The "One Light" challenge

Well, it's been two years since Carrot made us think, work, and adapt with his "5mm challenge" and "Incandescent Tribute Challenge", so I figured I'd open a can of worms after reading a post in a recent thread where a member asserts one cannot be a minamilist and be a flashaholic. I'm not singling anyone out, or arguing the point, just asking some fellow flashaholics to maybe have some fun here with me loosely based on Carrot's idea... :bow: (OK, openly plagarised... ) and inspired by that post. I look around and see maybe 15 lights within arm's reach, all but one are being put away for seven days. One week, one light only for everything. Midnight kitchen runs, dog walking, casual and dress carry, throw, flood... Make ONE light do it all. Pick one, tell us what and why, and honestly discuss the outcome. I'm picking my stock Gen 2 L1, OLD SCHOOL, with FO4 diffuser installed or removed as necessary. Who's next? lovecpf Please be civil, no flaming or brand wars. Maybe we'll all learn something!

I don't know if I can do this but I'll try. It will either be the PD32EU or the SRT7. I'll decide tonight and then start.

I was camping all last week and could have easily managed with either the Zebra SC52 or Fenix LD12.

But I didn't and carried both all the time so I had a backup or loaner both of which I needed a few times too.

Either would be no problem.....because I can stop anytime!

Ed

Oh and maybe an HDS Clicky too?

When I first got the 4 mode L3 Illuminations L10 with the Nichia 219, I used it exclusively for a week. The reason mainly was that's how I like to test a light for EDC. The outcome, well it did the job fine and the battery lasted the whole week too but rarely needed the high mode.

Surprising thing is that more often than not, I use a head lamp and this is light an small enough to be clipped to the peak of a cap to be used hands free

If I did EDC, probably an EagleTac D25A or Quark Mini MA.

About as small as 1xAA lights can get.
60-86 lumens for 1.x hours - not amazing, but enough for dog walking/etc. It's fun to have a diffuser on my TK41 and hike with 800 lumens but...it's just that - fun. Not necessary at all.
Can take an Eneloop - so it's fine to recharge without caution (as opposed to li-ion).
Floody beams, which I think are more useful for the vast majority of tasks.

Really, most people get by with only using junky lights...it shouldn't be hard to get by with a single high-quality one, sans that for most people here it's a hobby so they'd die a little inside.

Anyway, since I don't EDC - maybe a Quark 2xAA XML2. Though really any good quality 2xAA light would seem to fit the bill well; that's just my favorite model of those I've used.

Then again...I only own 3 flashlights. So...shun the non-believer. Shun...

Easy answer. Surefire lx2 with beam diffuser. Runner up would be a latest gen Surefire L1.

Okay I'll play. I'm even gonna pic a light I wouldn't/don't carry regularly.........a standard Kroma.

I think my V11R with the AA extender would satisfy 100.00% of my needs. Luckily it'll never come to that with a drawer full of flashlights, pocket knives and multi-tools

i'm in. when does it begin. at the end we can give feedback. actually this is quite dangerous. 1=none. haha.

i'm going to try my
MBI HF
-easy to edc
-low is bright enough for most uses, high is very bright just in case
-more of a challenge, my SWM v10r can handle all my edc needs

gonna one up the challenge and also use my
Cottonpicker xsmall solar panel w/ usb charger.
-leave one cell charging and swap everyday (2 cells total)
-totally off grid

Below are the lights which I have already solely carried and depended on for a couple of weeks each and they all did great!

HDS high CRI Rotary,
HDS 200 Rotary,
McGizmo Haiku XM-L,
Mac's Tri-EDC XP-G2,
Surefire L1,
Surefire LX2.

Out of the lot above, if I were to again choose one out for the whole week it would be any of the HDS Rotary because they are the most versatile lights I have in my possession.

Hiking being my thing, I sometimes need to see the details of ground right in front of me that I'm not familiar with or a decent distance out ahead of me. So a diffuser/thrower combo is needed. I want a NW tint to render colors of nature well. I need to have it be comfortable to hold for long periods. I need it to have both primary and rechargeble battery support. It needs to be reasonably small and light.

