I want to buy a flashlight

First post.
WOW, didn't know there was a whole world of flashlight maniacs.
This is great.
I am a contractor and a general sportsman.
I want to buy a light to carry on my belt in a holster for everyday use.

I would use it for the following,
Looking above ceilings
checking my outdoor wood boiler at night
looking for the dogs at night
reading my charts while boating
lighting my way in a basement or mechanical room
Reading a program at a night time event
Walking out of the woods at night after hunting

I also "think" I would like to use regular batteries.

I am using the simple Brinkman twist on light and I am not impressed.
It takes two double AA's
I hate the fact you need two hands to turn it on.
The holster has no top so the light can just fall out if you sit the wrong way.
I would much rather have a one handed button operation.
I also hate the fact I have to turn the head to widen or narrow the beam EVERY time I need to use it.
I do like the size of it.

LED or incandescent?

Money is not really a factor. I don't mind paying if I am getting a good product.

I would love a direction from you pros!

welcome to CPF :welcome: the best thing to do is perhaps filling this in and posting it here. then just sit back and watch the ideas and recommendations floodgates open wide!

I know you said regular batteries but I consider a CR123 a regular batter so I'm going to suggest a RA Custom Clicky since money is no object (200.00 range)

Built rock solid

Made in the USA by an active member on these forums who provides great customer service

one handed operation

LED = bright and efficient

Programmable to your liking from a very low mode to a very high mode (up to 170 lumens if you go with that model)

I have two RA's and love them, I will be adding more in time. Give them a look at: http://www.ralights.com

No, I have no affiliation with RAlights or HDS systems, I'm just a fan.

Outside of that maybe a Surefire E1B although I like to have low come on first and that has high come on first but still a great single cell light. If a little larger size isn't an issue the the LX2 is a great light (just received mine today) but the low is pretty bright for some of the things you may want it for..

Also give the Quarks a look at http://www.4sevens.com they are great lights as well.

Allow me to be the first to suggest a :

Surefire 6P /clicky tailcap/ Malkoff Devices drop in.

:welcome:

Quark AA2.

Hi Dave! Welcome! I'm not an expert, but I think your needs would might be best served by two lights.

When looking for the dogs in the dark, walking out of the woods after hunting and other similar activities you are going to most likely want a very powerful beam that will throw (reach) a good distance.

However, for the low light reading you don't want a super powerful light. A smaller variable brightness model would be better. Just food for thought as you check out all the recommendations!

lightknot said:

Allow me to be the first to suggest a :

Surefire 6P /clicky tailcap/ Malkoff Devices drop in.

:welcome:

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I'm a fan of the Malkoff's, but since you'll be using this for up-close (reading charts at night) and long-distance (checking roof's, boating), I'd recomend a nice two-srtage, namely the Surefire E2L. If you want more (and have more money to spend), a U2. The E2L on high has excellent throw, and runs for 11 hours at the same brightness without dimming. An E2L on the marketplace will be hard to find, but U2's go for about $175. So you can get a used U2 for a little more than a new E2L. Do a quick Search on either, and you'll find plenty on how useful/popular they are among the biggest flashlight geeks in the world. :welcome:BTW!

luke_DF said:

welcome to CPF :welcome: the best thing to do is perhaps filling this in and posting it here. then just sit back and watch the ideas and recommendations floodgates open wide!

Click to expand...

I think he meant this form: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/96884

You may want to fill it in and post it here - to further narrow down the tons on recommendations you will get

:welcome:

I'm a General Contractor and Pest Control Operator who's a fan of JetBeam lights.

I'd recommend a pair of lights as opposed to a one size fits all recommendation. These two lights compliment each other and will give you the versatility that you're describing in your above.

JetBeam RRT-2 or RRT-3 for distance.

You'll need either CR123A's or rechargeable 18650's for the one above.

JetBeam RRT-0 for close quarters that you can easily keep in your pocket but will make you proud in an attic or under a house.

This one above, takes either AA's or a CR123A.

Each of the above have multiple brightness settings.

Hope the above helps.

:thumbsup:

glockboy said:

Quark AA2.

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+1

It's a size that you are already used to, comes with a nice holster and it uses easy-to-find and use AA eneloops. It doesn't cost a ton either.

An excellent supplement light to use with whatever main light you end up with is the ITP A3 EOS Upgrade. It's a small and very versatile AAA keychain light that's only about $20 and easily handles most everyday tasks.

Here are some 2 AA powered lights to look over:

Fenix LD20+
Quark AA^2
Eagletac P20A2, P100A2
Jetbeam RRT-0
Nitecore D20
iTP SA2
Olight T25
Lumapower Vantage

This site has reviews for some of the above lights. Of course, you can also find more reviews in the reviews section and by searching.

While your at it, why not get a good keychain light too

:welcome:

glockboy said:

Quark AA2.

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+1, take your pick between the regular and the tactical model.

