Anyway, my specs:
- Shopping method: Online buying.
- Budget: Around $100 give or take.
- Light type: Flashlight, will probably be weapon mounted.
- Size: Not gigantic but not tiny. Again, weapon mounted / EDC.
- Emitter: LED, Q3 maybe? Natural light is a huge pro.
- Battery: Definitely rechargeable (18650?)
- Light amount: Flexible; from as low as reading a map, finding my way around a tent without melting everyone's eyes out to medium enough to examine a patient in a dark environment to as high as scanning across a field.
- Throw VS Flood: Somewhat balanced, a little towards throw I'd say (It'd also be nice to have the option to change the reflector)
- Runtime: Average I guess, I could always carry extra batteries.
- Durability: Important. I've mentioned the uses above.
- Switch: Doesn't really matter.
- UI: As simple as it gets (The RRT-2 UI is good by my terms)
- Material: Aluminum?
In my experience, multi-mode lights are a better idea in theory than in practice. They tend to make better toys than tools. I would recommend that you look into buying two lights, rather than trying to find one that does everything. My own multi-mode lights go unused, except one with which only one mode is used.
In general, incandescent light seems to be more useful outdoors, since incans provide full spectrum light. The full spectrum light means that in many/most outdoor situations, more (proportionally) of the light coming out of your light will be reflected back at you, and the light reflected back at you will render colors more accurately.
Incans also have the advantage of being filterable with a wide range of filters. Filters are subtractive. The remove light of colors different from the filter. They don't
change the color of light. If you need red light, you can use a red filter; if you need infrared light (for night vision), you can add an infrared light; etc.
For a good aluminum incandescent light, I would recommend a Surefire 6P, C2, Z2, 9P, C3. For non-aluminum (yet still very durable) lights, check out the G2 and G3. (Check out the
SureFire Web site for more information on different models.) The models with 6 or 2 in the model number are 6 V two cell lights. The models with 9 or 3 in the model number are 9 V three cell lights. I believe the P series lights are most readily mountable on a military rifle. The C series seems (to me) to be the most easily carried, due to their integrated pocket clip.
Personally, I like the 9P & C3 lights, due to the versatility in battery configurations with the stock lamp assembly. The will run off of 3x CR123A primary cells or 2x 17500 Li-ion rechargeable cells, with similar runtimes. (Note that rechargeable cells are not well suited for weapon mounted lights.)
For use in a tent, a small pocketable LED light would work well, a low output single mode light (e.g., Coast MiniTac), or a multi-mode light with a user interface that switches the light on low first (e.g., many small Fenix lights, many small Quark lights). (When it comes to multi-mode lights, UI's that allow access to any mode from off are superior to UI's that require you to cycle through different modes to access the desired mode, IMO) You might also consider choosing a small light that uses the same cell size as the big light.
Rather than looking for lights that allow you to change the reflector, consider purchasing a diffuser for your light(s) instead. It is much faster to switch back and forth, and accomplishes the same thing.
Finally, if you really want only one light, consider a SureFire
A2 aviator. It is a hybrid incan and LED light, and is available in a variety of colors (i.e., blue, green, red, white, and yellow) for the LED. New and like new A2's can often be found in
CPFMarketplace. I've never owned one, but owners seem to be very impressed with the light's brightness and throw, despite it being rated at "only" 50 lumens. The UI allows instant access to either mode from off, as well as momentary access to the incan "hi mode" from the LED "low mode." I'm not sure how well suited the A2 is for weapon mounting, though.
