I thought it would be very interesting to see which lights would be considered a "must have" by the die-hard flashaholics of the CPF Community. These wouldn't necessarily be lights of one specific size, output, range, purpose, or price range, but are lights that for some reason would make you say it is a "must-have" light.
To fit in this category, it must meet the following criteria:
*NOTE: The below criteria were updated in 2011 to remove restrictions which made it impossible for some to list all of their true "must-have" lights.
I'll start with my own "must have" lights: Ra Clicky - extremely versatile, practically indestructable and highly efficient / M6 - one of the best incans with tons of options making it a very practical incan / A2 - one of the only regulated incans available, with the practicality of long-run LEDs when needed / McGizmo Haiku - simply perfection of design, beautiful beam pattern, indestructable Ti.
NOTE: For those of you who are non-Flashaholics or new to this forum, you should be aware that several of the models lend themselves to be very easily modded. For example any of the models using a P60 sized dropin (developed by SureFire), such as the SureFire 6P, C2, Solarforce L2, L2m, etc., can be easily converted from an incandescent to LED, or from a stock LED to a new higher output LED. In fact, this ability to easily be modded/upgraded may in fact be large factor for it being included in the "Must-Have" list. As these lights cannot be purchased as a host only, they are listed as a complete light.
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*The Flashaholic's "Must-Have" List* (Top 10 Lights by Ranking) *currently 17 or More Nominations*
---#1: HDS Systems EDC (Ra Clicky)
---#2: SureFire 6P
---#3: Zebralight H501
---#4: Nitecore D10
---#5: SureFire A2
---#6: SureFire C2
---#7: SureFire M6
---#8: (2-way tie)
------- Fenix E01
------- iTP A3 EOS
---#9: LiteFlux LF2XT
______________________
The Nominees (& Number of Nominations) - 790 Votes so far *Updated through Post #689*
Highest Number of "Must-Have" Votes by Manufacturer (Those w/ 2% or more)
To fit in this category, it must meet the following criteria:
*NOTE: The below criteria were updated in 2011 to remove restrictions which made it impossible for some to list all of their true "must-have" lights.
- It has to be a "must-have" for you. Meaning, of the lights you own, this one is a "must" have - and therefore you would never consider selling it. (unless of course you were in dire straits)
- It must be a specific light - this is a specific "must-have" flashlight for you, not a favorite manufacturer or line of flashlights
- It is not a list of lights you own - if you have more than one light you feel is a true "must-have" light, feel free to list more than one. However, we want to avoid individuals indiscriminately listing all their lights. **Please limit your total votes to no more than seven (7) lights. This doesn't mean you should automatically list 7 of your lights, but this is the limit.
I'll start with my own "must have" lights: Ra Clicky - extremely versatile, practically indestructable and highly efficient / M6 - one of the best incans with tons of options making it a very practical incan / A2 - one of the only regulated incans available, with the practicality of long-run LEDs when needed / McGizmo Haiku - simply perfection of design, beautiful beam pattern, indestructable Ti.
NOTE: For those of you who are non-Flashaholics or new to this forum, you should be aware that several of the models lend themselves to be very easily modded. For example any of the models using a P60 sized dropin (developed by SureFire), such as the SureFire 6P, C2, Solarforce L2, L2m, etc., can be easily converted from an incandescent to LED, or from a stock LED to a new higher output LED. In fact, this ability to easily be modded/upgraded may in fact be large factor for it being included in the "Must-Have" list. As these lights cannot be purchased as a host only, they are listed as a complete light.