BTW, if you are looking to buy A flashlight, you've come to the wrong place, we'll get you to buy many, many lights :welcome:

A great choice is the Malkoff MD2 with any of the P60 compatible Malkoff drop-ins. The M61 is my personal favorite but all of the others are excellent too. Get a two stage ring for it and you will have a high mode and a low mode, making it useful for close up work and distance work. Malkoff products are made in USA, are ridiculously reliable, and are truly field tested. The MD2 is a cheaper alternative to buying a Surefire to host a Malkoff and is not one bit inferior. It is an excellent option due to its ability to use the two-stage ring, which is not compatible with the Surefires. It can also use 18650's in case you decide you wish to use rechargeables.

There are a lot of other good options presented above, which I won't bother commenting on in detail. Just figured I'd offer an option no one else has yet.

I would recommend a Sure Fire A2 Aviator, with the white LED,s.

The LED,s give you enough light for closeup use, with out blinding you.

When you need more light then you have the Incandescent bulb.

I have replaced the factory SF bulb with the Lumens Factory HO A2.

I have found it to be the most useful of all the small handheld flashlights.

if your going to stick with common batteries (AA or AAA) i would suggest getting some rechargeable eneloops or duraloops, and use alkalines as a last resort. only good thing about alkalines are that theyre cheap and common, performance, output, runtimes suck, not to mention the higher chances or leaking.

some lights you should check out...

1xAA
nitecore D10 - good build and UI, 14500 compatible
quark AA - 2 UI options, 2 emitter options, able to lego parts.
quark mini AA - very small, and bright, great price
fenix LD10
zebralight h501 - headlamp, very unique and useful, great UI

1xAAA
liteflux - very bright, and great UI
itp A3 - very small, and bright keychain light

2xAA
quark AA2 - highly recommended, great general purpose light.
fenix LD20 recently released with X-PG emitter
fenix TK20
nitecore D20
eagletac p20a2 mkll- maybe the brightest light using 2xAA
dereelight javelin - maybe the best throw for using 2xAA

8xAA
fenix TK40 - wow

hoongern said:

I think he meant this form: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/96884

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d'oh! forgot to link it. thanks.

glockboy said:

Quark AA2.

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+1

AA^2 has the best of both worlds. High output (over 200 lumen OTF with R5), and extra low output (0.2 lumens), for reading at night.

1.3 hours on Max (206 lumens)
30 days on Moonlight (0.2 lumens)

There's also several brightnesses in between.

Moonlight: 0.2 OTF lumens for 30 days (1ma)
Low: 4 OTF lumens for 5 days (10ma)
Medium: 22 OTF lumens for 24 hours (50ma)
High: 85 OTF lumens for 5 hours (250ma)
Max: 206 OTF lumens for 1.3 hours (700ma)

Current listed is the current that is going to the emitter. Max draws around 2 amps for my Neutral White AA^2.

$59/each @ http://www.4sevens.com/product_info...=1620&osCsid=3775d8ef52685e2887db568e55e33996

They're great, because in case of emergencies, or you forgot your cells are dead, you can run down to the drug store/grocery store, and grab some AA's.

~Brian

Where you say you are a contractor and sportsman, I would recommend going the Surefire E1B route. Although I do like 4Sevens lights, they won't take as much of a beating as the E1B. The E1B takes CR123s, which are easy enough to buy in bulk online. It has a high mode for looking for your dogs outside, and a low for reading charts on your boat.

With Surefire, you are guaranteed a quality product. Here is a link to the light. Feel free to browse the 'stories' section as well.

http://www.surefire.com/E1B-Backup

sjmack said:

Where you say you are a contractor and sportsman, I would recommend going the Surefire E1B route. Although I do like 4Sevens lights, they won't take as much of a beating as the E1B. The E1B takes CR123s, which are easy enough to buy in bulk online. It has a high mode for looking for your dogs outside, and a low for reading charts on your boat.

With Surefire, you are guaranteed a quality product. Here is a link to the light. Feel free to browse the 'stories' section as well.

http://www.surefire.com/E1B-Backup

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Where is this proven?

Not that I don't like Surefire (I LOVE Surefire), but over on the MP someone abused the heck out of his Quark and it came out quite alright.

In any case it is true that the E1B is a sweet light.

carrot said:

Where is this proven?

Not that I don't like Surefire (I LOVE Surefire), but over on the MP someone abused the heck out of his Quark and it came out quite alright.

In any case it is true that the E1B is a sweet light.

Click to expand...

It hasn't been 'proven,' but if you were to ask me to pit a Surefire E1B vs any of the quarks, I would take the Surefire every time. I have never seen anyone take lights and get actual stress test numbers besides with clicky cycles. I'm not knocking 4Sevens - I love my Preon II as much as any of my lights. Rather, it's the nature of the beast - 4sevens makes flashlights geared more towards civilian pocket carry while Surefire makes lights geared towards LEO / military and hard use applications. Don't get me wrong, I am sure the quarks could take a lickin' but when it comes down to it, I would put my money on the E1B over, say, a quark tactical cr123.


Now, IF I had money coming out of my ears, I would love to go down to my schools machine shop and R&D labs and put some lights through real hell, but I eat Ramen to save up for my lights... :nana: