Best Bang for your Buck?

Small Sun ZY-C10-S
1-18650
Adjustable flood to throw
Around $15 shipped

It's one of my most used lights. It's an AMAZING thrower for the price. It also has a low mode and can flood for things up close. I've been grabbing this lately instead of my tk70 to look at things in the distance. The main thing I dislike about it is the strobe mode that you have to cycle through to get back to high.

I also think the Xeno E03 is a great value. I own one and a friend of mine has 2. No issues with any of them. Nice floody beam and the ability to use a 14500 for LOTS of light.

What do you consider the best value(s) in flashlights today, and why?

disclaimer:
Defining value I simply mean, 'what you get for what you pay'. By this definition a $15 dollar light may or may not be a good value, and the same could be true for a $150 light.

Also, I am not asking you to recommend me a light, I am merely curious what peoples' thoughts are.

For the 25 bucks I spent on it my Fenix e05 is probably my best bang for the buck considering its been living on my keychain for the last year.

I use it a lot more then my surefires or TK41. I do love the quality of the malkoffs also, there is a lot of value in the relatively inexpensive price tag for these dropins.

Mini Maglite Pro+...245 lumens and accelerometer-switched low mode for less than $35. :thumbsup:

W/o mentioning a particular light, the concept is really wide open. (IE: Everyone will just tell you to get a particular light)

Some people just collect lights, and/or just want the WOW factor...so if its really bright/throws a beam really far or is made by XYZ company, they love it.

Others use the lights for particular tasks, and, might value the light's survivability, even if its dimmer, they know it will WORK....or the lights' throw, because they need to search for/shoot something far away, or a light's tint or color rendition, or ability to flood, or to go on/off with a particular UI that works best for their application, and so forth.

So, after an individual weighs all the above, they'd have to then factor in price to GET that feature set, and decide what's the best value.

That's a tall order. People make the choice all the time though...over and over again, which is why its easier for most people to tell you the lights they BOUGHT that met these criteria, and most people do buy what they felt was the best value...for THEM.

As the people will tell you they bought different lights than each other, its because THEY came to different conclusions than each other.


Now - If YOU asked this question to save YOU from going through the same thought process, THEIR conclusions will be what YOU base YOUR descisions on.

You can weigh their choices, but, you won't have the factors needed to weight YOUR choices.

YOU should think about what's most important to YOU, and then look for a cost effective solution.

Otherwise, you just get everyone telling you to get what they got.



Then its more like "I want a light with xyz and abc charactoristics, what's the best deal?"

And you'll STILL get everyone, on average, telling you to get what they got...BUT, there will be a context where they mention how THEIR light met your criteria.

EO1. $12.50 without looking for cheaper, bombproof, reliable, long running AAA vampire. Thrunite T10 is really growing on me, firefly, 9, 115lm, runs great on Eneloops, and the memory is a game changer in this class. Nicely made, great ano, lightweight, and no missed shifts with the memory. I like it... Edit: great beam, too.

Thrunite Ti

Keychain light: Fenix EO1
Handheld light: Solarforce L2 with multilevel Cree XML drop-in (cheap, bright, upgradeable/never out of date, available accessories make it more useful for various tasks)
Headlight: PT EOS headlight (settings and beam patterns are perfect for the most tasks, waterproof, well built and lasts, lifetime warranty)

BIG45-70 said:

For the 25 bucks I spent on it my Fenix e05 is probably my best bang for the buck considering its been living on my keychain for the last year.

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I agree. Great little light :thumbsup:

Robin24k said:

Mini Maglite Pro+...245 lumens and accelerometer-switched low mode for less than $35. :thumbsup:

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I haven't tried one of these, but it's good to see Maglight catching up.

scout24 said:

EO1. $12.50 without looking for cheaper, bombproof, reliable, long running AAA vampire. Thrunite T10 is really growing on me, firefly, 9, 115lm, runs great on Eneloops, and the memory is a game changer in this class. Nicely made, great ano, lightweight, and no missed shifts with the memory. I like it... Edit: great beam, too.

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I haven't owned an E01, but it's a classic value light. The T10 is my new favorite light. You named all of the reasons I like it. It's hard to call a $30 light perfect, but...

JerryM said:

Thrunite Ti

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I agree that this is an incredible value for $16

Hooked on Fenix said:

Keychain light: Fenix EO1Handheld light: Solarforce L2 with multilevel Cree XML drop-in (cheap, bright, upgradeable/never out of date, available accessories make it more useful for various tasks)Headlight: PT EOS headlight (settings and beam patterns are perfect for the most tasks, waterproof, well built and lasts, lifetime warranty)

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The L2T I own is so well made for only $20 that it's hard to justify buying a more expensive P60 host. It accepts 18650's too.

@Teej Is it possible you over thought the question :nana:

There are a lot good sales going on on 4Sevens lights these days, I understand due to the re-branding.

XML Quarks, R5 Quarks, Ti Minis, etc all in the low $40s delivered... I picked up a few.

Sipik SK68, if you find one for $5 and are lucky, it's an Ebay/China lottery kind of deal.
Great little zoom AA/14500 light if you get a good one.

My best value was my Surefire E1b. I have a ridiculously reliable LED light.
I have lego'd it with an E2DL tail, E1D head with the EO1R bulb and IMR16340 batt for 60 lumens.
It's like having a small 6P. Small, bright, great throw.

The Zebralight SC80 seems like a good deal, it runs on many different battery configurations, has several modes available and from the torture test of other Zebralights I've seen it should be very durable.

Got 3 Gerber Infinity Ultras on sale once for $5 each. Gave 2 to friends (both were pre-flashoholic until I gave them these), and both of them now carry these everywhere, and use them often. With the one I still have, I'm tempted to have someone who knows what they're doing swap out the emitter for a high CRI led, and polish the anodizing off of the reflector surface, but cost of the mod would be kind of contradictory to having an inexpensive best bang-for-the-buck light. I wish I was better at DIY mods.

At regular prices, I think the Fenix EO1 makes a great value. I've given several away.

Hard to go past the $0.38 fauxtons (I give them away at every opportunity), but for myself I like the extra functionality and less side glare from a covert nose Photon Freedom Micro for $8.95

Gonna have to go with the Malkoff 2-3D XPG drop in. 70 or whatever ther drop in was new, the mag 2D, couple drops of silicone sealant, a couple inch wide rubber bands and a thicker O-rings and my bright, super long run time light was done. Simple and bullet proof. Pricey, to some but not sure you could get this power/reliabilty/run time for less. Had it since I joined CPF, and aside from being a light, its been a tire thumper, door handle beater and an ice breaker. Never failed.

The big rubber bands go over the switch and the junction of the body and head. They do not put enough pressure on the switch to activate it, but do help seal water out. Silicone around the edge of the lens. Thicker O rings replace the already good stock ones. All this made it completely water proof. Not a dive light, but no concerns about it getting a dunk either.

AlphaZen said:

I agree. Great little light :thumbsup:I haven't tried one of these, but it's good to see Maglight catching up.I haven't owned an E01, but it's a classic value light. The T10 is my new favorite light. You named all of the reasons I like it. It's hard to call a $30 light perfect, but...I agree that this is an incredible value for $16The L2T I own is so well made for only $20 that it's hard to justify buying a more expensive P60 host. It accepts 18650's too.

@Teej Is it possible you over thought the question :nana:

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It is possible that I read the question, and saw that it was going to get everyone just saying what light they liked...rather than answer what he was probably asking.

I did consider that he may have not asked the question that he meant to, and at that point, I probably WAS over thinking it.

You may all go back to telling him what lights he would get if he were you.


:nana:

Thought I was answering the question. I have lights I like more than the malkmag, but none I have were the value that it is.

Maglite 2D LEDs. I only buy them from Lowe's on Black Fridays. Just under $15 each. Decent FWD Clicky on the body, super reliable, lifetime warranty I believe, US Made, great runtime, 23,000+ Lux at a meter, and a nice thrower (300+ meters). I have 3 of them: blue, grey, and black.

I've got some great lights but these top my value/ dollar charts

- Fenix LD01 R4 and E01 combo pack for $35 shipped after CPF discount.

- I also really like the Xeno E03. Try out Neutral and Warm XM-L for a value price.