Christmas present for teenage non-flashaholics

Hellbore

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Hi, I am looking for some Christmas presents for some of my nieces and nephews. I have several teenage nieces and nephews who are very interested in LED flashlights but have never owned a really bright light with a power LED in it. Also, for some reason teenagers love to lurk around at night, so flashlights seem to come in handy for them often.

Most of them own multi-LED flashlights, the kind with an array of 5mm LED's, and they think that these are really cool. Some of them already own several such lights and have a sort of collection of junk lights. This is usually because a well-meaning parent knows they like LED lights, but doesn't know any better and just buys them whatever LED light they see in the store that doesn't cost too much. As a result, many of these lights are very dim, some are even from dollar stores and the LED's are burning out one by one, or the switch stops working, or the light develops a flicker due to contact issues. Most are 3xAAA lights which is annoying because their households usually don't keep AAA batteries on hand.

I feel bad because a while back they all were at a family reunion campout and had their LED lights out and were comparing them and playing with them, and they found out that my EDC light, a Jetbeam C-LE 1xAA (which I do not consider to be especially bright) blew away all their LED lights, not only in output but also color and throw. They aren't so happy with their lights any more now that they know how much better an LED light can be.

I want to help them upgrade to the next level of LED technology by giving them power LED flashlights for Christmas, something with Cree XR-E or SSC P4 emitters in them.

My budget is max $20 per light. After doing some research I am seriously considering 2 particular lights, both from Shiningbeam.com, the Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel AA for $18.75 and the Romisen RC-G2 Cree Q5 for $19.95.

Which do you guys think a teenager would like best, and which do you think would be most reliable and durable for a non-flashaholic?

I worry about an aluminum light developing contact issues and needing threads cleaned or parts tightened to restore functionality. Would the C3 with its stainless steel body avoid these reliability issues?

On the one hand, I like the C3 because it seems like it might be more idiot-proof, but on the other hand, I think that the RC-G2 will be brighter since it has a Q5 emitter, so it might be more likely to impress them and get them more interested in LED lights.

What do you guys think, which of these lights do you think is the best choice for my $20 budget and given the circumstances?

Also, if you have another suggestion that you think would be better than either of these lights, I would like to hear it! For example, Shiningbeam also has an MTE 1xAA SSC-P4 light with a U-bin emitter, might this be brighter? It is only $13.95 so it's significantly cheaper!

P.S. - The reason I am sticking to AA's for this gift is because these teenagers have very limited budgets, and they are not likely to buy cr123 batteries. AA batteries, on the other hand, are readily available in their families and they already have them all over the place because they are used in their other electronic devices. Also, from talking to them, I find that two of the things they think are so cool about LED lights are the ability to pack a lot of light into a very small package, and the simplicity of being able to run off of one common AA battery, even when that battery is too low to be useful in most flashlights.

P.P.S. - Does the fact that I have a hidden agenda, which is converting them to flashaholism, make me a bad person?
 
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hyperloop

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Personally, i would go for the Ultrafire C3, maybe get the single mode in black that comes with the 2 x AA extension tube at $18.98 from DX. That way they have some versatility. As for cleaning and lubeing etc, teach them that good lights need to be looked after even if they are so - called budget lights.
 

sol-leks

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I'm fond of my rc-n3 from dx for like 17.50
2xaa body with a p4. It can either take 1xcr123a or 2xaa. It also has a GITD tailcap which is neat.
Do u want to stick with 1xaa lights for them?
 

Hellbore

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Do u want to stick with 1xaa lights for them?

Well, for now I probably have to, maybe when they get older they can order cr123's online or whatever but for now, they are mostly limited by what their parents buy, and I am pretty sure none of their families have EVER purchased a cr123 battery.

The fact that the average grocery or drug store charges $10 or more PER cell for cr123's makes them seem like a ridiculous option to someone who doesn't know better or doesn't stock up online.

I was in Safeway the other day and just out of curiosity I looked in the battery display for cr123's. Guess what? $15 for one cell! Insane!
 

sol-leks

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I definitely feel you on the cr123's, I personally only buy lights that use aaa's or aa's or sometimes c's or d's. However I was more interested in whether you would want to get them a light that uses 2xAA rather than 1. They are brighter and have longer runtimes usually so they may impress more. However maybe you want to get them tiny lights. I still recommend the rc-n3, even if you never use it in its cr123 form it is a great light. Also if you look in the budget thread it is one of the highest rated lights.
 

Hellbore

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I definitely feel you on the cr123's, I personally only buy lights that use aaa's or aa's or sometimes c's or d's. However I was more interested in whether you would want to get them a light that uses 2xAA rather than 1. They are brighter and have longer runtimes usually so they may impress more. However maybe you want to get them tiny lights. I still recommend the rc-n3, even if you never use it in its cr123 form it is a great light. Also if you look in the budget thread it is one of the highest rated lights.

Oh I see. Yes, 2xAA is certainly an option.
 

sol-leks

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Great, well then I can continue pushing for the rc-n3. However, I think romisen is a very good brand, and anything you get from them will be quite satisfactory. I am a little leery of ultrafire's. I have never owned one, but I see ppl post about them breaking quite often. However, shiningbeam is a very good seller, and I think you can trust most lights that you buy from there. I have heard some bad stories about dx, but always had great experiences ordering from them.
 

Hellbore

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...I am a little leery of ultrafire's. I have never owned one, but I see ppl post about them breaking quite often...

Heh, you're preaching to the choir. I recently purchased an Ultrafire WF-1000L from Dealextreme and the converter board on it burned out after about 10 minutes of use. I also gave my Dad an Ultrafire C3 for his birthday, it works well and he loves it but only time will tell if it will hold up.
 

sol-leks

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I guess I haven't really used my romisen enough to stand by its longevity either. But it feels solid and works well, and reviews well.
 

Black Rose

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Another vote for the Romisen RC-N3. I have the Q5 version from Shiningbeam, which is just outside your budget.

The G2 might be a good option, but runtime will be a bit of an issue with the light pushing a Q5 with, I would assume, a single alkaline.
 
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MonkRX

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Another vote for the Romisen RC-N3. I have the Q5 version from Shiningbeam, which is just outside your budget.

The G2 might be a good option, but runtime will be a bit of an issue with the light pushing a Q5 with, I would assume, a single alkaline.

I was wondering the same thing, high powered lights are impressive on NiMH's, but on alkaline; they don't quite "shine"... Getting a 2xAA light over a 1xAA will help counter the drawbacks of Alkalines.

My vote goes for the RC-N3. 2xAA light, good performance.
 

baterija

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I guess I haven't really used my romisen enough to stand by its longevity either. But it feels solid and works well, and reviews well.

It's a sample size of 1, but I had an RC-H3 (1xAA, forward clicky) that held up pretty well for a couple months of EDC till it moved out. It's since been donated to a more deserving home, where it went through a couple months of field use and has been in a combat zone for a little while now. It's still going strong last I heard. About 9 or 10 months of solid service without being pampered and zero issues. There's a Q5 version of it at Shiningbeam too.
 

Hellbore

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I'm liking the looks of the Q5 version of the RC-N3 that Shiningbeam has.

Forward clickie? Q5 emitter? I might have to pick one up for myself while I'm at it...Mmm...
 
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