Looking for a full sized LED 4000K flashlight

I've been looking for a quality reliable full sized LED flashlight. All the well-recommended LED flashlights seem to be only 4" long.

I want to replace my old halogen Mag-lite, with something lighter and more lumens ( NOT having to switch to "Turbo", but on high setting? Maybe 1100 lm? ) , but 4000K and rechargeable with a similar charging dock as the Mag-lite ( just don't want to have to plug it in all the time ), for under $100 if possible.

Or am I looking for the impossible, with the 4000K? It seems like no one gives Kelvin stats anymore, with these LED flashlights.

Thanks!

If you are happy to compromise on output and price you could get a Malkoff MD2 host with an M61w (warm) drop in for abot 130 bucks.
It's built in the US and designed to last a lifetime. It "only" does 325 limens, in fact I think they've just upped the output by 100Lm, but once you've used it, you'll wonder why you wanted 1000.
Have a look at malkoffdevices.com (they have a sale on) or at the megabytes of posts about Malkoff on here.
Good luck with your search.
P

Thanks Peter, but I do night work, where I have to find addresses and knock on doors at night. I've been using the old halogen Mag-lite since 2006, but want something with more lumens, the same size, but lighter, and in around 4000K, which is pure white.

Melissa2007 said:

Thanks Peter, but I do night work, where I have to find addresses and knock on doors at night. I've been using the old halogen Mag-lite since 2006, but want something with more lumens, the same size, but lighter, and in around 4000K, which is pure white.

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you can still use a malkoff for that. if you want a larger size, md3 and md4 bodies are longer

I looked on Amazon and didn't see them. I looked at their site, and they're not even dock rechargeable. Thanks anyway.

Lee filters can change the tint on a streamlight stinger or strion to around 4000k and they're dock rechargeable. Or if you're looking for something bigger, stick with the maglite magcharger led

Yeah, it looks like, if I want a FULL sized rechargeable LED flashlight with dock, I'll have to go with the Maglite RL1019, and just deal with the bluish white color temp. Thanks guys!

aginthelaw said:

Lee filters can change the tint on a streamlight stinger or strion to around 4000k and they're dock rechargeable. Or if you're looking for something bigger, stick with the maglite magcharger led

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Filters can also attenuate the lumens. Thanks.

I think the challenge here is that with li-ion batteries these days, very few quality lights use multiple big heavy D cells or similar in series anymore. People don't want to carry those large clunky lights around when they can get lots more light and flexibility out of much smaller pocketable lights. So the options are limited. The "popcan" lights are very high output and take a couple 18650s usually so they are thicker but not necessarily long. Is there a reason you need the flashlight to be long? That seems inconvenient to handle in most cases.

Yes. I'm a Process Server. I serve court documents, day and night. And before anyone gets a negative connotation from that, we're all guaranteed by our Constitution, "due process of the law. In other countries and/or in other times, the king or other ruler(s) would just send someone to your property, take everything you had, and throw you out on the street, or in some cases kill you. On any whim. But our Constitution guarantees due process. So when someone has a beef with someone else - be it over a dispute, a divorce, etc., they have them "served" with court documents, like a Summons, that says that you have court proceedings that you need to go take care of.

So when I go out at night, I need a white light, for seeing addresses on buildings. SOMETIMES, even black numbers on brown backgrounds. YES, people do that.

Then when I take the documents up to someone's door, I have the documents in my left hand, separated by the ones I'm giving them, and the work order sheet on top, that I keep. I have my pen in my right hand, to write down who they are, and a description of them. By the time I knock or ring their bell, I've also turned on my police style body cam, which hangs from my neck by a leather cord.

In the past, I've stuck my halogen Mag-lite up under my left arm, to light up the documents AND hopefully enough of them, to get a better video on the night vision of my body cam. The body cam covers my butt, in several ways. I've only been attacked once, doing this for the past 15 years, but wish I'd had it back then. It also covers me against people claiming that I never served them, which has happened. And then we showed the judge my video. Heh...

So if the flashlight is only 4" long ( this happened this past week, when we walked out the door and forgot my Mag-lite, but fortunately I had my new ThruNite TC15 in my purse as backup ) and I put that under my arm, I wound up dropping it on concrete. Fortunately it still works fine, but this is a better explanation of why I need a full sized flashlight, like the Mag-lite. But I understand the LED Mag-lite is around 5000K, which is getting bluish. I see best at night, for this work, with pure white ( thus the 4000K ) and it's been a real bear trying to find a full sized LED flashlight, at 4000K, with a charging dock like the Mag-lite has.

Ah, I see, so you hold it under your arm. That makes sense. I wonder if there are any angle-head type lights that might work, where you could clip it on your neck cord or purse strap if you carry that cross-body so you get the same directional beam on a smaller light that also leaves your hands/arms free to move around without dropping the light. Would something like that be a useful design? Now I'm curious to look around for something like that either way. Haha

Pricey, but take a look at the Lupine Betty TL2 Pro.

Not sure of the stock CCT, but at least at one time, you could get custom light engines for those.

Might be worth contacting them to check.

Maybe a Steamlight Ultra Stinger or a Maglite ML150?

