Help with VERY specific list of requirements for my next light

Hey guys, I'm a newbie around here, so forgive me if I dont have the knowledge that some of you possess. I would like to hear what you can recommend for a new flashlight that will be mounted on a home defense 12 ga.

Before I make the list - yes. I realize this is EXTREMELY specific, but please help me as best you can.

Overall Length: 3-4" / 76.2mm-101.6mm
Body Diameter: 1" / 25.4mm (give or take a 1-2 mm's)
Head - prefer it to be the same diameter or very close in diameter to the body (dont care about the crown)
Power - CR123 (*or AA/AAA if necessary)
Single stage On/Off
Switch on tailcap
Preferably a metal body & black
Pocket clip isnt necessary
Decent amount of brightness (given its use as a home defense light)
LOW COST

This flashlight will see very little use, but needs to work when called upon (hence why I'd prefer the lasting power of a CR123).

Up until recently, I was using an OLD light from Dorcy, the 41-4262 model which was surprisingly awesome (pic included below). The Dorcy was tested at 580 lux, and factory rated at 45 Lumens with 100ft of throw. It had a nice combination of flood and spot, and was a rather tough SOB, but I bought mine 15 or so years ago for $25 at one of the local hardware stores, and if they still sold them today, I'd buy a couple more.

I would love to find something comparable, under $40 USD if possible, with all those factors to replace.

Here is a well detailed review with tonnes of info on the Dorcy I'm sad to be replacing:
http://www.dansdata.com/41-4262.htm






Does anyone have any recommendations?

I think this may be a little over your budget but it's worth looking at the Streamlight 1l-1AA. I've been using mine at the brewery for some months now and it's a very robust light. You can program it to run in single mode and it will not only run on single CR123s but also on AAs, AAAs and 16340s without adaptors. It's very bright on 16340s and it's hard to tell the difference in modes as they both look the same.
I normally buy lights that are much more expensive, but this one does a great job for me.
P

The Armytek Partner C2 is single mode when the head is tightened and usually within budget, but as far as I know the output is still reduced because of the optic they're using.

Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

Do you guys happen to know the shortest/stumpiest flashlight that uses (1x) CR123 and has a tailcap switch, offhand?

Surefire G2X Tactical or Original Surefire 6P. May be able to find a 6P around $40. Ebay has them sometimes. Also, you can upgrade it one day with a Malkoff drop in if you ever so desire and have a really great light. The G2X Tactical will probably be a bit over $40, but may find one close. The head is a bit bigger than the body, but that is all I can think of, that I would trust in that price range to stand up to recoil.

you could build a convoy s2+ to your exact needs for under 40$

+1 on the 6P. Cheap, robust, and expandable.

Dicaeopolis said:

Surefire G2X Tactical or Original Surefire 6P.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, according to my research, the G2X Tactical is over 5"/127mm long, making it too long for my use. I will, however, check out the 6P and read up on that!

wicky998 said:

you could build a convoy s2+ to your exact needs for under 40$

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on how I could do this, or where I can source the components & info to do so?

bmengineer said:

The Armytek Partner C2 is single mode when the head is tightened and usually within budget, but as far as I know the output is still reduced because of the optic they're using.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I will look into this!

peter yetman said:

...it's worth looking at the Streamlight 1l-1AA.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I will also look into this unit too!


Keep the suggestions coming fellas! Thanks for all the help so far! :thumbsup:

The 6P is 5 inches. You did list 3 to 4 inches, but since I have one on a shotgun, I just assumed it was fine I guess. Even my Elzetta Alpha is 4" long and that is a single CR123 light. Good luck finding the light you are after. Please post if you do. I would like to know myself a light that meets all of those requirements. I would enthusiastically recommend the Elzetta, but it is over $40. I would think you need a pretty decent light to count on for that use.

X2 on the Streamlight mentioned above. Hope you never need to use it.

Fair enough. So youre saying that I need to be a bit more flexible. What if I wanted to stick as close to the size parameters, but didnt care if it had a single mode or multiple modes? Would that free up some options?

From my researching -

On Banggood -
I came across a flashlight called the Imalent LD10 that says it uses a CREE XPL HI LED for $49.41 CDN (about $35 USD) - does anyone have experience with this model?

There was also a Folomov EDC that uses a Nicha 219D LED chip, and runs off a 18650 for about $45 CDN (approx $32 USD)?
Anyone ever come across one of these?

Elsewhere -
A Brand I'd seen in Walmart before called Police Security has the Covert 1AA model that fits in the size specs and would be under $10 USD (if I can find it in Canada)

Coast brand (popular in Walmart, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, etc) offers the HX5 model which runs on a single AA or a 14500 and is a tail-switch w/ only a single mode and is 4" long for $32 CDN


On Aliexpress, I found:
Crelant V31A L2 for $42 CND that uses an L2 LED
U'King ZQ-CJT09 that uses a T6 LED for about $25 CDN
Astrolux S41 that can be had with either (4) Nichia 219C or (4) CREE XP-G3 LED's and would be about $50 CDN (approx $36 USD)

Any thoughts?