New flashlight for winter

I'm looking for a new EDC flashlight as winter's fast approaching here in the North East of Scotland.

I currently have a Nitecore D10 GDP which is great. I generally use it at max and min brightness and almost never in between. Best features are that it uses AA batteries and has a beam that's not too tight. I just need something brighter.

I also have a Olight M20 which is just a little too big for me to EDC and the beam is too tight for this purpose.

I've thought about the Nitecore Extreme and SR3 but am a little concerned that the beam will be too tight and more like my M20 than my D10.

Any suggestions?

Eagletac P20C2. Review here. Pics and beamshots: 1, 2, 3

Malkoff MD2 + High/Low ring + Malkoff M60 - 235 lumens with one of the brightest spill beams out there!

James....:wave:

If you like the D10, you would love the D20.

A good bit brighter, and a nice wide beam rather than a tight spot.

OK, it's a bit larger than the D10, but it works in the same way with the piston drive. I use it a lot outdoors.

Or . . . you could supercharge your D10 with a 14500 cell and Pila charger !

Maybe a Fenix PD30 or one of the Eagletac models.

I have the NEX and it is a wonderful light for EDC. I had the M20 and have currently the Jetbeam III M. the hotspot of these are way thighter. IMHO the NEX is more a flooder than a thrower.

btw it's the R2 NEX

Hmm, no one mentioned the Quarks? U can get the tactical version if you just want a 2 mode light (and u can programme the brightness of both the modes to your desire).
Quark AA or Quark AAx2.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the response. Some great flashlights for sure but I am really after something of a similar size to the D10.

It's for EDC, ie in my jeans pocket with wallet, keys, mobile phone, EDC.

So far Scarbear's steering me in the direction of the NEX.

Thanks again,
Jason

I love my D10. If you want a brighter light about the same size, get a Quark AA and run a LiIon 14500 battery.

It's only a matter of time before they offer a xp-g for the d10, right? nitecore seemed quick to adopt the r2.

Yeh, we're still waiting for the xp-g . . .

Jason: I didn't mention the Extreme at first, but if you are leaning that way now, I don't think you'll be disappointed. The user interface isn't quite as nice as the D10 if you ramp a lot, but since you mostly use it just on high and low, it will be absolutely fine for you.

The beam is a bit tighter than the D10, but it is still very useable and much brighter. Size-wise, the Extreme is just a bit thicker than the D10 but similar in length. It's still very pocketable and I carry mine a lot.

Very nice light indeed.

I have a Quark AA running on a AW 14500,,crazy bright and still has the very low mode for the middle of the night activities.

I'd appreciate if you keep me up to date with what you end up choosing, seeing as we are not that geographically far separated

I'm looking for something similar for the early mornings and evenings. I currently EDC a Fenix L1d, and a Maratac AAA with a slightly off centered emitter, which oddly enough gives a great beam pattern with a lovely large hotspot and good spill, if i could get something either 2xAA or 1xAA I would have it in a hearbeat :thinking:

I love my NEX's. Indeed, although it can throw relatively well, it is not a thrower. A d-mini Q5 out-throws it easily. The NEX though has a very bright spill which makes me like this torch so much. I too mostly use the highest and lowest setting and set it to strobe and max when I am in the city.

Another reason why I went for the NEX: it looks are killer. This is always the light which makes people go: I want one...:devil:

Watch out for the crenelations though, I heard they can eat your pockets if you carry it like that. And remember, Flashaholics in the UK still list an NEX SS Non-Crenelated with the Golden Dragon Plus emitter!!! No matter where I go, there's always an NEX on my keychain.

p.s. if you use primaries with this torch, it will run on basically depleted cells for a loooong time.... it's my only battery vampire. When on high, it will make a nice but (not too hot) handwarmer. If one of my friends (or me) have cold hands, I turn it on for 5 mins and warm up.

teaser:

wow.. you have sh!t loads of NEX's. don't you find them a lil fat as keychains?

i even found my EX10 to be marginally too big..

berry580 said:

wow.. you have sh!t loads of NEX's. don't you find them a lil fat as keychains?

i even found my EX10 to be marginally too big..

Click to expand...

I have to admit, there are definitely thinner lights I could put on my keychain but all things considered (looks/features) I wouldn't want it any other way.... Even though my keys are nearly always with me there are occasions when the keychain is left behind and then I would use one of my Raw's.

ps. I think Euroken has 4 NEX's.....:huh:

@fareast oar anyone else

could you compare the beam from the Cree Q5 oder R2 with the Osram GDP?

I have the R2 and i'm in the decision to buy a NEX SS with GDP.

Olaf

Let's see. The differences I have noticed between the NEX Q5 and the GDP. Well, first of all the GDP has the most beautiful beam of all the lights I have. The hotspot is smaller than the Q5 but is is ever so brighter. Hardly noticable. Then it just tapers off towards the edges but very gradually. The spill remains as bright as the Q5 but the difference is in the tint. My GDP is a warm sample and I like the tint very much but there's the tint variation: in the center/hotspot it is very white, slightly blue when comparing it to other led's. The corona is thick/wide and is more a neutral white. And the spill is leaning against blue again. So if you are a white wall hunter, you might not like this. For any other use this is not noticable. With the Q5 I always seem to follow the hotspot when using it (indoors) since it is nice and big. When I am using the GDP for the same tasks I feel like I need to move the light less. I just point it at something and it lights up everything very evenly. I think the evely spread light makes for easy peripheral vision. No need to pan the hotspot around to see everything. Things change when I go outside though. Here the hotspot counts and the Q5 is just better at it. So up to about 10 meters or so the GDP is what I like to use and for the rest the Q5 has duty.
Example: I tried both as a bike headlight and the GDP doesn't cut it. I can use it as a tail light though with a red filter. Indoors I like the GDP a lot more. The Q5 I tend to ceiling bounce all the time. The GDP is more efficient with my sample but generally negligable.

I hope it makes sense.

That pretty much sums up my experience with the Q5 NEX too.

I have a particularly ringy example which doesn't look very nice indoors or against a wall - but outside you simply don't notice the rings and it's all hotspot. In fact, the first (dark) ring around the hotspot probably improves the contrast, making this a really useful light at the longer distances.

I don't have an NEX GDP to compare directly, but fareast's description sounds very similar to my GDP-based Clicky Cn. Very nice light indoors and out but the NEX does outthrow it - by quite a bit.

I like the "for winter" aspect of the question. With this philosophy I may be able to keep my purchases down to 4 per year.

I wonder if there are seasonal considerations that might come in to play?
Rubber grip would keep it from freezing your hand if you carry it gloveless
Are there some tints that are better in the snow?
Would the simplicity of a twisty be beneficial?
And finally, would a headlamp be a better choice?
Just thinkik':thinking: