Lights you are not supposed to like

And vice-versa.

A lot of opinions vary but sometimes a torch comes along that you are not really supposed to like but it totally fits in whatever way that is.
Other factors make up for the bad in such a way it becomes a favourite.


I have a few of these for example...

Leatherman Serac S3
Its only regulated with CR123's no 16340's. How bad is that.
Its also only 100 lumens or so. Come on man is this 2007.

But its bloody brilliant. What a well made little torch, its solid and good looking too. The clip is a work of art and its so practical to carry.
Its becoming my regular multimode EDC. The beam profile is close to perfection, I love this light.


Led Lenser 7736
Its old, some luxeon or lumiled LED in there, I don't even know/care what.
3xAAA this must be the worst power source there is.
But it makes a lot of light where it counts. It feels so good in the hand and the forward clicky is a dream.


Romisen RC-N3 single mode
Cheap Chinese junk has nothing to to with boats right ?
How could I trust something like this, especially something with such low output.
Its surprisingly well constructed, works all the time and is very versatile with the CR123 option. I have them in each of our cars.



Anyone else got lights they really should not like but do ?
Or lights you should actually like that just dont click with you?

Just thought the title of this thread was funny so I figured I'd post my thoughts!

eGear PicoLite
Initially got it as a gift. Thought it was a cheap toy since it was a TINY little keychain light with a clip on it and I had never heard of it... After opening it, I found it to be really well constructed, nice knurling and anodizing. The output is quite good (for a 5mm LED) and is about the same as my Nitecore EZAA on low.

Can't think of any other lights I'm not supposed to like at the moment!

X2000 3xAAA. I like this light coz it's brighter and throw better than my LL P7. What I really don't like is when it came to charging. You have to charge two batteries first then the remaining one after that coz I got the two cell eneloop charger.

Target sold some little peanut shaped River Rock keychain lights a few years ago that took little lithium batteries. Think I paid around 12 bucks for 5 of them. They turned out to be very durable little torches.

Energizer 2AA light with an angled head- it's short shallow reflector spits out uber spill with an appropriate PR base LED drop in

CJ-1W from golden gadgets, which appears to be the same as sku 4977 from DX. Just a run of the mill 1xAA light that uses a generic 1W led. However, its one of the lights I use most around the house. Its got a very nice floody and smooth beam and puts out just the right amount of lumens. Also seems to run forever on 1AA.

I also love all my romisen lights, I wouldn't call them a brand you're not supposed to like though, they are pretty popular here bc of their excellent budget quality.

The £0.99 ($1.48) LED lights that I bought off Fleabay (thread here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/267791). Ridiculously cheap - the price includes international shipping! - and much, much better than they have any right to be.

LED Lenser P4. Not very powerful but runs forever and a day on a pair of AAAs, and lovely flood mode too.

DX sku 26798 flood-to-throw 3xAAA. Awkward battery configuration and second-rate build quality, yet very bright and flood-to-throw works very well indeed.

:naughty:

Fenix E01: Its not very bright, the beam has a funny shape and its tint is purple.

Do I need to say why even with that negative points its one of the must-have for any flashaholic?

Surefire G2.... plastic, semi-sloppy threads, the bottom feeder of the SF line. Yet for some crazy reason, I like it as much as any of my other lights.



Ultrafire 503B... Cheap junk right?... definitely yes, but who cares!! it just plain "works".


Fenix E0 Dart... I don't know why but I like this one too. Its perfect for finding keyholes at night. Yes its the predecessor to the E01, but I do't really feel the need to replace it any time soon.


Mag 2D... I like this light plain and simple, with 2x26650 cells and a mag 6D Xenon PR lamp it will run for a really long time at the ~135 Lumen level. i use a KD OP reflector and a glass lens but its certainly not mandatory. Its big, heavy, machined very well... USA made for ~$25... can't beat that. Sometimes I use ROP lamps, but usually the 6D lamp is perfect for my needs. (no pic needed, we've all seen them before)

DX-SKU:3218... What can $3.00 at dealextreme get you?...



Under-driven with cheap RCR 123 cells.


... and here's a SF-P61 on fresh primaries by comparison.

jk037 said:

The £0.99 ($1.48) LED lights that I bought off Fleabay (thread here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/267791). Ridiculously cheap - the price includes international shipping! - and much, much better than they have any right to be.

LED Lenser P4. Not very powerful but runs forever and a day on a pair of AAAs, and lovely flood mode too.

