noob here

so I've been lurking for months reading and overwhelming myself with information. I need a recommendation, and what I'm looking for may not exist.
I'd love a single AA or so sized light with a decent throw

I want something that can light up a raccoon or something about 80 yards away (just to locate it, doesn't have to spotlight it) while still being useful indoors (no supertight hotspot with 0 spill)

adjustable light modes a must (low hi or ramping I don't care)
I'd love to make it a cheapish light.
if it can be an edc light a pocket clip is a huge plus.
I don't really care what battery it runs off of.

At first I thought the nitecore d10, then akoray k-106. then quark. than the spear clone. then jetbeam then deerelight ch2. then........... I'm all over the map and can't really tell much from a beamshot at the wall at 6 feet (sorry bessiebenny )

Help oh flashlight guru's!

greyling22 said:

I'd love to make it a cheapish light.

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Brace yourself for suggestions up to $100.

Single AA, decent throw, cheapish, spotlight at 80 yards but still useful indoors... sounds just like the C78 zoom head thing: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29095. No adjustable modes or pocket clip though.

Olight T10 or ITP C9....small spot with good enough spill and bright. The lights are compact and wont break your wallet.

For something of better quality, check out this from shiningbeam. Still single mode, but shipping is quicker. The RC-N3 II could also be a good place to start. Coupon is "CPFuser"

:welcome:

heres the $100 quality suggestion...from this thread the Quark turbo ,nice pics inside there showing 1AA turbohead

so your gonna have to buy the 2aa version and pick up a 1aa body = about $88 total ..if you wanna pick up an extra tailcap so its easier to swap just the head only its an extra 12 ...."theres a cpf8" coupon for 8%off

you get 2 quality lights in 1

I hope were not making you dizzy with all the lights we propose.

alfreddajero said:

I hope were not making you dizzy with all the lights we propose.

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Your oversized sigline image might - 500 pixels, eh. And what happened to the avatar I resized for you?

remember the basic rule -
price, size, brightness - pick any two.
What's your budget?

It just got old thats all, fixing the sigline now......lol. There i hope thats better.

my budget......I don't really have one, but I would be happier spending less rather than more. but if I can buy 1 good light and be done with it instead of 3 successive lights I'm not happy with and then getting a good light then maybe that is better in the end.
For example: I bought a $50 pocketknife ever few months trying to find the The Knife, then I got a really nice benchmade and that was that. I would have saved more money buying what I really wanted in the first place.

what if I backed down from 80yds to about 50 yds. I currently have a river rock (from target) 1AA led light. thing works great indoors, but if you take it outside it comes up way short. no throw at all. this is the one I'm talking about. I'm running it on mostly dead energizer litium AA's from my wife's camera flash. http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/twenty/rr2-1.htm

:welcome:

If I backed down from 80yds to about 50 yds. I currently have a river rock (from target) 1AA led light. thing works great indoors, but if you take it outside it comes up way short. no throw at all.

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http://store.bugoutgearusa.com/jetipro.html

IMHO go with a OP reflector and Q3-5A tint that is better, especially outdoors. This light is on my very short list along with a single output DBS 5B for throw and a Jet III M that basically slots into the middle.

The 1AA RiverRock from Target isn't very bright, but it does run for a decent amount of time. If they were easier to open, you could swap in a current gen LED and get more output while keeping the same runtime.

The light with the lens probably throw further then a reflectored light like the Jetbeam, but having the spill of a reflcetored light could be helpful.

well the jetbeams certainly have the name and the look down. and egletac claims their lights throw. I wonder if there is a decent clone. I don't need a super rugged combat tactical wonder light. if I can get by with a small edc light, I for sure want it to have a clip.

This Akoray AA could be a good choice for you. 3 programmable modes, good build quality, and has a clip.

I was in the same boat Greyling22; I had been reading and reading and finally got sensory overload. So, I bought a TK11R2 (has rings in the beam which I don't mind) and it throws really well. I like it, 'cos it was my first serious light. I then bought a QuarkAA2 fo my daughter; she thinks it's awesome and now her boyfriend wants one. I would like a Quark Turbo now! It will be my next light for sure. The AA2 is fine for what you want, plus you can get a single tube. The new XP-G emitter does better than the one in my first light too. So many lights; so little time!!!!

greyling22 said:

my budget......I don't really have one, but I would be happier spending less rather than more. but if I can buy 1 good light and be done with it instead of 3 successive lights I'm not happy with and then getting a good light then maybe that is better in the end.
For example: I bought a $50 pocketknife ever few months trying to find the The Knife, then I got a really nice benchmade and that was that. I would have saved more money buying what I really wanted in the first place.

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I can tell you're a noob here! (no offense) If you can do what you propose as far as getting one good light and calling it quits, you'd be accomplishing what most of us here cannot. Of course, I guess the point IS that we're on here so much so we WANT more and more lights.

I have no good suggestions for you. I own a D10, a C2H, and several Quarks from the lights you mention. My impressions are, comparing these three lights, that the C2H is the brightest of them all, for a little bit. Then it falls out of regulation. It still fires off an impressive beam at the slightly lower level. As far as operation, I carried my D10 throughout my entire first year of flashaholism every day (EDC). It's only been replaced by my McGizmo Lunasol 20, which is really like two lights in one and has the same piston drive as the D10. The Quark? I know it's the little darling of this forum, but it's too big for me to EDC. It's got great output, don't get me wrong, but the clip leaves too much of the tailcap (all of it) outside of my pocket. It's really got the same size and general heft as my LS20, thought with less functionality. I'm kind of a tint snob, too. Whatever anyone tells you about tint and how this brand has better tint than another, don't listen to them. Unless there's a specified tint (5A, 5B, etc.) there's no way to know if you're going to get squid green, Smurf blue, or beautiful neutral or cool white or even a warm shade. It's not as important to me as beam profile and UI, which is why I favor the lights I do. There's a sticky which will help you figure stuff out better . . .

Here it is!

Here's some other stuff too. I'll admit, I didn't read these links until very recently. Luckily, I didn't post too many of the same questions or start threads that had already been started before. Good luck and have a great time with whatever light(s) you get! Let me know if you have trouble keeping it down to just one, you're in good company there. Our credo here is "buy them both," after all. I've always wondered why it wasn't "got to buy them all," a la Pokemon!

I dunno. I 'm leaning toward one of those shining beam romsein lights. or I would be if they had a clip. since they don't.....maybe eagletac or jetbeam. I probably just need to suck it up, buy something, then go from there.

Well the beam of the Romisen RCn3 single mode would be impressive for a first timer.....bright and throws pretty good as well, plus you have the option to load it up with 2AA's or one cr123 for a smaller format. And you just cant beat the price as well. I have a small collection of Romisen lights and you just cant beat it price wise for the quality.

As said before, the Akoray AA is probably a good light for you to start off with. Has a clip, 3 programmable modes, and good quality considering the price (even has square threads). Here's a review.

I've seen it recommended a few times and it sounds like a good light.

ok, I guess i'll start with akoray. now, I know even less about batteries. will these http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3435 work in the akoray k-106 and is this http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4151 an acceptable charger?