Can You Help Me Pick Out a Flashlight?

thehappyoneinlife said:

I am looking for an LED flashlight with bright white light, all flood, no hotspot, around 100 Lumens output, and a price of around $50 or below.

Click to expand...

According to my very limited flashlight knowledge the only light without hotspot and all flood is the 128-Led flashlight and the others of the same family.

Very bright (there was a review in cpf), but the build quality and runtime are very questionable. Compared to SureFire, this light may sound like garbage to you.

richardcpf said:

According to my very limited flashlight knowledge the only light without hotspot and all flood is the 128-Led flashlight and the others of the same family.

Click to expand...

Well, I am very limited in my LED knowledge also, but my Zebralight H30-Q5 has a CREE XR-E Q5 emitter. It produces absolutely no hot spot. (I love that light). If I could find something similar only brighter and with slightly more throw then I would be very satisfied.

I'll check out that 128-LED flashlight, but I think that is going to be a little 'bigger' than I want. I did not specify it earlier, but I am also looking for something which is a little compact.

Thanks for the reply,

Happy

Inova X5

If you have an old 6P, a Malkoff M60LF drop-in would be near your budget.

Add diffusing material to a flashlight you already have.

Buy a used KL4 and find a body to mount it on.
Yaesumofo

Something small and cheap modified with a P7 maybe? A cheap DX light maybe. A small reflector with a P7 is almost all flood. You could even go reflectorless if you want.

ThatGuyBri said:

Add diffusing material to a flashlight you already have.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas. I will look into the Inova X5. (I don't have an old 6P laying around) I have a question about diffusing material.

Earlier I was reading:
http://www.light-reviews.com/fastcar_diffuser/review.html

Everything sounded nice until the very end. It says, "The Bad - Requires steady hands to cut a clean and neat circle for your lens."

I have a fine tremor in both my hands. How difficult is putting on diffusing material?

spencer said:

Something small and cheap modified with a P7 maybe? A cheap DX light maybe. A small reflector with a P7 is almost all flood. You could even go reflectorless if you want.

Click to expand...

Despite many hours of research and learning, I am still a complete novice when it comes to modding flashlights. I looked at probably around 50 DX beam shots today and I didn't see any that met my criteria (too much hotspot with little flood). Would you happen to have the SKUs of what you have in mind?

The MTE P7 is a nice light and you get about 400 lumens OTF of pure flood plus the build quality is very good for a MTE light. I personaly like to have more throw with my led lights but its nice to have one good flooder.

Luxeon V based lights - here's a poor man's L4:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/n2fx-tm301x.html

How about this? This is as close to your needs as I can think of. FWIW

http://www.batteryjunction.com/2008-t1-inova.html

The MTE 5 mode P7 has a bigger hotspot but is not all flood.
L-mini Q5 left, MTE P7 right.


Here is my listing of the P7 lights.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2449743&postcount=4
Check out the review links for the beamshots. They are probably more useful in determining if you want one (or one of the competition).
Please note all the <$50 P7 lights need 18650 batteries and charger which will set you back another $20.

The Inova X5 reviews:
http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/inova_x5t.htm
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/5x.htm

MattK said:

Luxeon V based lights - here's a poor man's L4:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/n2fx-tm301x.html

Click to expand...

+1

I have that same light and it has a VERY floody beam. Reverse clicky if that matters to you, before I became interested in lights I didn't realize much of a difference between forward and reverse clickies. Now, I really prefer a forward switch...

There's a review and beamshot of it HERE

One thing to note though, the tint of the beam in that link looks VERY blue. Mine is MUCH warmer than that...

matt0 said:

One thing to note though, the tint of the beam in that link looks VERY blue. Mine is MUCH warmer than that...

Click to expand...

Thank you for the information.

Does your Nuwai show even a hint of blue in its beam? It is very important that the flashlight I choose has a bright white to ensure accurate color rendering.

LEDninja said:

Here is my listing of the P7 lights.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2449743&postcount=4
Check out the review links for the beamshots. They are probably more useful in determining if you want one (or one of the competition).

Please note all the <$50 P7 lights need 18650 batteries and charger which will set you back another $20.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the links and information.

18650s won't be a problem. I own a few flashlights that require them.

Right now I am leaning very strongly towards this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623

The real life beam shots (opposed to just a white wall), seem to look really good.

I'm with 'mofo and Matt on the LuxV lights.

BTW, the X5 doesn't put anywhere near 100 lumens, even though it's a very floody light.

I have seen Surefire L2's go for $100 or less in the marketplace. Keep an eye out there.

Another thought is to get a L2T v2 or the like and make a diffuser for it. A piece of scotch tape would do the trick if need be. Some lights are the same diameter as a cap from a water bottle. I use some trimmed caps on a couple lights for ambient light at work.

greenLED said:

I'm with 'mofo and Matt on the LuxV lights.

BTW, the X5 doesn't put anywhere near 100 lumens, even though it's a very floody light.

Click to expand...

I ruled out the Inova X5 a little while ago after I noticed how little light it puts out.

Right now I am choosing between the LuxV and P7. Both look like they will serve my purpose very well. The P7 may be overkill for what I want to do, but I can also see the super bright flood coming in handy occasionally.

I did notice one oddity about the Nuwai.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/n2fx-tm301x.html
Quote: "Five watt Luxeon V LED lasting for over 1000 hours usage."

Does that not sound a little low for an LED? Usually I see them rated at 10,000+.

Hey! I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my call for help!

I decided to go with the P7. I liked the reviews and beam shots a lot. Hopefully it will work with my project flawlessly.

Now I just have to wait a couple of weeks before DX gets my new torch to me. I hate playing the waiting game.

Thanks again,

Happy

Read this post 1st!
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2513333&postcount=1
I do not recommend a 1 mode or 2 mode as the light might be too bright and run too hot in high. And the low may be too low. With a 5 mode the medium at 50% or 30% might be equally useful as high most of the time with the option of increasing or decreasing the brightness. My MTE's medium mode is noticeably brighter than my L-mini Q5/18650 on high.

thehappyoneinlife said:

Right now I am leaning very strongly towards this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623

Click to expand...

That is not an oddity. They used to be rated 500 hours. The 4 dies in the LED do not always receive the same current. The die that receives the most current gets hotter than the others and allow even more current through. Eventually the extra current and heat kills the die. The 3 remaining LEDs cannot handle the current for 4 & they also die 1 by 1.
This may also happen in the 4 die P7 (the P7 is too new for anyone to find out if SSC has solved this problem). One more reason to run a P7 at medium most of the time so as to not stress the LED.
Note 1000 hours = 500 sets of batteries. After paying for 500 sets of batteries you may be ready to buy a new torch. Actually I have not seen a post where a Lux V has died.

thehappyoneinlife said:

I did notice one oddity about the Nuwai.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/n2fx-tm301x.html
Quote: "Five watt Luxeon V LED lasting for over 1000 hours usage."

Does that not sound a little low for an LED? Usually I see them rated at 10,000+.

Click to expand...

Rough estimates for my MTE 5 mode.
high 400+ lumens out the front 500+ at the LED
medium 200+ lumens out the front 250+ at the LED
low 50 lumens out the front
A Lux V should give 125 lumens out the front