ok: need flashlight to keep in my car!

i currently carry my surefire E2, but would love a good quality flashlight to keep in my car for emergencies. i have about a $100 budget, since i do appreciate what a good light will do, but much more than that is really overkill for me ... something with a LOT of light output, good spread, size does not really matter, does not need to be an ersatz billy club, but a certain robustness is appreciated
. all suggestions are welcome! thanks!!

I would suggest a Streamlight TL-3. Nice light, for a reasonable price.

seems to be a pretty clsoe match to my E2 ... i was looking maybe for something bigger, like a C cell maglight size,

I'd suggest a Streamlight TT-3C...two levels of led flood light and a xenon spotlight.

I would get a flourescent cigarette lighter trouble light for flood purposes/working on car and something that uses either lithium batteries for low maintanence like maybe the UK2L or something that uses C or D batteries for longer run times. I find smaller more fragile flashlights don't do well with cars for me either they get lost somewhere, broken, stolen or fall down between things when you go OOPS I dropped it. I would get two flashlights for the car.. one nice one that you can take with you to do other things and a very rugged cheaper one to work on stuff with and even if needed loan/give to someone that needs one, a flashlight you don't mind losing or breaking or getting stolen. I have a closeout GE 2D krypton magnet light in my truck I paid 2.00 for and plan on getting something for the glovebox that is smaller and nicer for taking with me if needed.

that might be a good idea. maybe one of those bright lights that plugs into the cigarrette lighter as well as a larger and robust light i can keep in the trunk alongside that would be more portable. like i said, i have the surefire E2 that i have almost all the time, but a car light has different requirements imho. wider beam spread, a more light output ... any additional suggestions? also, what is a good light to plug into the cigarette lighter?

I have a cheapo 55 watt halogen plug in spotlight I rarely use but could be useful looking for something since you have an awesome battery at your disposal. I have used the flourescent 8watt trouble light for working under the hood or cars at times, it is hard to point a light and work at the same time.
with those two things covered for the extremes and are very cheap to get and/or replace/worry about. You could even get a 4D lantern for longer run time. As for flashlights it sounds like the streamlight with xenon and LED is a good multipurpose light. In my opinion you don't want to depend on only ONE light source in a car to cover ALL situations. Get several to cover all situations. I once had 5 lights in my car and at times used all of them. You find that when in the trunk you will grab the light there... the passenger can grab a light from the glovebox or the center console or you can even stash one under the seat too. You will find several cheaper lights placed in convenient spots in the car more used than one or two super lights in the wrong places.

Oh and my spotlight is a square one that is fairly small. I don't necessarily reccommend huge zillion power spotlights unless you find yourself using one a lot they end up getting in the way, costing too much and are too heavy to use for long periods.

The best thing in my trunk is a Legend LX and 2 dozen batteries. It doesn't quite qualify as a club unless you were going after gnomes, trolls, or things of that size.

Great idea!... a 4 way lugwrench flashlight... you can see with it, fix flats and self defense too!

If you already have the E2, consider a headlamp (not a headlight) for the glovebox. This is what I do, in addition to the Surefire M3 for emergency/tactical.

The reason is that many of the things I might have to do around the car--lift the hood, hook up jumper cables, change a flat tire, look under the car, set up warning triangles, walk along the road carrying something in both hands, or apply pressure bandages, etc.--require hands free. If looking cool is important, and of course it is, just hold the headlamp in your hand.

I have a Black Diamond Moonlight that seems adequate for utilitarian tasks.

now a headlamp would be useful for sure if it had a decent flood to it so you wouldn't have to struggle keeping a hotspot on what you are trying to fix all the time. It would also be nice to walk with if you had to carry stuff in your arms somewhere for some reason. A flashaholics car is nothing but a mobile storage box for MORE lights..... LOLOL

EverReady LED headlamp has two white LEDS and one red LED. About $13.00 dollars at Kmart or Target.

Also Streamlight Twin Task 2 x cr123a has a flood xenon main beam and three white LEDs. Cr123a batteries are a buck apiece at Batterystation.com Lithium batteries( cr123a or others) are supposed to be best for use in extreme enviorments like cars which can go from subzero temps all the way up to 80 or 90 + degrees in a single day.

If this isn't enough ideas for you try the search function. Their must be at least a couple hundred "Best light for my car" posts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

ElektroLumens XM-3, runs from cheap AA's

Agreed with Wolfen, I have the SL TT 2L in my glovebox as well, and the Lithium batteries means you can keep it there under hot or cold conditions and still have it working anytime you need it. Main thing you wanna look for is that the light runs lithium cells. And yes, a headlamp is always a huge plus for car emergency situations too!!

Try 2D or 3D Mag with 3 watt or 5 watt. You might get multipropose use from it. Perhaps it might be the truncheon.

Ditto on the SL TT-2L! Cold-resistant lithium cells, bright incan for overcoming road light, etc, and 3 long running white leds for close up. AND, it's very reasonably priced. I find this light to be the ultimate glovebox light.

Depending on where you live, having cold rated batteries is not all that important. Being able to use batteries that can be found in almost any gas station (convienance store) could be VERY important.

I'll second (or whatever) the Streamlight TwinTask 2L...I have that in my car, as well as a Minimag with Opalec, and Infinity Ultra.

The Streamlight Twin Task series is an excellent choice. I have a TT-2L in each of my vehicles and one in my house.

I say basically figure out where you could put lights and what space you have for them and choose accordingly what lights can/will fit.

Instead of carrying extra batteries for lights in your car just carry extra lights with batteries in them instead. Try to get lights with wrist lanyards on them that are small if you intend to use them a lot, dropping an expensive small light away from home could lose it fast if you have to work on something. Get a light or two with long run time for times of being stranded and a bright one perhaps for signalling if you go to places in remote areas. A lithium based light would be ok as a secondary light or backup light too due to the reliability of the batteries.