long time lurker, now newb with a question

francqua · Mar 27, 2016

I've been on the outer fringes looking in, reading, and trying to learn a bit....like the title says;
long time lurker just sucking in knowledge (have small RAM...can only take in so much at a time! : ) )
Please forgive stupid newb in advance for questions that have been asked 1000's of time before and for my lack of the lingo / tech knowledge!

Decided to jump in and learn some more because :

1) some jerk stole my best (for me at the time) EDC flashlight.
I work as a repair tech in construction and need illumination almost daily to see the details of what I'm trying to fix. I'm usually inside or under something and need the light. My EDC was a LED Lenser TT that I stumbled across at a Sportsman's Warehouse in the wet and soggy Pacific NW. Try not to laugh!

I like the size of the LL TT. It was not so big as to be a pain, was easy to use in tight spaces, and it didn't take up much space to store.
I like the idea of the 3 or 4 AAA batteries. I used Lithium Ion batteries as much as possible.
The CR123 batteries around here are spendy. So I tended to stay away from that format.

For camping or walking the mutts at night I liked the flood/spot combo. Didn't/don't need SOS or strobe features. I know we each have our own cup of tea / light we like. I'm a newb...with a limited access to decent retail lights. So...

2) I need a replacement EDC flashlight with similar dimensions as the LED Lenser TT...I know there are numerous options out there.

So please learn me!
I would like to keep the flood to spot capabilities for obvious reasons.
The More lumens the better when I'm trying to fix something.
I need long run times..sometimes the repairs I do take a while.
I would like to stay with 3 or 4 AAA ( or AA ) batteries or something that can take multiple configurations.
If there is a better configuration that will give me better lumens and run times for the buck...I'm all ears!
Nothing with "D" or "C" batteries please. :naughty:
Since you all are dragging me into the 21st century of flashlights. kicking and screaming, I know tech comes at a cost. :huh:
If I could keep the cost to $50 or less that would be great....If not, I have to put a upper budget limit at $75.
Two, three or four contenders for my hard earned $ would be great. And websites with good prices would be helpful too.

Please remember my personal RAM is limited to 1MB! I will do my best to digest all in due time.

Thanks folks, sorry to be so wordy...I get nervous around fanatics! :sick2:
Francqua

bykfixer · Mar 27, 2016

Welcome aboard.

You've come to the right place.

I say the following based on US market:

I carry a Coast HP1 in my pocket. 1aa, $10, spot to spill, lots of brightness to light the cavities of an engine bay with daylight adjusted eyes. When you don't need all that brightness sliding to flood diffuses all those lumens very well.

Another option (without spot to spill) is a Streamlight ProTac 2aa (about $35) that fits in your shirt pocket like a pen light and cycles from high to low.

I also carry a Streamlight Microstream 1aaa (about $15-20) that is great for lighting shadows when you're in a shop, working at night or just don't need a bunch of light. A Streamlight ProTac 1aaa (about $35) goes with me in exchange for the Microstream as back up to the Coast when I go junkyard shopping for parts for my hot rod. Again when my eyes are adjusted to daylight it has enough brightness to light shadows in crevices and cycles for less light when brightness is not needed.

Now a flashlight that doubles from a work light to a flashlight is the $35 4aaa Nebo Slyde.
Super strong magnet on the tail cap holds it fast to steel. When extended it's a super bright work light and when not is a super bright flashlight.
Other Nebo lights are pretty cool too. Matter of fact check out the Nebo web site. I think they have a Slyde that has a zoom head now.

Those are the light I prefer when in auto mechanic mode.

Let us know what you decide.

CelticCross74 · Mar 28, 2016

Coast HP7 Pro. Here in the mid Atlantic states the Coast HP7 Pro is available at any Lowes usually at one of the checkout lanes. Push pull variable focus, 360 lumens, 4 AAA's, throws like a champ when focused to spot and pulls back to an excellent flood. It is a touch larger than the TT but for what you are after the HP7 Pro sounds perfect I own two of them. Price is roughtly $60. Love the push pull spot to flood feature. Built extremely well. I use Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAA's. Powers the light to the max for the longest amount of time.

