Good lights for normal people?

Good people.

I asked this question in another thread, but it was off topic, so I'm starting a thread to ask for help.

Sometimes, I'd like to be able to make suggestion to folks on lights they can buy right now, not from the fenix-store or DX, but from Target, Wally World, Home Depot, etc.

I want them to see what owning a quality flashlight is like. But I don't always know what to recommend. When I was at the stage in flashlights, the Target-class lights that got me started were the Inova X5 and X1 and the Dorcy Super 1W. But I know those lights have grown long in the tooth while I spent time keeping up with pricier lights.

I know that some of the lights there now are a lot better. But I don't know which ones are the best buys. I haven't followed all the reviews of these lights lately. My interest has been in the much more expensive stuff for a while.

So, everybody, can I get some tips?

To my thinking, the first indicator of quality is good regulation. But I can't name three or four good, bright lights that would fit the bill.

Is there a bessiebenny's (or somebody's) roundup of lights at Target?

Or else, if folks want to make a few recommendations, I'd appreciate it.

The Home Depot Husky 4 Watt special (2x D-cell). It rocks! Very bright and good runtime & construction.


I was also impressed with the Dorcy 3D cell. Not as much light as the Husky, but it runs for many, many hours on the 3-D's.


After those, I would suggest the new Maglites with LED's onboard. They are a reliable light that take a beating. Have been for many years.

The Task Force 2 C Cree light gets a lot of solid ink as a powerful thrower. For pocket lights I don't think there are too many new commonly sourced lights that aren't 3xAAA or other carrier based lights (which is a deal breaker for me - I don't do carrier based lights other than a Mag85).

I liked my Inova X1... till' one waist high drop and :candle::sigh:

I don't think it is representative of the entire brand though.

Kmart used to sell,

(don't know if they still do)

the Ray-O-Vac HighBeam 2AA LED 1-watt flashlight.


For 20 bucks, this Luxeon-based light is Very Useful ! :thumbsup:


Fully regulated, it lasts about 5 hours on plain ol' Alkalines.


It's the same, identical desigh as Nuwai's model.


Are these still available ?

Have they upgraded the emitter, to a more modern version ?


They were a Great Buy for "Off-the-Shelf" shoppers.


Especially for "normal" people !

(that is, non-CPFers)


Love to see this identical product with a Rebel LED !

:kiss:
_

Burgess said:

Kmart used to sell,

(don't know if they still do)

the Ray-O-Vac HighBeam 2AA LED 1-watt flashlight.


For 20 bucks, this Luxeon-based light is Very Useful ! :thumbsup:


Fully regulated, it lasts about 5 hours on plain ol' Alkalines.


It's the same, identical desigh as Nuwai's model.


Are these still available ?

Have they upgraded the emitter, to a more modern version ?


They were a Great Buy for "Off-the-Shelf" shoppers.


Especially for "normal" people !

(that is, non-CPFers)


Love to see this identical product with a Rebel LED !

:kiss:
_

Click to expand...

WalMart sold that light with a Rebel months ago, with a light textured reflector. It was under the Sportsman Extreme name, same exact light as the Highbeam.

WalMart cleared them all out at <$9, but they may also be upgraded at other stores with sufficient volume to have turned over the stock the past few months.

Don't get much better than this:

Lowes:

Surefire 6PL (can be upgraded easily if you like, but stock LED is nice!)

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=187628-69074-6PL-BK&lpage=none

Surefire G2L (same deal but plastic/aluminum)

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=284319-69074-G2L-BK&lpage=none

Hope it helps....

Normal people shop online now.

You know, really, if a 'normal' person asks for a good light, I tell them to get anything with a Mag Instrument logo on it.

If they make a face, then they get the rundown of better-than-Mag-but-still-easy-to-find.

The Taskforce Cree, the new Riverrock 2C, the Rayovac 3C Sportsman, some of the Coleman lights, and some of the Leatherman lights use Cree LEDs(XR-E or XR-C). There are also some that I can't remember right now.

