Which one is the one for me?

I'm having a very hard time finding the right flashlight for me. I keep reading reviews after reviews, finding many that suit my needs, but I just don't know which one is THE one for me.

Basically, I'll give you the basic low-down of what I'm interested in: The purchase will be made online. Vendor doesn't matter.

Use? - Just about everything... It's most common uses will be for general around the house use. It will also see the woods a lot, for hunting, four wheeling, and other various activities. As far as throw and flood, I can't really make up my mind. I'm not sure which one is more suitable.
Price? - I don't want to spend more than $100.
Batteries? - I don't know anything about batteries, but I don't mind buying them online if I have to. I really would like a lot of energy and run time.
Length? - It doesn't really matter. I don't want one too huge. I also don't want one too small. Something that will fit in a jacket pocket, maybe hand length?
Durability? - A durable and reliable flashlight is a must.

Hello, and a warm welcome to CPF.

Take some time out to go through the stickys' in the LED section you will find a lot of reviews which might help you narrow down your choices. There is no one best light as most CPF members will agree it all boils down to your preferences and needs. i.e. light output, battery choices, size, flood or thrower etc. May i suggest pick three choices which are most important and then search for the one which fits the bill. i'm sure you'll find sumthing.

I faced a similar situation when i wanted to buy my first expensive non-mag flashlight. I chose the Olight M20 Warrior premium and it covers most of my day to day requirements, great lumen output, gives a variety of battery choices and simply looks good as well. The Fenix TK series is equally favoured.

You have a vast choice of brands to choose from like like Surefire, Fenix, Olight, Nitecore etc which all make quality products.

May i also suggest checking out selfbuilts flashlight page for threads to all his reviews which are considered amongst one of the best on CPF (my apologies to other reviewers but i only remembered his name)

http://www.sliderule.ca/cpf.htm

cheers

I think a medium size programmable light might be good for you. You can set it to do what you want, and the beam is usually throwy enough to spot things, while on lower output be wide enough to still be useful close range. Look at Jetbeam's Jet-III range.

:welcome:

These are a little more expensive that your $100.00 limit, but any of them woulod last you for many, many years..

I would take a look at the Sure Fire A2 Aviator, the E2L, or the LX2.

All of these are dual output. I use an A2 Aviator for my everyday carry light [EDC].

I find that I use the low setting more than the high.

For under $100, and a good all-arounder, I'd recommend a Quark AA2 (uses two AA's) from 4Sevens.

One of my favorites that fall within your constraints. Well made, lots of output settings, very reasonably priced, uses cheap batteries, just your size (or get an AA or 123-2 for a smaller size), etc.

By the way, most of us started by saying we're looking for just "that one light that will meet all my needs". Ha - ha - ha ... and so it begins ...

- Mike

I think you need to admit to yourself that you are going to ultimately need more than 1 light. We are all in it together... hold onto your wallet and hope your credit card doesn't run away screaming to the hills!

For your first light I'd also suggest a Quark AA2 like the previous poster. It should fulfill most of your needs. It wont be long until you come back for another light to supplement it

You seem not to use lights and other apparel, that run on (rechargeable) cells,
so there is NO reason to go for "normal" ones --> these were AA sized.
Why?
Good Ni-Mh charging technology is expensive, light (2*AA) is a bit bigger than 1*18650 Li-Ion lights which house much more energy.

You also dont need primary CR123 celled lights, so skip those SF lights mentionned
(hey guys? How about thinking just a tiny bit over what to advise for somenone NOT into lights)


that makes:
light: Jetbeam Jet III Pro Ultra...
... three levels, that can all be individually programmed by You (in the beginning maybe sounding a bit difficult, but no big deal)

cells and charger:
protected 18650 Li-Ion cell at one of the much shops possible
as charger get the one down and right there


there are also some other lights to start with: Shiningbeam L-mini II, Olight, ..., offer some models, ...
in the end the Jetbeam ist the best overall, imho. So why not get it and spare the money for all the other.

Mike Rivera said:

For under $100, and a good all-arounder, I'd recommend a Quark AA2 (uses two AA's) from 4Sevens.

One of my favorites that fall within your constraints. Well made, lots of output settings, very reasonably priced, uses cheap batteries, just your size (or get an AA or 123-2 for a smaller size), etc.

