looking for a throwing flashlight

im looking for something that i can get this kind of beam out of either from modding or something that doesnt have much flood but has a really REALLY long throw like this modded tiablo a9
http://www.lumensreview.com/upload/files/191_ciysv/IMG_9972_processed-400.jpg

my budget is around $70

thats not really modded, its just an additional part. the A9 by itself is a pretty good light but the only reason i still have mine is because of how well it works w/ the aspheric head. w/out it its just a good light, not a great light. i don't really have that many suggestions under $70. the best smaller non-aspheric throwing light i've used is the DBS w/ an XR-E...except they don't make that setup anymore...and i still think it was a little more than $70. if you have a C class host from SF, Solarforce etc., then you may want to look for a compatible turbo head...thats usually cheaper than buying a whole new light.

If you want to throw a beam far without spending a lot, avoid LEDs. LEDs are great for certain things, but they generally aren't too good when cost versus throw ratio is considered.

LED throw lights with aspheric lenses are fun to play with, but their super tight beam patterns are pretty much useless for real world use based on my experiences with them. Their novelty wears off with me after about 10 minutes of use.

6 volt everready lantern with 3 cell mag whitestar bulb

anyone else.....?

what about a general long throw flashlight without a aspherical lens?

i heard some recommendations to dereelight but thats about it... and no DX stuff please and try to keep it under $70

LOL! My brain is really slow today, when i saw the title, i thought you wanted a flashlight for actual THROWING! like in a "throwing knife" my bad.

I think that unless the light has a really large and deep reflector it isnt going to be able to throw all that well unless it has some kind of optic or aspherical lens. How far do you need it to throw?

I recently bought my younger brother this Romisen but in warm white, it appears that Bryan doesnt have those in stock as they no longer appear on his site but the beam from the warm white version on high easily illuminated the bushes from 12 stories up even with loads of ambient lighting.

I would imagine the cool white one that is still available and advertised as having 100 lumens more than the warm white one would be quite the thrower too.

The Heliotek HTE-1A has a nice deep reflector that throws out to 350'.

ill check them out anyone else have recommendations for a "right out of the box" thrower


what about a solarforce skyline 2?

A cheap, easy to find, "right out of the box" thrower - 2D Rebel Maglite.

The new reflector in the Rebel versions of the 2D Maglites is much deeper than the original reflector, resulting in excelent throw.

nasa779 said:

ill check them out anyone else have recommendations for a "right out of the box" thrower


what about a solarforce skyline 2?

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The MG RX-1 i recommended is stated on the site as 700 lumens, the Solarforce Skyline II is 200 lumens, and the size of the reflector (33mm as compared to 53mm for RX-1) does not appear to be wide nor deep enough for it to throw the beam.

I think the RX-1 would be a better thrower as compared to the Skyline II

You may want to look into this Dorcy. I know its gotten some knocks for its somewhat low capacity battery. But I recently learned from someone on this site that this light will handle 2 CR123's with a spacer. Makes for a good alternative if the battery pack dies in use.

I don't have any large head led lights to compare this to, but IMO this easily trumps my 6D mag. In fact, the main reason for getting it was it I was tired of feeding my maglites batteries just to sit in the truck and go dead.

hyperloop said:

The MG RX-1 i recommended is stated on the site as 700 lumens, the Solarforce Skyline II is 200 lumens, and the size of the reflector (33mm as compared to 53mm for RX-1) does not appear to be wide nor deep enough for it to throw the beam.

I think the RX-1 would be a better thrower as compared to the Skyline II

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the skyline II is supposed to be a great thrower. it has an XR-E which is a far better emitter for long throw applications...MC-E's aren't really ideal for this. normally, as lights try to narrow an MC-E beam more and more the donut effect becomes more pronounced. i've used all combinations of XR-E, MC-E, XP-G and SST-50 in my DBS's (OP and SMO reflectors) and the XR-E is the best thrower of the bunch even though it has the least output.

well so far im kinda centered on a tiablo a9.....

any more recommendations? lol

hyperloop said:

LOL! My brain is really slow today, when i saw the title, i thought you wanted a flashlight for actual THROWING! like in a "throwing knife" my bad.

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Me too! Super secret ninja flashlight sounded kinda cool for a second there.

$70 means your right in the middle for a decent thrower. Anything that throws a tight beam like you have pictured needs an aspherical lens. Two Options the Deree Dbs with Aspherical Lense for about $150 or the Tiablo A9 with Aspherical lens for around $100. Unless you want to buy a thrower and modify it with an aspherical lens yourself. I have modified two lights from Dx with awesome results.

well im going for non aspherical thrower at the moment but the option to get a a spherical head is a plus

nzgunnie said:

Me too! Super secret ninja flashlight sounded kinda cool for a second there.

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even better if it were Australian and shaped like a boomerang. Then it would always return when you threw it. But just so this post is not totally off topic, I have a javelin host 3xaa with a cheap xre-r2 pill from dx and the smooth reflector of the javelin xre. It does OK. It definitely throws further than the focusable rc-c6 from shining beam.

well, i was going through my closet the other day and found this old light that i bought quite a while back, popped in 2xRCR123s and tested it out and it can throw pretty darn far, the hotspot is VERY small but it still has some spill to it. But i must warn you, DX lights usually need some work on them.

Something with a large reflector and a Q5/R2 might be what you're looking for.

yea my rcf4 from DX needed the clicky cleaned and tightened

nasa779 said:

yea my rcf4 from DX needed the clicky cleaned and tightened

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just be aware that DX lights may fail you, i've read that some CPF-ers will completely dismantle the lights and do a thorough check, tightening connections, checking solder points, replacing drivers or just ensuring that the wires are properly soldered/attached, dremeling rough edges etc etc and AFTER that, the lights can be relied on more. I dropped a stainless steel Ultrafire C3 once from about 3.5ft to a tile floor and that was it, it never worked again and i do not have the tools or skills to fix it, ah well, lesson learned.

Oh and for Romisens i really would recommend shiningbeam, have never had a problem with any of the lights purchased there.