Homestead Light

Hi all,

What's your favorite light to keep charged and ready for action around the house? I'm looking for a light that's not too small or big and comes ready to just plug in and forget so I won't lose it and it will always be charged when I need it.

I don't think anyone here on CPF uses a charge and leave light. They're all pretty much rubbish and they're not charged and ready when you need them because it's been a year since you last used it and now the cheap battery they are made with is cactus. That was my experience anyway.

Better off getting something bright and powered by AA's then get yourself some eneloops and a charger.

Fenix TK40 is a very bright light that just loves to run off eneloops and you only need to put them in the charger once or twice a year to keep them up to scratch. Unless you use it a lot like I do and then you need to charge them once a fortnight.

Or if you're used to something like an incan maglite, just get a Quark AA Turbo and be blown away by it's awsome output from such a small light.

Then again you could get something powered by CR123 lithium batteries that will pump out even more lumens and you know you will have power on hand because lithiums last for a decade of more and won't leak and ruin your light. Get a dozen spare batteries and you're good for ages.

There's a lot of bright lights that could fill this role, a LOT.

I can't speak for the "average" MagCharger, but mine has been kicking *** since the day I got it 8 years ago. I did absolutely nothing to protect the battery, left it in the charger for weeks at a time, and essentially treated it exactly as you'd expect with frequent "top off" charges and zero care or understanding of NiCd chemistry.

Still has a 2 hour runtime on the OEM battery. Not quite as bright as a 2xCR123 or 18650 light (T20C2, M20, TK12, etc, etc) but for fire and forget, in a blunt force weapon sized light, it's good.

YMMV of course. I never bothered to research the MagCharger, since it was a gift that worked absolutely above and beyond my pre-CPF knowledge expectations.