2000L+ lights that you don't need a cart to carry

I've got the following lights, I've got poor vision, poor night vision, diabetic issues etc. Always had bad lookers. I walk about a mile at night, and carry several lights on me. My EDC consists of a Maratac AAA and a Surefire Titan Plus 300L. I've got a Klarus 900 lumen light, a Nitecore 960 lumen, a Nitecore 1000L+ light with a long beam, a Nitecore EC11, a Fenix PD 600L+ light, Fenix headlamp 600L+ and a Zebralight headlamp 1000L+. I know that you need to look at more than just Lumens, but I'd like to get something with more than 2000 lumens for my night hikes. I live in a rural area, I walk on old country roads, we have coyotes and neighborhood dogs running free. I have biscuits for the dogs, and a walking stick for the dogs and coyotes that like to get too close, although my neighbor picked up a pack of about ten or more on his trail cam. Bears and mountain lions have been spotted in the area, but I'm more worried about bipeds, both ambulating on their own and driving at me while I walk down the street looking like an amusement park ferris wheel.

I am always thinking about neighbors leaning out their window with a boom stick, but I keep a 5L light on, and my iPod on low volume but loud enough that neighbors can hear it. I sometimes walk between 10pm-2pm. I of course never shine my lights anywhere but on the road (Zebralight, EC11, 1000L Nitecore on me for walks).

I've seen the lights from Nitecore that are over 1000 lumens, for the most part, they look like bricks to me, and the highest output only lasts for a few minutes. I don't need more than 1000 lumens, I'm not trying to blind any animals or drivers that come too close. I just want to get some more light.

I'm looking at either customs, midtechs (if you're a knife nut, you know what I'm talking about) and factory lights. 2000 or more lumens preferably. I saw that Olight is putting a 4000 lumen light out soon. Fenix has their torch with about 3000 lumens. Nitecore has the majority of bricks, some of them look like someone wrapped a couple 1000 lights together, which is basically what they did.

Any suggestions are appreciated. I know that I don't need all of those lumens, but I still want a high output, easily carried (belt sheath or clip) flashlight. Thanks.

The Streamlight ProTac HL4 is 2200. It has a frosted lens to cause the light to diffuse like crazy but still throw pretty good.

If you ten tap it to setting 3 it's 60, 600 and 2200. From the factory it's 2200 60 then strobe. Setting 2 is high only.

It is about the size of a 2C maglite and uses 4x123's or 2x18650's.


Left is the HL4. Right is a 2C Mag.

What the neighbors saw.

If you want lots of lumens in a small package; check out the Noctigon M43 Meteor or Manker MK34.

Check out the Nitecore EC4S.

If you prefer flood over throw, then consider the Klarus G20. 3000 lumens but with a very wide beam angle and good for up to 100m. The main disadvantage for some is that it takes a 26650 battery, but it does have inbuilt usb recharging and is pretty compact.

glockboy said:

Check out the Nitecore EC4S.

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+1 or Nitecore EC4SW for warm white It's about as compact as a 2x18650 flashlight can be but yet it can run on 1000+ lm for over an hour.

D6859 said:

+1 or Nitecore EC4SW for warm white It's about as compact as a 2x18650 flashlight can be but yet it can run on 1000+ lm for over an hour.

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Another +1,
The form of the light is very comfortable to hold, it dissipates heat well, and while the EC4SW is my personal favorite they offer the light in multiple formats/LEDs/i.e. 4 AA, 2 18650, neutral or cool, etc. I have 5 EC4 variations I like them so much...

PS Just got a Convoy L6, it is like a 3 cell mag light with bigger head, but 3800 lumens on 2 26650 cells-too big for your initial desire, but for everything other than the bear the light makes a great club if needed...

Olight sr mini II is a pretty compact light, nicely made and decent wall of light.
The m43 as suggested is one if not the most compact flood beast.............comes with a decent holster too.