FRITZHID · Mar 28, 2016

2nd on hp7 pro.

Gaffle · Mar 28, 2016

Food for thought. I dedicated to cr123s awhile ago. I did it begrudgingly. The packs I purchased were cheap via some of the CPF sponsors. Then I bought a rechargeable for my HDS. I have not bought a new 123 for probably 2 years. I have some that are just sitting in a container, and I use my pair of IMR 16340s. A 123 light can get cheap if its ran with rechargeables.

francqua · Mar 28, 2016

does that open up options?

I guess what I'm asking is,
Does broadening my battery selection to include "123's" improve my lumen rating and my rmax run time vs running a 3 or 4 AAA/AA light?

If the 123's are a better option, then it adds a question.
Are there lights out there that are configured to allow me to go either 123 or AAA/AA depending on my battery availability...
IE: an emrgency or some sort of a problem where I HAVE to switch from one style of battey to the other.

My concern is that if I open up my constraints too much I will get buried in options/selection.
Kind of like Googling "flashights" ...and you get hit with 1.3 million results in 0.9 seconds!

Parrot Quack · Mar 28, 2016

Under a MB I have nothing but we're not fanatical. We're level headed and like to keep it real.

Maybe a JETBeam RRT0SE.

mcnair55 · Mar 28, 2016

If you are ok sticking to Led Lenser P7.2 off the tool vans are a great choice.

CelticCross74 · Mar 28, 2016

OP where in the world are you? In the US Coasts are in most Lowes and Target stores. LED Lensers are online order only no brick and mortar stores sell Lensers here. Jetbeam RRT0SE is nice but expensive. OP if you are in Europe that changes a lot as I understand Lensers are everywhere over there. If in Europe the Lenser P7.2 would also be near perfect. Its not as high output as the HP7 Pro but its got the advanced focus system which is the reflector and optic the Coast just has the optic. Here it is $70 which is pretty good.

low · Mar 28, 2016

francqua said:
If I could keep the cost to $50 or less that would be great....If not, I have to put a upper budget limit at $75.

Francqua

As a long time user of flashlights in the NW Pacific NW (Bellingham, Wa) I found out you only use what you have on you at the time. Something you can EDC. With ease. And use, I know how freaking useless your fingers become when they are wet and cold. I know you did not ask for this but I recommend the Zebralight SC62w. Uses one 18650 battery, great size, very easy to carry, plenty of light\runtimes and it is guaranteed to get you into the 21 century. For a very long time I kept the AA format, but seeing what you can get out of the 18650 and this flashlight is awesome. Besides, they are on sale for $75.

bykfixer · Mar 28, 2016

Re: does that open up options?

francqua said:
I guess what I'm asking is,
Does broadening my battery selection to include "123's" improve my lumen rating and my rmax run time vs running a 3 or 4 AAA/AA light?

If the 123's are a better option, then it adds a question.
Are there lights out there that are configured to allow me to go either 123 or AAA/AA depending on my battery availability...
IE: an emrgency or some sort of a problem where I HAVE to switch from one style of battey to the other.

My concern is that if I open up my constraints too much I will get buried in options/selection.
Kind of like Googling "flashights" ...and you get hit with 1.3 million results in 0.9 seconds!

This is a kinda yes/no answer here but...

Think of batteries as fuel tanks.
Now when oh, lets say ...LED Lenser uses 4 aaa's in a two way configuration... 2 with positive up, two with positive down in the battery holder... Electricity goes in a circle of flow.
The result is the 'tank of fuel' is limited to the size of 2 aaa's...

Enter the 123 battery. The size of one would be a larger fuel tank than 1 aaa. Much larger. However if the light you choose is one that has all 4 aaa's in the same direction things start to even out.

I have several HP7's and unless you use eneloop pro cells the run time on high requires way too many batteries for me to reccomend it for your request. With alkalines it begins to dim within minutes and is pretty dim in an hour.

However if you don't mind plunking down $25 for an 8 pack of eneloop pro aaa's and a charger you'll get great service from an HP7 in your particular situation.
The charger recharges 4 cells in about the same amount of time you'll need to swap cells.

