Glovebox LED light

Kitchener

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Ned said:
In thinking about the best light to keep in your car's glovebox (glove compartment) or elsewhere on board, I have come up with a few requirements:

• must be very bright to function in a roadside environment where there might be a mix of darkness punctuated by bright lights (headlights of passing cars).
• not too tight beam - because of the close range. Mostly used in and around the car to fix a flat, check under the hood, etc.
• must have legs... you could be stuck in the car (snowstorm, etc.) for as long as a few days, during which you would need the light to be on for a couple of hours a night - at full strength and without a battery change
• should be fault proof. This could be your lifeline... so it must be 100% reliable
• must be able to sit for years without being used... but then be ready for all the above when you need it (at the least Lithium batteries must be part of this requirement)
• would be nice if it didn't roll around when you lay it on the ground or the dash.

Any suggestions for other functional requirements?

Any suggestions for which lights would be best suited for these tasks?




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I revived this thread but over on General Flashlights where it originally was last year. Probably more applicable in the LED forum.

From this thread, like the original poster, the light that caught my fancy most was the Streamlight Twin Task 2L.

But, since this thread is about 4 months old, I wonder if there are now any good 1w luxeon lights that meet the original post's other criterion, and driven by lithium or AA lithium-type batteries?
 

gadget_lover

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The UK 4AA eLED lights are getting good reviews with 10 hours of run-time. I tend to prefer multiple lights simply because you don't realize that you are burning through your lithium batteries until it's too late. So a long throw like a pelican M6 (incan or led) combined with a UK 4AA eLED will do the trick well.

Having said that.... My wife's car has
a) 3D mag with xenon bulb. -- Long throw and heavy swing.
b) Dorcy Spider (2 CR123a /xenon) -- Cheap, Good throw and flood
c) Minimag with ILL-PILL and L91 batteries. -- Longer life
d) A Dorcy 1AAA -- just cause.

We seldom have snow here in central Cal, but if it happens we are ready.

Daniel
 

pedalinbob

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the TT2L would make a great choice. even if the incan bulb blows, you still can rely on the LED's. the LED's are still pretty bright.

another possibility: the Streamlight TL-2 LED or Pelican M6 LED. they are POWERFUL, lithium, and will run for 5+ hours.
my TL-2 is VERY bright.

an opalec or UK4aa LED will give VERY long runtimes, especially with lithiums. if you want an inexpensive long running combo, you could get a TT2L and an infinity ultra--put a lithium in the ultra.

an inretech on lithiums will give long lasting light as well.

as GL stated above, i would think in terms of bright shorter runtime and dimmer, long runtime.
i personally have Tec-40s with a spare infinity ultra in each car. i would be fine with a TL2 LED or TT2L.

or, how about a UK2L with an LED head and a pair of spare bats? throw, long runtime, flood, lighium bats. not bad.

jees...i think i confused muyself with this post!

i dont think you will go wrong with any of the lights mentioned previously.
the inexpensive solution could be a TT2L, with a spare bulb and bats.

my expensive solution would be a TL-2 LED/M6LED and an opalec or UK4AALED/UK2L with LED module and lithiums.

Bob
 

Kitchener

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[ QUOTE ]
pedalinbob said:
the Streamlight TL-2 LED or Pelican M6 LED. they are POWERFUL, lithium, and will run for 5+ hours.
my TL-2 is VERY bright.


Bob

[/ QUOTE ]

These two look great, but definitely getting into the high rent district for a stay-in-the-trunk flashlight.

The UK 4AA eLED is certainly reasonable, but a consistent gripe I've read is brightness, and for an all-weather change-my-flat light, I'm not sure this is the answer(?).

Seems like a luxeon flashlight that can use lithium batteries (123s or the AA version) narrows the field very fast.

Seems like Golden Gadgets has a couple (outside of the pricier M6 and TL-2s) who's brand names AREN'T immediately obvious (HK lights??): S1802 LS lithium and S1704 Luxeon lithium.

I can't tell, performance-wise, what the difference is, who makes them, or anything else. But, they do claim to be bright... Any additional knowledge of these in flashoholic land?
 

Kitchener

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[ QUOTE ]
gadget_lover said:
The UK 4AA eLED lights are getting good reviews with 10 hours of run-time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like a great light. Some of the reviews I read seemed to suggest "it could be brighter." I'm picturing a torrential downpour, changing my flat, and headlights going by -- would it be bright enough?
 