For a 2xAA light, I really like my Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 1 watt light.

Good amount of light, excellent runtime, not too bright and not too dim.

bullfrog said:

Don't get much better than this:

Lowes:

Surefire 6PL (can be upgraded easily if you like, but stock LED is nice!)

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=187628-69074-6PL-BK&lpage=none

Surefire G2L (same deal but plastic/aluminum)

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=284319-69074-G2L-BK&lpage=none

Click to expand...

+1, tell your friends to go to their local Lowes and look in the flashlight display for Surefire lights. Note that just as all the other tool sections have both cheap crap and quality tools, so does the flashlight display.

StarHalo said:

+1, tell your friends to go to their local Lowes and look in the flashlight display for Surefire lights. Note that just as all the other tool sections have both cheap crap and quality tools, so does the flashlight display.

Click to expand...

But DO NOT buy the CR123 batteries there - highway robbery!

My recommendation is the Coleman MAX 115 lumen CREE XR-E 3AAA LED Aluminum flashlight from Walmart for $25. It has suprisingly long runtime and is the brightest light for its miniature size that I have ever seen. I own the 150 2C lumen Task Force and 530 lumen Coleman LED spotlight, but they are much bigger than the 115 lumen Coleman and much more cumbersome. For a non-flashaholic the 115 lumen Coleman is perfect because it is so miniature and lightweight, has great throw, and unbelievably bright spill.

bullfrog said:

But DO NOT buy the CR123 batteries there - highway robbery!

Click to expand...

No joke!

Give your loved ones the URL for affordable cells!

I like my Inova Bolt 2AA good runtime decent brightness. May not be as bright as some of the big flamethrowers and custom lights here, it's certainly bright enough and has a really quality feel to it.

bullfrog said:

But DO NOT buy the CR123 batteries there - highway robbery!

Click to expand...

Oh, come on. Two Surefire 123A batteries for $5 isn't that bad!

Of course, I'm not sure I'd recommend 123A cell lights for "normal" people. To me normal implies they aren't going to want to find special cells or take special trouble. What I'd suggest depends on their intended use. If at all suitable I'd tend towards AA batteries and a light that would tolerate the full range of cells. Alkaline, NiMH, and Lithium cells for casual, heavy / regular, and stored for emergency use respectively. The Eveready 1W AA & 2AA lights at Target immediately come to mind. (They also have a 2AA 3W, but I think the 1W would have better run time and enough light for most "normal" people.) If decent drop-ins were regularly stocked, I'd even consider the Mini-Mag and a drop-in. I haven't seen any Mini-Mag drop-ins in a big box store in months though.

Of course the multi-C and D lights mentioned above would also meet most of my criteria and give more runtime and probably more light, if bigger lights would be suitable.

your title of the thread "Good lights for normal people?" make us sounds abnormal :nana:

If you recommend a chainstore flashlight, they'll be in the checkout lane, see one with a similar name and buy a piece of crap. You can't give people the fever by recommendations. The first thing is to give people the 47 cent fauxtons. Most people will have a reaction and you can tell if anyone is really interested. I always have at least ten in my glovebox.

The 2AA Mini-mag conversion to LED with SMJ-LED from lighthound is another winner. I usually keep two of those drop-ins in the glovebox too. I don't mess around with anything bigger than a AA battery, so I also have good batteries with me. People aren't very impressed by anything with dead batteries.

Actually, fauxtons are probably better than most flashlights in people's gloveboxes because I'm always hearing about how much they use them. When it's right there on your keychain, it gets squeezed.

I've converted a few friends, but most people could care less.

By "normal" people, do you mean anyone who doesn't spend $100+ on a lite? (small sum here)

You might have a point.;.. there are plenty of very strong performers in the $20 category.. TaskForce / AAP3W case in point..