Looking for LED in the UK, £45 budget

Hay im brand-new to this forum and not experienced with torches at all so sorry for any ignorance i display!

I have a Mag-LED 3D i keep in my flat at university and i love it! But back home i have an old incandescent 5D Mag-lite and its a bit useless; very large, dull and low burn time. So i wanted to replace it and i thought i'd just get another Mag-LED maybe a 2 cell.

But having a look around a torch site I noticed that super powerful hand sized torches aren't as expensive as i thought they were. So i noticed the LED Lenser T7, which i can get for just under 40 quid, and thought it looked really good - small, bright, long burn, multiple modes.

But after reading some stuff on here it seems that Lensers might have some probs which worry me - particularly rapid power drop off after initial use (which i know is part and parcel of alkaline cells) and limited effective burn time.

So i was wondering if anyone had any opinions on wither or not i should get the Lenser T7 or better if anyone has recommendations on something better and available online in the UK for around £45 or less.

Thanks

If you're just after something decent and bright, I'd start looking at Fenix, 4sevens and Eagletac. flashaholics.co.uk and thephotonshop.co.uk are in the UK and good to deal with.

There's other brands but those are a good start for decent quality bright flashlights within your budget. The TK20 is just on your budget, and you get a nice E01 keyring torch with it from thephotonshop. flashaholics.co.uk carry Eagletac.

You'll probably find them cheaper from international sellers but there's the customs and handling charges to consider. I think both these sellers have CPF coupon codes too so you save a couple of £'s.

Good hunting.

(which i know is part and parcel of alkaline cells)

Click to expand...

with the lights of that maker, its simply the lack of any regulation driver, do not blame poor cells

I also opt for the Fenix and Quark line
www.4sevens.com ("4 Sevens lights")
www.qualityflashlights.at ... dont ask me, they are located at Your place, even when there is that .at ending.


PS: when You do not yet have a GOOD charger for Ni-Mh / Ni-Cd, then completely skip the outdated 2*AA size and go for:
1*18650 Li-Ion.
the light is a bit thicker and shorter (better to grip), has almost 1.5 times the power in cell. The whole system is considerably cheaper.
With a 6P dropin-style light You can always updrade to the newest led
.
.
.


Beginner style "starting flashlight nut" parts:
light: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.33550
cells: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790
charger: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12594
(You can also find such parts in much better quality at 4Sevens and other shops)

Welcome to CPF!!

It has to be said that the Led Lenser P7 is one of the best throwers I have, and the drop off isn't as dissapointing as most people here say. It will certainly out throw the Fenix TK20. But the others have good advice on internet sites.
I presume you are not looking for a pocketlight? More of a larger, outdoors light, to replace the mag.

Good luck in your search. This will be a well trodden path and a slippery slope!

The TK20 is a nice light for the money.
I also have a P20C2 MkII that is great. That is over your budget but there are other Eagletac lights, older models that I think are good that you can get under £30.
The Lumapower Incendio V3 is a small and bright 1xCR123 light (37.95 at ledfiretorches) if you don't need a lot of throw.

Led Lenser are easy to buy in the UK,no need to use the internet route,just pop in to a good trade store such as Arco or similar and walk out with it plus you can haggle on price and will normally secure a discount of a couple of UK pounds.

For a decent none branded light CPC do a good range,I have a very nice 120 lumens AA cell from them at just under a UK tenner,mail order or there retail counter if you live near Preston

The trade tool vans do a decent range of Led Lenser/Streamlight lights and again haggle on price but I doubt you will get much if any off from Snap On vans.

If you want a decent light that does what it says on the tin type your budget of £45 will serve you very well indeed.

I like many others on here love my ITP lights and Fenix plus there really is countless other quality lights to choose from.

Cyber Lite by Ring Automotive are widely available from stores such as Homebase and the Orion is a very nice well made torch roughly about £16 UK pounds but go to a decent motor factor and you should buy it at a decent discount.

Pic of a good no nonsense easy to use light that I like myself and very happy with for £19.99



Finally myself I like Led Lenser and have 2 or 3 but the one thing that irks me and many others are they are direct drive rather than regulated and I myself would not waste £45 on one,I am quite happy to buy the cheaper ones as that is my main interest ie small single cell lights.

My personal choice would be a Solarforce L2 with whatever dropin that you prefer ... The ones that I bought came with five mode dropins , but I don't like the SOS and strobe modes so I bought a couple of three mode dropins ... They are great and only cost about £8 each ... Single mode dropins are available at the same price ... I use 18650 batteries and get two and a half hours of use per charge on the high mode ... You can buy a Solarforce L2 without the dropin for about £13 or so.

