Need help choosing a light

Hello everyone, I'm new here and was refered here by one of my buds in a law enforcement forum. I'm torn by just how many different lights there are out there and frankly dont know much about any except that its time for me to leave my bulky streamlight SL20 LED in the gear bag and start carrying something smaller, I have looked at the surefire's and some fenix ligts. I basically want the smallest light I can get thats no less than 80L and around $100. Of course the brigghter and cheaper the better as long as its good quality since it will be my primarry duty light until I can afford somethingbetter. Any advice would be apreciated.

Thanks everyone.

A couple more things would help narrow down the selection.

How much throw?
What type of beam?
Batteries?
Multimode?(low, high, strobe etc.)
Size?

:welcome:

Try filling this out first ---> Flashlight Recommendation List

If you have a hundred dollars to spend, just buy a Fenix in whatever battery configuration you like. Check out The Fenix Store and 4Sevens links and also get the CPF discount code.

popcornpicker said:

If you have a hundred dollars to spend, just buy a Fenix in whatever battery configuration you like. Check out The Fenix Store and 4Sevens links and also get the CPF discount code.

Click to expand...

You know, 4sevens has also other lights than Fenix
Have a look at Olights and Nitecores too.

Link: http://www.4sevens.com
and with the coupon code CPF8 you get 8% rebate108

One worth checking out is the UrnaBeam Beacon. Bright compact light, well made, and a great User Interface. Runs on 2x CR123As or 1 rechargeable 18650. Comes with a rechargeable and a charger. The second generation model has great User Interface; you can select setting and see which setting it is on whether light is on or off. (Hi, Low, Strobe)

They can be purchased at http://www.liotec.com/store/Urnabeam.htm. Contact them for a discount they offer to CPF members.

Here's a review of the light, make sure to check out the picture of the second generation model - https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/207269.

:welcome:

Fenix TK11 always seems to be a popular choice among LEOs for it's form factor, high output, and simple interface. The latest R2 edition bumps the output up even more. You can get it here using the aforementioned 'CPF8' coupon code for an additional discount. I think you may not be aware of how small some of these high output LED lights are. There are many lights that fit your original criteria that would be far too small to be used as a primary duty light. A 2xCR123 light like the TK11 fits well in hand without being too bulky and puts out a serious amount of light. Also if your department doesn't issue you batteries, consider picking up some 18650 li-on rechargeable batteries and a decent charger as well.

:welcome:

Without knowing much other than you want it to be bright, small, and around $100, I'd recommend the SureFire E1B. Its 80 lumen high is really quite bright and its 5 lumen low mode would be useful for other tasks when less light is needed. The E1B is one tough little light and built like a tank. It is normally $150, but LAPoliceGear.com currently has them for $110.

If you are interested, I wrote a quick review of mine about 9 months ago that can be found here.

Good luck with your purchase!

-Robert