I am looking for a led light. (Criteria in post.)

The original plan was to make my own light, but it has been said that I should start with a good base source and move from there. I am now humbly requesting opinions on a bright, led based flashlight, with a good throw, and decent spill. I am not at a point where I can spend an arm and a Leg for said light, but I would like to have something I can use but also fiddle around with on my down time. This seems like a fun hobby and I would like to have a go at a building my own light. I am looking for something I can learn with (nothing I would be upset over breaking.) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Check List to follow.

Short Essay Question: What do you intend to use this light for?

I plan on using this light for outdoor use hunting fishing camping. But I would also like to have a light that I can upgrade and learn with.







0) What Region/Country/State will the light be purchased in?

__x_I will be mail-ordering or buying online, so this doesn't matter.
____I am in North America. More precisely I am in _______________.
____I am in South America. More precisely I am in _______________.
____I am in Europe. More precisely I am in _______________.
____I am in the Middle East. More precisely I am in _______________.
____I am in Africa. More precisely I am in _______________.
____I am in Asia, Japan or Micronesia. More precisely I am in _______________.
____I am in Australia. More precisely I am in _______________.


1) Price Range: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest!

____I only want to pay $1-10.
____I can spend $15-30.
__X_I could spend $40-60.
__X_I am willing to spend $80-$120.
____I have no limit!

2) Format:

__X_I want a flashlight.
____I want a headlamp.
____I want a lantern.
____I want a portable spotlight.

3) Length:

____I don't care.
____1-2 inches. (Keychain sized)
__X_2-4 inches. (Pocket carry)
__X_4-9 inches. (Holster carry)

4) Width:

____I don't care.
____I prefer a long narrow light.
__X_I prefer a short wide light.

5) What batteries do you want to use? Alkaline batteries are easier to find and less expensive but don't pack as much stored energy and are don't work well in cold temperatures. Lithium batteries have long shelf life (10+ years, great for stored emergency lights) and are not as affected by cold but must be kept dry and are more expensive. Rechargeable start expensive, but if used frequently pay off quickly.

____I want common Alkaline batteries. (AA, AAA, C, D)
__X_I want lithium batteries. (coin cells, CR123, AAA, AA...)
__X_I want a rechargeable system. (an investment, but best for everyday use)

6) How much light do you want? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).

____I want to read a map, or find a light switch, in a dark room. (5-10 lumens)
____I want to walk around a generally paved area. (15-20 lumens)
____I want to walk unpaved trails. (40 lumens)
____I want to do Caving or Search & Rescue operations. (60+ lumens)
__X_I want to light an entire campground or dazzle an intruder. (100+ lumens)

7) Throw vs Flood: Which do you prefer, lights that flood an area with a wide beam, or lights that "throw" with a tightly focused beam? Place an "X" on the line below.

Throw (distance)----------I----------------------------------Flood/close-up

8) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims (like some LED lights). but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries.

____20 min. (I want the brightest light for brief periods)
__X_60-240 min. (1-2 hours)
____240-360 min. (4-6 hours)
____360+ min. (More than 6 hours)

9) Durability: Generally the old phrase "you get what you pay for" is very accurate for flashlights.

____Not Important (A "night-stand" light.)
__X_Slightly Important (Walks around the neighborhood.)
____Very Important (Camping, Backpacking, Car Glove-box.)
____Critical (Police, Fire, Search & Rescue, Self-defense, Survival.)

8) Switch Type:

____I don't care.
____I want a sliding switch. (Stays on until slid back.)
__X_I want a "clickie" switch. (Stays on until pressed again.)
____I want a momentary switch. (Only stays on while held down.)

9) Switch Location:

____I don't care.
____I want a push or sliding switch on the body near the head.
__X_I want a push switch on the back end of the body.
____I want a rotating head switch.
____I want a rotating end-cap switch.
____I want a remote control.

10) Operational Modes: Check all that apply.

__X_A simple on-off is fine for me.
__X_I want 2 light levels. (Brighter/short runtime and Dimmer/long runtime.)
____I want multiple light levels. (some lights have 5-16 light levels.)
____I want a strobe mode. (blinks to show location.)
____I want a tactical strobe. (Flashes rapidly to disorient an opponent.)

