Lantern or Flashlight?

DimBeam

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 21, 2004
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220
Location
CT
I spent nearly a half hour looking for my friends cat outdoors last night. I had on me a Surefire G2 and while a great little light it at times did not have the throw or the desired overspill needed to really cover large areas of the woods and open areas. Would I be better off with a Lantern or is their a flashlight that would cover my needs for throw but also overall brightness with plenty of overspill? I would like to keep the price reasonable and at this time I am not interested in Mods(not yet anyway).
 

gadget_lover

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Oct 7, 2003
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Near Silicon Valley (too near)
If you want resaonable cost, an old style lantern with the big, square 6 volt battery from your local discount place (K-mart, Wally world, Target, etc) will provide a lot of light for very little cash. Some of the rechargable 1 million candle power spotlights are quite handy, but you only get a short (30 minutes to an hour) runtime before needing a recharge. I noticed that the G2 can use the P61 lamp assembly (120 lumens) but that will only run 20 minutes on a pair of 123 batteries.

Some of the pre-modded lights like the tri-light may meet your needs too, and still be under $100.

Daniel
 

BlindedByTheLite

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Jul 6, 2003
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Bangor, Maine
ah, i remember chasing my x-grlfriend's cat around everytime it got out @ night.

you definitely need a bright flashlight.

but i haven't found an affordable light that works well either.. the kitten was just too damn fast and i was always panning the light hoping for a glimpse. and like you said, lanterns just don't have enough throw.

i was having trouble keeping up with him with my Brinkmann Rebel and i had to switch to my PT40 just to have a chance.. and it definitely wasn't the ideal light.
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

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Sep 4, 2002
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Shepherd, TX (where dat?)
How about a nice Dog instead? LOL!

REAL bright lights don't have much runtime.

You could try getting a 3D M*glite and putting 4C in it. Or get a 4D and put 5C, or a 6D with a 5cell Krypton bulb. And then of course get some Writeright or an Acrylite lense to fix the bright but LOUSY beam.

I have a Garrity Lantern wiyth a big outer half textured reflector and a Teal Everled in it. At 10 feet it is abit over 2feet wide, goes to about 3feet at about 16 feet.

I'll look around outside with a couple of the above mentioned lights after dark and see if I can help you.
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

Flashaholic
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Sep 4, 2002
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Shepherd, TX (where dat?)
I took 4 lights out my side garage door where it is about 50 feet to my back fence.

Light 1: 3D M*g with a Whitestar Krypton 3Cell bulb and 4C Rayovac Alkalines aboard. Also has an Acrylite diffusing lense. Lights the fence GREAT. About 10 feet across at 50. Also able to hit all the trees within my view as well as lighting up the area between the houses across the street, some 100 feet away.

Light 2: 4D M*g with a 4cell WS, 5 Alk C cells (mix of Ray and Walmart branded batts) and Writeright textured film on the lense. Essentionally the same as the 3D. Perhaps a bit more diffused, perhaps the batteries aren't as hot - it seemed a smidgen dimmer. Still good performance due mainly to the Writeright!

Light 3: Everactive Lantern from Walmart. With 4 Energizer D cells and a KPR113 4.8V .75A bulb. This has a beam that is a tight spot with decent spill. Not NEARLY as good as the M*gs!

Light 4: Garrity Lantern. With 4 Energizer D cells (could use a 6V lantern batt) and a Teal Everled. Similar width of beam to the M*gs, hard to say if as bright or more/less so. Seemed to hit the trees all well too.

I don't have even a good clue about the runtime of these lights. I figure several good bright hours (3-5 perhaps) with common batteries.

The easiest to deal with is the 3D M*g, the Garrity Lantern handles well.

Another idea would be to get a 4C M*g and use a 3Cell bulb in it. Don't forget the Acrylite lense or Writeright film no matter which M*g you might choose.

One last thought. Almost a month ago now there was a shooting next door. For about three hours that night I used an Elektrolumens Starlux 3D 1Watt LED light to look for blood, bullet holes on houses, cars parked some 100 feet away etc. I didn't ever feel I REALLY needed any more light than that, and it has a 24 hour runtime to 50% brightness!!!!

Wayne has some current lights that are similar, go to www.elektrolumens.com

Hope I helped!
 

DougNel

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Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Messages
97
Location
California, USA
Below is a link to a review of a very bright light with a nice beam with lots of throw and side spill (unlike the 3D and 4D mags). About $25. I have one and it is the brightest thing I own. I think it would be perfect for looking for an animal outside at night. Should get in the 3-5 hours range of use on one set of batteries. Uses inexpensive alkaline AA's.

Princeton Tec Surge

Note that the negative issues mentioned in this review have been fixed in the current models (mine doesn't have any problems).
 
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