LED flashlight for car

Hi, I"m looking for a good durable LED flashligt for my car, any help put there?

stargate said:

Hi, I"m looking for a good durable LED flashligt for my car, any help put there?

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Approx how bright does it need to be for you, how much runtime do you want, what kind of batteries do you intend to use, how much do you want to pay for it?

For a good all purpose car light I'd recommend a Surefire G2. Here's a price you cannot beat anywhere. To make it LED you can add any number of P60 type drop-ins. One of the most affordable is the DX 6090 for $10.00 It's a good performer for the money.

I'm assuming you're new to the world of "high end" flashlights. My guess is that you'd want easy to use, cheap to feed with readily available batteries, bright, reliable, and not too expensive. Here's a good start:

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_Jr_LED_Flashlight.php

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Fenix_E20_LED_Flashlight.php

Ideally for a car light, you should stick to an LED emitter powered by lithium batteries. LEDs are as rugged as an emitter gets, and have much better odds of survival after a severe impact. And lithium cells work normally in temperatures from -40 to 140, so weather conditions won't be a factor in whether or not your light will work.

You have a million choices within those two prerequisites, but I'd also advise a light with a simple interface, just in case you're not the one driving or the one who gets to use the flashlight. A twisty LED Surefire, a Fenix P1CE, etc.

stargate: I would recommend a Streamlight Scorpion LED. 2 X CR123 lithiums, bright, decent runtime (about 2.5 hrs at near maximum brightness), rugged, rubber armored body, competetive price.

roymail said:

For a good all purpose car light I'd recommend a Surefire G2. Here's a price you cannot beat anywhere. To make it LED you can add any number of P60 type drop-ins. One of the most affordable is the DX 6090 for $10.00 It's a good performer for the money.

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+1 :thumbsup:

Fenix E2O with a pair of Energizer Lithium AAs.

If you really dont want to spend too much, don't need multimodes, just plonk down US$18.98 and get yourself an Ultrafire C3 single mode. It can run on 1 x 14500 rehargeable cell, 1 x AA (NiMH, alkaline or lithium) or with the extension tube, it can run on 2 x AA cells.

It's bright, it's cheap and it's durable, i take mine fishing, and it's dropped off rocks, sand, a VERY slight dunk in sea water (less than a metre) and it's still working great.

Personally have recorded run times on 2 x AA (Sanyo eneloop 2000 mAh) at more than 3 hrs but at that time, output was quite diminished but more than ample in the dark.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4452

I'm suggesting this cos as a first foray into lights, this is in my humble opinion a good start, cheap and runs off AAs. Then you will get 14500 cells and a charger and from there you will move on

But i still have my Ultrafire C3, can't bear to give it away, sentimental value maybe?

Hey stargate --


Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

:welcome:


Just a bit more info would be helpful:

Where do you live ?

Hot Summers ?

Cold Winters ?



Good Luck in your search for the ultimate flashlight(s).


_

I also keep a C3 (or other AA light) in my car with extra eneloops. I like the AA option that if have to buy a couple I'm not being raped by 7-11 on CR132A batts. I also have a escort passport that uses AA.

I Suppose you could find one of the old 12volt plugins for say a 6v bulb open it up put in a couple 5 watt resistors (depending on the LED you use) and Direct Drive the LED of choice and buy the parts of of KD/DX whatever.

In this part of the country where the winter temps get down in the single digits a few times during the winter, a lithium CR2 or CR123 powered light makes the best sense for the car. No worrying about alkaline batteries freezing. If you do get an AA or AAA powered light, at least plan on feeding it lithium AA or AAA batteries during the winter months.

I keep two flashlights in my car at all times. Usually a Surefire E2D or L4 that's powered with CR123 lithiums, and a cheapo Dorcy, River Rock, or other less expensive LED light with lithium AA/AAA batteries. I use the cheap light when I'm under the car and the light's rolling around on the asphalt, and use the Surefire when I'm expecting the need for blinding assailants, or searching the roadside for something.

Greg

It is a good idea to keep a light in your car. Of course after a while you realize you need not just a light, but a first aid kit, lighter, tools, a second light, etc.

Batteries are key, both in hot and cold weather. I keep a Streamlight Twintask 3C stuffed lithium AA's (same length as a C) and a minmag with a 1W led and lithium cells.

If you get confused by the billions and billions of flashlights and batteries you could always just buy a Dodge Caliber... they come with a built in rechargeable LED flashlight you see...

Holding the freezing cold flashlight in the mouth while changing a flat is an
experience to avoid. Buy a Cree or Rebel LED powered headlamp.
Look like a pro.

What ever light you decide on, also think about a Inova 24/7, it has decent light output plus you can use it as warning flasher. I keep one of these and a Surefire G2 LED in each of our trucks, plus a 1/2 doz, batteries in a spares carrier.

Chuck

hopkins said:

Holding the freezing cold flashlight in the mouth while changing a flat is an
experience to avoid. Buy a Cree or Rebel LED powered headlamp.
Look like a pro.

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Excellent point!

The Argo HP 2xCR123 headlamp with "C4" LED comes to mind. But I may be a bit partial, I've had an HP for awhile, probably put 300 hours on the thing already.

Eric

I keep a Fenix L1D in the car, loaded with a lithium battery and a couple of spares. I keep it with a Fenix diffuser. Makes a great emergency signalling tool.

We primarily cruise around in our Honda Odyssey and it happens to have some nice compartments in the driver side door. The top one I have filled with a Rayovac Sportsman Extreme 3C Cree, a Fenix TK20, a SF G2 w/ 6P metal head and a Malkoff M60 Q2, and i have some other cheapo flashlights laying about as well.

Of course I'd have my EDC on me, right now Nitecore EX10, and a Fenix LOD-CE Q4 and Liteflux LF2 SSC on my keychain.

The recommendation of the Fenix E20 with lithium batteries sounds pretty good. Or check out the Fenix PD30 or LD20 (Or whatever the new L2D is). Some of these are small enough you can hold them in your mouth if you need to, while changing a tired, etc.

hopkins said:

Holding the freezing cold flashlight in the mouth while changing a flat is an
experience to avoid.

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That's why Bucklight and Pelican came out with all those plastic bodied lights that I used for years when I was snowmobile guiding and doing trail work down to -40 below!

It's also why they invented heatshrink tubing to put on aluminum bodied lights! :naughty:

I'm still doing the guiding and trail work, but usually not any colder than -30 below and definitely not for the endless hours I did back in the 90's and I had no problems with my L0D last year even without the heatshrink but having a light in the car would be a different story which I believe will be covered just fine with the heatshrink on my LD10.