The stock Klarus XT21X has reviews that say things like "long for a 21700", "very bright," and "very powerful." If the requirement is for something 13" and 1.75 lbs that sits in a cradle, then a LED light with Li-ion cells might not be in production in that category. But, the Klarus is over 6" long and pretty fat, and is a USB-rechargeable example of one of the larger lights that people these days call "tactical," whatever that means. To Klarus, it means a back button interface with instant access to strobe and turbo, and a pretty throwy light that won't fit comfortably in a pocket. I know, strobe is a silly thing to have on a light; I wish they didn't, or at least did a better job burying it.

For what its worth, if I were trying to use 2 hands for paperwork, and simultaneously light a dark front door for good video, I'd use a high CRI flood headlamp or a lightweight flood flashlight clipped to the bill of my cap. To see house address numbers from the street, I'd use a different tool with a pretty intense focused beam, and put that tool back in its holster when I needed to use my hands/headlamp for other things.

Anyway, the Magcharger has a much narrower beam when focused in to a point. The fixed Klarus beam will have more intensity than the halogen Maglite, but it takes over 3000 lumens to do it--it will light the whole front porch of whoever is getting served. Stock, the Klarus is 6500K. Vinh runs skylumen.com, and has options on his site to swap the LED and sell a 3000K, 4000K, or probably even a high CRI option, for $120--a steal, in my opinion, for a custom light that he personally warranties. But, just like CCT, beam shape (pencil vs wider) and user interface are personal preferences, so the Klarus might not fit the bill. I personally like the smaller Acebeam L16 single-tailswitch, turbo-only (no strobe) interface, but that's just me.

For numbers people, here's a numbers comparison of the factory Klarus vs halogen Magcharger vs the LED Magcharger. As a numbers person myself, this to me looks like a stark description of a current-day "large" light vs what used to be a "standard" light: Klarus first, the Magcharger halogen that the OP has been using second, the "new" Magcharger LED third; and, as a wildcard for silly comparison, an HDS EDC tactical NLT 325 fourth.

lumens on turbo when it first turns on: rated 4000 (actual 3250); rated 240; rated 643; 325 calibrated
intensity (brightness in center of beam at "turbo" when it first turns on): 25Kcd; ~15Kcd; 41Kcd; 3 Kcd
runtime at "medium": 6.5 hours @400 lumens; 2 hours @ 240 lumens; 2 hours at 643 lumens; 2 hours at 325
runtime at "low": 21 hours at 100 lumens; 6.5 hours at "low" lumens; 17 hours at 148 lumens; 4.5 hours above 50 lumens
weight with batteries: 8oz; 28oz; 28 oz; 3.6 oz
length: 6.3"; 13"; 13"; 3.7"
head dia: 1.6"; 2.3"; 2.3"; 1"
battery: 21700 Li-ion; NiMH battery pack; NiMH battery pack; CR123 primary
charging: USB; NiMH-specific cradle; LED-specific cradle; swap cells or use rechargeable 123 INR
user interface: rear switches for strobe/turbo, side switch for 7 light levels; side button; side button; rear button programmable
beam: fixed spot with spill; adjustable focus; adjustable focus; fixed spot/spill
cost: $120 (stock or custom LED); n/a; $83; $314

nbp said:

Ah, I see, so you hold it under your arm. That makes sense. I wonder if there are any angle-head type lights that might work, where you could clip it on your neck cord or purse strap if you carry that cross-body so you get the same directional beam on a smaller light that also leaves your hands/arms free to move around without dropping the light. Would something like that be a useful design? Now I'm curious to look around for something like that either way. Haha

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Nah, but have fun if you want to explore it for yourself.

I suspect that this is why police like what they call full sized "law enforcement" flashlights. Because they can hold them under the arm, just like I do. It's simple, does the trick and doesn't require any head bands, miner's lamps or other fancy doo dads.

I just replied to one of the above replies, hit the send button, and it said the server was busy and dumped everything that I'd written. I was saying that I'm a senior, barely paying the bills, and with no retirement plan either, so a $995 flashlight is way out of the question. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into some of them. The catch keeps being the 4000K that I'd like. Otherwise, I could just get the mod kit and turn this Mag-lite into an LED. But blue light isn't great for me seeing at night. Thanks guys.

Melissa2007 said:

Nah, but have fun if you want to explore it for yourself.

I suspect that this is why police like what they call full sized "law enforcement" flashlights. Because they can hold them under the arm, just like I do. It's simple, does the trick and doesn't require any head bands, miner's lamps or other fancy doo dads.

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LEO use them because they double as batons. That's what I assumed you were wanting it for. I would look at something like the Fenix WT20R. Rechargeable light with pivot head, spot and flood modes, and a big clip. Clip on your bag strap, then you wouldn't have to keep your arm clenched to your side to hold the light.

nbp said:

LEO use them because they double as batons. That's what I assumed you were wanting it for.

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No. I've got a Black Belt.

Melissa2007 said:

.... I was saying that I'm a senior, barely paying the bills, and with no retirement plan either, so a $995 flashlight is way out of the question....

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This is one of the reasons that listing a preferred budget, whatever it may be, is (in my opinion) the single most useful piece of info to list in the original post.

With most hobbyist equipment, to say nothing of professional tools, generally the sky is the limit on pricing.

CPF members are happy to provide advice within any practical budget, but knowing that in advance helps quite a lot with guiding someone through the choices and tradeoffs.

EDIT ... not sure if I missed the "under $100" or if it was added later, but yes that would rule out the Lupine for sure

The $100 was there originally. I don't see any point in going higher, because a complete new LED Mag-lite kit is $82, if I'm willing to work with the bluish light output. 643 lumens may not be ideal, but is adequate.