By the way, most of us started by saying we're looking for just "that one light that will meet all my needs". Ha - ha - ha ... and so it begins ...

- Mike

Click to expand...

+1 on the 2AA Quark.You can use readily available Energizer lithium AAs or NiMH rechargables(I recommend staying away from alkalines but they will work).You have a lot of options with the Quark and can switch to the single AA or CR123 bodies(purchased seperately) if you find the 2AA is larger than you like.You can even go the RCR123 or 14500 lithium-ion rechargable route with the smaller bodies.Really a versatile design that is also available with neutral tints(neutrals are selling out fast though!).

I appreciate everyone's suggestions and help. After reading and researching around, I've been considering a few, but not limited to. They are:

EagleTac T20C2
Jetbeam III M
Fenix PD30
Olight M20
Quark AA²

I do understand that I'll need more than one flashlight to do everything, but right now I'm trying to find something that will give me the best bang for my buck. I'm tight on money and don't feel like buying multiple flashlights, yet.

The only flashlights I've ever had experience with are just about every stock maglite, none with a rebel. I've tried a drop in LED in my 4D and 2AA. They just don't cut it. The best and only other flashlight I own is a Coast LED Lenser V².

Don't overlook the LiteFlux LF3XT. It has the versatility for many jobs because of its programmability. Also, it can be had with a 2 AA tube in addition to its normal 1x CR123 setup.

Geoff

A month ago, I was in the same position as you. Bottom line is you'll never figure out what's best for you without jumping in, buying something, then figuring out what you like and don't like about it in terms of tint, beam pattern, size, clickie etc.

I ended up with a Neutral White Quark AA running on alkalines, then added a 14500 Li-ion battery and WF-139 charger and I couldn't be happier. Quarks have a reasonable mix of throw and spill, and with the 5 output levels, it works just as well in my basement as it does lighting up the tops of the trees in my backyard. 4Sevens also sells the battery tubes separately, so you can buy a AA light that fits well in the pocket and add a 123^2 tube and 17670 battery for extended use.

I don't own one, but Liteflux lights look really nice too. They seem to have a somewhat floodier beam than a lot of the competition, nice for close up work, and they have a really flexible programming system. The only problem with Liteflux for me is that with the exception of their AAA light, they don't seem to offer neutral tints.

I recommend checking out the Nitecore D20.


Good luck,

Rob

Surefire 6P + Malkoff M60 of some sort. the L model at ~150Lumens would be my suggestion. Its a good balance between run time and output.

Actually.... scrtach the above recommendation and get a Fenix TK20. Its a great all around light, and runs off household AA batteries. One of the caving/expedition guys here (either Yucca patrol or Marduke) abuses one regularly and it gets beat to he11 and back.

You can get Eneloop AA/AAA/Charger packs for $20 at Costco.

For a backup get an ITP A3 EOS, $24 from shiningbeam. Its an outstanding value IMHO, goes toe to toe with lights costing 2-3x as much. It will make use of the 2AAA cells that come in the costco eneloop pack.

That should land you right around the $100 mark.

after reading this thread, i was thinking that perhaps the Fenix TK20 is the light for you, especially if you go hunting, four wheeling etc.

You can get it from 4sevens and there is a discount code "CPF8", the beamshots for the TK20 can be seen here

2 modes, runs off common AAs, tough as nails, i'm getting one after i sell off a few other lights. My wife may not know how much the lights cost nor even what models they are, but she knows how many lights i have so to get new ones, some must go.

I do understand that I'll need more than one flashlight to do everything,

Click to expand...

WHY?? :thinking:

the lights You mentionned are - more or less - identical
and multimode lights cover 99 % of all the "needs"
(just the 1 % extreme throw + runtime + baton size is not covered)

At incan age, some 5-20 years ago, that was the time to "need" several lights, because bulbs were not good when dimmed, so one "needed" different lights w. different output.



still I think You should 1st: decide what batteries
and not mix these by getting almost identical lights that run on different ones, stay with one size/chemistry

PS: instead of the Military (one fixed ultra high current level and one to be programmed), imho the Pro Ultra (three individually settable levels) is the better Jetbeam model