Help with a high power flashlight (~ £200 spending money)

garland · Feb 8, 2009

Hi all

I need some advice on a high power torch for occasional use, probably camping, hiking in the Lake District where it's pitch black at night. I want something with a "wow" factor (to satisfy my immature side :twothumbs), really bright, preferably with a spot and flood feature, with lots of throw. I'd prefer 123A batteries, but am open to suggestions.

Up to about £200 to spend. I've looked at the Wolf Eyes Boxer 10W (can't really afford the 24W!) but I'm sure there are other options that I haven't looked at.

PhantomPhoton · Feb 8, 2009

Personally I'd avoid the 10W HIDs. LEDs can get just as bright for less money. The only real drawback to them is they don't throw quite as well.

There are a few new lights out on the market using SSC P7 and Cree MC-E LEDs. Dereeligt, Tiablo, Lumapower, Jetbeam, Wolf Eyes, NeoFab... all good brands to investigate. Malkoff devices has some nice stuff too, though I think a ot of the P7 and MC-E stuff is out of stock at the moment. New stuff is coming out around now, so don't rush into bying too quickly. Wait and read up on reviews of new offerings here on CPF :grin2:

maxilux · Feb 8, 2009

Read this thread: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/221877
and i think you will have a light with the wow and much money for other things, look at the pictures in the link, thats more throw as an 10 W HID

drillbritz2ov · Feb 8, 2009

hello regards to your £200 budget you are gonna get yourself alot of light for your money you could buy yourself a led lenser p 14(4x aa batts) and a fenix tk 10 (2 x cr 123a batts) and still have lot of money left out of your budget . I myself use led lenser p 7 and a fenix pd 20 as my edc must admit the p 7 has an awesome throw should think the p 14 must touch a 1000' on fresh batts .once you start buying or modding quality lights it becomes a bit of buzz .lol cliff

drillbritz2ov · Feb 8, 2009

hello again forgot to say the led lensers all have a spot to flood lens system which is awesome no holes or black spots during transition .lol cliff

andylondon · Feb 8, 2009

Hi garland :welcome:

I too was looking for such a torch a while back. I now own Wolf-Eyes' 10W and 24W Boxers, as well as a Tiablo A8 which is more of a 18650 specialist. The A8 can run on 2 x CR123a's, however it will only start on medium mode until the voltage drops below 6V, and then you will be able to use high mode, which has an excellent regulation. Therefore i would recommend to you the Tiablo A9, as the driver for this is best suited using 2 x CR123a's. It's a super thrower with side spill using the smooth reflector and the user interface is easy to understand. It is very well regulated and is a great outdoor light.

Tiablo will also be releasing an A9 53mm aspherical upgrade head for monster throw. However this will eliminate any side spill. I think the A9 will have the WOW! factor that you are looking for, without the hefty price tag of the Wolf-Eyes 24W Boxer, which has serious output for its size.

Toaster · Feb 8, 2009

Jetbeam M1X. See some comparions beamshots in this thread.

sol-leks · Feb 8, 2009

I think waiting til march for the fenix tk40 might be a good bet. Its well within your budget, and should have the brightness you want for showing off and lower levels for more common use. Plus it would still leave you a lot of money left over for a good edc light and a headlamp like a zebralight.

maxilux · Feb 8, 2009

sol-leks said:
I think waiting til march for the fenix tk40 might be a good bet. Its well within your budget, and should have the brightness you want for showing off and lower levels for more common use. Plus it would still leave you a lot of money left over for a good edc light and a headlamp like a zebralight.

I have not seen a flashlight with P7 or MCE Led with "wow" effect, so i think not that Fenix can make much more as Tiablo A10 ACE or Dereelight DBS MCE.

Outdoors Fanatic · Feb 8, 2009

With the budget to spend, the JETbeam M1X or the new Neofab Legion II are the best options hands down.

