Need Decent LED for Mostly Home Use

Hey there. I've been looking around this site for a little while and decided to join and see if y'all might give me some suggestions.

I had bought a Coast LED Lenser, I think it was the 7736, from Home Depot about a year ago. It was a nice little light for the money. My young daughters had been playing with it quite a bit so I bought them their own ultra-cheap LEDs. They obviously liked the Coast better as it has now gone missing for quite a while. Of course their ultra-cheap LEDs are available but I can barely see the dog when I walk her, much less the snakes that I hope to avoid.

I wouldn't mind a bigger light, different battery format, or even rechargeable, but I am trying to get out as cheap as possible. I want something that will put out light that is comparable to or greater than the LED Lenser. I am looking through the budget post but was just wondering what some might have and speak highly of.

Thanks
Nick

A little more info, please. How cheap is cheap to you? How bright do you need? Battery preference? How long do you need it to run at same brightness? Lots of options... please narrow it down a little.

nick9 said:

Hey there. I've been looking around this site for a little while and decided to join and see if y'all might give me some suggestions.

I had bought a Coast LED Lenser, I think it was the 7736, from Home Depot about a year ago. It was a nice little light for the money. My young daughters had been playing with it quite a bit so I bought them their own ultra-cheap LEDs. They obviously liked the Coast better as it has now gone missing for quite a while. Of course their ultra-cheap LEDs are available but I can barely see the dog when I walk her, much less the snakes that I hope to avoid.

I wouldn't mind a bigger light, different battery format, or even rechargeable, but I am trying to get out as cheap as possible. I want something that will put out light that is comparable to or greater than the LED Lenser. I am looking through the budget post but was just wondering what some might have and speak highly of.

Thanks
Nick

Click to expand...

If you just want something to play with, the Romisen RC-N3 from dealextreme comes to mind. It can take CR123 or 2xAA cells. You'll probably want to use it in the 2xAA format, with 2 NiMH rechargeable AA cells.

On the other hand, the Fenix E20 is coming out shortly, and it promises Fenix build quality, as well as focusability, for a relatively small price (albeit more than the Romisen).

If you stick to AAs, then you'd get the most light and satisfaction out of something like a Fenix L2T V2.0 (from 4sevens.com / fenix-store.com) but it WILL cost about 2X what the romisen will cost you.

Less than $50, or in that range. The LED Lenser was around $25.

The LED Lenser was nice as far as light, I could take brighter but not less.

3-AAAs was what I had in the last one. The more I read here says that AAA or AA is not the way to go. I did notice drop-off after using the LED Lenser for a little while.

I want a light that will retain a good bit of light until the end but it doesn't have to be blinding.

Hopefully something focusing as well.

Nick

Check out a Malkoff drop-in for a C mag. I believe they are alittle over then $50.00, bright and good runtime.

do you have an old maglite laying around 2d 3d 4d size ...you can get a Malkoff which right now is a BARGAIN at $58 + you can use coupon " cpf "


or Fenix L2D which is a must have for all around here and use coupon code " cpf8 " 8% off which makes L2D $57 w/free shipping

The Led Lenser is very bright but direct driven thus causing the drop off in output.
There is nothing wrong with using AA lights some are very good. For $50 there are some decent enough options available, have a look at Dealextreme for affordable lights and see Bessiebenny's budget lights sticky thread too.

qip said:

or Fenix L2D which is a must have for all around here and use coupon code " cpf8 " 8% off which makes L2D $57 w/free shipping

Click to expand...

The L1/2T is less than $50 too.

Meuge,
Thanks for the advice. Those lights look great. For the price the E20 looks like a deal. Of course those Romisen lights look very nice as well.

Nick

5.0Trunk & gip,
I have a 3-D cell mag-lite that I had already put mag-lites LED replacement in. I was extremely disappointed in the light. After reading about Malkoff that might be something to consider.

