I don't have a Princeton Tec

I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

But I want one (or two or three).

Which should I go for? Surge? Tec 40? Attitude? Something else?

I don't *need* it for anything in particular. I'm just in the mood to get some cool new flashlights.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Get a 5 watt LS. Get some metal C/D cell lights. Get some heatsinks from lambda.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

I don't think I'm quite up to that level yet

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

The Attitude is a nice everyday carry, and the Surge for when you want a bright light. There is also the Blast supposed to be small and bright. I lean toward the LED my self.

Texas Tactical P Tec pages

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

The three PT lights that you mention are all reasonably good given their design intents and cost. Really depends upon your needs. If you are looking for a pocketable long lasting led, the Attitude is good and will suffice as a walking light and can also be made a little more versatile by getting a Rage lamp for it. A comparably priced and similar output 3 led you might also consider is the SL Cliplight. The Surge may be one of the better deals for simply providing alot of light for the dollar, but you are carrying 8 cells of weight. The Tec40 is a good compromise light insofar as weight vs beam is concerned. There are two variants of reflectors for the Tec40 -- smooth and textured surface. I haven't used the textured surface but the smooth reflector casts a long beam. Given the PR base lamp of the tec40 some modding is possible. You might also want to consider the UK 4AA, which although slightly longer, has a switch and smaller head and thus more easily fits the pocket. Again, it all depends upon your needs. Hmmm, of the three, how about a dark body Attitude and a red Surge.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

as you mentioned above, i suppose Tec 40
as it out 4 watts halogen bulb (SF 65 lumen abt 5.3 watts)
which give a bright tight beam.
but it is a little bit bigger i think
also impact 2 is quit a dg choice for LED

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Two of the least expensive and most "cool" (IMHO) are the Attitude ($16 @ TTS) and the Rage ($9 @ TTS).

They are both bright, compact, easy to carry and highly durable. The Attitude has become my favorite and "workhorse" flashlight. Bright enough for most uses while dim enough not to overwhelm its use as a task light (try using a Brinkmann LX as a task light and you'll go blind). Since it is unregulated, it will drain every last electron out of the batteries and last a really long time. For routine use I use NiMH and just recharge them when I can see any loss in brightness.

The Rage is just plain cool 'cause it is so small and compact and yet puts out a REALLY BRIGHT and smooth beam. I don't use it as much 'cause the Attitude fills so many of my needs. But... I keep one in the car for an emergency light (along with an Infinity Blue-Green on lithium for long life). The only weak point of the Rage is that it gives only about an hour of that REALLY BRIGHT light per set of 4 AAAs. Although, I have NiMHs on hand, so if I ever use it routinely...the cost for batteries will be very tiny.

Another nice thing...if you have them both, they share all of the components except the light head (the heads are interchangeable). You can use the mostly spent AAAs from the Rage in the Attitude and still get more useable light from them.

So...if you want to amaze your non-flashlight friends, pull a Rage out sometime and they won't believe how bright a really compact light can be. It blows away a 2AA MagLite and virtually all flashlights that most people have ever seen from a drugstore or Walmart.

And...if you want to amaze yourself, use an Attitude for your other flashlight needs and be pleasantly surprised how such a small, inexpensive LED light can do such a great job in a such wide variety of usages.

Plus...buying these two in a single order won't break the bank!

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Some reviews for you to look over to help you with making a decision:

http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/princetontec_attitude.htm

http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/princetontec_impact.htm

http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/princetontec_impact2.htm

http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/princetontec_rage.htm

http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/princetontec_tec40.htm

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Get a Attitude, a rage lamp assy. You will have either bright light for 1 hour or soft white light for a very long period. And the size of either of them makes em really pocketable. The tec40 is another nice "not-so-small" light that cast a nice bright beam.

I find the Tec40 a better light than the Surge in certain cases. When a 3D Whitestar is used in the Tec40, it gives a very white and nice beam. Compared to the yellow cast of the Surge on used rechargable batteries, it's better in a size for light output package.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

I like the PT Surge. It's a great, very bright incandescent that puts out more light than anything in it's class. I just used it in a power outage last night. Plenty of light and longer run time than expensive lithium lights.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Also consider a headlamp for when you need both hands for other tasks. PT makes some good ones and waterproof. I have a PT Solo and I like it.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Get an e2 and be done with it- you dont want anything inferior do ya?

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

For $10 - $15, you just can't go wrong with a PT 40. They are the brightest, most compact package for the money. Its really a shame not to have one.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

You should like the TEC 40!

Mine has a KPR103 (3 cell) bulb in it with 4 Alky AAs. It has a textured (orange peel type) reflector. It casts a beam that is so smooth and white that I lit up a building some 200ft +- away well enough that my buddy with an SL35X (Big honking 4-5 D cell size light) said "WOW!".

My UK 4AA AS2 is pretty bright, somewhat oval beam, quite a bit tighter than the TEC 40. As it uses a propritery bulb, I can't make it brighter, but like it pretty good as is.

My SL 2AA Pro Poly if is anything like the 4AA, you will find a nearly Lazer Tight beam.

So, the TEC 40 is most useful as a task light (though so bright you might go blind!!) The UK 4AA is a compromise, And the SL 2AA (and possibly the 4AA) is want you want for reach.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

I have the same set up as Playboy Joe Shmoe,
4AA alklaines, KPR-103, and textured reflector and it rocks. I would put this light up against my 4D maglite anytime. I use my PT-40 when I'm hiking in the canyon and it doesn't have any problems lighting up a path 10 feet wide
20-25 feet away. The broad beam is so useful. Both of my friends who own a Scorpion and
Legend Lx were impressed with the PT-40.
Buy the light, you were be dissapointed.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

I mean you WON'T be dissapointed. Woops.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

I would recommend the Surge running on 4 NiMh AAs. It is about 1/3 less bright as with 8 alkalines but is much lighter (as in weight) and has the advantage of being rechargeable. Even in this dimmer setup, it is still a very bright light for it's compact size. With 4 NiMh it can still outdo my 4D Mag. With 8 AA alkalines it pretty much stomps my 4D Mag.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

I'm pretty new to this game, but for the last couple years the PT 40 is the one I always have in my pocket around the campfire when I go camping. It really is bright, and I can vouch for the durability. I have no doubt there are much better lights out there, but for the price I'm not aware of anything I'd rather have.

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

So maybe a Surge, Tec 40, Attitude, and a Rage lamp? That should just about cover me for Princeton Tecs...

Cool! Thanks, guys!

Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my Attitude.

If it weren't for my Madmax equipped M!n!M*g (on my belt whenever I have jeans on - which pretty much is only when I'm not sleeping...) I would most likely take my Attitude every day. It puts out a decent slightly blue amount of light, and weighs nearly nothing.

I guess I should mention my Impact here as well. It is the LED version of the TEC 40. It uses one LED and a focusing lense to throw what is supposed to be a 100ft beam. I don't think so, and don't really like the beam pattern all that much. That said, a couple days after I looked at it and my other LED lights to comment on another thread, I noticed light coming from it. It was still fairly bright. The batteries measured right at 1 volt each after a couple days on. So it is useful as an emergency light.

Still, get that TEC 40!!! I just don't see any way you could be dissapointed!!!