General purpose / Emergency family ( wife & kids ) flashlight

I am a brand spanking new poster after lurking for a few years.

I am seeking advice on affordable, dependable GP/Emergency flashlights for the wife and kids. The wife & kids have lost the AAAx1 Ultrafires I bought them, too small I think. I want to get them something not easily lost, good run time, tough, under $20, one mode. I was looking at ROV I2DLED-B Industrial 3 LED yellow flashlights, but could not find a review for the specific model. It promises 150 hrs on alkalines, looks tough enough, big and yellow (so hard to lose). I am open to alternatives. What says CPF???

I currently have:
Surefire G2 Nitrolon w/ 120 lumen head -mounted weaponlight
Ray-o-Vac Sportsman Xtreme 1w headlamp -camping light
Coleman Exponent 4aa lantern -camping lantern
Ultrafire AAAx1 (unknown model) -current EDC light, sucks
various POS wind-up, D-cell, and button battery kids lights -see POS comment

I have just purchased (, and awaiting the arrival of:
Zebralight SC-51w -EDC
4sevens Quark AA2 S2 -EDC alternate
Ray-o-Vac Sportsman Xtreme 4w 3c -check out the yard at night light

Thanks!

Will this be sitting in a bag? Kitchen drawer? Something they might carry with them?

A preference for AAA, AA or D batteries?

If I had to just grab something off the shelf and go, I'd stick with the Energizer LEDs - the industrial models come in a variety of AA and D battery choices. They're cheap, reasonably durable fulfill all the basic requirements for a GP flashlight.

-Trevor

For the kids, get the Romisen RC-G2 II Cree XP-G R5 Flashlight at shiningbeam.com.
For the wife, get the Zebralight SC-51.

I'd look at LED lights powered by 4 AA size cells. These have a physical form of two by two that make a light about 7" long, 1.5" wide with a thin flat side that make them slip into a rear pocket easily. They are small enough to be handy for kid size hands, but big enough to not misplace. Four AA's give decent runtimes. Pelican Products used to make one as did Underwater kinetics and the one I'm looking at now is my Stealthlight. It's waterproof and for me as former HazMat it's got a bunch of intrinsically safe ratings. The Stealthlight really takes a beating.

Tough to stay under $20,I agree with Double A that a 4XAA LED light would be ideal.The Princeton TEC Impact XL is the one that comes to my mind.It is waterproof,can be had in bright yellow and has no switch to fail.The problem is it is $30.I would strongly recommend AAs in whatever light you choose over other common batteries because you can use lithiums instead of leak prone alkalines.

glockboy said:

For the kids, get the Romisen RC-G2 II Cree XP-G R5 Flashlight at shiningbeam.com.
For the wife, get the Zebralight SC-51.

Click to expand...

I agree. I have the Romisen mentioned and it's great for a $20 light. Very bright with small form and uses AA batteries. Get some Energizer Lithiums at Wal Mart and you're set for batteries. They're a little more expensive, but don't leak and have a ten year shelf life so you don't have to worry that they will be dead when you need the light.

Let the kids and wife pick out their own flashlights. This way, they might be less likely to lose 'em.

Your local hardware stores, wholesale clubs, department stores... should have a selection of good flashlights. Nothing wrong with Dorcy, Coleman, Brinkman, store brand, battery branded, ... LED flashlights.

And, don't rule out any ol' flashlight since LED upgrades are available for some.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...plete-list-of-all-LED-PR-flange-drop-in-bulbs

Dead has an excellent point - I dropped in a LED replacement into a $1 flashlight my roomie had in the toolbox.

So far, it's been a surprisingly good performer.

-Trevor

Thanks for the great ideas! I like the concept of let them pick their own and the AAX4 lights, but I have never seen any AAX4 in B&M stores. I may let them shop with me online. Maybe :devil:

I want to stay away from single and double AA/AAA lights due to size, and too many options for them to sift through!!!

Go to Amazon type"flashlight" in search window. Look at the number one item that appears.

Whatever lights you pick, be sure to have boxes of batteries that will power them.

Nothing wrong with a Mag led,my house lights are a 4-d and 3-d cell.Both have hung by the basement door for years.I have the ROV 3-led,2-d cell not super bright but should run a long time.Also like the Energizer 3-led,2-d cheap long run time at Target, wont break the bank cost wise.