Stil in the dark, need new light

Hello, CPF! :wave:

I spent an hour and a half or so being illuminated (ok, I'll stop now, you've all heard it before anyway, I imagine...) as to the staggering amoung of options in flashlights these days. I am enthralled thus far with the sheer amount of info on this site, but have yet to see a final answer for me. I'm hoping the more enlightened (ok, I mean it this time... that is it) of you can help me out.

So, I had a Lifegear 80 lumens for about a year and used it for everything from camping to working on my computer. Plus, for the last three months or so, I have used it as a helmet light for when I ride my bicycle at night. And I was really happy with it. I told all of my friends about it, blogged about it, and generally thought of it as the best light I ever owned.

Then last week, it died. I clicked it on and off several times and nothing doing. Dead, dead, dead. However, I left it on the table for about an hour and then when I walked back through the room it was back on. So, I clicked it off and then on and nope... it was dead again. It has not revived since, and I have taken it apart as much as I can without breaking it and see nothing obviously askew or disconnected.

So, I need a new light. And here's my form to help give you guys an idea of what I'm looking for.

1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?

Doesn't matter to me. I am fine with either Brick and mortar or internet.


2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest!

Would like to stay under $50, but would not balk at $75-$100 if it bought me a substantial amount of increased durability.


3) Format:

Flashlight, please.


4) Flashlight-specific format/size:

Small to medium... I would like something roughly the same size as the Lifegear I had, if not smaller. It was 4 1/4" long and 1" diameter at the widest part.


5) Emitter/Light source:

LED, but only if it is the best for durability and battery life, as I suspect. Otherwise, I'm open to suggestions.


6) Manufacturer:

Totally down with some DIY hijinks, but really have no preference. I Would love ideas towards both.


7) What battery type do you want to use?

I have some rechargeable AA's that I would love to still be able to use, but would be fine with whatever is more efficient.


8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).

I have no idea. I just need to see far enough ahead of me to not run over a dog or something if I'm cooking down the bike path at 25 mph. I figure anything that can do that will be fine for camping or working on stuff.


9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.

I am a horrible judge of distance. I want to not need to slow down just to see what's in front of me. The Lifegear did pretty well, but I have no idea what kind of throw vs. flood it had.


10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).

No idea. I used my Lifegear for a year or so and replaced the batteries once, I think. Maybe twice. But longer is better.


11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase "you get what you pay for" is very accurate for flashlights.

The main reason I am coming to this forum is durability. I liked the Lifegear, but it conked out on me. I want something that will last a couple of years, otherwise I would probably just get another Lifegear.


12) Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):

No idea. I don't think I want the head-twist type, but if it was substantially more durable or had another benefit, I could change my mind.


13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.

Two light levels would be cool and a strobe would be awesome for bicycling, but really a simple on/off would be ok.


14)Material/Finish/Coating

I'm guessing aluminum is the lightest without sacrificing durability, so that's what I think would be best.


15) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any below.

The red filter/option would be righteous for rummaging around a tent, and a crenelated bezel would be pretty cool, but I'd be ok without either, honestly.


So, what does everyone think? Should I stick with another Lifegear (I'd probably look at the 145 lumens option this time around), or look at something like the Fenix LD20 or PD20?

Any help at all is much appreciated.
Thanks!

The Fenix PD 30 is only 4 1/2 inches long. Incredibly sturdy, 240 lumens with great throw for its size, and has a low light setting for reading.
It doesn't use the batteries you like but if AA batteries are what you want the Quark mini AA has 100 lumen, is also small.
I hace the double AA one its floody but well made.

I think, the Fenix LD10 is what you're looking for:



- Needs 1x AA Battery
- Has a very compact size
- Has different modes which are easy to access!
(In the lowest mode, this thing works for 34 hours, and the lowest mode is still very good for camping etc!)
- You get it for app. 60$

^ that's another great one, my first high end light was the Fenix LD20 whish is the 2 AA version.
Its repectivley longer, maybe 7 inches and 185 lumens. Good spotlight and reasonable flood

I'd consider the 4sevens Quark counterparts to the Fenix lights. Personally, I prefer them due to their programmability, better pocket clip and generous knurling for non-slip grip.

If I was just starting out, I would get a Solarforce L2 along with a couple 18650's, charger and dropin ($40.00), a Maratac or ITP A3 aaa($20.00) and an EOS headlamp ($40.00). These three are very high quality budget lights.

This is kind of tough actually.

You need high runtime, so I want to suggest a 2xAA light, or maybe even a bigger one for good heat dissipation so you can actually run it for a long time.

However, it needs to go on your bike. That makes me think of a headlight, though you did say flashlight.

I am going to offer some links as possible suggestions, but I think we need more feedback on how easy it is to mount a light to your bike instead of your helmet. Or even how you mounted your lifeline or whatever to your helmet.

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_19&products_id=1162
Great size but runtime is only 55 minutes at 80 lumens. It is not hard to carry extra rechargable AAAs though, but it would be annoying.
Also, full blast for extended duration might cause it to get too hot.

