Looking for the perfect blend of Throw & Flood

I need a light that has great throw, but is not all throw, I guess you could say a medium flood. Been looking at the Nitecore TM 26. Is that the best choice? Will the new Fenix RC40 fit the bill or will it be all throw. Need some advice please.

What distance to you need it to illuminate ?

The Fenix rc40 still has some good throw to it but lower lux numbers than the TK75.
the tm26 sure looks like a good all rounder, as does Thrunites TN30

hivoltage said:

I need a light that has great throw, but is not all throw, I guess you could say a medium flood. Been looking at the Nitecore TM 26. Is that the best choice? Will the new Fenix RC40 fit the bill or will it be all throw. Need some advice please.

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Hello,
Is Lithium your drug of choice or doesn't really matter? If you're going with Li, I'd get the TM26 or the TK75. Pretty close between those as the Fenix seems pretty well proven and the TM26 is more powerful but less track record. Both are good choices though. There are some lights in my signature that better either of those two for throw and output, but they get built to order and use NiMH.

Lithium for sure. I will check out the TM 26, looks like a good one.

Out of those 2 the TM26 is a lot easier to carry, nice and compact compared to TK75. A lot of people in here call it the perfect light, it's like a brick it tail stands so well, in a power outage it's ideal, i had my house pitch dark and i put it in the middle of my living room & dining room, turned it on and if u walked in you wouldn't know the lights were out. TK75 is more of a cumbersome carry (if that's a concern of yours). I'm not trying to stress how unimpressed i am with the dimensions of TK75, i'm trying to stress how i am SO impressed with the dimensions of TM26

HV, PM sent for prob best price on a new TM26. Really.

I've been pleased with my Nitecore EA4. Its combination of flood and throw suit me well, and it's very compact for its light output and run time.

c_c

I find the TK75 one of the best thrower/flooder you can get for the money. The only other light that comes close to it would be the BTU.
The TK75 I've tested personally at about 2925otf after 30sec and a throw of 614m(94.5K) - cost about $175
The BTU I've also tested at about 2880otf after 30 sec and a throw of 707m(125k) - cost about $120
The TK75 has a slight edge on flood and is a little better quality. The BTU has the better throw and saves you $50.

Curious_character said:

I've been pleased with my Nitecore EA4. Its combination of flood and throw suit me well, and it's very compact for its light output and run time.

c_c

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Ditto this.. I have, I don't know, a couple dozen lights(?), and my EA4 is the best one I have that combines some good throw with nice flood too.

Lite_me said:

Ditto this.. I have, I don't know, a couple dozen lights(?), and my EA4 is the best one I have that combines some good throw with nice flood too.

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I'm sure the EA4 is a nice light, but if the OP is looking at lights like the TM26 & RC40, I wouldn't think he would even consider a light like that. I mean under 1000 lumens and only 20k throw - its a totally different class of light performance. I mean no offense by this guys, its just an apples to oranges comparison.

rdrfronty said:

I find the TK75 one of the best thrower/flooder you can get for the money. The only other light that comes close to it would be the BTU.
The TK75 I've tested personally at about 2925otf after 30sec and a throw of 614m(94.5K) - cost about $175
The BTU I've also tested at about 2880otf after 30 sec and a throw of 707m(125k) - cost about $120
The TK75 has a slight edge on flood and is a little better quality. The BTU has the better throw and saves you $50.

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What the heck is a "BTU" ?

You should be able to find most the info you need under google search btulight or btu shocker, as that is the web link for that light.

BTU next to a TK75 -

A lot of lights can provide flood. Only a few, specialized lights can throw - really throw. Why not carry 2 lights? Why compromise?

yoyoman said:

A lot of lights can provide flood. Only a few, specialized lights can throw - really throw. Why not carry 2 lights? Why compromise?

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Well with some of the newer lights out lately, you don't really have to compromise. The BTU and TK75 are both excellent throwers and flooders. Here is an example of them shooting at about a 8ft by 12ft tarp target 300m away. The path is roughly 15m wide and goes about 200m lined with trees before finishing the last hundred in an open field.
The BTU -

.
The TK75 -

I have to say I love my Wildcat's beam - it's smooth, even, wide, and has a punchy hotspot. There are pictures floating around CPF of the older versions hitting treelines ~600+ feet away. I also find the light to be surprisingly small (with MD3 body) and versatile (since you can use MD2, MD3, or MD4 bodies with it).

I'd say your choice depends on price point, form factor, durability needs, desired range and run time, number of output levels you need, etc. The Wildcat is a beautiful illumination tool, though.

Anybody know how the newest Jetbeam DDR30 compares to the TK75 or RC40. Curious why that light has not been mentioned? Still up in the air what to get.

Certainly have a look at the Sunwayman t60cs. Very happy with it and have used it for some time in policing.

hivoltage said:

Anybody know how the newest Jetbeam DDR30 compares to the TK75 or RC40. Curious why that light has not been mentioned? Still up in the air what to get.

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You never answered the question about how much range you wanted to reach.

Its hard to suggest lights when we have no feed back....as that number will narrow the choices or add options, etc.

rdrfronty - I see your point.