Thanks
Nick

this is a good thread to compare , it has the 3d magled and the 3d magled with seoul "ssc usxoh in thread detail" which is like the malkoff but malkoff may be brighter and definitley better heatsinked so it wont drop output like magled after 15 minutes, also the fenix in there too ,

to better directly compare output save the 3d magled picture to desktop as well as other lights you like and just open the picture and click back and forth to see output difference

I don't know what people are talking about with poor battery life and AA. Perhaps with Alkaline. With daily use, rechargeable batteries for a flashlight seems like a no brainer. Especially with the new low self discharge batteries. I have a L1D CE and I get well over an hour on turbo using 2100 mAh Rayovac Hybrids.

There's also the 1 CR123 format. On a budget, a chose AA since I have so many other devices using it.

I just upgraded a L1D CE to the L1D CE Q5 and I'd say it's a worthwhile upgrade. Noticeably brighter, and textured reflector option gives better spill for a walking light.

Y'all have been a big help.
So right now I'm looking at Fenix, Romisen, or the Malkoff LED replacement for my Maglite.
Thanks
Nick

Here's a thread with more drop-ins/mods for the Maglites.

As for the smaller light, the Fenix L2T V2.0 seems like a good choice. 8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8".

If you would like lower cost and don't mind single mode, the Romisen RC-N3 should be good too.

AAs ans AAAs are fine for powering high power LEDs, just as long as those are rechargeable batteries. Alkalines aren't that good at taking the high current needed for the higher modes.

I'd stay away from 3 AAA lights. They are usually unregulated and dim quickly. But they are simple and have a long runtime after they have dimmed.

:welcome:

I suppose it depends on your throw/flood preferences, but the Task Force 2C light from Lowes is relatively inexpensive at $30, long lasting, and very bright. It is more of a thrower than a floodlight, but for me, it works well enough for walks, and I like the distance capability that it has. There are a few threads about it and LOTS of feedback about the light on here.

for AA & AAA if you dont want to use rechargeables use L91 aka energizer E2 lithiums , they are best and can be bought anywhere in stores around you or for cheaper cost buy them in bulk for more savings like a couple packs at batteryjunction and use 5% coupon code " cpf2006 "

for an idea on how well alkaline "duracell coppertops,rayovac etc" and nimh rechargeables, E2 lithiums ...you will see graphs usually like this where nimh and E2 are high and flat well regulated for best use

OK, we've just scratched the surface in the $50 and under category. But in the 2xAA group, the Fenix L2D-CE is hard to beat. Gator is right about using LSD batteries (Eneloop NiMh)... and with Fenix regulated output, you'll get very good runtime.

CR123 primaries have more capacity and lots of energy to run lights. And, you don't have to spend a fortune to buy them unless you get E2's at a department story. Battery Junction sells Titanian cells for $1.00 each which I use all the time. And, there are many options at $1.50 from ROV to Surefire.

I think you may be very happy with the Fenix E20 with over 3 hrs. runtime from LSD AA's... especially at the very good price. That's probably a good light to start out with if you're happy with a single stage light. Take a look at the runtime chart on the Fenix website to get a good idea of what we mean by regulated output using NiMh batteries.

Hang on... you'll get lots more opinions before this is done.

Gunner12 made a good recommendation that I failed to mention, the Fenix L2T-v2. I like the options and runtime... another good choice.

Lots to choose from... but that's a good problem to have! :wave:

Thanks everybody for the suggestions!

I finally took the plunge yesterday and ordered me a new light: the fenix E20.

It appeared to have all that I needed in a light and definitely a good price.

I told my kids I had a new light coming and my youngest(5) told me that she would find my other light(Coast) that has been missing in action for several weeks. For some reason I bet that she waits until after delivery until it is found.

Nick

Edit:Got an 8% discount with the cpf8 code.

The lowe's taskforce 60x brighter model has been well liked around here and it's cheap.

I don't have one, though.