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_19&products_id=375
This one is nice because of the infinite adjustment. You can pick exactly what level of light that you want up to 190 lumens, which can really help with runtime. 2xAA means decent runtime also.
Its under 7 inches, but might be kind of big to mount.


http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_19&products_id=374
This is the 1xAA version. A lot smaller but half the runtime obviously.


There are some good (R)CR123 lights which will be shorter and fatter which is what you want. But then you'd have the expense of buying new battery types and chargers. So I kinda want to stay away from that option.

I am a fan of itp because they are high quality budget lights.

The LD20 is a good option too because it uses the latest and most efficient emitter. A bit more expensive and no infinite adjust, but notice the great runtime.

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_18&products_id=908

After a few Mag upgrades I bought a couple of Solarforce L2's. I use a 18650 with one of them and got a L2r (2xAA) I really like both of them I like the size of the L2 a little better than the L2r but like the AA capability of the L2r. Great lights on the cheap.

Jed,

Well, if you want BOTH plenty of output and LONG duration then you're sort of tied to LiIon power w/ 18650 cells. If you can live w/ long duration at med / low output then almost any of the multi-mode AA based lights will fill the bill.

Have you checked the marketplace yet, plenty of nice gear there for reasonable money and many are lightly used or "shelf queens".

Quark AA2 is pretty much the smallest of the 2xAA lights, and offers great maximum brightness for about 75 minutes, but you can run it on "high" which is still gonna be brighter than your previous flashlight and will last for ~5 hours.

It also has flashing modes and a great dim mode for extreme runtime and less conspicuous light (preserves night vision and won't disturb sleeping folks).

~$55 with an excellent reputation for durability.

Thanks for the replies...

I'm not sure I fully grasp the difference between the Fenix LD10/20 and the PD20/30, so I'm looking more closely at them, right now.

And I'll check out the 4sevens Quark stuff as well, thanks.

As to size and mounting on my bike, I like the helmet option for a couple of reasons. One, using the strap I use (which has a curved rubber block attached to it so that you can secure a pump to your bike), I can secure a fairly wide variety of sizes to my helmet. And second, the helmet mount allows much greater visibility, both for me and for traffic around me. I can effectively flash cars that may, otherwise, not see me and being able to look wherever I want while riding makes traveling by night MUCH more pleasant.

As to a headlamp... I've tried that route. They are hard to actually wear with a helmet and tend to move around quite a bit. I can strap down a flashlight to be rock solid and still be able to slip it out of the strap to use for other stuff..

And I guess I'm actually pretty flexible in regards to size. I'm thinking anything shorter than 7" is doable. I bought a cheapo Coleman LED that's 1 1/2" diameter at the bezel and 6 1/4" long and it fits ok... just a little heavy and a weaker than the Lifegear was. Shorter and fatter would be better than longer and skinnier, but only by a little.

fishx65, you make a reference to building my own, I'm assuming? I'll look into that as well. Would that actually be cheaper? and would I be able to fine tune size, power, and features?

And as to the itp lights... the sa1 looks promising, but the sa2 looks out of stock. And are these as durable as the 4sevens or the fenix lights?

Anyway... thanks for the help guys. lovecpf

Hmmm...

S.C. is posting a Fenix TK10 for $50 shipped in the marketplace.
Would that one be a good light for me?

entoptics said:

Quark AA2 is pretty much the smallest of the 2xAA lights, and offers great maximum brightness for about 75 minutes, but you can run it on "high" which is still gonna be brighter than your previous flashlight and will last for ~5 hours.

It also has flashing modes and a great dim mode for extreme runtime and less conspicuous light (preserves night vision and won't disturb sleeping folks).

~$55 with an excellent reputation for durability.

Click to expand...

I dito this person. Quark makes exelent/quality lights. I have one of the Mini's in CR2 battery format. Shine it on High in the trees and it looks like you are holding a searchlight. I put this light on high once and lit a tree nearby. This was before showing my friends the size of it. I turned it off and handed it to one of them and they could not stop laughing and giggling. Not making fun of me or the light, but over how small the light was, they could not believe their eyes, after seeing how much light such a small, and I do mean small light, could put out.

I own a few lights. I have the old style PD-20 which has a square spot on it's body to keep it from Rolling. I think it was a step backwards (the new style one) in design but I suppose the new style ones maybe more compact. I do not know why the change but I know Fenix must have had a good reason. < my opinion a very good company > Before I discovered Quarks this was my first choice for Quality for Buck. I think the two companies just mentioned are both great lights for the money. But you can always spend $20.00, to a thousand or more, it is all in what one wants. My MyShondt AEON > listed below it the cats meow for me.

My lights

1. Preon in AAA Yellow

2. Maratac in AA Black Anodized low-med-high

3. Quark CR2 mini Black Anodized low-med-high

4. Maratac AAA stainless Med-high-low > I do not like that anymore.

5. Fenix EO1 in AAA Olive anodized Very sturdy built for AAA with a pleasing light brightness, single mode output. Yu can pick up these at the Fenix site. fifteen shipped. I often carry two lights. I keep the same battery format when I do this.

