New to nice flashlights..

Greetings All,

I've always loved flashlights and had tons of them when I was younger. Nothing good, just crap bought at stores whenever I could afford it. I'm grown up now and want some grown up toys. So, people of the forum, I ask you: What is the best (I'm sure we'll have to delve into what makes the best…) flashlight brand and what is a decent midrange one to start with?

:welcome: as you guessed, "best" is pretty hard to define. There are LOTS of very good lights available. You may want to take a look at this checklist to give everyone an idea of what you are looking for in a light (uses, battery type, size, modes, UI, etc). Also some good threads you can take a look at are selfbuilt's reviews 2xAA, 1xAA, 1xCR123

I would recommend a Surefire E2DL with an F04 diffuser. You get a small light with decent throw, and awesome flood with the diffuser. AND it's a beautiful light.

I don't think he's willing to place $100+ for a light yet. He also did say midrange, and Surefire is more towards the higher range then that. I don't even have one because of how much they usually cost (being a student doesn't help either).

A good light to start with might be the Romisen RC-N3 II or warm white from shiningbeam. Good quality, good output, 2 AA so decent runtime, forward clickie, and can also be a shorter 1 CR123 light. 6% off coupon is "CPFuser".

:welcome:

kortex said:

Greetings All,

I've always loved flashlights and had tons of them when I was younger. Nothing good, just crap bought at stores whenever I could afford it. I'm grown up now and want some grown up toys. So, people of the forum, I ask you: What is the best (I'm sure we'll have to delve into what makes the best…) flashlight brand and what is a decent midrange one to start with?

Click to expand...

Hi and :welcome:

we'd love to help you find what is best for YOU, so, help us to help you by filling out this flashlight recommendation checklist, copying it and pasting it in a reply here. Then sit back, hold on to your wallet and let the recommendations roll on in.

:welcome: I think your idea of starting mid-range is a good one. I think anyone joining the group here ends up spending a loooot of money on flashlights. Also, starting with something not as bright as the more expensive lights keeps the passion alive by not feeling disappointment when you get that new light (especially if it came in by mail).

On the other hand, a lot of people here went the cheap route before they figured that they could have done without half their lights if they just started with higher quality. However, that is how humans learn, so I would recommend you fill the checklist and ask for anything that's available in a store for a first buy or two. After that, you might want to skip to something a little more specific that might not be available in a store... if you have the patience to wait a few days for delivery...

I'm surprised this thread was not pounded, has few replies. My first lights that started my interest in quality were just Coast led lensers from hardware stores; forward clicky, aluminum with diamond checkering, compact but unregulated battery life. Then the Fenix L2D...120 lumens max at first, now 180, great battery life AAx2 for 55 dollars. Thats my recommendation. Then work your way to Li-ion eating Malkoff M60 drop in monsters, 200 smackers if you have to get a charger and cells to boot. But that's why we call it a hobby or tools in some cases...always a more powerful new version of what you already may have but you know you want it!

I suggest some window shopping

Head over to http://www.4sevens.com, and look at some lights, especially from 4sevens Lights, Fenix and Nitecore

Among the other good recommendations that have been made so far, I suggest you consider a 2D Mag-LED, which now uses a Rebel emitter. Very bright, amazing throw at tight focus, good regulation, and significantly outperforms both the common incandescent Maglites and the older models of the Mag-LED that used to Luxeon III emitter. It's just a nice all-around general purpose light that can be used for long range spotlighting and practical close-in purposes, all due to its good output. Just a suggestion to consider, and you will definitely want to look into some of the smaller AA and CR123A lights too.

:welcome: