Looking for a good, cheap emergency light.

I want to buy a handful of a good emergency/power outage lights. That way I can have them throughout the house, in the car, etc. I was hoping to be under $20. I prefer an 18650 flashlight. But I would also like CR123 compatibility. I have dozens of 123's sitting around and they would be great for emergency lights. I don't have a preference for tactical or side switch. I'm not too picky about style. Beside the battery; the only other request would be efficiency. Low parasitic drain and long run times(within reason), a moonlight mode.

I love Zebralight but I can't afford to fill my house with those. I can wish.

Ive heard great things about the Convoy S2+ -- suggestions? Thanks for any input!

Boy, cheap and emergency should never be used in the same sentence imo.but if you want to go that route and fill your house with lights the new Maglites are hard to beat. Can't use your 123's in them but batteries are not that expensive and you get a lot of light with real good runtime.

thermal guy said:

Boy, cheap and emergency should never be used in the same sentence imo.but if you want to go that route and fill your house with lights the new Maglites are hard to beat. Can't use your 123's in them but batteries are not that expensive and you get a lot of light with real good runtime.

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You are right it was a bad choice of words. The word I should of used was economical or affordable lol. Though anything is better than nothing at this point!

I've never really used maglites. I don't know if it's my she(30) but I seem to have missed that train. Maglite, to me, was always the huge 3-6 D cell lights. I will have to look into some of their newer led models.

Convoy C8?
18650, and should be under 20$

Not your battery configuration, but what about something like PakLite that takes a 9v battery? These flashlights are tiny and last forever. In emergency/power outage, they work remarkably well.

9v is not a common battery type, so in emergency, you can probably find plenty from fire/smoke detectors and most drug stores. The first batteries to be gone from stores are typically AAA/AA followed by C and D cells.

Well, with more blatant disregard for your battery preference, I'll throw out the Rayovac Indestructible 2xAA. Don't put alkaline batteries in "waiting for trouble" lights, use Eneloops. They will be ready to go after years of storage, and never leak. Also, after some use, they can be topped up so you don't have to chose between leaving a light half dead or replacing half dead batteries with new ones. Energizer lithium primaries are great too, except for the previous concern. And they cost almost as much as Eneloops.

I am a big fan of the 18650 format for the same reasons as Eneloops, but not so sure I would trust a sub-$20 18650 light as much as the Rayovac. Especially if it gets abused. Those rubber armored bezels and tail caps really work, not to mention a very thick aluminum body. And if you do use up a supply of charged Eneloops, you should be able to raid AA's from somewhere, even if the store is out. I can think of a dozen in other roles around the house without trying, in devices that are of no use without power.

The two levels are very useful, but the low is not a "moonlight", but it does run a heckuva long time. The PakLite xcel730 mentioned would be a good companion light for that function. I have some of the old 9v Safelights, and they rock, but after James Meyer passed, so did his business. May want to look for those on the Marketplace or the 'bay.

Maglite 3D second generation led are approx $20, 80 hr run time and no parasitic drain.

JoeRodge said:

I want to buy a handful of a good emergency/power outage lights. That way I can have them throughout the house, in the car, etc. I was hoping to be under $20. I prefer an 18650 flashlight. But I would also like CR123 compatibility. I have dozens of 123's sitting around and they would be great for emergency lights. I don't have a preference for tactical or side switch. I'm not too picky about style. Beside the battery; the only other request would be efficiency. Low parasitic drain and long run times(within reason), a moonlight mode.

I love Zebralight but I can't afford to fill my house with those. I can wish.

Ive heard great things about the Convoy S2+ -- suggestions? Thanks for any input!

Click to expand...

It's hard to beat the TEKNA Splash-Lite for a cheap-but-reliable light for around the house.

JoeRodge said:

I want to buy a handful of a good emergency/power outage lights. That way I can have them throughout the house, in the car, etc. I was hoping to be under $20. I prefer an 18650 flashlight. But I would also like CR123 compatibility. I have dozens of 123's sitting around and they would be great for emergency lights. I don't have a preference for tactical or side switch. I'm not too picky about style. Beside the battery; the only other request would be efficiency. Low parasitic drain and long run times(within reason), a moonlight mode.

I love Zebralight but I can't afford to fill my house with those. I can wish.

Ive heard great things about the Convoy S2+ -- suggestions? Thanks for any input!

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Absolutely... the Convoy S2+ is a winner!
IMO they set the standard for low cost quality.

They have mechanical switches... so no parasitic drain.
Typically they don't have a moonlight, but a 10% low. IIRC, that'll get you forty hours on a single charge.

You can get the XPL model with biscotti driver/firmware that gives you 13 mode selections, including 0.1% moonlight.
[h=1]desert tan S2+ flashlight, with XPL HI led inside and ar-coated glass,biscotti firmware[/h]
For extended power outtages, you can use your car to recharge your cells when you go for groceries etc.

For additional preps regarding outages, see the power outage thread.

You'll note that I am also a proponent of those $10 plug into an outlet, auto-on power failure lights.

JoeRodge said:

I want to buy a handful of a good emergency/power outage lights. That way I can have them throughout the house, in the car, etc. I was hoping to be under $20. I prefer an 18650 flashlight. But I would also like CR123 compatibility. I have dozens of 123's sitting around and they would be great for emergency lights. I don't have a preference for tactical or side switch. I'm not too picky about style. Beside the battery; the only other request would be efficiency. Low parasitic drain and long run times(within reason), a moonlight mode.................