DX sku 26798 flood-to-throw 3xAAA. Awkward battery configuration and second-rate build quality, yet very bright and flood-to-throw works very well indeed.

:naughty:

Click to expand...

I had to buy one of those 1 dollar lights, I am a sucker for cheapo lights like this.Thanks!

Dorcy 4-"C" cell 120 lumen K2 spotlight:

http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=414296

Picked it up on 50% clearance sale at Target for $16, thinking I could use it as a mod host with a set of real batteries and a Cree emitter. That is until I discovered the case was glued together.

So I throw some batteries in the thing and it turns out to have a nearly perfect laser-like spot beam due to the very deep reflector. Almost zero spill. So it wound up as a keeper, even though there is nothing more than a resistor in there for regulation.

3 AA MiniMag With a Lux III
It's sooo long and skinny, so dim, plastic lens and reflector....But the beam is beautiful, colour and shape wise, and it just keeps working. It's in my tool box and takes one hell of a beating just being in there!

Surefire G2
It's plastic right? Aren't nice lights HA III aluminum? After I bought this, I wished all my lights were Nitrolon. If only it weren't for that damn heat transfer, maybe there would be more like it. I will soon have a G3 and a G2Z to match.

Dorcy 3AAA 80 Lumen Rebel
Just a run of the mill B&M 3AAA light, right? OK, so yeah, it is. But it's perfect for in the car. 3AAA's of the right chemistry, and you have a fairly bright, long running, durable light. I can't hardly notice a difference in brightness from 5 minutes of burn time, to 4 hours.

Not sure if this falls under the not supposed to like category, but I actually like the standard P60 lamp. I've tried a few well regarded dropins and prefer the dimmer original. Of course, I haven't tried every alternative.

I also didn't expect much from Fenix's E01, seeing as it is cheap and uses a 5mm LED. But the twisting is superb, it's actually bright enough for most tasks, and the simplicity is nice.

BTW, not sure if you know this shark_za, but leatherman's flashlights are made by Fenix.

I don't think heavily modified lights count for this thread...

Still, the G2 is a fantastic little light for what you get.

Good topic.

I like the 1AA LED Lenser David 15. It has a forward clicky switch with momentary action which is a joy to use. The body is of uniform width and the same size as Mini Maglites so it fits in the same holsters. (Most of today's Chinese 1AA lights are needlessly fat.)

The tint is warm and the beam is much cleaner (fewer rings and artifacts) than the Photon Proton Pro -- a light I was "supposed to like" but did not and gave away.

My 2 Led Lensers come to mind my P3 and K3 as such negative views on them.I like them both and use them both,very happy and will buy more of there range as they are so easy to buy in the UK.Led Lenser word

Dorcy 3AAA 80 Lumen Rebel
Just a run of the mill B&M 3AAA light, right? OK, so yeah, it is. But it's perfect for in the car. 3AAA's of the right chemistry, and you have a fairly bright, long running, durable light. I can't hardly notice a difference in brightness from 5 minutes of burn time, to 4 hours.[/QUOTE]


Agree!!!! Just picked up a few of these at the Target clearence and they are not bad at all. Beam is nice and the Rebel tint is perfect.

kramer5150 said:

What can $3.00 at dealextreme get you?...

Under-driven with cheap RCR 123 cells.

... and here's a SF-P61 on fresh primaries by comparison.

Click to expand...

2D Rebel Maglite
It's bulky and it's a Maglite.

But you know what? With a tight focus, this thing is a fantastic thrower for about $20.

No mods needed and it doesn't need specialty cells.

Surefire G2
It's a plastic light. Plastic lights are crap, right? Ummm, no.

It's a great lightweight light that just feels right in the hand.
The Nitrolon body makes it great to use in cold weather.

If you prefer LED drop-ins, add a Z44 bezel for heat transfer and you're good to go (within reason).

It's one of my most used lights.

Ultrafire C3 in stainless steel:
It's a cheap Chinese light bought off (gasp for the snobs) DX.
Yeah, it's cheap & I got one dud in 4, but the ergonomics are just about perfect, it looks cool (particulary all gitd'd) & is very bright on a 14500 with well reasonably spaced levels. $14. The tolerances were great in the last one I bought.

Ultrafire MCU C7. A cheap Fenix P2D from DX, with unique dimples that improve the ergonomics. Takes the Fenix filters & diffuers also.
Also programmable.

Romisen, all of them I have tried from Shining beam.
Gave all of them away as gifts at some point, but all were outstanding for the money.
Mostly little RC-C3's, same light Brian from Shining Beam edc's.