Brightest and smallest light???

I am looking for a small and very bright light to use when hunting. I go into the woods at dark and leave at dark. I have been using a AA Mag light - eats up batteries and could be brighter. A poly Stinger - bright enough but slightly too big. A Photon - very small but not nearly bright enough. I have been looking at some LED lights but just not sure. Any ideas on a very bright and small light that is easy on inexpensive batteries. [email protected] <LI>null

Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA

Sounds like the upcoming Arc-LS might fit the bill.....

WHat is the expected temperature range?

If above freezing: I would suggest the Princton Tec Rage, $10-15. It is a bit smaller than the 2AA mag light, but much brighter. It uses 4 AAA batteries. I don't know the run time for sure. Probably an hour or two. It is waterproof to 2000'. The Streamlight 4AA is a favorite of mine about $20. it is very bright, cheap to run and well make. I love the tail switch. I is a bit smaller than a stinger, but would still be kinda big for most jacket pockets.

If the temp is below freezing I would bite the bullet and get a lithium light like the Scorpion $40 or UKE 2L ($not sure). Both are less expencive than surefires and use lithium batteries that are less affected by cold. The Scorpion will run an hour, the UKE 2L will run a couple. DO NOT BUY LITHIUM BATTERIES AT THE STORE. Get them online for $2.50 -$3.00 UKE is waterproof.

In my opinion, the 2AA mini-mag is one of the brightest 2AA lights around. For more light you really need more batteries. A Nextstar lamp helps too.

Good hunting and be safe.

the Streamlight ProPoly 2aa is a bit bigger the a MiniMag 2aa but much smaller than the Propoly 4aa and it is twice as bright as a MiniMag 2aa. Runtime is about 3-4 hours.

The Princeton Tec Rage is a good recommendation. I haven't used mine enough to know anything about reliability of the Rage. But strictly utility-wise, it's a great tradeoff between size and brightness. It throws out a good deal more light than my 2-AA Maglite with the bright Brinkman bulb.

Beyond that, I'd look at inexpensive 2x123A lights -- I strongly favor UKE 2L -- and 4xAA lights. I was happy with my UKE 4AA, but I do like the tailswitch on the Streamlight.

If the Maglite with Brinkman bulb isn't bright enough, I stay away from all other 2-AA lights, because while I can find "brighter" 2-AA lights, usually it's because the beam is tighter (and less useable), so it's merely candlepower games. For the light mentioned in the previous reply, did you merely compare brightspots, or is the other light really throwing a lot more total light? Thanks!

Joe

Joe, i did the ceiling test with SL2aa and MiniMag 2AA, and the SL2AA puts out much more light than the miniMag. The MiniMag had its original bulb in it. But if size is no matter i would also recommend a 4AA or a UKE 2L.

artar, thanks for testing that out! That's interesting, maybe it's time for me to own some Streamlights.

Joe

Try the Dorcy from Walmart. About $8.00 and is suppose to have a run time of 200 hours on 4AA batteries.

Maybe the Bison 2 C? It would last longer but most of the 4 AA lights are brighter, look at my "flashlight" site below, basically as you go down the list they get dimmer, the wattage is another good measurement of actual light output.

In the 4 AA lights I like the Streamlight Pro Polymer, then the UKE. The stealth has to tight of a beam and not much side spill. The Pricneton Tec40 has a large head, but is otherwise a nice light.