Need flashlight recommendations

Hey everyone,

A friend referred me here after I made a post asking about a good flashlight.

I love flashlights and every once in a while I want to buy another one. For a long time I've asked and asked for a Mag-Lite and finally bought one after several Christmas' went by.

I want/need a good, multi-purpose, BRIGHT flashlight.

I'd like to keep it 2D Mag or smaller (better). Relatively inexpensive (under $50 but heck, whatever will please me I'll buy) and good battery life.

I may end up on a Search and Rescue one night and this light would be great to depend on, but I'll probably just end up using it for play. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks

Welcome Colonel! You've come to the right place...

Think a Streamlight Twin Task 3C would be sufficient for your needs... Do a search on the forums here, and you'll find lots of favourable comments on it, its a Xenon and 6 LEDs (dual function) light. Pretty good multipurpose light... Check out some reviews here!! Also take a look at the other wonderful reviews while you're at it... its got great information...

And I'm sure you'll be getting LOTS more replies to your thread very very soon... Enjoy your stay and since I'm replying ahead of most ppl, a warning: "Watch out for your wallet!" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Thanks Stanley, for the warm welcome!

I'm sure my findhing this forum will definetly result in a lighter wallet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif But it's worth it. One can never have too many flashlights!

[ QUOTE ]
Colonel said:
One can never have too many flashlights!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, whaddya know, you're a flashaholic already!! Next catch phrase that is used frequently here : "Buy 'em both!!" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

welcome to the forums colonel!

first reccomendations, i'll get right outta the way.. www.surefire.com .. nearly everyone will reccomend this company.. they make very compact, and bright lights that run on 123Lithium batteries, however they might not be ideal for S&R as they usually only have an hour of runtime on a xenon bulb.. their prices ranged from the $20's-$200!

since you had "bright" in CAPS, i'll reccomend the Princeton Tec Surge.. it's smaller than a 2D, it takes 8 AA batteries, and it's brighter than a whole platoon of maglites, it's waterproof.. it's usually available for between $20-$30.. the only drawback is recent complaints about the bulbs blowing and the light flooding.. altho the majority of ppl who own this light get along with it perfectly fine..

also from Princeton Tec is the Tec40.. it takes 4 AA's and you can find it at www.texastacticalsupply.com for between $10-$15.. it's not as bright as other lights i'll reccomend, but it can be easily brightened considerably by adding a different bulb to it.. it's normal bulb is a halogen bulb, but many ppl will tell you switching to a krypton or xenon bulb will make it a better spot of light..

then i'll reccomend the Pelican M6.. it's just short of being 6 inches long, and runs on two 123Lithium batteries.. it gets around the same runtime as most Surefire brand lights, but it's definitely a tad brighter with a farther throw.. there's a CPF special going on this light right now (i think) where you can get it for $30 dollars then add shipping..

okay, well i wont write a novel here, i'm sure you'll get many better reccomendations! i haven't even touched on LED lights yet! tho few of them produce nice spots of light like some of the lights i've mentioned, they throw out a boatload of very bright floodlight! i'm talking a wall of white light..

i'm sure you and your wallet will have a great bonding experience on these forums!

-ryan

Howdy-

There are so many good one's out there that you've probibly never heard of.

I would suggest unless you need one in the next 2 weeks to read through some of the posts here. That way you could get a feel of the amazing variety of lights.

Some of the major brands I would look at are Surefire, Streamlight, ARC, Princeton Tec.

What you need to be aware of what you want v. need such as...

rechargable or not,
waterproof or water resistant,
Long runtime/medium brightness or fry your eyballs/short runtime
LED / Incandescent
Common batteries or Lithium 123 cells
Small pocket size, 2 or 3 D cell size, or longer
plastci/metal
heavy/lightweight

We can point you to lights as cheap as $10 or as much as $280+ tactical ones that will impress the hell out of every person that handles it.

Quite a few of us here don't think too hard about buying a flashlight costing $140, that's alot more than your $50 limit. You buy a nice pocket knife lately? Even a Case 3blade stockman pattern like your Dad probably bought for $10 now run $60-$70

Stick around awhile, get comfortable.

GregR

Welcome Colonel!

I suggest you to buy a StreamLight Twin-Task 1L first.This light is using One CR123 battery and offers a patented LED/xenon combination, so you can choose between a super-bright light (xenon) and an incredibly long runtime (LED).
The runtime is about 9.5 hours on LED mode and 2.6 hours on
xenon mode. It is small enough for you to EDC and the price
is about $21.

After buying this light, you can feel the different between the LED and xenon. I just got this light two weeks ago, I love it very much!

I hope the above information can help you.

hehe... get a PT Surge /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif it'll blow over all ur MAgs /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Colonel said:Relatively inexpensive (under $50 but heck, whatever will please me I'll buy) and good battery life.

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First off, WELCOME!
Secondly, flashaholism can be a pretty overwhelming hobby. You may want to start slowly since the first light you buy (If it is anything recommended here.) Is going to shock you with how easily it outshines your Mag.
Stage One: Get a Princeton Tec PT40 as has been recommended from Texas Tactical for $11. It is a really awesome light to start your addiction, will meet all your requirements, and will be quite impressive in the bang-for-the-buck department.
Stage Two Get a Surefire G2. It won't break the bank but will give you a good taste for a small bright lithium. You will sacrifice battery life but you will get a really small bright light that will open the doors to some real eye-burners.
Stage Three Get a second job cuz things are bout to get 'spensive! The sky is the limit once you get into Luxeon Led lights and other surefires but the quality is outstanding. I personally carry an Arc LSH-S and a Surefire E2E. That gives me a tiny light for flood with some throw, and a very small light with great throw. I am patiently waiting for the "right" five watt luxeon to come along! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Have fun and enjoy the addiction!
Jason

Wow you guys! Great responses!