11) Is it important whether the body is metal or plastic/composite?

____I don't care.
__X_I want a metal-bodied light.
____I want a plastic/composite light.

12) Special Needs: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Circle any below or write in your own comment(s).

____Red (night vision preserving) filter
____Other filter colors (Amber, Green, Blue, _________)
__X_Waterproof – how deep: ___Water resistant is fine_____
____Non-reflective/dark finish (stealthy/hard to find)
____Polished silver or brightly colored finish (for easy locating)
____Corrosion resistant or hard-anodized finish
____"Hybrid" light (bright incandescent combined with long running LEDs)
____Built-in second (or spare) lamp or filament
____Belt/Jacket clip
____Holster
____Wrist/Neck Lanyard
____Kobuton/self defense features
____Non-sparking Intrinsically Safe (IS) for use in explosive environments

Hi and :welcome:

We're going to need a LOT more information from you before anything can be done to help you out.

Please fill out the Flashlight receommendation checklist copy and paste it here or paste it in your post #1 (in edit mode) so that we have an idea of what you'd like.

"good throw and decent spill" is vague as is your cost not being "an arm and a leg" different people have different ideas of what good throw and decent spill mean and also what an arm and a leg would cost

so, help us to help you, fill out that checklist.

:thanks:Thank you for the check list, that does really come in handy. I will fill it out and add it to the first post.

Deerelight DBS V3. this light allows you to buy the light and pick out the LED. The LED pill can be unscrewed, and Deerelight offers many different LED pills to swap in and out. You also have the ability to switch between smooth and op reflector.

12ga said:

:thanks:Thank you for the check list, that does really come in handy. I will fill it out and add it to the first post.

Click to expand...

You're most welcome.

For cells, you can check out AW's sales thread and you can pick up a charger there as well.

As for the Dereelight, i surfed over to this site but it appears that they're sadly all out of stock.

As throw is more important to you, you're going to have to live with a flashlight that has a much larger head to accomodate the deep reflector that throwers require.

The new generation of multi emitter lights combine flood and throw and have been very beautifully reviewed by Selfbuilt HERE but you may have to up your budget to above $120 (taking into account the cost of cells, charger and the light itself).

I personally got myself a Jetbeam M1X in warm (you can do a search under my nick for threads started by me and the thread ould pop up) and i love the light, easily hits the 12th floor from ground level and that was with very bright ambient light.

Most lights have a balance between throw and spill and you can see many many real life beamshots of various lights here to help you in making your decision.

Good luck with your search and feel free to keep asking questions.

I don't know much about the light but maybe a Solarforce L2? They are fairly cheap and I believe they are clones of a popular surefire light so you should be able to find lights of adaptable parts for all sorts of customizing fun. The fact that its cheap makes it so you won't worry too much about breaking it.

Anyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Pick a neutral or warm white led for outdoor use.

TK40!?

Coke said:

TK40!?

Click to expand...

I would say the TK30... Less chance of blowing a cell, with fewer cells, and the ability to use CR123's and rechargeable 18650's. Also, when's the last time you found an alkaline CR123 or 18650? You haven't, so there's no chance of trying to get by with alkaline AA's, and ruining a $150 light.

Although, admittedly, the TK40 and 30 are above his quoted price range...

I would recommend an EagleTac T100C2 MkII. I think it just about fits all of the OP's requirements (except maybe the upgrading part. I hear they're a bit hard to take apart to upgrade)
It's also a great light !

What?! You only want ONE flashlight?? Think you might be in the wrong forum...

All of us addicts here have about 50 too many! :laughing:

Hi,

FWIW, have you considered getting a P60-Style host and a drop-in? Given your desire to build a light one day, this may give you a leg up with playing around with different configurations at a lower cost than purchasing a complete light that requires 'extracting' the LED/Pill.

I recently purchased a Solarforce L2P and a SST-50 drop-in (from Nailbender from this forum) and it's a great light. I planned on using the SST-50 drop-in with Surefire C2 which is currently out being bored to accept 18650 battery.

