EDC LED with adjustable output under 200...

I'm considering:

HDS BASIC 60
Surefire L1 or L2
Night-ops Gladius

Is there any other lights I should look at? I plan to carry the light on my belt 24/7 and In a perfect world it would have a very low "night time wondering in the bedroom" setting a medium "multi-purpose battery conserving" setting and a High "nice throw setting"

Which light do you all think would suit me best and does anyone have an updated ETA on the HDS or the Gladius lights?

Thanks!

My beloved Streamlight TaskLight 2-L should be what you`re looking for.
3W LED, 2 digitally regulated power modes. ~20 lumens for (advertised) 11.5 hours on low and ~ 80 lumens for (advertised) 3 hours on high. Water and shock resistant and only 6" long.
Got it for 71.50 USD from BrightGuy. It`s one of my favorite
lights.
Highly recommended.

Wolfgang

Surefire L4 (~$140) with McE2S two-stage low/high tailswitch ($40). Low light output, as low as you want because they give you four choices of resistors to adjust the low level according to taste, and high beam is the full power of the L4.

I know this is a little bit out of your budget but my personal favorite is the U2. This is the one light I won't be without. Six adjustable levels will cover your requirements and then some, bezel-down clip is perfect for belt carry.. IMHO it justifies the extra $70 - and you can often get it for less, I've seen them go as low as $240. Spend the money and never look back - I never will /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

i just got the nuwai 5watt led....uses 2x 123 batts...has high medium and low....on medium its still considerably brighter than my SL tl2 led (1st generation)....fit and finish is very very good.....over built like a tank.....about the size of my EL XM3.....great knurling- good threads - fits the hand very nicely.....very nice pouch with it......no place for a lanyard though.....at $75 this will be my #1 outdoor EDC
available at golden gadgets and advanced mart


no wonder it got 4.5 stars from quickbeam!!

BIG hotspot and very useful side beam.....all in all this is a Winner!!

Bill

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billgr said:
i just got the nuwai 5watt led....uses 2x 123 batts...has high medium and low....on medium its still considerably brighter than my SL tl2 led (1st generation)....fit and finish is very very good.....over built like a tank.....about the size of my EL XM3.....great knurling- good threads - fits the hand very nicely.....very nice pouch with it......no place for a lanyard though.....at $75 this will be my #1 outdoor EDC
available at golden gadgets and advanced mart

no wonder it got 4.5 stars from quickbeam!!

BIG hotspot and very useful side beam.....all in all this is a Winner!!

Bill

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Amen. That'd be the ALX-352L -- one of the more underrated lights out there (maybe it just hasn't been "discovered" yet). Dollar for dollar, it's hard to beat: built like a tank, nice machining, Luxeon V, more than 100 lumens and less than $100, three brightness levels. Woof!

I would throw the Aleph and Lionheart in the mix.

Good grief! I'm not even sure it's close. If you want small, bright and multiple brightness levels you should go for the HDS 60. The only light on your list with a clear advantage over the HDS is the L2, only because it's so darn bright -- far brighter than any others on the list. But it's also much, much longer, and if you're going to keep it on your belt all the time you will quickly appreciate the size difference. The HDS has four brightness levels, and the lowest 'minimum' setting is far lower than the low settings of any of the others. On a quality basis, it also outclasses just about every other light in existance.

On the availability update, Henry (the H in HDS, I believe) says they are shipping orders with a 30 day backlog -- but that is not reliable because he places quality over timeliness.

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Wrangler said:
My beloved Streamlight TaskLight 2-L should be what you`re looking for.

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DITTO !!!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/clap.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy23.gif

Well I'm thinking hard about the HDS I had an ARC 4+ and I never really got good at double click and tripple click I always found myself on the wrong setting and further more there was no constant on for the high setting.

I was hoping for somthing a little more straight forward. As I look at the other lights available though I have a hard time imaging any thing over 5 inches living on my belt.

I did think the Alpha was a cool idea and the streamlight was nice if not a little too big. I did consider the U2 but it agin it kind of big.

What are you thoughts on this. since I don't acctually have any of these lights are they really good for hanging on my belt?

Thanks!

I had an Arc4+ second for a while and wasn't that crazy about it. 16 brightness levels aren't that useful, and having to click around to get between levels is less than optimal.

The Aleph has a much more intuitive 2-level system. Press the button for low level, press harder for high level.

2 levels are really enough.

I like Aleph with 2 stages light out put. I think it's price rather high but very nice work and good light out put.

If you are going to wear it on your belt, I would go with a 2 cell light for extended runtime. I really like the belt tab system on my Aleph, it is a really convenient way to carry and deploy it.

okay... I've been to the McGizmo forum read the faq and I'm feeling like a real dolt! I'd love it if someone could explain to me what I want and what each part is good for...

Here's what I'm thinking. I like the idea of the A3 head so I could have a better throw. I like the idea of a 1x123 body (if possible)or a 2x123. I like the tail switch with the tab system. Here's where it gets fuzzy... I want a low light function and a bright light function. low light is somewhere around 10-15 lumens for me. Bright light is well as bright as possible of course above 60 lumens would be nice, 80 would be great. last but not least is that the light has to have a run time of at least an hour on high.