______________________
*The Flashaholic's "Must-Have" List* (Top 10 Lights by Ranking) *currently 17 or More Nominations*
---#1: HDS Systems EDC (Ra Clicky)
---#2: SureFire 6P
---#3: Zebralight H501
---#4: Nitecore D10
---#5: SureFire A2
---#6: SureFire C2
---#7: SureFire M6
---#8: (2-way tie)
------- Fenix E01
------- iTP A3 EOS
---#9: LiteFlux LF2XT
______________________
The Nominees (& Number of Nominations) - 790 Votes so far *Updated through Post #689*
- HDS Systems EDC (Ra Clicky) (66)
- SureFire 6P (38)
- Zebralight H501 (31)
- Nitecore D10 (29)
- SureFire A2 (21)
- SureFire C2 (20)
- SureFire M6 (19)
- Fenix E01 (18)
- iTP A3 EOS (18)
- LiteFlux LF2XT (17)
- 4Sevens Quark AA (16)
- 4Sevens Quark MiNi AA (15)
- Malkoff M61 P60 Drop-in * (14)
- SureFire LX2 (14)
- HDS Systems EDC Twisty (Ra Twisty) (13)
- Fenix TK20 (12)
- SureFire U2 Digital Ultra (12)
- Maglite/KevinL Mag ROP (11)
- McGizmo Haiku (11)
- Photon Freedom (11)
- Muyshondt Aeon (10)
- Dereelight DBS (9)
- 4Sevens Quark AA^2 (8)
- Malkoff MD2 * (8)
- SureFire L1 (8)
- SureFire E1B (8)
- SureFire E2DL (8)
- 4Sevens Quark 123 (7)
- 4Sevens Quark MiNi 123 (7)
- Arc AAA (7)
- Fenix L2D/LD20 (7)
- Fenix TK40 (7)
- Lummi Orb RAW (7)
- Maratac AAA (7)
- SureFire E2e (7)
- Fenix LOD/LD01 (6)
- NovaTac 120P (6)
- 4Sevens Quark MiNi CR2 (5)
- 4Sevens Quark 123^2 (5)
- Cool Fall Spy007 (5)
- Fenix TK11 (5)
- Malkoff MD3 Wildcat (5)
- Nitecore EX10 (5)
- Zebralight SC50 (5)
- Maglite Mini-Mag 2xAA (4)
- Peak Eiger (4)
- Princeton Tec EOS Headlamp (4)
- SureFire C3 (4)
- SureFire G2 (4)
- 4Sevens Preon II (3)
- EagleTac M2XC4 (3)
- EagleTac P20C2 mkII (3)
- Fenix TK30 (3)
- Maglite 3D (3)
- McGizmo Sundrop (3)
- Modamag Draco (3)
- Nitecore EZAA (3)
- Olight M20 Warrior (3)
- Oveready Bored/Modified 6P Host * (3)
- Solarforce L2 (3)
- SureFire 9P (3)
- SureFire Titan T1A (3)
- Zebralight SC30 (3)
- Zebralight H51 (3)
- 4Sevens Quark Turbo 123^2 (2)
- 4Sevens Preon I (2)
- Arc 6 (2)
- BigBeam Lantern (2)
- CMG Infinity (2)
- Cool Fall Tri-V (2)
- Eveready Dolphin (2)
- Fenix HP10 (2)
- Fenix P2D/PD20 (2)
- Fenix PD30 (2)
- Fenix TA21 (2)
- Jetbeam Jet-1 Pro (2)
- Jetbeam RRT-0 (2)
- Jetbeam M1X (2)
- Lummi Wee (2)
- Mac Customs SST-50 EDC (2)
- Mac Customs Mag623 (2)
- Mag-mod Mag P7 (2)
- Malkoff M60 P60 Drop-in * (2)
- Malkoff Mag Drop-in * (2)
- Malkoff Hound Dog (2)
- Olight SR 90 Intimidator (2)
- Photon Micro-light II (2)
- Polarion PH40 (2)
- Solarforce Masterpiece Pro 1 turbo head * (2)
- Stanley HID 0109 (2)
- SureFire E2D (2)
- SureFire E2L (2)
- SureFire L4 (2)
- Tiablo A10-G (2)
