What's your most impressive flashlight?

Over the past few years I've been lurking the different flashlight forums and have collected my first few lights.

Lately I've been asking myself what makes a flashlight impressive? Although I like high output in terms of lumen, small lights with high output always seem to impress me. 200+lm CR2 lights (although hardly available lately) I really dig the Foursevens Mini ML-X: It's small, put out an impressive 210 lumens and almost everyone I show the light to act like Will Smith when given the noisy cricket gun in Men in black:



Till they turn it on


My question: What's the most impressive flashlight you own our have played with?

And impressive in terms of:
- Size vs output
- Rugged
- Built quality
- Sheer output
- Throw or flood capabilities
- Interface
- ...

I'm just interested in what makes a flashlight standout for you? What makes you buy a new flashlight? Why will a light become you EDC or most used light?

:welcome:

There are many similar existing threads - Norm

The Balder flashlight is the most impressive flashlight i have ever had!
Great build quality, great price, great works!!

To my non-flashlight addicted friends, my Surefire Fury wowed the crap out of them at a recent river trip.

To me, I'd say either my

C2-BK with EDC triple (the triple is a TON of light in a small package)

or

Surefire M6. its just a beefy, sturdy flashlight that throws further than anything I own. It's like a sleeper maglight - people see the size and don't expect such a powerful beam to come out of a light that they assume performs similarly to a stock mag incan.

My L3 Illuminations L10 w/ Nichia 219 - simply becuase I reach for it the most often and it's the cheapest light I have! Pretty disappointing when you think about it that way actually.

For me, I legoed a quark turbo AA head on a single AA body and run it with a li-ion as my everyday light and my nightstand light.

its impressive to me because its plenty bright for most of what I do with the li-ion and still pretty bright with one AA if that's all I have. Is versatility is what makes it impressive to me, and that it runs so long on the .2 lumens moonlight mode. I have far brighter lights, but the sheer versatility of this customish light is what makes me love it.

Norm said:

:welcome:

There are many similar existing threads - Norm

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Not sure I would equate "Best" and "Most Impressive". . . But that's just my opinion. .

While I have a Fenix PD32UE and a TK15, I would have to agree with the OP and claim my most impressive is my Foursevens ML-X. Barely large than a CR123, but lots of light and lots of throw with very good run time on a single battery. yet I had to tie a piece of ribbon on the tail end of it so it wouldn't get lost in my pocket. If I was buying a flashlight as a gift, the ML-X would be at the top of the list.

wjv said:

Not sure I would equate "Best" and "Most Impressive". . . But that's just my opinion. .

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Many similar not the same, I directed the OP to other threads that may be of interest.

Norm

markr6 said:

My L3 Illuminations L10 w/ Nichia 219 - simply becuase I reach for it the most often and it's the cheapest light I have! Pretty disappointing when you think about it that way actually.

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I don't have this light with the Nichia, but with the Cree. All in all, I would have to say it is pretty impressive for what it is. It didn't cost much. It's little bigger than the AA battery it uses. It runs on common and safe batteries. Runtime is actually quite respectable at around 1:30 on high (plus or minus, depending on whether you use 2400mAH or 2000mAH batteries). And with a real 120 lumens (at least with the Cree), it actually provides enough light to be useful in most situations.

Extreme - Olight SR90 - a single 30w 2200 lumen LED with a 1000 meter throw you can hold in one hand

Tactical - Fenix PD32UE - 740 lumen 2 cell compact in a slim small package with a well colored nicely patterned beam.

EDC - Sunwayman V11R - Up to 500 lumens in a tiny single cell package accepting a wide variety of cells with infinite variability, great color and beam pattern, simple UI, and a clickey.

Overall output has to be my Eagletac MX25L2. Good throw with massive output.

Size vs. output has to be my Armytek Predator v2. Amazing throw for such a small package.

Impressive, Surefire Hellfighter.
Second Malkoff Wildcat V4, when its on the MD2 body NO ONE expects that much light out of a little guy.

jamesmtl514 said:

Impressive, Surefire Hellfighter.
Second Malkoff Wildcat V4, when its on the MD2 body NO ONE expects that much light out of a little guy.

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I agree with the Wildcat/MD2 combo. That is exactly what I was going to suggest., it's probably the most impressive (or surprising) light I have.

My MBI HF is simply amazing no bigger than my pinky finger. Yet puts out a ton of light

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FireFoxes FF3 (don't have an FF4, and can hardly imagine what that might be like) .... Seen people literally awestruck by this one :devil:

Vinh mt-g2 dropin and Surefire C2 body = 2000+ otf lumens with near-perfect tint. I've had it over 3 months and I am still amazed.

Most impressive is easy - Maxabeam - nothing like throwing a 30ft high spot on a building a kilometre away.

Most impressive LED is my 9P - bored and anodized by Oveready, 1000 lumen neutral tint dropin by Moddoo

So many aspects included in this question. Based on brightness it's Malkoff Wildcat.
Based on tint and eye comfort it's the Malkoff M91W dropin which I use in a Surefire 9P with extender and 2x18650. Yes, I would say that M91W is the total winner in my collection/selection: it's the first ever LED which really gave me the feeling of an incandescent, and still does every time I turn it on. It's like holding a 40W home light bulb in your hand but with some throw with the very wide hotspot smoothly floating together with the very bright spill, and the color rendition is great. For indoors and short distance it's awesome!

Different features impress different people. So, some are more impressed by range, and some by flood...some by size relative to output, and some by morphology, etc.

I agree that the smaller the light, the less they expect, and the more impressed they will be by the discrepancy.

Surprised no one has suggested the Zebralight S6330. For its' size, it is unmatched 2400 lumens and around 4 inches.