Brightest possible flashlight?

I go fishing every year with an old high school buddy up in Voyageurs National Park. There are almost no cabins or lights of any kind. One of our unspoken rituals is, when we hear a strange sound somewhere in the woods next to our campsite, we check it out with our flashlights. As you might imagine, I am always a little embarassed that his lights seem brighter than mine. However, he does not know about this website.

So, next year I would really enjoy blowing him away. I don't want anyhing huge, that would give it away. Just something about the size of a 2-D cell light or so (or smaller). And while watching my buddy's jaw drop wuold be priceless, my budget is not. Please keep the suggestions in the $50-$75 range if possible.

Thanks a lot, and I'll report back the results next August.

An FBOP TigerLight is a little out of the price range and the UltraStinger is 11" long.

How about a PrincetonTec Surge? ~ $25 and waterproof. It consumes batteries and isn't an LED.

Go with one of Wayne's (Elektrolumens) modded light's.Excellent light's with great Floodlight property's.the 3-D light is very nice as it is a 1 watt Luxeon Star. Either contact him or try his E-Bay auction's (when he has some up). In E-Bay: type in "luxeon star" his username is "way_jo"

www.elektrolumens.com

The PT Surge may very well be the best light for you in that price range (and it saves you a ton of money)... There's no other 2D or similar size flashlight out there that would beat the Surge. Of course, guys like the TigerLight or UltraStinger would do the trick, but they're expensive. You can always go for a Brinkmann Mini Q Beam that uses 4 C cell batts. This light has a laser beam for its light and in the woods, can throw very far...

If you want an LED based light that won't bust your wallet, but can still throw a good beam in the dark, you can ask Wayne (ElektroLumens) if he's got some High Dome LSs he can put into a Brinkman 3AA or StarLux body...

A couple of small Al flashlights come to mind:

1. Streamlight Scorpion ($35 + shipping)
2. Legend LX ($21 + tax at Target)
3. ASP Triad (also know as Taclite, $49 + shipping)
4. Surefire 2 cell lights include G2, G2Z, 6P, and E2e (all can be had for less than $75 + shipping).

I think all of these will manage the water fine as long as you do not dunk them.

Cheers.

Why not opt for a 12v handheld rechargable spotlight, like Vector or Optronics 1-3 mill candlepower? Runtime is only 20-30 minutes, but it's BRIGHT and fairly inexpensive compared to other lights that get discussed here.

hey! when you're trying to blow your friends out of the water with photons...get the best...

okay...the best is a very subjective term...

i think the best light for your described need would be the tigerlight.

really...can you put a price on the look on your friends face when you light up the area with the brightest flashlight he has likely seen? didn't think so

or how about a maxabeam?

Maybe a Cyan Luxeon in a 2D/3C direct drive. An LED probably won't blow him out of the water but the color would . I would second Monanza's list with the addition of the Surge.

I checked ebay and Wayne has a 5-W Cyan up, it will probably go too high. The 1-W cyan should be in the right range for you.

5-W Cyan on ebay---
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16037&item=1983852094

I would get a PT Surge (uses cheap 8 AA batteries) and if you don't mind getting a lithium powered light (expensive batteries) get a Brinkmann Legand LX. Keep the LX in your car for emergencies (10 year shelf life & good cold weather funtionality). The Surge is brighter and runs longer than any 2 cell lithium light and is completely waterproof so it's no slouch.

Then, If you want/need brighter, get the Tigerlight. No home should be without some sort of rechargeable flashlight (Tigerlight, Ultrastinger, Surefire 10X etc). The PT Surge works great with 8 AA NiMH rechargeables too.

Another option to consider, and it's well within the price range, is the Underwater Kinetics SL6.

It is the narrowest, brightest beam (narrow=long throw, all other things being equal) I've seen in an incandescent. It uses 6 C cells, so you get reasonably long run time.

I'm not sure if you're looking for throw or width of light. If you're looking for throw, the only things that beat the SL-6 are fancy turbo-heads on Surefires, the mongo Vector spotlights, or the Ultra-Stinger. I'm not sure how it compares to the Tigerlight.

