Looking for recommendations

Hello everyone
I'm in the market for a new flashlight, and I stumbled across this forum as I was shopping around and doing some research. I figured you guys might be willing to share some of your wisdom.

First off, I should tell you I'm pretty clueless when it comes to flashlights. Until yesterday, I thought they were all pretty much the same, and I'd basically just walk into a random store and grab one off the shelf if I needed one. I'm just now discovering terms like "lux" and "throw"... So, I hope you'll be gentle.

I guess the best thing to do is give my use cases:

1. Reading in the car at night
Mostly, I'll be reading books for 1-4 hours at a time. For this use case I need the page to be comfortably lit while holding the flashlight anywhere from 3-12 inches away, and without the need to trace the light back and forth across every line as I read it.
I'd also like to be able to use it to comfortably read directions and maps in the car.

Aside from having a comfortable amount of light, it's pretty important to me that the light level remains fairly constant over the life of the battery, rather than fading away so much that the light output is pretty useless for most of the life of the battery. Also battery life in general is a big factor. I want them to last as long as possible. (I'm thinking along the lines of 50hrs continuous use at a minimum, if that's possible)

One thing that really annoys me when trying to read is having dark rings or spots in an otherwise bright beam. I'd like to avoid any such "defects" if at all possible.

And no, I don't want a book-light or something similar. I have no problem holding a flashlight while reading. Currently, I use a 2 C-battery flashlight held between my chin and chest. I'm perfectly happy with that set up, except for the dark rings, quickly fading light, and less than stellar battery life... in other words, I hate it, but not because of the form factor.

2. Computer repair
When I'm messing around inside my computer, or someone else's, I can't always do so in an ideally lit environment. Even in a well lit area the various cards, as well as me hovering over the whole thing, create shadows. I need a light that's fairly small so that I can get it inside and shine it directly on what I want to look at. Just as a point of reference, I think the "Mini Maglite 2-Cell AA" is about the max size I'd feel comfortable with. Smaller is better, but I don't want to compromise on other areas just to shrink the size.

I'd like the light output to be enough that when I shine it on a computer part, it's as if I'm looking at it in the full noon-day sun (or something close). very clearly lit... of course since the flashlight is hopefully relatively small, I'll be holding it rather close to the thing I want to see (6 in away maybe).

3. Power outage/Camping
in the event of a power outage, or when I go camping, it should provide enough light so that I can see where I'm going and I don't trip over stuff. Enough general illumination so that I could set it down on the ground and use it as general illumination (like a candle) either when on it's tail or on it's side would be nice. Long battery life, and light+small yet rugged construction for long backpacking trips are important here.




And finally, some thoughts of mine which, due to my inexperience and ignorance, might be totally off base and completely ridiculous:

I think I'll probably want an LED light because I gather that they are largely immune to "defects" in the light beam such as rings and dark spots. And because I hate it when the bulb goes out, and I'd rather not have to worry about that, ever. Also because they seem to offer a significantly longer battery life than incandescent bulbs.

I think I'll want a light with some sort of electronic regulation to keep the light output steady and consistent over the life of the battery. I hate it when the light gets unusably dim for the majority of battery life.

I'm rather curious about flashlights that don't use batteries, but are based on electromagnetic induction. If I can avoid the need to ever replace batteries that would be ideal. However, I'm concerned that I'll have to shake the thing for 30 seconds, every 30 seconds, which would just tick me off... If I have to shake it for 30ish seconds every hour or so, that's more like it. Also, idk if I can find one of them in a small enough size for my requirement #2. All the ones I've seen are rather big.

I should be able to walk into any store (walmart, gas station, etc.) and pick up any batteries I need. Whatever flashlight I get must use readily available batteries, AAA, AA, whatever.

And finally, I have the feeling that a single flashlight might not be able to fill roll #3 at the same time as #'s 1 and 2. I have the feeling that #3 would require a higher luminosity and greater throw than one small enough to fill #2 would be able to provide, though I'd love to hear otherwise.




In terms of lights I've looked at and been interested in so far:
SureFire 6P LED
Seems like it would be a really, really, really nice light, but (and I have no idea here really cause I have no experience or point of reference) I think 80 lumens would be far too bright to use as a reading light 3-12 in. away from the page... it sounds perfect for use case #3 though... except for the fact that it uses "exotic" batteries. Also, it's price is making me doubt my sanity in considering it.

Arc-AAA
Seems like another nice light, but IDK how bright 5-10 lumens is. After checking out a bunch of lights that are 80 lumens and above, 5-10 sounds rather... insufficient. Once again though, I have no experience or point of reference so, I wouldn't know. Also, $30-50 seems like an awful lot to spend on such a small light. And, a battery life of 5-8 hours seems quite short too.

