So many choices, so little comparison.

I am in the market for a compact (minimag size) LED flashlight.
I have been unimpressed with the Maglight brand LED offerings and am looking for advice from the community.

Here are my needs/uses:
I work in low voltage cable installation and am very often required to work above the ceiling. I want a light that is bright enough to illuminate long, dark hallways above the ceiling and also have a brightness adjustment so close up use is not so bright that I can only see white.

Needs to be LED because I am sick of ruining bulbs after dropping the flashlight off a ladder/lift.
Needs to be durable because it will get dropped off a ladder/lift
Will optimally use a rechargeable lithium battery pack or AA/AAA batteries (rechargeable is preferred).
Size should be similar to a 2 or 3 cell AA mini mag. It needs to be pocketable.

If you have a suggestion for me please post it.

I would recommend a Fenix LD20 or LD10. These LED lights run on 2 and 1 AA battery respectively, accepting either lithium primaries or NiMH rechargeables. They have excellent build quality, high-power Cree XR-E LEDs and multiple modes, accessed through a simple tailswitch press, so you can have high output for long distance or low output for close-up tasks. There's also the Nitecore lights, but I'm not a fan their user interface. Keep in mind that these lights will set you back about $55, but most will agree that it's money well spent.
Also, :welcome:

I think we need to know your budget and what features you might be interested in. Focusability, warm tint, multimodes, etc.

Saint_Dogbert said:

I would recommend a Fenix LD20 or LD10. These LED lights run on 2 and 1 AA battery respectively, accepting either lithium primaries or NiMH rechargeables. They have excellent build quality, high-power Cree XR-E LEDs and multiple modes, accessed through a simple tailswitch press, so you can have high output for long distance or low output for close-up tasks. There's also the Nitecore lights, but I'm not a fan their user interface. Keep in mind that these lights will set you back about $55, but most will agree that it's money well spent.
Also, :welcome:

Click to expand...

+1 - excellent advice.
James....

+1 on the budget part.

I'd recommend a Jetbeam Jet I Pro EX (the 2 AA) version as you can program the light to suit your requirements, its got 3 modes each individually programmable so you dont have to go messing about with twisting heads etc, just do a half-click to change modes.

It's very hardy too but if u want really hardy, then i'd suggest maybe a Surefire A2 with the white LED option.

Another thing to note is that since you work with electrical cables, you might want a warm (Cree Q3-5A) LED as it has better colour rendition properties which make it a whole lot easier to differentiate colours in dark spaces. Bright white LEDs tend to wash out colours IMHO.

Are you aware that Maglite updated their l.e.d. minimag to a Rebel l.e.d. that has two brightness levels (100% and 25%), strobe, and SOS? You might want to give Maglite another chance. You may want to avoid lithium ion batteries if the light needs to survive a drop. AA Eneloops are pretty durable. I wouldn't want to mess up a $60 light by dropping it off a ladder. When I help my dad with electrical work, I always hand him an l.e.d. Minimag. They survive drops off the top of light fixtures and ladders 7 to 10 feet high with barely a scratch. HA III anodize only protects against scratches, not drops. Lights with it are an added, unneccesary expense for your application. Remember, that it needs to be reasonably cheap so you actually use it instead of fearing the risk of its destruction.

Try an Akoray from DX. It has three programmable modes, Q5, and runs one AA for around $20.00. I've given 5 away and am waiting for six more.

People love them. I program them for each person depending on their needs. The most popular seems to be: high,low and fast strobe. For your purposes, high,medium and low would probably work.

High is good for at least 200 ft and low is good for close work. I like the strobe to get peoples attention.

By the way, I'm an electrician and the pocket clip makes it very easy to EDC.

I wonder how may drops an akoray can survive... :candle:

Jetbeam Jet 1 pro IBS. I read that the IBS version has been discontinued but there seem to be some still available from a sellers in Hong Kong and the US on eBay.

it has three output levels which you can individually program the level of. It has good throw yet will go really low for close up work or extended run time.

Saint_Dogbert said:

I would recommend a Fenix LD20 or LD10. These LED lights run on 2 and 1 AA battery respectively, accepting either lithium primaries or NiMH rechargeables. They have excellent build quality, high-power Cree XR-E LEDs and multiple modes, accessed through a simple tailswitch press, so you can have high output for long distance or low output for close-up tasks. There's also the Nitecore lights, but I'm not a fan their user interface. Keep in mind that these lights will set you back about $55, but most will agree that it's money well spent.
Also, :welcome:

Click to expand...

+2 Excellent advice.
You can get a LD10 and pick up a 2AA body from 4sevens.
Then you have a 1 AA light which is very compact or you have 2 AA light which is brighter.
Runtimes are great with eneloops AA batteries,a good hour on turbo MUCH longer on high.

Sounds like the perfect application for a decent headlamp. Isn't it much easier to do a job with both hands free?

A headlamp might be a better idea.

What's your price range?
How much throw?
Usually how high of a drop?

The Fenix lights are a pretty good choice, so are the Jetbeams, Lumapowers, iTPs, Nitecores, Olights, and a few more I'm forgetting. For the Fenix lights, the low mode is around the same output as the minimag incan.

Check here to see if the store you will be buying from has a discount.

:welcome:

Marduke said:

Sounds like the perfect application for a decent headlamp. Isn't it much easier to do a job with both hands free?

Click to expand...

Seems like a good idea. I will probably get one eventually.

Thanks for all the good recommendations, you have really given me something to mull over.

Armored flashlight?

If you decide to use one of the flashlights mentioned above, in addition to or instead of a headlamp, maybe you could armor it against drops by pressing sections of vinyl or rubber tubing over the head and tail ends, or by wrapping them with bands of rubber tape.

Check out the Fenix lights mentioned above also the Nitecore smartPD D10 r2.If I was you I would get a light with a clicky tailcap and not a twisty.And one you can change brightness levels with the tailcap and not just the bezel alone,I assume since you will be working with this light you might need to operate brightness levels with one hand.I would also want momentary on with just halfway pressing the tailcap in.If you could expand your battery needs to the CR123 battery the Surefire E1L Outdoorsman.It has an 8.5 hour runtime on 1 CR123 battery on max setting and 48hrs on low.

There's some sturdy lights, but no light likes frequent drop from ladder height. Looks like headlamp is the way to go. If you decide to go flashlight, make sure you buy a neck strap too. Put it arround on your neck or at somewhere near shoulder. In that way, it will stay there when slipped out of your hand.