I contacted Coast and got some spare battery carriers to quickly swap out a magazine in darkness.

Skeeterg · Mar 28, 2016

Re: does that open up options?

I would go with the Olight S10R Baton Ⅱ you should find them for around 40 to 50 bucks,and comes with a rechargeable 123 battery,charging base. A handy magnetic tail cap for hands free work. Plenty of lumens,and flood. Fenix has the rc09 which is about the same light,without going into details. I have them both,and love them both.

CelticCross74 · Mar 28, 2016

Re: does that open up options?

both the HP7 Pro and Lenser P7.2 are 4xAAA lights. I use Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells in my HP7 Pro and would do the same if I got a P7.2. Sure Eneloop Pro AAA's are awesome and rechargeable but the Energizers are higher capacity and push max voltage right up until they die. In other words the Energizers make the light crank as much as it can for as long as they hold out which is a good while. Go the Energizer route youd need to buy in bulk to keep the price down.

As for CR123 cells they are as expensive as Eneloop Pros but are cheap when bought in bulk. CR123's really are not all that great a cell for an LED light. What CR123's have going for them is they hold their charge for freaking ever should you just leave the light on a shelf and very cold and very hot temperatures do not affect them. They are okay for low output LED lights Im talking below 200 lumens. Get above 300 lumen output and CR123 cells start to sag in voltage. In much higher output lights like say a PD35 even the stoutest CR123 cells will start dropping voltage by more than half after just a couple of minutes.

tops2 · Mar 28, 2016

Re: does that open up options?

If you don't mind something smaller than the Olight S10R and having to buy rechargeable battery, the Olight S1 is pretty awesome too. I just use the rechargeable Olight RCR123A battery and gets plenty of runtime. I've only done one runtime test at 80lumens level and it runs 4:03 hours on that test. The low level runs ~25 hours. I love how there's a moonlight level (but still a bit bright), and how this level is excluded when cycling through the 3 levels. The magnetic tail, while some may see as a gimmick, has come in handy sometimes.

Going along with using RCR123A, Zebralight SC32w looks like another solid option too.

In terms of small EDC size, the S1 is my favorite light and I bring it everywhere. If my S1 had the same tint as my Zebralight SC5w, it would be my favorite light in my small but (slow) growing collection.

francqua · Apr 3, 2016

Re: does that open up options?

Found a Coast HP7 at home depot also found a Coast HP7 Pro at Lowe's.
Maybe an extra 30 minutes on low for the "PRO" otherwise the specs APPEAR the same.

Other than the fact that the "PRO" version is a gunmetal grey, is there any other difference that I'm missing? Packaging is different..big whoop.

Is the OXYLED MD50 a toy, or is it for real? How does it stack up to the HP7 ? or against the LED Lenser TT ( I know that light). Newb knows squat....
I stumbled across it while looking into online pricing on the HP7's. Is there a sticky that rates/ranks this class of light? I'm wondering how the HP7 stacks up against some of the others mentioned in this thread

Tusk · Apr 3, 2016

francqua;4867929 Decided to jump in and learn some more because : 1) some jerk stole my best (for me at the time) EDC flashlight. I work as a repair tech in construction and need illumination almost daily to see the details of what I'm trying to fix. I'm usually inside or under something and need the light. My EDC was a LED Lenser TT that I stumbled across at a Sportsman's Warehouse in the wet and soggy Pacific NW. Try not to laugh! I like the size of the LL TT. It was not so big as to be a pain said:
Would you consider a headlamp instead of a flashlight? Having both hands free while you work in the dark is a pretty handy thing. Something like the Fenix HL50 runs on AA (get some Eneloop's) or CR123's. It should provide you with enough lumens and runs time to be comfortable with and you can use it as a flashlight when you need to. You do lose the spot to flood thing but with a burst mode over 300 lumens that might not be a problem.

mcnair55 · Apr 3, 2016

Re: does that open up options?

CelticCross74 said:
both the HP7 Pro and Lenser P7.2 are 4xAAA lights. I use Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells in my HP7 Pro and would do the same if I got a P7.2. Sure Eneloop Pro AAA's are awesome and rechargeable but the Energizers are higher capacity and push max voltage right up until they die. In other words the Energizers make the light crank as much as it can for as long as they hold out which is a good while. Go the Energizer route youd need to buy in bulk to keep the price down.