Now I don't know where to start.... maybe I'll just buy several until I have spent $50? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

In the field I'm in, I have heard of Streamlight. They are in the Galls catalog.

Now after reading..

I will add:
-battery life is important... or atleast give me something with inexpensive replacement batteries.

-how much do those 123lithiums run, I'm just now learning about them.. *embarrassed*

-I tried that Brinkmann Rebel with 3 colored filters. I didn't like it stock. I read about the mods you've done to it... only after I returned it! Oh well. It seems I have more lights to try! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-My only thing to base light brightness is by CP, which I'm pretty familiar with. Many emergency lights and flashlights I've seen are based in CP so I have a good idea. But I was at www.afmo.com looking at this Surefire M6 Millenium for $349.. holy cow! 500 lumens but I don't know how to compare that to CP?

Well guys.. I'll check in later today.. and will probably be out looking for a flashlight you've recommended sometime today too. I can't wait! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hi & welcome to CPF.
For 123 batteries, ARC & Battery Station have them for $1.
Surefire has them for $1.25.

Do a search on candlepower versus lumens. You'll find a ton of information and a few arguments about the two measurements.
The lithium 123's run rom just over a buck when ordered from Batterystation.com using the link here, to $8 each at your local Radio Shack, maybe even higher at some camera stores.

wow looks like it's definetly cheaper to go with lithiums then?

Welcome to CPF
Good to see you've decided to go with Surefire, you wont be disapointed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Personally, id recommend you get the Surefire M6, as you will end up getting one anyway.

zyk made a very good suggestion, I think. Get a Streamlight Twin Task 1L. This is likely NOT the light you want, but it's a very good light, and it will let you get some idea of Xenon bulb versus LED. Additionally, it's a very compact, useful light, and you'll probably find some use for it around the house after you've made your final decision about you search and rescue light.

-barry

SureFire M6 is great but I rarely use it. How often do you need 500 lumens at a cost of $7 for 20 minutes.

The SureFire G2 fits your requirements except on long run time - only an hour. 2 123s will cost you $2-$3 mailorder.

Flashlights that take regular AA, C, or D batteries are way cheaper to run, and it's easy to get rechargables for these too.

I like what Jason Burns recommended. However, I personally buy only LED lights now that I have enough incandesents. It's nice not to worry about carrying a spare bulb in case it burns out. The SureFire L4 is a terrific light but nearly triple your budget.

The Streamlight Twin Task series is pretty nice and GREAT bang for the buck! A 2L is almost perfection! At about 30 bucks, you can not go wrong!

The TEC 40 as mentioned a couple times is very nearly the cheapest and best incandescent light that exists! I run a M*glight 4cell Xenon Star bulb with Alkaline batteries in mine. It is brighter than the stock halogen and has a slightly tighter and MORE perfect beam. A soft edged semi flood of light, perhaps 1 foot across at 6 feet away.

I am WAY into good lights cheap! And have several. Ask away if a cheapie catches your eye.

And look at www.brightguy.com !!! You can search by brand, brightness, battery type etc.

And WELCOME!!!!

Skip the entire Surefire line for this. You need a long running light for SAR right? Do you want to be changing batteries in the middle of a rainy forest at 2 A.M., at close to $12 a pop?
Look into the lights by Pelican and UKE. They are bright, inexpensive lights that use AA's or C cells, both easy to find, and inexpensive. The 4AA is good light, with a decent run time.

With UKE mentioned I'll add this.

I have a UK 4AA AS2. It is a bit smaller than the TEC 40, mostly due to a smaller head diameter. It has a clickie switch right where my thumb thinks it ought to be. It makes (in my case anyhow) a fairly tight somewhat football shaped beam.

>runs to bedroom to grab both lights<

Uk is a bit longer at 6 1/8" vs. 5 7/8". Much narrower overall at 1 1/4" (head dia.) vs 1 3/4".

At some 5' up to the ceiling, slightly brighter than TEC 40 (mine with not exactly new batts and a M*g Xenon 4cell bulb) mostly due to a spot in the beam. I also see artifacts in the UK beam that simply don't happen in the TEC 40. Out in the real world, I have used my TEC 40 to light up a building some 125-150' away (made my buddy say WOW!). I imagine the UK will do well too.

>dashes outside to test something<

The TEC 40(in the condition mine is in) will light up the house 3 down and across the street (that my PM6 lights up WELL!) decently. My UK lights it up just a Smidgen better. The beam artifacts I see against a white wall are invisible out in the real world.

So based on my tests, I still recommend TEC 40...

But would think just fine of you if you choose UK!

If you are thinking at all of a Surefire, I recommend a G2 as an introduction to SF quality at an affordable price!

An ElektroLumens light might be good. They use luxeon star, and are very bright. You don't have to worry about the bulb burning out either. My Blaster II with a low dome LS beats my Tec 40 for overall light output, and it runs for a very long time.