Fenix E01
Seems more or less identical to the Arc-AAA, except that it advertises a 21 hour working time, and sells for a lot less ($12). Right now, this is what I'm leaning towards, though I think 10 lumens would probably never be enough for #3. (would it?)


None of these lights meet (or even come close to) my wishful thinking of 50+ hours of battery life. And I haven't found one that I'm confident would fill all 3 rolls perfectly.


Budget: Somewhat flexible. It really depends on what I'm getting. If a flashlight really really impresses me with excellence in every area, then $50 or a bit more might fly. If it's just adequate for the the use cases I've given, then I think $20-$30 is my range, depending on exactly how "adequate". But if I can get something for less than $20, that's even better... However, I'd rather get something good for a bit more, than save a few bucks and be disappointed.

Wow... this post is a lot longer than I intended. I'm grateful to any of you who have managed to get through it all and advise me.

I think a multimode light should work well for your situation. If you are willing to go over $50 look at the Nitecore, Jetbeam, Liteflux, Novatac, and iTP lights. They have adjustable output.

Within your price range, maybe check the MF DA1, Fenix L2T V2.0, L1T V2.0, and maybe the older L1D and L2D.

8% off coupon at 4sevens is "CPF8"($20 and up) 6% off coupon at shiningbeam is "cpfuser".

:welcome:

Dwelty:

My assessment of what you're looking for, based on your stated needs:

a. Beam shape: A "floody" general-purpose beam.

b. Tint: Neutral white, possibly shading slightly on the warm side.

c. Brightness: 1 to 40 lumens would satisfy all of your stated needs. 10 lumens would probably satisfy 90+% of your needs.

d. Form factor: AA or AAA (possibly 2xAA or 2xAAA).

e. Size: Unspecified.

f. Runtimes: 50 hours. (I'd suggest that, while attainable, you're dramatically cutting out a lot of available flashlights, especially if you plan on using rechargeables. With rechargeables, you can start off with a fully charged set of batteries every day. I suggest that you take your longest daily or weekly activity and multiply it by two. For any special event, like camping, do what everyone else does - carry spare flashlights and spare batteries!)

g. Budget: $20 to $30, but can go as high as $50.

h. Regulation: You've specified that the output be fully regulated. (I'll refrain from commenting on this requirement.)

i. Other: My impression is that your tastes tend toward no-nonsense utility. You're not interested in crenelated bezels, trits, or knurling. You're not interested in the smallest baddest torch. A simple fixed focus flashlight is all that you want.

* * * * *

Based on the above flash profile, I have two recommendations for you:

1. Gerber Infinity Ultra. The ultimate in utility flashlights, IMO. Not very bright and not very pretty; but it is very reliable, extremely floody (much floodier than the Fenix E01), and runs forever on a single AA-cell. Best of all, it's in your price range. However, it is not fully regulated - I don't think you'll find any flashlight in the $20-$30 range that meets that requirement.

2. Fenix L2T. Any version (Luxeon, Cree, RB80, Q2) would suit your purposes. The later versions are brighter, but that is not necessarily a good thing when you're trying to read a book. It's output is fully regulated. However, this flashlight is at the high end of your budget.

In either case, you can save quite a bit of money by waiting to purchase one on the CPF Marketplace. (I snagged a few Gerbers last week for $8 each, delivered!)

i was thinking more of a zebralight headlamp. No hotspot, 3 levels of light to suit your needs and it leaves both hands free to hold your book without having to worry about dropping the light etc. The Zebralight can be detached from the headband to serve as a normal flashlight too, albeit a completely floody one (area lighting) with little throw (distance illumination with a tight hotspot). The runtime requirements suit your needs too with runtime on low being measured in days not hours.

It currently comes in 2 models, a 1xCR123 model and a 1xAA model.

It would also suit your requirements #2 and #3 as well with its 3 levels of light.

The price is a bit out of your budget but i think its a good buy and would get it myself but i can't justify it also you can get it at 4sevens, just click on zebralight on the left hand navigation bar, CPF-ers have discount too, 8% if i am not wrong,(code:CPF8) and free shipping!

reviews can be found here for Zebralight H30 1xCR213 and here for Zebralight H50 1xAA

You could consider a Zebralight H50, 4 x Sanyo eneloop AAs with a charger with a 12V adaptor so your could charge cells in the car and you would be all set.

hope this helps

Thanks a ton guys!
You've all been incredibly helpful.

I'm still not quite sure what I'll end up getting, but you've all given me some really good options to think about. I definitely feel better about my choices now than I did before.

:thanks:

dwelty said:

Thanks a ton guys!
You've all been incredibly helpful.

I'm still not quite sure what I'll end up getting, but you've all given me some really good options to think about. I definitely feel better about my choices now than I did before.

:thanks:

Click to expand...

You're most welcome, let us know what you decided to get in the end

Gerber Infinity? They're a lot like the Fenix and Arc, but run on 1 AA, so the runtime is insane.