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Parasitic drain concern --> Go with a mechanical on/off tail cap switch.
Handful of lights --> I'd not settle on just one brand or model at first. Try one of different types to see what you actually like. There are so many good choices out there but we are all different in what we like.
Dozens of CR123A's sitting around --> Consider getting a single CR123A light. When it comes to the CR123A battery, I prefer 1xCR123A to the 2xCR123A for safety reasons. Even though a 18650 light can take the 2xCR123A batteries, you are unlikely to need that configuration if you have 18650 batteries.

Amazon has the Sofirn SF36 (18650 & no mention of 2xCR123A ability so assume not) on sale for $10.88. I couldn't resist and purchased one. They only let you buy one per customer. On paper it looks pretty decent. After looking over the YouTube videos, I think its pretty good light for the price.

I believe it is a PWM controlled light which are not my favorite, but for the price I don't think you can beat it. It also has a tint in the 5500K area which is a favorite of mine. It's a 4 mode switch with hidden strobe (takes two clicks in a row to activate strobe). So strobe isn't part of the rotation. Tail cap switch is a reverse clicky and so mode advancement is via soft presses. I mostly prefer forward click switches for the momentary ability, but I kind of like this type of switch also for quick changing of modes all in one switch. I believe it has memory and thus will turn back on in the mode you last used. Spacing looks pretty decent on this 4 mode light. I like 4 mode lights rather than 5 because I think the spacing is better when only dealing with a total of 1000 lumens. It has springs on both ends so flat top 18650 batteries will work. There is warning at the 2.7v level with a couple of flashes to let you know its time to recharge the battery. (I never let my batteries get that low before topping off, but good to know its there). I have several flat top NCR18650B unprotected batteries and so those look to be a good fit for this light.

hiuintahs said:

Parasitic drain concern --> Go with a mechanical on/off tail cap switch.
Handful of lights --> I'd not settle on just one brand or model at first. Try one of different types to see what you actually like. There are so many good choices out there but we are all different in what we like.
Dozens of CR123A's sitting around --> Consider getting a single CR123A light. When it comes to the CR123A battery, I prefer 1xCR123A to the 2xCR123A for safety reasons. Even though a 18650 light can take the 2xCR123A batteries, you are unlikely to need that configuration if you have 18650 batteries.

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You can get a short tube for the S2+ and run it as a single CR123 light.

There don't seem to be many budget-oriented CR123A powered lights out there. Even the parametrek flashlight database shows very few in the $20 ballpark. As far as I know, the Convoys can not run on CR123A, or perhaps only in lower modes, although I think it's possible to mod them with a driver that can run on 2 x CR123A.

Or you could plan on your cheaper lights being assurance you can find a single Zebralight SC32 or H32, and feed that light your CR123A's if a prolonged outage comes up.

As far as other battery types go...

I'm the sort who prefers to have a couple different types of lights rather than relying on a bunch of lights of the same type for potentially a wide variety of needs.

The Convoy S2+ seems like a good option for general use, not just in emergencies, but year round. If you've got them, as long it's not inconvenient to put them back in their emergency use location when done, why not use them?

The Rayovac Indestructible, or perhaps the Sofirn SF13 are very reasonably priced AA-powered lights that should run well on Eneloops.

Have seen how much abuse other members have put their Fenix E01's through, and knowing how efficiently it uses AAA's, I think that light is also a good one to have around.

The Inova X1 is another light to consider, 80 lumens on high 11 lumens on low pretty good for up close/inside the house use, will take a paracord lanyard. For outdoors/longer distances, the aforementioned Rayovac Indestructible 2AA is great! Eneloops are the way to go with these unless they are stored in a vehicle or other non climate controlled environment, than Energizer ultimate lithiums are best.

Personally, I would not feel safe with a bunch of 18650s scattered around the house in cheap lights.

xxo said:

Personally, I would not feel safe with a bunch of 18650s scattered around the house in cheap lights.

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+1

Sound advice.

X2 on the Splash-Lite.

For the cars I would consider something with good quality as it may be the light to save you in an emergency.
For the house it's ok to get the something not as good, but still remember you are relying on it for an EMERGENCY.

Here is one for $7.00 on Ebay. It will zoom for wide coverage when needed.I have a similar one i use every day.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/70000LM-T6...150897?hash=item41ca3208b1:g:XGsAAOSwyfRaj7Ws

iamlucky13 said:

There don't seem to be many budget-oriented CR123A powered lights out there. Even the parametrek flashlight database shows very few in the $20 ballpark. As far as I know, the Convoys can not run on CR123A, or perhaps only in lower modes, although I think it's possible to mod them with a driver that can run on 2 x CR123A.

Or you could plan on your cheaper lights being assurance you can find a single Zebralight SC32 or H32, and feed that light your CR123A's if a prolonged outage comes up.

As far as other battery types go...

I'm the sort who prefers to have a couple different types of lights rather than relying on a bunch of lights of the same type for potentially a wide variety of needs.

The Convoy S2+ seems like a good option for general use, not just in emergencies, but year round. If you've got them, as long it's not inconvenient to put them back in their emergency use location when done, why not use them?

The Rayovac Indestructible, or perhaps the Sofirn SF13 are very reasonably priced AA-powered lights that should run well on Eneloops.

Have seen how much abuse other members have put their Fenix E01's through, and knowing how efficiently it uses AAA's, I think that light is also a good one to have around.

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You are right. I was mistaken, they don't run on CR123 cells. I just tested mine, or rather tehy will run on low, and a low mid, but I don't know how long. They do run well with a short tube and 18350 cells.