Flashlights

[seez52]

Hands down the best light you can get for the money are the free 3AAA ones they give away with coupon at Harbor Freight. And when the batteries run out along comes a coupon for a free 24 pack of replacement batteries. I've got those scattered around all over. 

[Omega]

23 minutes ago, seez52 said:

Hands down the best light you can get for the money are the free 3AAA ones they give away with coupon at Harbor Freight. And when the batteries run out along comes a coupon for a free 24 pack of replacement batteries. I've got those scattered around all over. 

I wouldn't go that far, but I too have a few of those,  black round ones, but also the oval blue ones and red triangle ones and even those that look like a light switch.  The blue one is great, it has a folding hook to hang it and magnets to put them on the hood while working on an engine.   But overall I really like my headlamps, mostly petzl, they just work.

[mikegideon]

OK... I have a story. Not a good lead for cheaper lights, but maybe a reason to go for the better in some cases. I don't have a whole lot of loyalty to any of my lights, because I don't always carry one. I usually grab what's close. The Ti3 gets used a lot, probably because I have 3 of them. I like the Surefire Titan Plus better than the Ti3, even though it's a little bigger. 

Anyway, in one of these threads, my friend OhShoot mentioned that he carries a Surefire Sidekick. After he mentioned it, I bought one and threw it into the pile. A few months ago, it came up missing. I found it a couple days ago, stuck down in the radiator support of my truck. Thing had made several trips to Kentucky with rain, snow, salt, etc. I grabbed it, wiped the salt off, and fired it up. Still fully charged, still lit on all 3 power levels, and no damage to the finish.

So, I called OhShoot up yesterday and bragged about the Sidekick. Then, I got on the B&H website and ordered one of these...

https://www.surefire.com/everyday-carry-flashlight-edcl2-t.html

I know Surefire is expensive, but has also proven to me that they are really good stuff. Not gonna throw away my Fenix PD35, but may carry the new Surefire when I need a bigger light.

[dralarms]

I carry a helotex G4, it was 60.00 with a rechargeable battery and charger. It’s  1000 lumin, I use it a bunch and charge it once a week. 

[MacGyver]

I flat out love the Ti3. There’s no telling how many of them I’ve bought.  

But, Surefire is my go to when I know it’s going to get used hard.  

[Wingshooter]

I have several varieties of Fenix, and I have never had any trouble with any of them. I collect falshlights like guns and knives. My latest is a little bit bigger, but it’s super bright on 4 AA batteries. I use this one for some duties at work. https://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Flashlight-Including-LumenTac-Organizer/dp/B00WN5T1L4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1520230362&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=Fenix+ld41&psc=1

This one’s super bright and smaller but runs on 2 cr123. I’ll carry this in my pocket sometimes. I also have one by the bed. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013GU4PE2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This one fits in my pocket even better and has been a great EDC light. 320 lumens on 1 aa https://www.amazon.com/Fenix-LD12-Flashlight-LumenTac-Organizer/dp/B01MST2DCR/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1520231115&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=Fenix+1+aa&psc=1

Edited March 5, 2018 by Wingshooter

[mikegideon]

I love my PD35 Tac. Fenix is good stuff. Not sure I'll let it ride in the radiator support for a few months just to test its staying power.

[Wingshooter]

9 minutes ago, mikegideon said:

I love my PD35 Tac. Fenix is good stuff. Not sure I'll let it ride in the radiator support for a few months just to test its staying power.

I’ve never had a PD35, but I think it could handle the radiator challenge. Looks like a good light. I dropped a TK15 from a tree stand a few years ago (I was high: 20-25’). It still works like new. Fenix are tough 

[mikegideon]

On 3/5/2018 at 12:59 AM, Wingshooter said:

I’ve never had a PD35, but I think it could handle the radiator challenge. Looks like a good light. I dropped a TK15 from a tree stand a few years ago (I was high: 20-25’). It still works like new. Fenix are tough 

OK. I ordered a TK 16. Same lumen output as the PD35 tac, but a better throw, and different controls. The TK16 is fatter. Might be a great gun light too.

[mikegideon]

... and a TK47UE. 3200 Lumens. Don't have it yet

[xtriggerman]

  Im convinced most all flashlight componants are made in Asia. And the rub is most are junk as far as quality of build. What constitutes the good from the bad is directly related to longevity. A few of these things are.... the only place aluminum should not be anodized is on the threads where continuity is needed. All the springs and contacts should be gold color plated, including all the internal parts of the clicky switch. Corrosion resistance measures like these will keep the flashlight from needing the hand bump to keep in in the proper mode of operation. Personaly, I like a flood to beam light coupled with the 18650 batteries. Its shameful that it took Asia to develop the 18650 and other adaptations of the CR123 battery. But it is what it is. The best china unit Iv found is the TANK007 TK737 in this model... https://www.ebay.com/itm/192299300487?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true  The most impressive feature is the size of the flood out of the small diameter lens. Stand it up on a floor in a regular 8' high ceiling and the flood covers about a 7 foot diameter of mostly even brightness light. Out of the 4 or 5 minis iv tested over the years none can come close to this. For the 35 bucks, its a good value. Since I bought this one several years ago, I stopped looking at others in this category. Frankly, I'd rather spend the $$ on decent protected 18650's that I use for laser set ups also. Fenix has a good summery on the 18650 types. https://www.fenix-store.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-protected-and-unprotected-18650-batteries/

[mikegideon]

Speaking of Fenix batteries. Ordered a couple of these. Cool stuff...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HDP5NZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Wingshooter]

On 3/8/2018 at 10:23 PM, mikegideon said:

... and a TK47UE. 3200 Lumens. Don't have it yet

3200... I may have to have one as well!