So I've purchased 2 Eagletac GX25L2 lights (NW versions and not the newest XM-L2 LED's). One has the flip diffuser that is so neat. The 2nd one I intend to put Turbo head on it and use an Olight diffuser. So that will give me 2 variants of the same light - differing in throw mostly. They have 4 brightness levels which are well spaced and strobe too. And single button on the side. The slightly lighter non-Turbo head version will be my first choice for this "one-Light" challenge.

Obviously the 2 characteristics I give up with either of these lights is 1) pocket EDC capability; and 2) tactical power for any serious defensive stuff. Otherwise, either covers the waterfront and can handle all other situations I use a light for.

Dave

Awhile back I EDC'd my 6d mag with batteries for a week straight to break my habbit of only using 2AA lights for EDC. Alot of strange looks, bruised knee, and 2 holsters later I can now EDC the largest of 2x18650 lights. Even the larger ones that most people on this forum wouldnt EDC feel perfect on my belt or in my pocket. I've actually had my TN31 in my back pocket for the last 2 days since power at work keeps going out. :thumbsup:

I'll play...

After 4 years of searching for the "holy grail" of flashlights, my personal opinion is that it doesn't exist. Oh, sure - the Cool Fall Tri-V and maybe even the 007 (in various forms) might come close. But maybe it might be more realistic to pick something with a lower cost of entry?

My answer surprises me, but this light keeps bubbling back to the top:

The Elzetta ZFL-M60-CS2D hosting a Malkoff/Oveready M61N. This 2 cell host fits so nicely in my hand - the 'robustness' of the host is well-known. I mean, come on - they hammer nails with the darn thing! Blast it with a shotgun... :devil: The crenelated bezel is cool, and the 2 levels (although I would like a lower low) are great. Yes, I know it doesn't accept 18650 cells but I don't care - I like using it with 2 AW RCR in 123 size. And it isn't quite small enough for EDC, but all things considered and all trade offs in mind, I'll deal with the larger size. I, too, love the E2E, but the Elzetta isn't that much larger...

And then the Malkoff....who needs an explanation of "why" when it comes to a Malkoff? And the Neutral variant sold by Oveready is just about the perfect tint for me. Nice combination of throw/flood, and the low setting from the 2 stage Elzetta tail cap is a great combination of useable light and long run time.

Runners up:

Malkoff MD2 with high/low ring and the same M61N
Malkoff MDC LMH
Cool Fall Spy 007 XPG2

Cool thread. :thumbsup:

There have been a number of similar threads asking if you can only have one light ...

My answer is always my EDC.
Currently it is a 4sevens Quark MiNi AA neutral.

I guess the closest one can buy today is a foursevens Mini MA Cree XP-G High CRI.

Maratac AAA Copper Rev 2 - eneloop for indoor use - 10440 for outdoor use
I picked this one because it's small and nice looking

quark

Fenix LD12 XP-E2.

throws well
4 modes + 2 hidden

Is this like the first step in a 10 step program to cure my sickness? My name is yoyoman and I'm a flashaholic. I'm sorry, I can't play. However, I'll try not buy anything flashlight related for a week.

Edit: Arriving packages don't count.

Yoyoman- Lol on the incoming packages... Going to be tough for me as well, I theoretically have an Aeon mkII arriving this week. This differs from the "If You Could Only Have One" threads in that it asks you to actually USE only one, not hypothetically debate! I found the low, even with the FO4, too high when getting ready for work this morning. Two thicknesses of copier paper cut to fit inside the FO4 got me right back to the floody sub-lumen I like for that use. LX2 pocketclip installed, I'm ready to go for the day!

I'm choosing my Eagletac D25LC2 XP-G2 Custom. Great size(4.5"), great output(~500L), decent throw(11,000-12,000 Lux), runs on one 18650 or two cr123/16340's.