request recommendations

Hi, yes my first post,
I'm interested in a LED flashlight.

I'm looking for the following and seeking recommendations:
1) LED preferably Luxeon for brightness, hopefully beating out comparable incandescent by a lot.

2) 3+ hours at high brightness. Whether it uses a regulation to achieve it, I do not care.
3) Prefer the following for power, a) being most preferred
a) ordinary batteries (AA, C)
b) rechargable
c) 123s
d) really don't want D because...
4) ...Prefer it be not particularly heavy. Not much bigger than 7". Not the huge police ones for clubbing.
5) Be nice if it had adjustable focus and or brightness (hybrid acceptable for this purpose).

Some I've looked at and like:
http://flashlightreviews3.home.att.net/reviews/elektrolumens_ft-3c.htm
http://flashlightreviews3.home.att.net/reviews/ledxtreme_predator.htm
http://flashlightreviews4.home.att.net/reviews/elektrolumens_xm2.htm

Trying to stay under $90. Seems a little nuts to spend that much on a flashlight anway. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Thanks for your wisdom. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

Welcome to CPF xoham, the only light of the 3 you listed that I have is the Elektrolumens FT-3C. I don't use it that much, because it is a bit large for pocket carry, and it is brighter than I normally need for walking the dog.

However, I am gradually trying to force myself to bring it along and try it out. After I put some WriteRite to smooth out the hotspot, I think that it is a great light. It is still quite a bit smaller and lighter than my old 3D Maglight, and is brighter with a better beam.

If you don't mind carrying a 3c sized light, I think the FT-3C is a great buy.

For AA batteries, you could try the upcoming XM-3, which you will find details of in Elektrolumens' thread. The Streamlight Tasklight 3AA is also another candidate. Streamlight Junior Luxeon is nice with 2AAs but runtime is only 1 hr+. Also, if you can still find any in stock or maybe from the B/S/T thread, the Arc LSH with the 2AA powerpack is nice too. There might be more that I may have missed out, I'm sure others will point them out soon...

Oh, and Welcome to CPF, Xoham! Hope you enjoy your stay here! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have all three of the ones you list.

XM-2: Very good brightness for the size. Nice white tint. Sub-mediocre fit of parts. Poor switch. Faulty o-rings. Poor lens (scratched from factory), very bad runtime (One of my XM2s went from very bright to dim in just 20 minutes)! Mediocre beam quality. For $39 its okay, but at best an "average" quality flashlight IMO.

FT-3C: Very bright and white beam. Fit and finish is average, but the switch is terrible. However, EXCELLENT runtime--even on dead cells this flashlight is bright. It starts out at around 72 lumens, but even when the batteries are basically dead it gives good light. I have well over 10 hours of use (I'd estimate over 12 actually), and this is still producing good light (maybe 20 lumens?--it certainly appears to me to be brighter than my 2D Maglite). Beam quality is mediocre, but it does throw well if throw is your priority. IMO, this is a good flashlight (performance is very good, but fit and finish plus beam quality are not so good).

LedXtreme Predator: Exceptional output for the size, white beam, and VERY WELL MADE. Very good fit and finish. Beam quality is average (perhaps slightly above average), but still better than the XM2 and FT-3C. Runtime is okay, I typically get 2 hours of good light out of it before it poops out. Very good switch. Good throw. Overall, IMO a very good flashlight, perhaps one level below a Surefire (in the high B+ to low A- range). For comparisons sake, I'd give my Surefire L2s, 6Ps, and C3 all a solid "A" rating). You get a lot of light for $79, IMO with the Predator.

Summary:

XM-2, I don't recommend. Too many problems, not enough quality in the fit/finish, poor switch, and poor runtime take away from the good initial output.

FT-3C, if runtime and having cheap/easy to find batteries are a priority, I recommend the FT-3C. A good performer that is rough around the edges.

Predator: A very well made flashlight that performs well. Parts may be hard to find because not too many people own this light. It doesn't appear to be a good seller from what I can tell (I don't know of any other CPF member that owns this light). However, it is a very good buy at $79, if you want to take the chance (that the company will remain in business for the long term).

[ QUOTE ]
357 said:
...very good flashlight, perhaps one level below a Surefire (in the high B+ to low A- range). For comparisons sake, I'd give my Surefire L2s, 6Ps, and C3 all a solid "A" rating). You get a lot of light for $79, IMO with the Predator.

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Man that Surefire 6P is coool. Too bad their LED flashlights (6P is a xenon) are much more expensive and not as slick. Great design.

The Streamlight Luxeon Jr. will run for hours on NiMH. Not much throw, but a good even white beam, regulated to maintain constant brightness. Light and easy to carry, it also has a momentary-on tail click-switch. I really like this light for general economical use.

Someone at our recent Toronto CPF meet had a Predator. Very attractive feel, the throw was quite astonishing. Although only 1 watt, I guess it's highly overdriven. Good for longer range. This light is made in Canada. Forget what batteries it uses, maybe 123's?

[ QUOTE ]
2dim said:
The Streamlight Luxeon Jr. will run for hours on NiMH. Not much throw, but a good even white beam, regulated to maintain constant brightness. Light and easy to carry, it also has a momentary-on tail click-switch. I really like this light for general economical use.

Someone at our recent Toronto CPF meet had a Predator. Very attractive feel, the throw was quite astonishing. Although only 1 watt, I guess it's highly overdriven. Good for longer range. This light is made in Canada. Forget what batteries it uses, maybe 123's?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, the Predator uses 2 123s.

My Predator gets very hot when running it for minutes at a time, so I think the heatsinking is good (the heat is being radiated to the body well). It is significantly overdriven, as it produces about 60 lumens from a 1 watt bulb (over three times what a typical 1-watt bulb should produce). Without the good heatsinking, the life would be low. Even with the heatsinking, I don't think this is a 10,000 hour 1 watt LED (its driven too much IMO).

Any recommendations on ones with adjustable focus, beam strength, or any that have a larger spot/spill?

Some that I have seen have an very tight focus which not really what I need. I'm thinking more for pathfinding during power outages or car failures on the road at night.

[ QUOTE ]
xoham said: I'm thinking more for pathfinding during power outages or car failures on the road at night.

[/ QUOTE ]

$20 will cover that with the UK 4AA eLED from Brightguy.com.

http://www.brightguy.com/detail.html?cart=10953175736434489&sku=UND14401

I think your overspending for what your stated use is. I've certainly never done that! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleye11.gif No it's not cool looking (unless you're into the Industrial look), but for something to throw in the glove box, it won't break your wallet. It's not super bright for a 1w, but it has a great run time, and the LED will last a looong time. It happens to excel at pathfinding! AA's make feeding it easy, and you can toss AA lithiums in it should you desire.

Just a thought. And no, I don't have stock in Underwater Kinetics. I still need to get a second one!

Review

Mark

Yes I believe I am overspending. But that is all part of being a techno-junkie geek... for which I am guilty. I am looking to significantly beat out incandescent and have a little wow factor with it.

I was thinking of getting a Nitestar 3 watt that uses 2cr123s. Long life, probably freaking bright. What do you think? I like the long shelf time of the 123s, and the LED hopefully will last long enough for a better technology to come out.

I guess while I don't need super long throw, I would like bright and flood-like. Maybe add a diffusion lens on top?

Thanks for your comments.

edit.... looks like the LED Museum evaluated the Nitestar and found it had under 2 hours at top brightness. I guess it is no longer in the long duration category.

Although it's alittle longer than 7" (it's 9"), the Streamlight Twin Task 3C is pretty much the one to get. If you are looking for one to carry, the Streamlight Twin Task 2L is one to take a look at (eventho' it uses the 123 lithium batteries).

Get a SureFire L4/KL4....1 hour 28 minutes of "What the hell is that?" 5W light!

I've been very impressed with the TwinTasks... I originally bought a 3AA and a 3C... The 3C was definately brighter overall and with the option of 3 LEDs or 6LEDs, you get a bit more versatility but when I bought the 2L, it was all over. I think I paid $22 for each of them and for that price, you can't really expect a better combination of versatility, brightness and battery duration. And if you're looking to impress your friends with output, the 2L KILLS a 2D MagLight. So much Mag should really be pretty embarassed.

As another fly to throw into the ointment, the PrincetonTec Surge is a traditional incandescent light that takes 8 AA batteries but can run on 4 in a pinch with less output. Advertised duration is 3-5 hours, but while I haven't actually measured mine, it seems to last a bit longer. For bright lights with excellent throw, the Surge is the economical light to beat.