The package of Solarforce L2P and the SST-50 will be around $100. It's within your upper budget limit. However, if you start with a less 'output' drop-in, you can be under $100 easily.

You can purchase the Solarforce L2P from sbflashlights or on ebay. You can purchase a complete package to start (which can be had between $40 - $60 depending on the drop-in) and add different drop-in with greater output later.

As you may have come to learn, there is a lot of information on this forum and at times, can be difficult to find (or better yet remember) certain threads. So, here are some information which may be useful (perhaps you may have already read them).

• P60 Style Drop In List
• Nailbender Drop In List
• P60 Host list
• Sbflashlights
• Ebay - well, you don't need a link for this

One word of caution about purchasing a drop-in from ebay. I purchased a MC-E drop-in if not for no other reason was that it was fairly cheap and wanted to give it a try. Well, the drop-in is pretty bright and floody as expected, however, the quality of the beam is less than desired. It has two very noticeably dark rings :thumbsdow. So, I don't think I will go the ebay route for drop-ins in the future and just stuck to Nailbender (who has a reputation of building high quality drop-ins with great beam profile) or other drop-ins from Solarforce , Lumens Factory, or Thrunite.

Something to consider. Hope this helps.

If it is for outdoor use, take a look at the Fenix TK20 at www.4sevens.com, i personally own one of these and love it to bits. It is tough as nails and more impressive than it looks

Ok, I have been looking at a few lights this morning and going over price and "upgradeability" and this is a list of the lights that I think I would like to look into a little further. I have done some searching both from things stated in this post and other spots on the forum and this list are what I found. If you know about or have knowledge pertaining to any these please let me know YOUR pros and cons. As stated before it will be a light I can learn to modify as well as a carry around. The list is in order from the one I am leaning towards down to the last, which I like, but do not feel fills enough of my requirements.

List to Follow:

1) Tiablo A9
2) Ultrafire rl-2088
3) Dereelight DBS V3
4) Fenix TK20
5) Fenix TK40
6) Solarforce L2P

I think that Fenix TK20 emitter swap would be very difficult, its built like tank so you would need a bazooka to open that thing.
It's a great flashlight and idiot proof so that even a non flashaholic can use it, there will be times when you need to lend a flashlight to Average Joe...

12ga said:

I wanted to get an M1X, then looked at the Tiablo ACE-G, ultrafire RL-2088, and ultrafire WF-1300L. Nevertheless, decided that I might want something smaller and easier to carry and looked at the Tiablo A9, Fenix TK20, and the TK12.

Click to expand...

I own an M1X and its a bit too big for pocket carry but not so big that you cannot holster it. It's a great light as you can program one of the modes (when the head is loosened) to whatever you want it to be and when you tighten the head, it will go to MAX.

You should check out selfbuilt's multi emitter round up review for a comparison of the different multi emitter lights out there.

As for the other lights you mentioned i am afraid i don't have any experience with them except for the TK20 which i really like. The TK20 is very pocketable and is bright enough for most purposes.

if there is one thing ive learned so far its that pictures and videos of beamshots dont really do lights justice.

i only have a few lights but everytime i play with my pd30 the throw from such a small light still impresses me.

coming from a non flashaholic background one generally thinks of a bright manly handheld flashlight as being a big 6 cell mag light. but even a small light like the p series will blow a incan mag light out of the water.

12ga i did the same thing when i was in the market for my first quality flashlight. i overshopped and found out there are way too many lights out there to decide on just one.

im not sure how into flashlights you are but i havent bought one yet that i've felt the need to upgrade

The TK20 is a very good light; it has a specific hotspot and not a lot of spill. The throw is also good, but it takes a serious enthusiast to mod one.

You want lithium cells -

The Solarforce L2R - runs on a AA platform. The host will run you $21 from SB Flashlights. You have the option of buying a P60 "pill" from the same site or using any P60 compatible module.

Important question: Is this a general, carry around flashlight or are you thinking security/personal protection/absolutely reliable tool?

-Trevor

Answer is in the first post.