Great all around outdoor thrower for <$200?

First off, thank you for existing CPF. I have loved high powered lights from my very first Maglite (ugh, I'm stuck with about a dozen of them in all sizes) to my obsession with HID + Xenon headlights, the Streamlights on our toys, and now the LEDs on my pickup. I have at least one of every brand of household LED replacement bulb, just so I could try them all out

However, I had not been paying attention to LED flashlight tech until we moved onto rural property where we're walking our dogs with the coyotes, mountain lions, and all forms of natural wildlife. This forum has let me catch up on the last decade of new tech and I feel foolishly ready to buy my first respectable LED flashlight.

Looking for a solid thrower (torch style) with a nice big spill for navigating our woods.

• For reference, of COURSE I love the Nitecore TM26 and Fenix TK75...and all of the other crazy, hot, battery-eating monsters out there.
• The best flashlight in our house is that Home Depot special Defiant ArmorMax 4D (almost 2lbs) @ 500+ Lumens.
• So it's time to start a new collection. For our first high powered light, we want to keep it to a <1lbs. thrower with a nice bright spill and a powerful throw...under $200.00 that we can take with us when we walk the dogs around a 5acre (700ft x 300ft) wooded lot. Will figure out the batteries later.

The three I've been comparing are:

• (Full Sized Torch) Sunwayman T40CS. 1488 Lumens @ $95.95.
• (Full Sized Torch) Klarus XT30. 950 Lumens @ $98.95
• (Compact) Foursevens Maelstrom MMU-X3R. 200 Lumens @ 129.95

However, they raise a ton of questions such as:

1. What are the brands to avoid? I've never heard of any of these, but the Sunwayman seems like the best deal. I'm sure there are hidden costs (lights that burn out, overheating, cannot reliably use the best rechargeable batteries in that class, etc), but it's hard to figure this out from the reviews that are mostly positive for all 3.
2. What is the sweet spot for pricing here? Is it spending $149 on something like a Nightcore EAX Hammer or Fenix LD60? Is it spending less and staying below 1k Lumens (again, my only reference is a 560-ish Defiant).
3. Buy American? There are these suspect Cree/TrustFire/Ultramegabeam/Superduperbrightwillblindyou off-brand stuff from China that are SUPER cheap on Amazon. They make ridiculous claims from 3800 to 13000 Lumens, all below $50.00. These all look like they're made in China, so are some better than others (including my Defiant of course)?

So many questions and so much to keep reading. However, looking for what the forum community feels is that best hot-spot + bright spill for under $200.00 and any caveats I should consider that should lower or raise my budget targets.

Thanks in advance for your help!

The Coast HP1 for $10 is a pocket size off/on, tailstandable light that runs several hours on an alky AA.
Adjustable head makes it a (stated by Coast) 220 lumen room lighter or a bright spot about 100' away.


Oops, just saw the title says 200...

Malkoff MD2 with a M361N lo/hi/med or just a M61N (N = nuetral). Maybe add the reducer ring for 6 choices of light with the 361 or lo/hi with the 61.

Go to malkoff devices and read why he got started. Same reason you want better.
Then take your pic of what he has in stock, or have him custom build one for ya.

A tad under your budget, but look into the Maxtoch Sniper. Or one of their other models.

Also, the member Vinh here makes some custom throwers. Check out some of his threads.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/member.php?144960-vinhnguyen54

Get some good batteries.

It wouldn't hurt to look at the Acebeam K60. Here is a review from candle lamp. LINK. It has the latest and greatest XHP70 Cree in it. Its throw comes from a fairly large head and the brute force of 5000 lumens.


It is heavier than your <l lb. requirement though.

fnsooner said:

It wouldn't hurt to look at the Acebeam K60. Here is a review from candle lamp. LINK. It has the latest and greatest XHP70 Cree in it. Its throw comes from a fairly large head and the brute force of 5000 lumens.


It is heavier than your <l lb. requirement though.

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+1

First light that came to mind, get a vinh version with shaved dome for more throw
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?401941-K60vn-First-XHP70-Thrower




:welcome:

I vote for the Malkoff 18650 Hound Dog. It's a USA made, bombproof, outstanding light, with a lifetime warranty. Lovely beam, in neutral or cool, and a hilo ring. No nasty electronic switching and no stepdowns. I quite like it.
186 US from malkoffdevices.com, I think. That includes battery and charger, you can get the basic light for a bit less.
P

Spill AND throw? Fenix TK35UE (2015) comes to mind @ 320m throw. TK35UE (standard) for less throw, a bit more spill. (uugh, Fenix and these dates! really makes it hard to talk about). Not too big, about 7.5oz. $130-ish for the 2015 version. Around $100 for the standard (MT-G2 version)

If you've look at the TM26, then you need to check the TM16. 4,000 lumens, 700 meter throw, 4 18650 cells, can be found for around $150 USD with a little shopping. If that is too much firepower, look at the Nitecore EA41. Four AA cells, 1,000 lumens, will fit inside the center of a toilet paper tube, sells for around $70 USD. Nice little all around light. I would recommend either lithium primaries or NiMH rechargeable cells.