Or you could also wait for the new SureFire lights...

saabluster · Feb 8, 2009

garland said:
I want something with a "wow" factor

Hmmmmm... how about this? By the way is Garland where you live or your name? I live in Garland, Texas that is why I ask.

monkeyboy · Feb 8, 2009

Pretty sure he's from the UK. The Lake district is in the UK and he uses the word "torch" and the £ symbol.

Garland, :welcome:

I agree that the fenix TK40 is a good option if you can put up with the multi-click interface. It should have enough WOW factor in a pitch black environment and can be dimmed for longer runtimes or for use in a tent. A 10W hid is less bright and can have a long warm up time (~30 sec to reach full brightness).

There are also some good LED offerings from Wolfeyes that would be preferable to the 10W HID. Look for multiple cree XR-E, ssc P7 and Cree MC-E. Some of those can run on CR123a as well as rechargeable.

saabluster · Feb 8, 2009

monkeyboy said:
he uses the word "torch" and the £ symbol.

garland · Feb 9, 2009

monkeyboy said:
Pretty sure he's from the UK. The Lake district is in the UK and he uses the word "torch" and the £ symbol.

Garland, :welcome:

I agree that the fenix TK40 is a good option if you can put up with the multi-click interface. It should have enough WOW factor in a pitch black environment and can be dimmed for longer runtimes or for use in a tent. A 10W hid is less bright and can have a long warm up time (~30 sec to reach full brightness).

There are also some good LED offerings from Wolfeyes that would be preferable to the 10W HID. Look for multiple cree XR-E, ssc P7 and Cree MC-E. Some of those can run on CR123a as well as rechargeable.

Thanks for the welcome and for saving me lots of £££ everyone! I'm looking closely at the recommendations.

My username is garland simply because I've been listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins lately! I'm from the UK.

tx101 · Feb 9, 2009

Outdoors Fanatic said:
With the budget to spend, the JETbeam M1X

Yup ..... the Jetbeam M1X gets my vote as well :thumbsup:

Probably have enough money to get yourself a charger and cells.
Go for a cell extender for the M1X so that you can use 18650 size cells
you will get more runtime.

Gunner12 · Feb 9, 2009

Do you want "wow" for the size or just a lot of output? Most of the lights discussed here will cause most normal people to say "wow" to both output and price.

I think you should start with a good 2AA light like the Fenix L2D-CE Q5, LD20, or L2T V2.0, Olight T25, or Nitecore D20 and see how those work for you. When you want more output, then look at the other more powerful lights recommended here.

What lights do you use now?

:welcome:

neoseikan · Feb 10, 2009

Gunner12 said:
Do you want "wow" for the size or just a lot of output? Most of the lights discussed here will cause most normal people to say "wow" to both output and price.

I think you should start with a good 2AA light like the Fenix L2D-CE Q5, LD20, or L2T V2.0, Olight T25, or Nitecore D20 and see how those work for you. When you want more output, then look at the other more powerful lights recommended here.

What lights do you use now?

:welcome:

It's right to start with a XR-E or SSC P4 light instead of MC-E/P7 lights.
Or you will buy multi MC-E/P7 LED lights quite soon.

sol-leks · Feb 10, 2009

good point, I think my most wowing light is my lod with a 10440. PPl are always quite surprised when my little keychain light is brighter than any light they've ever seen before.

neoseikan · Feb 10, 2009

sol-leks said:
good point, I think my most wowing light is my lod with a 10440. PPl are always quite surprised when my little keychain light is brighter than any light they've ever seen before.

Inova X0 is my first WOW light.
Its brightness & design is much better than all my lights in that time.

electric sheep · Feb 10, 2009

I regularly wild camp in the Lakes (Sprinkling Tarn :grin2:

) and many other wilder places. My current set up is the Dereelight CL1H with MC-E pill and several R2 pills plus extension tube. I either use it as an R2 with no extender or if i want super Wow will use the extender and brighter pill. For the tent i have the XP Tikka modded with a P4 Led as its red filter and low are perfect for a head torch and reading in the tent. I never use the Dereelight for pitching or tent time as it destroys night vision instantly even on low but for lighting up the surroundings or breaking out at night i love the high lumen light.

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