You would need a charger to go with the 18650s and ideally a cheap digital volt meter (£5 from Maplins) ... One advantage of Li-Ion cells is that just reading the battery voltage would give you the level of charge of the 18650 cell ... 4.2V is full charge , 4.0V is 80% left , 3.9V is 60% left and at 3.6V the battery is empty and needs to be recharged.

My first Solarforce L2 cost £18-36 plus £8-35 for the 3 mode dropin on Ebay ... I didn't realise at the time that I could buy just the body without a dropin ... You would need a couple of 18650 batteries (protected ones) and a charger for the batteries ... All this should come within your £45 budget.

If you just wanted an Every Day Carry torch , then I would suggest either an iTP A2 (AA) or an iTP A3 (AAA) or even an iTP A1 (CR123) ... These will all use primary cells or rechargeables ... I use Eneloop low self-discharge rechargeable batteries on the A2 & A3 and Energiser Lithium primaries on the A1.

Good luck with your choice of torch.

Hi Zippo and welcome,

One thing you will find on here is that you do need to narrow down you questions to be more specific as there is hundreds of different types of torches, sizes, user interfaces, emitter types, beam patterns, tints on the beam (warm and neutral are more like the yellowy light you will be used too with the mag lite and give better colour rendition, cool is white light and is often more powerfull, i like white FYI), asherical/TIR lenses etc etc!!!!! it is mind boggling!

i am guessing like me you want as much power out of a smaller package?
easy to use, reliable, decent runtime, good spill and throw (distance) and a good price??????????

this is all of that and an excellent price at the minute (genuine sale price as well so act quick as it end of line)

http://www.ledfiretorches.co.uk/eagletac-p10a2-torch.html

check the reviews on this forum it really is outstanding, and trust me i have had far far far too may torches through my hands looking for the best piece of kit, to name a few Fenix EO1, Olight T25, ITP EO3 SS, Quark 1AA R5 Tactical, Eagle Tac P100A2/P10A2/T100C2( by far my favorite brand ) a couple of Mag Lite Upgrades and loads and loads of Deal extreme junk (apart from Romisen brand) and have spent hundreds of pounds, small fry compared to some of the guys on here but i feel i deserve my 'Enlightened' status

While im on i have also had a LED Lenser V2 Pro and it was so nearly brilliant, but direct drive (starts off VERY bright as it takes power direct from the batteries) means it is useless after 10 minutes, it only leaves you frustrated, i have e mailed LED Lenser and they are bringing regulated lights out next year ( keeps a constant brightness till batteries dead) so wait until then if you like this brand. when they are regulated i would be tempted to go back as the rest of its features are very good.

ANd i have stuck by Alkaline batteries tooth and nail but have give in they are sh*te for these new generation torches, they do work and will get you out of a pickle as they are very easy to come buy, but they cant supply the current these devices need and i have given in and got Sanyo ENELOOP Low Self Discahrge (they keep 75% of ther charge after 3 years) rechargable batteries, which have low internal resistance to supply the current and dont leak like alkalines, and if you buy them here you get the charger and 4 batteries for £8.50.............the batteries alone in Asda are £10!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00373LDSA/

If you buy these you will have a seriously good torch and batteries and a couple of quid change, a total bargin!

The 186500 battery powered torches is good advice as they are seriously powerfull and very impressive, but as you are just starting out, or hopefully just dipping your toe in and get out a it will drain your pockets! but they dont stay charged very long, about a month ive heard? and can be quite explosive if not handled right......................but dont quote me on this as the members on here have experience much more than me and i am probably wrong!:laughing:

ANd on a parting shot if you need a bike light (i use my P10A2 for this) get this mount as well and you have now spent your £45 and are fully kitted out, torch, clip, holster, batteries and charger, and bike mount,

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31871

Of course i could be off hte money on what you are after, but hope i have helped you out a little as we all start some where, and you are going to get a load of advice from the helpfull people on here!


Tom

Eneloops +1 definately a must have for anyone looking to run a high powered led light.

Eagletac P10A2 looks like a very good buy too, but I would also strongly consider the Fenix TK20 if you can find it for a similar price. If you dont mind buying from abroad I believe there is a US seller on ebay selling them for £34.99 at the moment with free shipping to the UK. The TK20 is a seriously good light, virtually indestructible, great tint for outdoors and very impressive throw.

Either of these lights would be a great first light, but the eneloops are a must have. I would recommend going on 7dayshop directly though rather than through amazon, and getting yourself the Panasonic BQ-392 'smart' charger for £11.99, you can then pick up some eneloops at 7dayshop too for about £6.50.