As for CR123 cells they are as expensive as Eneloop Pros but are cheap when bought in bulk. CR123's really are not all that great a cell for an LED light. What CR123's have going for them is they hold their charge for freaking ever should you just leave the light on a shelf and very cold and very hot temperatures do not affect them. They are okay for low output LED lights Im talking below 200 lumens. Get above 300 lumen output and CR123 cells start to sag in voltage. In much higher output lights like say a PD35 even the stoutest CR123 cells will start dropping voltage by more than half after just a couple of minutes.

Fully agree the 123 format is not very clever for the higher power stuff,sticking to AAA/AA and 18650 type from now on in.

reppans · Apr 3, 2016

IMHO, anything that runs 3+ AAAs is junk. Drive will be unregulated, pulse width modulation, and that's about the least efficient battery config from both a cost and space perspective for the user, although cheapest for the manufacturer to make.

francqua said:
I guess what I'm asking is,
Does broadening my battery selection to include "123's" improve my lumen rating and my rmax run time vs running a 3 or 4 AAA/AA light?

If the 123's are a better option, then it adds a question.
Are there lights out there that are configured to allow me to go either 123 or AAA/AA depending on my battery availability...
IE: an emrgency or some sort of a problem where I HAVE to switch from one style of battey to the other.

I'm running a light a bit smaller than your previous LL @ 0.86x4.5" on a rechargeable 16650 cell (which is probably ~8 AAA equivalents in runtime) that will also run on 1 or 2 AAA/AAs, 1 CR123, or 1 16340/14500 with appropriate battery spacers (I make my own on the fly). Around $65 (before shipping) including 2 battery tubes, 16650 battery, and a tiny charger that will powerbank the 16650 back to a cellphone. Add ~$20 if you want buy, and carry, pre-made battery spacers (a bit safer if you don't understand electronics).

Light is a Foursevens Quark QK2A, on clearance (no warranty), two mode (4/250 lms), but can be programmed for 0.4/4/20/250 modes. Note 1 AA, and 1 or 2 AAAs will not be able to achieve full output.

francqua · Apr 3, 2016

I've spent the whole morning learning...it seems that I may have been heading the wrong direction! AAA? What was I thinking?
No way to get the run times I REALLY need for work/camping/hiking/dog walks!

I needed to rethink my specs. So...

I'm after as long as possible run times with at least 280-320 lumen (the top end can be higher...even if I need to use a medium setting).
I still need the size to be around 4.5-6" in length; thinking the body to be between 1.0- 1.5" in diameter.
would like the working end to not be too much larger than the body.

Ok, so to get the run times I'm after, at a middle or high setting, and to reach the above mentioned lumens...
I have realized that I need to be looking at "torches" running 18650 or 16340/14500 configurations.
Are there "torches" (very english..I like) that can take multiple battery configurations...in case of emegency or battery failure/discharge?

Man I have a lot to learn! Also willing to up my max budget, if needed, to $75 USD.

quantum shift here folks...need revised suggestions. Will research some more, later. Bacon is ready!
Thanks, reppans and others!

reppans · Apr 3, 2016

One more tip. If you use your light for long periods of time outdoors, like for camping and dog walking, and you like long runtimes, as I do, I would highly suggest you consider using low lumens and your night vision, instead of battery burning high outputs.

The human eye has an incredibly wide dynamic range. At the beach, I can shine 500 lumens into the palm of my hand and bare see it, yet also find 1 lumen to be painfully bright, if used when woken from sleep. The human eye will adjust/adapt to either, the difference is how long you allow your eyes to adapt... and about 500 battery charges.

For me, dark adaption is critical for the outdoors because everything, outside of my flashlight's small cone of a beam, becomes "brighter," more visible, and less scary - I can sense movement in my peripheral vision. For me, using bright lights outdoors is like listening to loud music with headphones on - yeah the clarity of the music is good, but it leaves me utterly oblivious to anything else going on around me.

Course YMMV.

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