6. Fenix old style PD-20 Olive anodized A very pleasing olive color not to dark, just right. google Fenix PD-20 if you want to see what the old one looked like and hopefully you can find specs on it as well. It is a very sturdy built light. You can still buy them. But I think you said you had a lot of AA batteries.

7. MyShondt AEON CR-2 battery format, single cell. This one is high end, but you would not be unhappy with it, but wrong battery again I am assuming. When you hold it and look at it, it screams Quality 100% American everything. I love that light. No gimicks just two modes of what a flashlight should do, provide light. Twist to first setting LOW, then just keep twisting about a quarter to half a turn to high mode. Twist tightness is just right. Stiff but not over stiff. It will definatly not come on accidently. I can very easily operate this light with one hand. Very bright on high. I do not remember the outputs. This will set one back $125.00 and shipping.

8. Almost forgot. Brand new surefire E2E "non LED" if I got the name right. Single Cell CR123. I just bought it because when I first saw this light ( YEARS AGO ) I just had to have one. Their LED version is longer/less compact. Of course it is very high quality "Both of them of course". I am waiting for a quality led drop in that does not require a new head or anything. I think I saw one. But me being inexperienced I do not know the quality of this drop in. Beautiful light, > work of art.

If I would buy a Double A flashlight right now, it would be a hard decision between the Quark Regular/and Fenix (not mini quark) AA flashlight. One persons choice of the Fenix AA is a great recomendation, and would probably be my choice in the end. ( Maybe ) LOL both great lights.

Ok, I may have overstressed the desire for AA batteries.
I'm really quite ok with any type of battery.

I really want to illuminate pretty far ahead of me and I want it to last.
And I want pretty long battery life.

Wow, not picky at all, eh?

And where do I find info on all the different emitters? because I see a lot of similar lights with the emitters being the primary difference. Like XP-E R2, or the XP-G R4, or Q5...

Will the difference in emitter make a huge difference to me; someone unschooled in the technology?

For a bike and utility light, AA batteries will be just great. Unless you want to delve into "exotic" rechargeables, it's tough to beat NiMH AA rechargeables. CR123 offerings will be brighter, and have slightly longer run times, but the cost gets pretty obnoxious over the course of the light (cheapest quality cells will be just over $1 each). Also, AA cells power so many devices that their cost is shared by other electronics in the home.

If you were happy with your LifeGear light, believe me, you will be amazed the first time you get your hands on any of the 1xAA lights from Quark, EagleTac, or Fenix, and you'll probably have puppies when you see the output of their 2xAA lights. There is no question in my mind that even the lowest output of the bunch (Quark AA @ 109 lumens) will be overkill for bike lighting.

As for runtimes, all three of those brands are considered exceptionally efficient, so it's extremely unlikely that the LifeGear would beat them.

I wouldn't stress too much about the various emitters. Fenix, Quark, and EagleTac are all using the latest top tier emitters, which will provide excellent beam quality and optimal efficiency. There are certainly some differences, but I doubt you'd notice them unless you did careful side by side comparisons.

entoptics said:

For a bike and utility light, AA batteries will be just great. Unless you want to delve into "exotic" rechargeables, it's tough to beat NiMH AA rechargeables. CR123 offerings will be brighter, and have slightly longer run times, but the cost gets pretty obnoxious over the course of the light (cheapest quality cells will be just over $1 each). Also, AA cells power so many devices that their cost is shared by other electronics in the home.

If you were happy with your LifeGear light, believe me, you will be amazed the first time you get your hands on any of the 1xAA lights from Quark, EagleTac, or Fenix, and you'll probably have puppies when you see the output of their 2xAA lights. There is no question in my mind that even the lowest output of the bunch (Quark AA @ 109 lumens) will be overkill for bike lighting.

As for runtimes, all three of those brands are considered exceptionally efficient, so it's extremely unlikely that the LifeGear would beat them.

I wouldn't stress too much about the various emitters. Fenix, Quark, and EagleTac are all using the latest top tier emitters, which will provide excellent beam quality and optimal efficiency. There are certainly some differences, but I doubt you'd notice them unless you did careful side by side comparisons.

Click to expand...

Wow.:huh:

Nice. Well, then I'll stop stressing about the possible "perfect" light and just make a decision. Sounds like anything current will be righteous for what I am looking for.

I think I'll go back and look at the marketplace Fenix and Quark lights.

Thanks, everyone! you've all been a huge help.

Someone asked same question in the Budget Forum.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/284134

Personally, I like a floody P7 on the bars and a throwy Q5 on the helmet for biking at night. I might consider the new P-Rocket for bars; looks really bright and has decent spill.

i wouldn't want to ride with a 6" flashlight on my helmet. I have a Solarforce and I find that too heavy/long for helmet.

YMMV.

Little larger but well built is the Fenix TK11 285 lumens, high and low setting. Incredible range for it's size too.