This works out a bit more expensive, but the charger won't abuse your batteries so much as the first one offered and they should last quite a but longer. If you don't have the budget atm though then eneloops are tough cells so you should be okay for a good few hundred charge cycles with the cheap 'dumb' charger anyway!

RedForest UK said:

If you dont mind buying from abroad I believe there is a US seller on ebay selling them for £34.99 at the moment with free shipping to the UK.

Click to expand...

I saw that deal too, but unless they will mark down the value you're looking at paying another ~£15 customs and handling. That's why I won't buy straight from 4sevens anymore, as much as I'd like to. Thephotonshop's deal makes the TK20 about the same price though, minus the value of the Fenix E01 he throws in.

I have heard very good reviews on the Fenix TK20 and did have a think about one myself, as again they get Very good reviews, only thing why i never went for one was the 34mm diameter makes it not that pocket friendly, my T100C2 was the same and i got rid of it for that reason (but the extra diameter gives better throw) i find a 25mm diameter like the P10A2 better, yes it does give up a bit of throw, but from what your used too it will make you fall off your chair!

It depends what you want and if you want and both the P10A2 and TK20 are very fine bits of kit.

if you want it to be very pocket friendly and REALLY cheap, and have good flood and throw try this,

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29095

build quality is off compared to Fenix and Eagletac (by a long way!) but it is £6.50 and i have one and i like it:twothumbs

I also have a Quark 1aa Tactical and has a great U/I etc, but uses the R5 emitter, great flood but throw is a bit pants, if you are getting a pocket friendly item try this,

http://www.thephotonshop.co.uk/page14.htm

The two main suggestions i seem to have are the EagleTac P10A2 and Fenix TK20

These seem to solve my concern with regulation but i have a few probs with them.

First is the seeming lack of focus and second is the size - they both look very small and i would prefer a slightly chunkier light like the original T7 i was looking at.

If i push my budget up to around 50 is there anything in that size with proper regulation that anyone can recommend?

http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/Fenix_TK20.html

Problem solved

Alternatively

www.flashaholics.co.uk use code "CPF" for an 8% discount

Both offer free shipping and very good turnaround times.

So what physical size torch do you want ? ... What output and for how long ? ... What batteries ? ....
.

Buying from the US is nice when you look at the prices and exchange rates, until you get stung on fee's when you come into the country and have to spend another £15... You won't always get caught, so it is a gamble, but at the same time I will admit I will buy 'locally' if I can to try and keep some local dealers active

flashaholics.co.uk I have bought form a couple of times and they have been fantastic each time, including some awesome help in deciding which torch to go for out of a few

As for what torch to go for, I would personally have a look at Fenix and pick whichever looks best to you - they have a good range in your budget, should have something to fit and seem to be decent lights.

Zippo i have justr typed you the mother of all posts and my IE wiped the LOT! i could cry:mecry:

i cannot do it again so bullet point,

Mags are crap (even LED), they don't flood cause they do both at once very well............its years of Mag conditioning of pinpoint throw or doughnut hole flood that makes you think you need it, you dont.

If you cant live without it,

http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/fenix/fenix-e20.html

only one i can think of, simplicity itself, and none in the size you want!

if you cant live without your mag try these mods i have them but all it does is give you a Mag with nice white light on steriods and it has all the same failings as before

http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/TerraLUX_TLE-6EXB.html

http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/Ultra_Clear_Glass_Maglite_Lens.html

these though are heat sinked well (led mags just go dimer to protect the LED as they are bad designs, and use an old fashioned chip)



Do you want to use Fancy batteries? Then this is what you want (another sale price)

http://www.ledfiretorches.co.uk/eagletac-t100c2-mk1.html

Outstanding! End Of!


Please feel free to private message me as i ahve trawled this site for days to gain the limited knowledge i have and can save you the leg work!

Tom

Forgot to say, i think the 'small torches' will knock you off your feet when you actually see how powerfull they are now, and size is not everything trust me!

What they all said ^^^^^^^^

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

Now put your wallet down and step away from the computer.

Well the TK20 is actually quite hefty for a 2xAA light. Size is not everything, you can get lights that you could slip in your pocket that would blow away your Mag-lite led. If you are looking for something that feels good and solid in the hand and is tough as nails in practice as well, with good output and great throw and a bright spill to boot then get yourself the TK20 and be done with it. You will not regret it.

If we are guesing right that you are after a 2AA light and you do like a bit more size then +1 for the TK20.

But if not list ALL your criteria and im sure between us we can give you the definitive answer