- 4Sevens Quark RGB (1)
- 4Sevens Preon REVO (1)
- 4Sevens Quark MiNi AA^2 (1)
- AELight 35/50 HID (1)
- Arc LS (1)
- Arcmania X6 (1)
- Black & Decker 2AA Clip Light (1)
- Coast X-21 (1)
- Deft HO (1)
- Delghi Iris (1)
- Dereelight C2H (1)
- Dereelight Javelin (1)
- EagleTac P10A (1)
- EagleTac P10C2 (1)
- EagleTac T20C2 MKII (1)
- EagleTac P100A2 (1)
- Electrolumens Anglelux 1W (1)
- Electrolumens EDC MCE (1)
- Energizer AA headlamp (1)
- Fenix E10 (1)
- Fenix LD10 (1)
- Fenix TK10 (1)
- Fenix TA30 (1)
- Fenix TK45 (1)
- FiveMega D36 1x26650 Host * (1)
- Gerber Infinity Ultra (1)
- HyperBeam Elite 7G (1)
- IlluminaTi R5 (1)
- iTP A1 (1)
- iTP A2 (1)
- iTP C7 (1)
- Jetbeam Jet-I AA (1)
- Jetbeam Jet-III M (1)
- Jetbeam RRT-1 (1)
- Jetbeam TC-R3 (1)
- Led Lenser P7 (1)
- Led Lenser V8 (1)
- Lighthound 5mm Keychain (1)
- Lumapower D-Mini VX Ultra (1)
- Lumapower Incendio XP-G (1)
- Mac Customs SST-50 Mag Drop-In (1)
- Maglite Mini-Mag LED AA (1)
- Maglite XL100 (1)
- Maglite 2D (1)
- Maglite Solitare (1)
- Malkoff M31 P60 Drop-In * (1)
- McGizmo McLux III PD-S (1)
- McGizmo Ti-PD (1)
- Microfire Pioneer (1)
- Moddoo Triple-XPG P60 Drop-in * (1)
- Muyshondt Mako (1)
- Neofab Legion II SST-50 (1)
- Nitecore Defender Infinity (1)
- Nitecore EZCR2 (1)
- Nitecore SR3 (1)
- Olight M30 (1)
- Olight T25 (1)
- Peak Beam Systems Maxabeam (1)
- Pelican 7060 LED (1)
- Petzl Takktica XP (1)
- Photon Proton Pro (1)
- Photon Rex (1)
- Polarion PH50 (1)
- Power On Board 35W HID (1)
- Princeton Tec Apex (1)
- Princeton Tec Pulsar II Red (1)
- Rayovac 300L Lantern (1)
- Rayovac 2AA Penlight (1)
- Romisen RC-G2 (1)
- Romisen RC-N3 (1)
- Solarforce L2M (1)
- Solarforce L2P (1)
- Solarforce L2R (1)
- Streamlight Strion (1)
- Streamlight SuperTac (1)
- Streamlight Stinger XT (1)
- SureFire 6P LED Defender (1)
- SureFire E1e (1)
- SureFire E1L (1)
- SureFire G2Z (1)
- SureFire G3 (1)
- SureFire M2 (1)
- SureFire M3TL (1)
- SureFire Saint (1)
- SureFire Stratum (1)
- SureFire Z2 (1)
- SureFire Helmet Light HL-1-D (1)
- SureFire 6P LED (1)
- Thrunite Catapult (1)
- Thrunite P60 3-mode Drop-In * (1)
- UltraFire C3 (1)
- UltraFire RL-2088 (1)
- Velore AA (1)
- Vital Gear FB1 * (1)
- Wolf-Eyes M90 (1)
- Zebralight H30 (1)
- Zebralight SC60 (1)
Highest Number of "Must-Have" Votes by Manufacturer (Those w/ 2% or more)
- SureFire - 187 (24%)
- HDS Systems - 79 (10%)
- 4Sevens - 73 (9%)
- Fenix - 71 (9%)
- Zebralight - 44 (6%)
- Nitecore - 40 (5%)
- Malkoff - 34 (4%)
- iTP - 21 (3%)
- LiteFlux - 17 (2%)
- McGizmo - 16 (2%)
- Photon - 15 (2%)
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