Best HID Spotlight Under $150 (400+ meters)

First off, I am completely overwhelmed with the amount of products out there. I do know what requirements I need, so I'm hoping that some of you more experienced guys can help me out.

My father owns a large farm and has about 40 horse that he keeps out in separate pastures. When he leaves at night, he wants to be able to shine a light out in the pastures from the barn to do a final check on the horses so I'm trying to find him a decent spotlight.

Here are my requirements:

1) Under $150
2) Capable of lighting up a horse 400 meters (437 yards) away
3) Relatively lightweight (carry-able in one hand in case he needs to take it with him out into a pasture)
4) Rechargeable in a 110-volt AC socket and a 12-volt DC cigar lighter receptacle (it would be a nice bonus if it could actually run from the cigar lighter receptacle if it wasn't charged)
5) Uses batteries that are easy to find/purchase

I really appreciate any of ya'll that can help me out. Thanks so much in advance!

I would recommend the Stanley HID. Most folks here on CPF bought it at Wal-Mart for $80 or so.

dudemar said:

I would recommend the Stanley HID. Most folks here on CPF bought it at Wal-Mart for $80 or so.

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Thanks. I will definitely check that out. Do you happen to know how it compares to the SunForce 25 Million Candlepower rechargeable HID spotlight reviewed in this thread: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239250 ? I found it for $129.99, so it's definitely a bit more money, but I don't know how much better it performs than the Stanley, if any.

WillJitsu said:

Thanks. I will definitely check that out. Do you happen to know how it compares to the SunForce 25 Million Candlepower rechargeable HID spotlight reviewed in this thread: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239250 ? I found it for $129.99, so it's definitely a bit more money, but I don't know how much better it performs than the Stanley, if any.

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From what I've read, the Stanley has very similar output. The beam characteristics are different, though. The Sunforce appears to have more throw, with little to no spill. The Stanley has a a good bit of spill, which is actually quite usable and useful, at least in my opinion. I own the Stanley, but not the Sunforce.

I'm not sure what the runtime on the SunForce is, but for comparison, the Stanley runs about 25-30 minutes. It does have 3 small LEDs though, that you can use as a small light.

Good deal. I'll run up to the local Walmart and see if they have any of the Stanley HIDs in stock. Thanks!

WillJitsu said:

Thanks. I will definitely check that out. Do you happen to know how it compares to the SunForce 25 Million Candlepower rechargeable HID spotlight reviewed in this thread: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239250 ? I found it for $129.99, so it's definitely a bit more money, but I don't know how much better it performs than the Stanley, if any.

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They're both 35W HIDs, so differences in Lumen output will be negligible. Smaller / shallower reflector of the stanley will flood more. Sunforce should be a considerably tighter beam, and therefore throw farther. Run times will be shorter on the stanley.

The stanley is very unique and the only HID light I am aware of that overdrives the bulb upon cold start, in an attempt to achieve operating temperatures faster. Other HID lights I have tried needed noticeably more time to warm up.

Take a look a look at my one mile distance beamshot lighting up a house. I just photographed this a few minutes ago and I find it pretty amazing for an $85 spotlight. I'm putting my two pics over in the Sunforce 25,000,000 thread...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239250

For the purposes you described the Sunforce will throw light much better than the Stanley. This comes at the sacrifice of size and weight though. It's still carry-able but the large 9" reflectors make them less user friendly to walk with.

ScottFHall said:

Take a look a look at my one mile distance beamshot lighting up a house. I just photographed this a few minutes ago and I find it pretty amazing for an $85 spotlight. I'm putting my two pics over in the Sunforce 25,000,000 thread...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239250

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Where did you find the Sunforce for $85? Cheapest I have found is $129.99 on Amazon.

look at Northerntool.com they did have it at 89.00.Don't know if it is still at that price though.

fhenixlynx said:

look at Northerntool.com they did have it at 89.00.Don't know if it is still at that price though.

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Looks like they've bumped the price to $129.99 just like Amazon.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200342907_200342907

Not that this is what caused the price hike...Three times, I've bought obsolete HID bulbs from an Internet company. I buy them at price "X". I've gone back to that site immediately after having bought some, and the price has been hiked. I've then gone back after a month or so and the price is back down or lower. There is evidently some logic in their site programming that senses "demand" and raises and lowers prices accordingly.