If 1000 lumen lights aren't sufficient for you, going to 2000 lumen isn't going to help. You'd need to jump to about 6000 lumen for the light to perceptually seem twice as bright (assuming a similar beam pattern).

That said, I don't really understand how 1000 lumen lights are inadequate for walking dogs in the dark. What are you pointing the light at that you can't see and how far away is it? Maybe you need a light with a beam patterns more suited to what you're trying to light up instead of more lumens.

Small lights with high output put out a lot of heat and step down so they don't damage themselves or burn you. If you don't want a step down, you're going to have to accept a larger light.

Here is the ultimate conundrum you will face. A light like the noctigon meteor or the Nitecore TM03 will happily do a lot of lumens for a short period before they get too hot to handle. Where as a larger light like the Convoy L6 will handle 3800 lumens for a long period of time simply because it is much larger and will disperse the heat much faster and efficiently

Klarus g30
Can put out 2400lm for about an hour and continue for more on 900lm
Using 3 18650 it's not very big, an it is amazing flooder
But i dont know if the runtime on max is enough for you

There is 4*18650 lights that would have more runtime but a little bit bigger
The m43 as recommended before here is great it capable of more than 6000lm! So in 2000lm mode you will get good runtime and if you need even more

Thrunite tn36 is also great it capable of more than 7000lm!!
But it slitly bigger than the m43

All of those are flooders because a thrower with the same lumens would have a larger head

One problem with the klarus g30 is that it's get very hot after few minutes
But the other 2 on the same brightness won't get as hot as the klarus

Yes, in order to see a doubling of brightness, you'll need 4 times the output. It's the good old inverse square law from physics.

So, the question now is, how much power do you really need and how large a light are you willing to carry.

The Nitecore EC4S is about as big as I'm willing to carry and it's going to be about as bright as you can expect for that size with a half decent runtime.

If you want to head into the 4000+ lumens range, you'll either need to carry a longer or fatter light, remembering that the inverse square law applies again (physics is so not fair to flashlight people).
So to run 4000 lumens, expect to use 4 times the amount of power of your 2000 lumin light. To add to the whole ordeal, the more lumens you extract from an LED, the more heat and the lower the efficiency of that LED... again requiring more battery power and more heat dissipation.

So, if you feel you get a sufficient amount of *light* from your current flashlights, but would like more runtime and perhaps a broader beam without getting into huge flashlights, I think the Nitecore EC4S and others like it, will have the kind of performance in both light output, runtime AND size that you seek.

Otherwise, there's always that water cooled 72.000 lumen flashlight you can see on Youtube.

Regards

Christian

I have an Olight R50 Seeker that is rated 2500lmn. More on the flood than throw side. It's not that much bigger than a single 18650 light. Runs it's own 26550 though. Built in charger and kit.

Another option is the Nitecore TM06. It takes 4 18650 cells, and fits into the 'pop can' size category. Turbo is 3800 lumens for 45 min, which means in your case it would only be there if you wanted a short burst of extra light. But High is 1500 lumens for 3h15m. Max throw is about 300 yds, which means that on High you could expect more like 100 yds. It uses Nitecore's Automatic Temperature Regulation so there is no automatic timed step down, it only steps down enough to keep the light from overheating.

Another option would be the Olight SR Mini Intimidator II. Its output specs and run times are very similar to the TM06, but since it was designed to be more of a flood type light, its max range is only about 250 yds, which would mean a throw on High of around 90 to 100 yds. As you can see, the specs are very similar to the TM06, but it is designed to be more of a flood light than a thrower, so there will be less of a defined hot spot and a brighter spill.

Both lights are about 5 inch x 2 in, and weigh in at around 1lb with cells.

Thank you for all of the replies, I have had great luck with Nitecore products. I have taken to walking at night with just a reflective vest, and only using the light if I see a coyote or deer ahead, or turning my headlamp/Nitecore light on when a car approaches (not to blind them but to let them know I am on the road).

