LED flashlight suggestions

Hello. Flashlight noob, here.

I am wanting to get into flashlights and like the idea of getting the most powerful light I can carry that's still portal...something that is the size of a regular 2 AA battery Maglite but with tons of Lumens. So far I've only found Surefire and Fenix.

Is Surefire really worth the premium? I found one of their LED lights with 220ish lumens for like 200 bucks. Then I found Fenix lights with something like 240 lumens for around 90 bucks. I guess, what's so special about Surefire that makes them that much more expensive. Construction looks similar.

Also are there any other brands I should look at? When I have time, I'm gonna pay 4sevens a visit, since the company is like 3 miles from my house.

What is a CREE? I am not yet familiar with all of the flashlight terminology.

Finally, does 4sevens own all of the lights they sell on the site? I'm specifically looking at the Olight T20 Warrior. It seems like a steal compared to the Surefires.

Forgot to mention that I'd like something made in the good ole USA (or Japan).

Is Surefire worth the money is a tough question thats debated alot. Surefire is truly great quality is probably an understatement but they really have no edge over competitors with light output.
I like them but don't own many of them.

Their are plenty of great light makers to look at. Fenix, Nitecore, Olight, Jetbeam, Eagletac etc. etc. Best thing you can do is just keep researching seller's and manufactures websites and keep reading here at CPF.

4sevens has their own lights the Quark and also they have the Nitecore lights. Anything else is another manufactures lights.

harkamus said:

Hello. Flashlight noob, here.

I am wanting to get into flashlights and like the idea of getting the most powerful light I can carry that's still portal...something that is the size of a regular 2 AA battery Maglite but with tons of Lumens. So far I've only found Surefire and Fenix.

Is Surefire really worth the premium? I found one of their LED lights with 220ish lumens for like 200 bucks. Then I found Fenix lights with something like 240 lumens for around 90 bucks. I guess, what's so special about Surefire that makes them that much more expensive. Construction looks similar.

Also are there any other brands I should look at? When I have time, I'm gonna pay 4sevens a visit, since the company is like 3 miles from my house.

What is a CREE? I am not yet familiar with all of the flashlight terminology.

Finally, does 4sevens own all of the lights they sell on the site? I'm specifically looking at the Olight T20 Warrior. It seems like a steal compared to the Surefires.

Forgot to mention that I'd like something made in the good ole USA (or Japan).

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Let's face it - decent flashlights rarely break. I splurged on a Surefire 6PL for my first high end light, but I had the money.

Then again, it seems the general consensus around here is that Surefire ARE the toughest lights around - I've seen stories of them breaking, stories of Fenix's being torture tested to the extreme, but the GENERAL consensus seems to lean toward Surefire for the ultimate in reliability...

Then it also comes down to your own situation - someone pointed out to me that they could buy 4x a competing brand, and this is better backup than any warranty.

True if you have them with you (and obviously true if they're all in your house for household use).

Not so true if you're facing down a wild animal (or human), at that point no backup or warranty is going to help.

Me, my SF is my main light and will remain so until (or if) it gives me reason to "downrank" it. That's not to say it'll be the most USED light - I'll use my cheaper lights most of the time, absolutely.

But if I'm in a sketchy situation you can bet my SF is what's in my hand.

I trust the word of US soldiers and cops when it comes to things like this, and I'm fairly sure SF's "testimonials" section aren't fabrications...

Lumens - I'm still figuring this one out. Apparently SF tends to rate conservatively and the rest (with some exceptions) tend to exaggerate.

I'm a noob myself around here and the world of high performance lights, barely ahead of you. Good luck!

EDIT: There's a very comprehensive sticky about lumens on this board, read that to find out about what's really happening there...

harkamus said:

I am wanting to get into flashlights and like the idea of getting the most powerful light I can carry that's still portal...something that is the size of a regular 2 AA battery Maglite but with tons of Lumens. So far I've only found Surefire and Fenix.

Click to expand...

Surefire lights are not 2xAA, but uses CR123 batteries (They are shorter and fatter and more expensive).

harkamus said:

Also are there any other brands I should look at? When I have time, I'm gonna pay 4sevens a visit, since the company is like 3 miles from my house.

Click to expand...

Many, try checking the review section, the sticky on top has a list of roundups. You can also check my website, I have a lots of beamshots of different lights.

harkamus said:

What is a CREE? I am not yet familiar with all of the flashlight terminology.

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Cree is the brand name of a led (The bulb in led lights) manufacturer. They make leds name XR-E Q5 and XR-E R2 , these are the most common leds in flashlight. The also makes a led called MC-E, that is about 3 times as powerful (Another powerful led is the P7).

harkamus said:

Forgot to mention that I'd like something made in the good ole USA (or Japan).

Click to expand...

That will restrict you selection very much, only a few brands are usa made.

What I meant by AA size was that I wanted a flashlight where the body is no larger than that of a standard flashlight powered by double AAs.

I thought getting into knives might be a little confusing with all the different locking mechanisms and blade steels. Hehe.

Anyway, atm, I'm looking at the Surefire LX2 Lumamax, Olight M20 Warrior (not sure where this one is made in; anyone know?), and the Fenix TK10. I'm sure there are a few more that I should be looking at, but those were the ones that caught my eye right off the bat.

I am not debating on makers, just give my opinion on technology in general:

small, light, powerful, good bang for the buck, realiable
--> one of the lights running form a single 18650 Li-Ion cell (protected!!!!)
... You will find quite a bunch of makers well respected here, in general the light will be to recommend, when its price is at about 40-50,--. Considerably below that - crap.

Li-Ion, because that cell houses most power in that size class (2*AA, 2*CR123, 1*18650) and because cells and charger are cheap.


Now, if You want several levels (recommended) or how they are switched (low --> hig, or high --> low), or whatever the UI (user interface) is: read in here, or get one of the recommended lights.
Even when You notice within some weeks of use, that the UI is not as You like, the light will be good.
For the next one choose the model offering what You want
(within a few months a new led, from Cree, should be in the market. Offering another jump in brightness)

another thing to think of:
the larger and deeper the reflector, the more light it grabs and can be focused. But also large and deep reflectors tend to make a tight, throwy beam + add size.

PS: I just read some info on the MG L-Mini II, that might be a very nice entry level light. If Your budget can go up considerably, the Jetbeam Jet III Pro Ultra were one of these lights with a bit of a larger head, grabbing more light.
I do not like the whole 18650 line of Fenix and thus don' t recommend them any more (after 2.5 years of heavily recommending this makers products)

you could check out http://light-reviews.com in the reviews section to understand more about the lights that are available, if you click on 'Reviews' you can sort the reviews by cell type and then narrow your search from there.

If, as you say, you live near 4sevens, head on down there and check out the lights, speak to the people there, handle the lights, test the lights, ask about runtimes, output etc, you're gettin an opportunity that i personally wish i had, the opportunity to test the lights before buying (actually, getting to play with lights for free is great!!)

If you live near 4sevens, you can just go there, spend a couple of hours and learn a whole lot about flashlights .
Wish i was staying near a big dealer.

Anyways, regarding surefire, again a lot of people swear by it, but i still want someone to guide me to a site or a source where they are tested to the extreme like the nitecores and the fenixs.
A 3rd party tester, I never fully trust any brands advertising.