Oh, and the UK SL-6 is a dive light, so you can go swimming.

It's about the same length as a 2D and a little bit wider in one dimension, as the battery compartment is "folded," it's 2 columns of 3 cells side-by-side.

There are links to Underwater Kinetics, and BrightGuy on my Web site (see sig).

Order a spare lamp assembly just in case...and put in fresh C-cells when you're headed out.

Cheers,

Richard

What light does your friend use by the way?

Might give us a better idea as to what kind of power you require.

-Dale

Just got an email ad from Botach (not that I would use them anymore) for Scorpions @ $21.95.

Originally posted by gstplanestoopid:
What light does your friend use by the way?

Might give us a better idea as to what kind of power you require.

-Dale

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yes, This info is necessary before we can recommend a light.

Brightnorm

Budget concious: Legend LX at Wal Mart

Size requirement: Sure Fire M6 w/MN21

Originally posted by StreamChucker:
If you really want to go incognito and blow him away when you turn your light on, build the very easy to do M*g 2C mod. Take out the spring, put in a piece of 3/4" PVC tubing, fill it up with 4 123a lithium batteries, and insert a Carley 808 Xenon lamp. He won't think anything of it. When you turn on the 285 lumen output, he'll be blown away. It will also blow away the Surefire E2, Surges, Streamlight Scorpion, etc. It even outshines the Surefire M3 in a very unassuming package. It's about the equivalent of the $250 Surefire M4. But it only costs $25 to make up the whole thing. The only downside is expensive batteries that only last 50 minutes. Search for this Lemlux mod using "285 lumen 2C" search terms in the Homemade and Modified lights section for details. You won't be sorry. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's smaller than a 2D. You'll laugh your butt off when he sees this one.

StreamChucker

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">WOW!

I never heard about this one before! Carley suspended the 50-100 dollar order, so this might be MY next mod!

Thanks,

How many grains of salt do you have for that 100,000cp figure for the King Pelican? That's the same as the REAL light output of the Vector 1M CP 137CO (aka "banana"). The UK D8 which is also an 8-D light puts out (no kidding) 1200 cp but 225 lumens as it's very broad. Even the UltraStinger is only 16,000CP.

I'd like to know what you think of the King Pelican when you get it.

The tiger suggestions may not be the best because it requires a charger and if the trip is longer than a day, no recourse once the cells runs down.

Streamchucker's suggestion is a new one to me and seems to be the best solution and well under budget. Well done.

MO

Many possibilities here, but it would really help to know what your friend is weilding...are you SURE he doesn't know about CPF?

You have already stated your budget, so that's fine. Many good suggestions have already been posted that would be suitable, such as the Legend LX w/High Output Lamp Module. Have to consider the cost of batteries to operate though, so make your choices carefully.

Some out-of-the-box choices mentioned are good, such as the Princeton Tec Surge (8 x AA batts), as many people virtually swear by them.

One of the brightest and cheapest lights I presently own is this innocent-looking little 'ol Rayovac 4AA light from Big Lots ($2.59) that I have "tweaked" just a little. Swapped the 4-cell lamp for a 3-cell krypton or 4-volt HPR53 Halogen lamp, and viloa - bright! This flashlight has a narrow beam, and with the addition of some WriteRite PDA film on the lens to smooth it out, it's pretty darned impressive for what it is. Had to play around with it a little to center the lamp for a good beam (but remember - only $2.59...). Did I mention that it's waterproof?

Then after whipping this thing out, you can casually just say "Oh, I just picked this up at Big Lots for a couple of bucks...".

Of course, if your friend has something substantial that we don't know about, like maybe a 2D Mag converted to 3C-cells with a Xenon bulb...hey - wait a minute! My little 4AA beats that!

Anyway, keep reading, and try and let us know what you might be up against. Chances are that someone here knows about whatever it might be that your friend is using, and we'll try to find an affordable setup that'll spank it!

Have fun!

John

Bright LED Flashlights from www.InReTECH.com

2AA/18 Lumens
TriLight/54 Lumens
Super6/104 Lumens
Helios/360 Lumens
Mega6/720 Lumens