If you only want something for chaning the odd tyre, and the occaisional dark path and similar uses, then you might want to give some thought to someting like the photons and other small cell torches (maybe Arc AA/AAA). Not as sexy as a lot of the other lights, but they use lithium (or get Lithium AA/AAA) which will last a long time, work well in cold conditions, and can fit on your car keys, take up no room in a glovebox, first aid kit, etc. I use one walking from work to home late at night - if you get the cheaper ones, then you can buy several and leave them in convienent locations.

Cheers,

Boris.

Not looking for low power. And I already carry a litle Photon which is nice. What I mean to say is that I prefer flood to spot. Don't need the throw as much as the area. Bright, long hours, LED, regulated.

The streamlights actually look like a decent solution and I will carefully consider them.

As others have said, Twin Task Streamlights are very nice comprimised hybrid lights.

I carry a 2L with a clickie on the end. I leave it in LED mode 99% of the time. But should I need brighter, there is a Xenon bulb exactly two clicks with my thumb away!

The 3C TT is awfully nice with the exeption of the switching (which is why my 2L has clickie!). But who cares for a task light?

Another pretty nice light I own, though now we are getting into big lights, is a Streamlight 3C XP LED/XENON. It has two seperate switches, with the 3 LEDS on a simple clickie, and the Xenon on a momentary on clickie. It's easy to walk around using the LEDs and keep a thumb on the Xenon button!

In pure LED lights, a 1W LED with an NX05, or the Elektrolumens 30mm optic flood well but still with some throw. On 2 NimH AA's my Madmax will do right at 2 hours. My EL 3D will do 24 easy! Both have a purpleish/pinkish tint however, which seems to a characteristic of the 1W LED. My KL3 LED head from Surefire has icky tint too, but is awfully bright.

I can't completely dismiss the 1W LED however. My Inova XO has only a faint blue tint, and throws like crazy. It has next to NO spill however.

My Milkbone 2AA 1W light has a slight tint as well, but NOTHING like the above lights!

I should be able to report on the 3W LED as projected through the MiniM*g reflector perhaps tomorrow... and the EL XM3 later this month or early next.

I'm thinking I ought to go ahead and get a UK LED module for my 4AA AS2. After all, what else is a flashaholic that has it BAD to do?

But you really should go ahead and try a Streamlight Twin Task.

[ QUOTE ]
PlayboyJoeShmoe said:

In pure LED lights, a 1W LED with an NX05, or the Elektrolumens 30mm optic flood well but still with some throw. On 2 NimH AA's my Madmax will do right at 2 hours. My EL 3D will do 24 easy! My KL3 LED head from Surefire has icky tint too, but is awfully bright.


I should be able to report on the 3W LED as projected through the MiniM*g reflector perhaps tomorrow... and the EL XM3 later this month or early next.

I'm thinking I ought to go ahead and get a UK LED module for my 4AA AS2. After all, what else is a flashaholic that has it BAD to do?


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I'm still a little new to the hobby, can you clarify some of the models and mods you speak of? For instance, I have run across Electrolumens before, but never heard of a 30mm model. I suspect this might be a mod. More complete names, and or links to products would be very much appreciated thanks.

Thanks.

edit... So I looked around, and I suspect you were referring to the Elektrolumens Blaster 3, possibly the 3P model. http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=elektrolumens&product=BL-3P

...and it looks interesting. However I think it might be over focused for my needs. Sounds like they are really going for throw and I'm more interested in flood. Powerful though. Maybe I should stop obsessing with flood and just get an impressive one to satisfy my inner geek... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif Sounds like they have pretty long duration too.

Actually my Elektrolumens 3D light is called "Starlux".

I don't think he still makes anything exactly like it.

It is a 3D light with a blueish 1W Luxeon driven through a 30mm optic (I think he has a newer 30mm now).

About 6 months ago there was a shooting next door to me. I used my Starlux for a couple hours that night. It was PLENTY of light, and reached as far as I wanted.

It has the very same batteries I got it with!

Try to get an Anglelux from Wayne. It uses 2D but offers 24 hours to 50%. Maybe he has a conventional handheld like that, but I don't know which model that would be.

I was messing around with several lights last night. Inova XO, PM6 Xenon, SL TT2L.

I find what others have stated. LED just doesn't "throw" like incand. ONLY LED light I see well at distance with is the EL Starlux. Or said another way, I'm more comfortable using a Xenon beam to look at a distance, but love LEDs for close up use.

This is a generalization, and is subject to change at any time (such as after the mailman comes today!).

But the Hybrid lights are my Favs just now.