Best flashlight for under 30?

Been ATTEMPTING to read up on flash lights and different brands, etc etc. Seems like most of this stuff goes way past my head. Maybe I can give some information on what I need and get some feedback from experienced users? It would be very appreciated!

This is what I want...
-Camping light
-Uses AA batteries.
-Around $30, not more than $40. (can be less than $30 also, if something good is suggested).
-Want it to have a good throw, good flood. Don't prefer one over the other.
-White, warm, colors? Does it matter?

Some suggestions would be nice and greatly appreciated! I have a trigger finger for Amazon, sadly.

Eagletac P100A2
Romisen RC-N3 from shiningbeam.com
Romisen G2 from shiningbeam.com
ITP A2

There should be some others, I just can't think of it right now... I bet others will chime in.

Xeno EO3 with the optional diffuser.

Fenix MC-10 is my fave camp-light. Good neutral beam. Not too throwey and not too floody. It comes with a beam-shaper diffuser to flood out the beam. Around $42, so its a little over your price range... but given its form factor I think its $$ well spent, and it can cover a LOT of different hands-free outdoor active applications.

It draws ~3A on turbo so Alkaline cells don't really work that well. Its about 120 Lumens at its brightest setting.

Lightdadark said:

Xeno EO3 with the optional diffuser.

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I will second the Xeno E03. Just, without the diffuser. It has a great beam right out of the pack.

Available in cool, neutral and warm white. I have the neutral and the color is amazing. It does start on medium though, which may bother some. 14500s also accepted for absurd brightness.

+1 for the Xeno E03, great runtime (3 modes), option for led tint.

for 2xAA I would recommend a solarforce L2r, for less than $30 it is reliable, great runtime and bright.

For camping light make sure to have multi mode light with option for long runtime. Also backup light is a necessity. 2 lights is better than one and for $30 dollars you could afford to have 2. Tank 007 and Romisen are great budget lights.

there are a lot of options in the $32-40 range that you can find on Amazon or great places like GoingGear.com:

Fenix E21
Ealgletac P100A2
Jetbeam BA20
iTP SA2
just to name a few.

but under $30, it's not as easy. last month, Amazon had 20% off all Fenix lights for a few days and the E21 was $25 while the offer lasted, but those deals don't come around often.

there are a ton of good quality, under $30 lights you can buy from Chinese dealers, the Solarforce L2r being one of the best of them, but you really have to do your research and know what you're getting beforehand because once you get one, practically speaking, you're not going to be able to return it.

if you're just looking for a really basic light that you're only going to use a few times a year, a Mini Mag LED really isn't that bad an option. it has some limitations - the plastic lens scratches really easily and unlike the more expensive lights which maintain a relatively constant output on draining batteries, the Mag's output falls right along with the batteries - but it's cheap, it easy to find, and it has a lifetime warranty. i've seen them for as little as $12 on sale. if you get one, make sure you get the newest model and that you don't pay more than $18 for one.

Consider the Streamlight ProTac EMS:
http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=226

Ideal features for an outdoor light:

-Forward clicky with momentary.

-Three well spaced levels.

-Starts with a 3.6 lumen low level.

-High at 50 lumens is sufficient for most camping needs.

-Decent, but not exceptional, runtime.

-Waterproof to IPX7, enough for camping.

-Can be found for 40 bucks or less.

.

Chalk another one up for the Xeno E03. Great performance off of Nihm or Alkaline, ridiculous with li-ion. $30, or a few more for neutral or warm tint.

Bigmac_79 said:

Chalk another one up for the Xeno E03. Great performance off of Nihm or Alkaline, ridiculous with li-ion. $30, or a few more for neutral or warm tint.

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in hkequipment they sell same price regardless of tint, also sold in ebay.

If the Streamlight ProTac EMS is too expensive at 40 bucks, here's a couple of bargain lights for less than 20 bucks.

Brinkmann ArmorMax 1AA:
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Brinkmann_ArmorMax_1AA_Flashlight_809-1095-0.php

Only 14 bucks, good reviews on CPF, rugged, tail clicky, and a single level of 50+ lumens.


Inova X1 LED:
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Inova_X1_LED_Flashlight.php

Only 20 bucks, good reviews on CPF, momentary capability, two output levels with a low level of 6 and high of 50+ lumens. An added bonus: available at your local Target store.

.

How about the Sipik SK68? It is a single mode 1 AA light that uses an optic to give flood or throw. It is a pretty nice light for the money. I picked mine up for $10.50.

one thing to consider about lights that use a single AA battery:

these lights don't run well on alkalines batteries. they require a lot of current, alkalines aren't good at delivering a lot of current, and so they work best on nimh or lithium batteries. if you use alkalines on them, you get drastically reduced runtimes.

if you want to use alkaline batteries, you want to be able to distribute the load over more than one battery. the more the better. also, IIRC the larger the alkaline the better, so i would avoid lights that use AAA batteries. i guess you could go 2 D batteries, but that's a lot of weight. 2 AA isn't an ideal setup, but i think it's the best compromise.

ITP A2 should be fine for camping.

Thank you everyone for the responses!

I have a lot to review on here, but it seems like the Xeno E03 is getting the most attention.

Amazon had 20% off all Fenix lights for a few days and the E21 was $25

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can't believe I missed that I literally started searching the beginning of this month... if only I was a bit earlier. Thanks for making me sad. :ironic:

Also, anyone in here have any experience with the Nebo Redline? It boasts 220 Lumens... Wondering if anyone has a clue about this manufacturer and why the price is so good? http://www.amazon.com/Nebo-Redline-Tactical-Flashlight-Strobe/dp/B0049M8I22

Thanks everyone! I'll be checking up on all the posts and see what suits me best.

Solarforce L2r 3 mode.

Solarforce L2r 3 mode

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So... Solarforce L2r 3 Mode VS. Xeno E03, Neutral White....

...opinions?

I have the EO3 neutral myself and it is a nice light. Mostly use a AA primary but it's a lot of fun with a 14500.

CPFnooblet said:

So... Solarforce L2r 3 Mode VS. Xeno E03, Neutral White....

Click to expand...

those are 2 very different lights and it's hard to compare them in just a few words. there's a lot of info already available in the forums about both the Xeno and the Solarforce. try searching the Budget Lights sub-forum for the Solarforce. try CPF Marketplace for the Xeno.

CPFnooblet said:

So... Solarforce L2r 3 Mode VS. Xeno E03, Neutral White....

...opinions?

Click to expand...

Well the obvious difference is the form factor: 1xAA (xeno) vs 2xAA (Solarforce). With the solarforce you could upgrade the drop in to a high voltage drop in and use 14500 Lithium Ion cells but you can use 14500 with the xeno right out of the box. I guess the other advantage to the Solarforce is that you can really swap in any p60 drop in you want depending on voltage.