Kitchener

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[ QUOTE ]
pedalinbob said:
my expensive solution would be a TL-2 LED/M6LED and an opalec or UK4AALED/UK2L with LED module and lithiums.
Bob

[/ QUOTE ]

By the way, in the TL-2 LED vs the M6 LED, which is the better flood (or both just great?)?

The UK2L with LED module/lithiums -- is this a manufacturer add-on, or a specific model?
 

pedalinbob

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the TL-2 LED has a relatively small, VERY bright spot, with a huge and very useful spill.

the UK eLED module works on both the 4AA and the 2L body.
you can buy the UKLED stock on the 4aa body, or you can purchase a UK2L, and a separate LED assembly.

www.brightguy.com check here and look at the various options.

the nice part about having say, a UK2L with both the LED and incan head is that you have the option of bright or long runtime--using the same bats. the 123's are only $1.25 or less, far less expensive than the AA lithiums.
the lights are also waterproof and very tough.

tough choices, huh?

i think the tough part is balancing an LED with reasonable cost, lithium bats and high performance.
though my current glovebox setup uses lithium AA, i would prefer to have 123's, because they are so much less expensive.

Bob
 

paulr

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It doesn't take a heck of a lot of light to change a tire. An LED headlamp is a reasonable choice, e.g. PT Aurora. If you want a Luxeon, there's the Elektrolumens Elektrostar which is not too expensive.

Re lithium AA's, I'd just look at total cost of flashlight+one set of batts, and not care about cost per hour of runtime, since the light will be used so rarely.

I don't really see what's so bad about incandescent though. Yeah, the bulb can blow, but toss a spare in the glovebox along with the spare fuses. You do have an Arc AAA or coin cell light on your car keys, so you can find the spare bulb if the primary bulb burns out, I hope. You can also put a $1 Countycomm coin cell light on the wrist lanyard of the bigger glovebox light.
 

Doug Owen

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[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
You can also put a $1 Countycomm coin cell light on the wrist lanyard of the bigger glovebox light.

[/ QUOTE ]

Some time ago, some sage guy or the other suggested taping just such a light to your spare tire. Given the very long life of Li cells........

Doug Owen
 

Greymage

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Go with an LED headlamp so you have both hands free. I like the Zipka+ because of the retracting cord, makes it easy to store. It's also surprisingly comfortable.
 

gadget_lover

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[ QUOTE ]
Kitchener said:
[ QUOTE ]
gadget_lover said:
The UK 4AA eLED lights are getting good reviews with 10 hours of run-time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like a great light. Some of the reviews I read seemed to suggest "it could be brighter." I'm picturing a torrential downpour, changing my flat, and headlights going by -- would it be bright enough?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, it should be plenty. I'd put it at about 10 lumens, most of which is spill. It's been yaers since I changed a tire at night. I seem to remember just needing to find the lug nuts when I drop them.

The nice thing about the UK eLED is that it does have some hotspot but its not so bright that the spill becomes unusable. You could use it for signalling if you run off the road, for instance.


Daniel
 

The Yeti

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I would also add a CMG infinity. Not the ultra. This would be for a passenger map light, the map light provided in most cars is in an inconvenient place for driving at night.

It also as a side effect. Since it is so dim, it will run for a very long time. Standard alkalines, will last 3-5 hears, just get duracells so you have the expiration date printed on the battery.

The infinity and batteries will probably cost you less than $20. A local camping store should stock them.
 

paulr

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The Infinity is discontinued but the Ultra is fine for a passenger map light. Really, pretty much anything is fine.
 

sodakar

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I'm with Bob on this one.

The Streamlight Twin-Task 2L, for ~$30 including batteries is a great deal for a light that will spend most of its lifetime in the glovebox.

My SureFire C3 sits in my glovebox, and I feel guilty about it every day... That's one mighty expensive backup flashlight...
 

3rd_shift

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A cheap 2-3 dollar flashlight or 2 will also work.
I still have my 1975 Eveready Commander 2d cell flashlight from when I was 6 years old in 1975 and it still works great with an Everled in it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
"Hey son, would you like to have a nice, silver flashlight"
"Sure Mom".
"Ok, we'll go get one then"
That was when I 1st became a flashoholic. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 

daloosh

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If affordability is important, and you have a MiniMag lying around (and who doesn't), an Opalec newbeam is pretty cost effective. Bright enough, runs on AAs, low maintenance.

If you really want a Luxeon, and still run in AAs, SLs 3AA Luxeon task light might fit the bill. Of course, all these, as well as the Twin Task and TL2s all roll away due to the round body.

Maybe a LED from Princeton Tec, near indestructible, don't roll, runs on AAs, weather and water proof...

daloosh
 
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