Thinking of getting a TK 20 or maybe a 2C...help please

Guys,

Thinking of getting a TK 20 for my 65 year old father. He has access to Alkaline ONLY
I got him a 2D mag some time ago and he gave it away not sure why I guess it was too heavy. I was thinking to give him a 2C due to lighter weight. He does not live in US so Alkaline batt only.

So you guys think the TK 20 is good? he will use it for general light situations. Most likely 45 lumes level.

Or maybe a 2 C might be better? I looked but I cannot find a quality 2C with a plastic/polymer body, if Streamlight made one I would have got it.

Sorry to jump between TK 20 and a 2C light.

What you guys think, any other suggestion welcomed. Trying to keep it around $50 US.

TK20 would be my choice, 2xAAs, easy to find. spare cells wont take up that much space too. Warmer tint LED would make it easy to differentiate colours. It's also very durable and can take loads of knocks and bumps. Get the one with the yellow grip and it'll be easier to spot in a toolbox, drawer, nightstand etc.

Easy to change modes just by twisting the bezel so he'll have 45 lumens with 150 on tap should he need it. Runtimes are pretty decent too, 11 hours on 45 lumens, 2 hours on 150 lumens.

Tk20 it is man

TK20 is a great light with warm tint and crazy throw but I have been getting Fenix E20's for gifts as they seem to run good on cheap batteries and being one mode simple. This light does not seem to get press around these parts but for the money (35 bucks) the people I have given them to are happy. Maybe I will just keep an E20 for myself one of these days. I think my TK20 would eat standard batteries fast in turbo but guessing not so much ion general mode. Still I use NiMH or lithiums for all my lights.

If nimhs are not an option I would stay away from high powered 2xAA lights. They run rather crappy on alkalines. Better to go with a 2C or 2D light instead. I suggest the Life Gear 2C 180 lumens. More info in this thread. If you don't care to mail order or just want to check it out, you may be able to find one at your local Target for ~$40.

Another 2C to consider - $27.49 at Target:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/214298
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/212967

What a coincidence! My father is 65 years as well, guess what I got him a few months ago? No, not a C-Mag, he has had one for 20 years, a TK20!

He also uses Alkalines, and while Toaster is right that they aren't the best choise for high powered LEDs, we could discuss if the Q2 of the TK20 really is one of these, I don't know the actual draw, think it's not over 700mAh though. We should ask a specialist or someone who uses Alkalines in that light if it works as it should. No need to ask my father, he barely uses his lights...

Especially for older people, who were used to incans all their life, the TK20 is probably very interesting, because of the neutral white LED. I should ask my father how he feels about the different color temperatures, I got him an Olight M20 as well, if he needs cells, he'll just ask me, I gave him a dozen with the lights, may be enough until he's 75!

A C-Mag with a drop-in is a good option if size doesn't matter, you're restricted to Alkalines and use your light a lot. My Mags have drop-ins with a Q5 from a german engineer. You just replace the bulb by the drop-in and you're fine. They start at about 200 Lumen and drop to about 150 when they get warm, what they do, as there's no extra heatsink.

Mag upgraded their stock LED recently, as they say those are not really bad anymore, you'll find a thread here. That would be a cheaper option than a drop-in, but be sure to get an upgraded one, they old ones are outdated crap, I had some, before I got the drop-ins... :green:

If you positively cannot use re-chargeable and must use alkalines I would go for something more like the E20 also.

TK20 is brilliant, but whats the point if you cant use high, and also, it would be a shame to have the batteries leak all inside a light that price, even the E20 is a bit dear to have the batteries leak all over...

I have never owned one, but I would maybe go the streamlight propolymer 2xAA

Sure its not "that" bright, but still....

Henk_Lu said:

He also uses Alkalines, and while Toaster is right that they aren't the best choise for high powered LEDs, we could discuss if the Q2 of the TK20 really is one of these, I don't know the actual draw, think it's not over 700mAh though. We should ask a specialist or someone who uses Alkalines in that light if it works as it should. No need to ask my father, he barely uses his lights...

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The runtime of the TK20 is inline with all the other latest high powered 2xAA lights. So the current draw should be roughly in the same ballpark as well. The fact that it uses a Q2 or whatever flux bin doesn't matter in that regard. It may produce less lumens but it's still putting roughly the same load on the batteries. Looking at Selfbuilt's 2xAA review, that would put runtime on High on a pair of alkalines at around 40-45 minutes with an ugly regulation profile. That fits pretty well with what I've seen with my TK20 when running on some plain jane Energizers. Noticeable dimming after half an hour with rapid progression to a dim glow in just a few more minutes. :green:

Toaster said:

If nimhs are not an option I would stay away from high powered 2xAA lights. They run rather crappy on alkalines.

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TK20 on the low setting runs very well on alkaline, but the high settings will drain the batteries fast.

If I gave someone a light and they gave it away, personally I would not buy them another light. I'd find something else they might appreciate more. Not everyone is into flashlights like we are. Just my 2 cents.