, but there are a couple unique offerings that are pretty good:

Cree:
AAA Buckle Light 1-Mode


Note: I didn't include any that will run ONLY on rechargeable LiIon batteries. Most of the good DX light fall into that category.

There are just too many :hairpull:
I think I could spend days browsing those sites.

I really love the 100 lumen 1xAAA light, I've bookmarked it and will check it out when the V4 becomes available.

I'll order the 4C smartfire later today.
For my maglite, I'm going to order an aluminum reflector and glass lens. The led-update will have to wait a while (I don't see a need for it, when I've already got the 4C smartfire).

I still have to pick out an AA light, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the choices.

How much are you willing to spend?

I'd also suggest looking at Fenix's(8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8"), Jetbeam's(special's page), Olight's, and Lumapower's offerings(I think Batteryjunction's coupon was "CPF2008").

For the smaller flashlights: not much. I want a pair, just for "fun" and to drain rechargeable batteries.
I placed an order at dealextreme earlier tonight and ordered a saik RC-A3 (and the smartfire 504c). I know the Saik was not mentioned above. I found it while researching all the models there were mentioned. It seemed like a better fit for me. A nice beam and runtime. The 5 modes on the MTE seemed like more trouble than it would be worth, even though the 5-mode MTE seemed to be a better flashlight. This saik seemed to be a nicer flashlight than the 1-mode MTE for my purpose

I'm now still looking for a 1xAAA light. I found the fenix E0, which is cheap and has a long runtime. Maybe I'll go for that one
Good thing about these lights is that they're affordable enough to buy several of them

Maybe in the future I'll even spring for a real 200+ lumens scorcher that runs of "special" batteries like the 123, or those rechargeable li-ions (special, in that they're not AA, or D-cell)

I think I'll buy some nice lithium cells for the AA and AAA lights, so I can leave them in a car or somewhere else and not worry about self-discharge or leaking.

If you have suggestions about the things I mentioned, I'd like to hear them. Thanks for your help!

Save you money for a few more months, I have a feeling newer LEDs are coming. If you do get something, get something easily upgradeable light the Dereelight lights, all you need is a new module, no soldering involved.

to answer your question: For the AAA light: I'd prefer one under $30 (ex shipping).

For the more powerfull light that I want to buy in the future: I think the fenix range is around my budget. I don't want to go above the price of a streamlight SL35x, because then I'll buy just that: the SL35x. I've used the SL20x many times and I'm very impressed with that light. I think the SL35X would be the just about right for me. Right size, and insane amount of light.
But maybe I'll settle for 75% of the power, if it comes in a mini-mag sized light

edit: oww, you have already replied in the meantime, I should type faster

When I read all the remarks on DX on the forums, I got a bit nervous. But I just got a mail that the items have been shipped already

I hope that they arrive as quickly as other items I ordered from hongkong (about 7 working days)

Probably not in 7 working days. two weeks to a month seems to be the average time. It is slow but it should get to you.