Top Picks Under $20

Hi everyone...brand new here. I've been researching lights for a couple of weeks now. I originally started with Quickbeam's website and found the CPF link there.

I want to own some premium lights some day but I think it would be more fun and a better learning experience to start at the bottom, well, not the very bottom. I still want quality, not junk. Like all of you, I understand and appreciate quality. It's funny, in all my years, I never realized that there was such a thing as a premium flashlight. Just didn't hang out in the right places, I guess! Well, I had heard of Mag-lite but they never really did anything for me. SF on the other hand, really lights my fire!

I always hated everything about those cheap, crappy flashlights that I used to get. I hated the flimsy switch, the distorted beam and trying to put new batteries in. It seemed that the light might not survive a battery change sometimes, and if it did, would it turn-on?

Anyway, I have seen a few sub-$20 lights that I will eventually get. I already bought the Tec 40 for $16 and I must say that I am impressed with its performance.

I have added the Infinity Ultra to my short list based on the posts that I have read so far. I also have the Brinkman LX on the list.

Is there anything else that you would consider a "must have" in the sub-$20 catagory? Right now, I am experimenting and learning, so I am open to bulb type and configuration...spot or flood, I don't care. I want to try them all. Then when it comes time to spend some real cash, I will *know* what I want.

Thanks.

Get the Nuwai Q3 for about $40 shipped. It's above your $20 limit, but you're better off with fewer quality lights than a lot of mediocre ones. The Q3 is a great value and one you can carry with you every day, so you can get a lot of use out of it.

Under 20 dollars?

A Princeton Tec40 does well when you replace its PR bulb with a 3-cell krypton. The brightness/whiteness of the beam increase dramatically!
Another great buy for less than 20 dollars is the Photon Freedom, a small coinlight with a bunch of easy to use functions! I EDC a Turquoise/NV Green one on my keychain and get compliments whenever I use it.
Finally, add ~10 dollars more to your 20 dollar limit and you have the king of all non-HID spotlights at your local Costco, the THOR. It's a Thor, an EXTREMELY powerful spotlight that can shoot owls down at night /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-Josh

Inova X-1 runs on 1 AA, the smallest spotlight you'll find, all spot/throw & no side spill.

Cmg infinity.

Another vote for the COSTCO $25.00 mighty Thor-X 10 million candle power full size spot light.

Theepdinker

Any dorcy leds and the brinkman maxfire come to mind.....

In the LED category, you could get the Costco 2AA 1W Luxeon for 2 for $28 - you'd have to split it with someone to get one for under $20. I don't know if they're still at Costco but they could be an excellent value unless you got an "off" one.

Some are available from private parties and ebay for under $20, but I'd look for one still in a sealed package as they did vary somewhat and I wouldn't want a leftover one after someone had cherry picked before me.

If $20 doesn't include shipping, then the UK 4AA 1W Luxeon light at Briteguy seems to be very popular. The Gerber Trio (2AA light with 3 LEDs) is $20 at Battery Station .

If you're patient, then you can get a regular 2AA minimag (about $10 at Walmart?) and wait for CPFer Lambda to offer his $5 MJLED mod package again. This will produce a $15 LED light which appears to be very highly regarded.

UK has a bunch of lights under $20, for example here .

On the small end, the Dorcy 1AAA ($6 at Walmart) and it's bigger (but not brighter) cousin the 1AA Dorcy ($10 at Target) are liked by many.

KevinL's $1.25 Photon knockoffs are great value.
UK's 4AA eLED is a solid light.
And of course, seconding other recommendations - the Infinity Ultra, and I also suggest you depart your limit for a QIII - great value.

The only ones I can think of that haven't been mentioned are the PT Attitude and CMG/Gerber Sonic.

Geoff

Princeton Tech Blast and Rage are a lot of fun for under $20. Also get some Ni-Mh rechargeable batteries and a smart charger.

Brightguy's price on the UK 2AA eLED is $20 I think. This is a superb light, with full regulation, durable construction, takes 4 AA batteries so it is inexpensive to operate, and will run on lithiums or NiMH.

For a premium light, I think this is the best value in this price range, depending of course what you are looking for.

The Dorcy AAA 1-LED has been mentioned once or twice already, but for $6 at Walmart, it is an absolute must-have bargain light and worth repeating.

Also, headlamps have not been touched on much yet. Quality LED headlamps start around $30-$40, but you can snag a Gerber Tracer combo pack at www.rei-outlet.com for under $20. Headlamps are the most underrated type of flashlight and I wouldn't be without one.

It isn't available quite yet, but LRI's new Photon Freedom Micro will be a nice coin cell-powered keychain light with variable output levels and 50% more output than current Nichia 5 mm LEDs. Should be around $20. Read about it at the bottom of this page:

Pocketlights report from Shot Show 2005

[ QUOTE ]
PhotonBoy said:
It isn't available quite yet, but LRI's new Photon Freedom Micro will be a nice coin cell-powered keychain light with variable output levels and 50% more output than current Nichia 5 mm LEDs. Should be around $20. Read about it at the bottom of this page:

Pocketlights report from Shot Show 2005

[/ QUOTE ]

I think they are planning to call this one something like "Freedom to the Max" or "Freedom Max" and since it is a new model, probably also a bit more money. $25-$30 would be my guess.

Wow DarkShadows, looks like you're off to a good start. The sub-$20 category is my favorite and the Tec 40 and Infinity Ultra are two of my favorite sub-$20 lights. My other favorite is the UK 4AA eLED. That's a must have IMO.

Streamlight Jr Luxeon, $30.

1 more vote for the UKE 4AA eLed from Brightguy! Best bang for buck at that price i reckon...

Else I would also suggest a Tektite Splashlite Led, Batterystation has them for $20, and I like it cos its small and light, with a long runtime. You might also wanna take a look at the Eternalights, the Derringer I think is pretty cheap to start off with, IIRC.

Oh... and 1 more thing that everyone forgot... WELCOME!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Enjoy your stay here DarkShadows! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

One not mentioned is the Dorcy Boss 4AA.

It is essentially a very porky Tec-40, with a switch. The lanyard holds a spare bulb!

Cost about $6 (or less!). Great inexpensive light.

Bob

if the link ever gets fixed, you can get a $20 of $60 purchase coupon at Sharper Image. Then you can buy 2 of their $30 1 watt Luxeon lights for $40 or $20 each. This is an excellent light which approaches the capabilities of the Nuway QIII for less than half the price (no shipping added to the $20, unlike the $40 + shipping Nuwai).

Before everyone jumps on me, the Nuwai IS nicer, but this is pretty close for everything I need to do, and with the coupon, this is a better deal.

If you can find one, the eveready arcwhite (ccfl/incan) is a nice dual purpose light for under $20. You can swap out the bulb for a 0.75A krypton for brighter output, I tend to use the CCFL most of the time and the incan for when I need to blast something with light at a distance. There are a lot of rechargeable spotlights out there around $20 which would be nice to have for an occasional use. You can round up your collection with a useful headlamp of sorts, even an inexpensive rayovac ~$6 2AA incan headlamp can be useful for hands free work, and there are a bunch of other headlamps both incan and LED for under and around $20. I used to not even think of using a headlamp until I got one cheap at target for $4 and used it for a day. Even a cheap one can be useful to augment or replace a flashlight when working on stuff or carrying stuff in dark places.

For ~$30, I think the Surefire G2 is hard to beat. It is more than $20, but so is the Q-III, which is another great flashlight for the price.