Also, Welcome to CPF! :welcome:

The Elzetta AVS head is great for throw (with the spot lens, natch). The Malkoff M61 drop ins offer good throw with useful spill. It's only $65 or so but the JETBeam BC25 SE is a monster thrower with about 950 lumens of output.

A second vote for the 18650 Hound Dog. Single cell, so less investment needed to make it run. Bombproof, simple interface for high/low operation. Best tail clicky switch in the business. The Malkoff's are an absolute delight to do business with. Awesome warranty.

$160-$200: Nitecore TM16
$100-$150: Olight M2X-UT, Olight M3XS-UT
$70: Nitecore MT40GT

The MT40GT is rarely mentioned since it is an upgrade to the old MT40 model. However, at 960 lumens, 600+ yard and $70 price range it is a great thrower.
The Olight M2X-UT is also nice since it uses 1x 18650 battery only.

Again, this is an incredible place full of my kind of insane fanatics.

Got a chance to review all of the flashlights recommended (thanks to CPFSELFBUILT + GoingGear.com Reviews) and am impressed with the range of lights that all met this criteria. To simplify my first purchase of a *real* flashlight, I only looked at those at the top of my arbitrary budget of $200 and started comparing the spill, throw, battery configurations, and button behavior. Oh arbitrary click through a thousand buttons to get the brightest setting, how I hate thee.

Side note - I'm tempted to pay extra to buy from GoingGear just to support his business. I like his approach, the effort he puts into his reviews, and the level of merchandising. He doesn't have everything, but he has quite a damn bit for a brick & mortar retailer. More than I've seen from any of the huge stores like North 40 or Scheel's in MT. Certainly appeals to me more than putting more money in Amazon's coffers . They have enough of my money!

What I bought the wife: Foursevens Maelstrom MMU-X3R. She liked the size, the USB recharging, and she has *very* short usage patterns. Quick walk of the dogs around the property and that's it. The occasional go outside to check WTF just set off the security lights.

What is currently at the top of my list for my first of this generation: Nitecore TM16 (4000 Lumens @ $200)

• $200. D4 Charger, [8] EdisonBright 3400mAh 18650
• $200. D4 Charger, [4] EdisonBright 3400mAh 18650, [4] Nitecore 3400mAh 18650
• $249. i4 Charger, [4] EdisonBright 3400mAh 18650, [4] Nitecore 3400mAh 18650
• (all three come with a little S&W pocket light)

Recommendations from CPF that are competing for my dollars (should really just buy all four and strap them all over my body):

• $200. Fenix TK75 (4000 Lumens)
• $180. Acebeam K60 (5000 Lumens) <-- not entirely crazy about the rotating ring inputs.
• $130. Nitecore EAX Hammer. <-- the AA battery setup is actually probably going to make this my next battery drain test platform. Really like the practicality of that given the abundance of Eneloops around my house (thanks Costco!).

Batteries:

• Plan to use whatever batteries comes in the bundle from Amazon unless someone here says "STOP! DON'T USE THOSE!"
• Reading great reviews (Panasonic protected 18650s) and scary reviews (Primary Lithium CR123 HF poisoning thread - YIKES).

Thank you all again. I've now spent like 8 hours over two days just reading reviews and threads here, when I should be doing other stuff.

Timothybil said:

If you've look at the TM26, then you need to check the TM16. 4,000 lumens, 700 meter throw, 4 18650 cells, can be found for around $150 USD with a little shopping. If that is too much firepower, look at the Nitecore EA41. Four AA cells, 1,000 lumens, will fit inside the center of a toilet paper tube, sells for around $70 USD. Nice little all around light. I would recommend either lithium primaries or NiMH rechargeable cells.

Also, Welcome to CPF! :welcome:

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Thank you. What an amazing forum.

I vote the acebeam k60. You could also get the modded version the k60vn like i did and i love it

If looking for something a little smaller than but still lots of power the tm06 is nice. Not the best thrower, but puts out a huge wall of light. A friend of mine just picked up one of these came with nitcore digital charger and 4 18650 3400mah batteries for like 150ish from amazon

A Fenix TK41 with two sets of Eneloops and a smart charger will all fit within your $200 budget and give you a very well rounded, proven and reliable flashlight setup that would meet all of your criteria save the weight (it's 1.17lbs with batteries).

If you choose a Li-ion powered light, you will need to familiarise yourself with the battery's chemistry, maintainence and care. Not a big deal once you get a handle on it, but necessary nonetheless.

Olight M23 is my thought.
Pocketable, powerful and punchy.
Hour you find a good fit.

Olight M3XS UT Javelot, no mistake with that,grear thrower

NITE2TEST said:

Olight M3XS UT Javelot, no mistake with that,grear thrower

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Yes crazy throw I agree, +1☺
I'm just thinking the M23 that has some spill, idk.

Olight SR52 UT XP-L HI. It might be worth a consideration.