Please elaborate for this bumpkin on throw vs flood. I think I get the gist, distance covered by the light vs direct illumination of an area. I had a Lens Light, which I should've kept, not only because I put the sticker on my truck, but because the focused beam was perfect.

I am very interested in the Nitecore ECS4.

Some throwy lights can reach super far but you only get a small lit spot (which some refer to as "tunnel vision"). Some throwy lights you can't see anything outside this hotspot, so it's good for reaching far but not disturbing anything outside the beam. Main drawback is if you want to see a wider area, you'd need to keep panning the light.

Some floody lights just puts out a "wall of light" where a large area in front of you is lit up. It lets you see pretty much everything in front of you and maybe in your peripheral vision. But since the light is spread out over a further area, it usually won't reach as far.

Throw vs flood is a bit a yin yang thing where if you want more if one, you sacrifice in the other. Main thing is what you want the light for. Some want a good all arounder that throws far enough while lighting up a decent area. Some want dedicated throwers to reach far. Some want to light up everyone close by. And some want dedicated lights for each purpose.

Granted, there's some lights that can brute force both flood and throw but I don't know of too many. The newer 26650 lights like the Olight R50 or the Acebeam EC50 Gen II looks to be floody enough while throwing pretty decent. I'm personally interested in the Acebeam EC50 Gen II since there's currently a coupon code for a reseller that has this.

I'm sure others can explain more clearly in less words than me!

R50 Seeker gets my vote. To me it's perfect flood/throw ratio. Bottom pic is my car's headlights (lo beam), top pic is the Olight.

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That R50 looks great, but..... it's like a 2D cell light... quite thick through the middle and no primary battery option for it.

I think the Nitecore EC4S(W) is a great compromise, as any choice will likely be. I like the one piece, aluminum body, makes for a great heatsink without additional weight. The slab side battery compartment using 2 18650 is thin and will stay close to the hip in a holster. And, you can feed it CR123 cells if you are in a bind.

It's not the perfect custom light for sure, but I think it's a reasonable cost, fits the ticket as requested by the original poster (AND me, I've ordered one for myself), and once you get past the slab side look... it's kinda cool. I have an EA41 4XAA with it's pencil like thrower beam and it's too clunky on the hip and too damn narrow for my old eyes. I can't see anything at 300 yards in daylight, why would I try at night?!?!? I was much a revolver guy years ago.... give me a .40 Mag 5 shot S&W custom, and I'd be happy. Today, I'd probably pick something else... likely a custom CZ 75 in .40cal.... (hugs the hip better) but if in a pinch, a stock 50cal S&W as well as a Nitecore EC4S would keep me pretty comfortable where I plan to move next year. It's the Canadian hot spot for cougars (the cat kind, not the wimmen) and apparently grizzlies are starting to migrate through the area as they are getting crowded out down south. Yeah, I know... I live in Canada, scratch the .50 cal... keep the EC4S.

I've always been a go big or go home kinda guy. In firearms, I'm all about sectional density... my ultimate calibre choice was always a Volkswagon. You get hit squarely by a VW, you don't get up again! On the other hand, carrying one on the hip is kinda awkward, to say the least.

Sorry.... I'm kinda drifting off there..... So... EC4S, slab side for nice holster carry, 2 18650s give 2 hrs or so on 1000 lumen, 4 x CR123s if you are in a bind, one piece aluminum.... keeps it light while maintaining maximum heat dissipation, 2 button interface is pretty easy to learn, gives you instant access to the most needed features. Great price if you PM Dazed1 on this board... I got a very nice discount on that light from GearBest via Dazed1's coupon. Not much else to say.....


Regards

Christian

kaptain_zero said:

That R50 looks great, but..... it's like a 2D cell light... quite thick through the middle and no primary battery option for it.

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You do have a point with the primary..but I think you might be mistaking the Streamlight above for the R50. Here's a quick pic with an EagleTac TX25C2 & a SF somethin or another (hopefuly someone can let me know and I'll edit)

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