Can somebody steer me in the right direction? what are my options here?

Thanks!

You won't get 60+ lumens and an hour of runtime out of any light with only one CR123 cell, you'll have to go to a 2 cell body.

If you really want maximum throw, get an A3 with 2x123 body. A turnkey (TK) light from the Sandwich Shoppe with a DB917 should do the trick. The same with an A1 head also has good throw, but a wider hotspot and spill.

A Nuwai Tm115 3 watt 2 cr123 battery, high beam, low beam, focussable, ought to fit the bill nicely for 40 bucks.
Look in the bst lights forum for these if interested.
Myself and a couple others have these.

[ QUOTE ]
Knife11 said:
okay... I've been to the McGizmo forum read the faq and I'm feeling like a real dolt! I'd love it if someone could explain to me what I want and what each part is good for...

Here's what I'm thinking. I like the idea of the A3 head so I could have a better throw. I like the idea of a 1x123 body (if possible)or a 2x123. I like the tail switch with the tab system. Here's where it gets fuzzy... I want a low light function and a bright light function. low light is somewhere around 10-15 lumens for me. Bright light is well as bright as possible of course above 60 lumens would be nice, 80 would be great. last but not least is that the light has to have a run time of at least an hour on high.

Can somebody steer me in the right direction? what are my options here?

Thanks!

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The A3 2x123 with a Lux3 at 917ma will give you the throw you want, but the low won't be anywhere near the 10-15 lumens you want.

The L2 will give you the low beam you want, but it has a flood beam on high and low. The L2 is the only light (other than the Surefire U2) that comes to mind that has a bright low beam.

You might want to consider the Surefire A2 also. The Surefire A2 has throw with the regulated incandescent and flood with the three LEDs. The low beam is no where near the 10-15 lumens you want.

If you can accept throw without the 10-15 lumen low beam, I think you would like the Aleph 3 2x123 or the Surefire A2.

If you must have the 10-15 lumen low beam and you could do without throw, I think you would like the Surefire L2.

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Hoghead said:
The A3 2x123 with a Lux3 at 917ma will give you the throw you want, but the low won't be anywhere near the 10-15 lumens you want.

The L2 will give you the low beam you want, but it has a flood beam on high and low. The L2 is the only light (other than the Surefire U2) that comes to mind that has a bright low beam.

You might want to consider the Surefire A2 also. The Surefire A2 has throw with the regulated incandescent and flood with the three LEDs. The low beam is no where near the 10-15 lumens you want.

If you can accept throw without the 10-15 lumen low beam, I think you would like the Aleph 3 2x123 or the Surefire A2.

If you must have the 10-15 lumen low beam and you could do without throw, I think you would like the Surefire L2.

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So in your example with the A3 what would the low level be? What would the high be? How much throw are we talking about here?

LionHeart. Once you go rechargeable, its tough to go back. No clicking involved. It takes a 2x123 to match its runtime at a given brightness. Easily pocketable. Flawless construction. No cheesy lengthwise logos. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

And if you manage to buy one, you are pretty much assured that it won't lose value (unlike all the production lights mentioned above).

Mark

Depending on which resistor you use in the tailcap, the low is going to be a little brighter than a ARC AAA/AA or a CMG Ultra. These are going to be in the same ball park as the low beam of a Surefire A2, but with a different beam pattern. The low beam on mine has more throw than the ARC AAA or the Surefire A2, but they probably have similar total lumens (meaning dim).

I don't have a A3. I have PR heads which are about like the A1. The A3 will have more throw than a PR because it's larger. Either of these with a Lux3 driven at close to 1 amp (917ma)have more throw than a E2e. You would have to go to a larger reflector (like a C/D Mag) to get more throw with a Luxeon.

I've read of guys saying 200-300 yards throw, but in my light polluted world I don't see that much throw. If throw is what you're looking for the A3 2x123/DB917 with a Lux3 is what you want. Ask for the resistor value that will be the brightest, but it won't be 10-15 lumens. If I had to guess, it might be 3-5 lumens. Maybe someone else could give you a more accurate answer about how many lumens you could get on low.

My point was if you want 10-15 lumens on low, the L2 is the answer. If you have to have throw, you need the A3 and you'll have a dimmer light on low than you want.

Keep in mind that ~15 lumens is actually pretty bright for indoor use. An L1 on high is right about there and it's not usually thought of as a dim light.

I've played with an L1 and an L2. The low setting on the L1 is lower than I think I'd ideally want at under 1 lumen. The low setting on the L2 is definately brighter than I'd want for a low setting. The Infinity Ultra is 'about' 3 lumens. That's a very usable amount of light for walking around indoors in the dark. For me, that's a great low setting.

I admit I haven't taken the step into upper end LED lights. I like the idea of a single cell light. And would demand two output levels. The Aleph 1 would probably have my full attention but if I had the money in hand right now and was ready to buy, I'd look very closely at the Lionheart though I don't feel I'd need that many output levels.