[Murgatroy]

I missed this. I use flashlights on a daily basis in my profession. I am very rough on them. They go through things that would make many people shudder. I swear by the Ozark Trail lights at Walmart. I posted before about them. I have the DT350 which takes 4AA batteries and is a great light. I have the DT600 that takes 6AA. It has been dropped, thrown, walked on, gotten stuck under equipment, used as a persuader tool, etc. I would not hesitate to buy anything from Ozark Trail in the same line. Both of mine have been working with no issues for well over a year. And they show a lot of wear.

[DaveTN]

These look interesting for $30 on Amazon.

http://wowtac.com/wowtac-a1s-flashlight-1150-lumen/

 

[miller_man]

On 1/12/2018 at 11:21 AM, Ronald_55 said:

I have a Streamlight Stylus Pro that is 2xAAA. I have EDC'd it in the nylon holster in my pocket for a long time. Batteries seem to last a long time for me. May not be the brightest on the market, but works great. 

They are $20 from Amazon.

http://amzn.to/2gNDE3D

Yep - same here. Been carrying one of these everyday for somewhere around 2 years now. I've worn over half the coating of black off and washed it tons of times, pretty much beaten it up good and it's never missed a lick. I love that its small enough for my pocket, super simple operation and bright enough for pretty much anything I need.

[btq96r]

On 1/12/2018 at 7:32 AM, pop pop said:

I looked at the Surefire and Streamlite brands but they are 50. 00 and up in price. Don't think I need one that bad.   

I have a Surefire sitting here on my desk that I picked up back in mid 2007.  It's been to Iraq & Afghanistan, and is a constant in my bag on any travels.  They last long enough to make the purchase fiscally prudent...unless you lose it, which I'm actually kind of surprised I haven't done yet.

[gjohnsoniv]

For anyone who might have bought a duel fuel Surefire light recently. 

[qball]

The Fenix TK15 without a doubt! Had one for several years and it works like a champ. High quality!!!

[MacGyver]

I know we’ve got some Surefire Sidekick fans here.  County Comm (the website that costs me $50 every time I visit it) has them on sale for $38.

https://countycomm.com/products/surefire-sidekick-ultra-compact-triple-output-keychain-light

[btq96r]

3 hours ago, MacGyver said:

I know we’ve got some Surefire Sidekick fans here.  County Comm (the website that costs me $50 every time I visit it) has them on sale for $38.

https://countycomm.com/products/surefire-sidekick-ultra-compact-triple-output-keychain-light

Already unavailable.  Guess not spending some money isn't a bad thing on my end...but at that price, it's an easy call to pick one or even a few up.

[bersaguy]

Well kind of late to this party and don't really have a lot to add but will throw out my experience with the small LED flashlights. I was in TSC store here in Gallatin about a year ago and on the tool rack up in the front of the store was a card of 3 flashlights for $12.95. Since I didn't have any small LED flashlights I bought the 3 pack. Came home and put the batteries in that were supplied in AAA size and the lights seemed very bright. That night while walking Darby I looked over in the neighbors huge back yard that he keeps cut tight and I could believe how bright they lights are. There was a rabbit in the far corner of the yard and the flashlight not only lit up the rabbits bright red eyes but lit up the rabbit. I was totally impressed with the flash lights. Still have them and if they ever have them back on sale I will definately buy 3 more. Oh yea, I had to put new batteries in two of them about 2 months after buying them and when I put in new Duracel AAA batteries they were even brighter than when I first bought them. 

[mikegideon]

21 minutes ago, btq96r said:

Already unavailable.  Guess not spending some money isn't a bad thing on my end...but at that price, it's an easy call to pick one or even a few up.

It's a really great light. Mine rode in the radiator support of my Trailblazer for weeks, probably at least 1000 miles. When I found it, it was still charged and stepped thru all the intensities.

[Jamie Jackson]

11 hours ago, MacGyver said:

I know we’ve got some Surefire Sidekick fans here.  County Comm (the website that costs me $50 every time I visit it) has them on sale for $38.

https://countycomm.com/products/surefire-sidekick-ultra-compact-triple-output-keychain-light

I actually picked up 2 of these from the Surefire website on the 26th. Surefire was selling them for $19.95 each. I didn't know I would like them so much or I would have purchased several.

[hammerdrop99]

+1 on Fenix lights. I have two a 1AA thwisty and a 2AA tactical. The 1AA twisty on my keychain has ridden in my pocket for the last 8 years. It's scratched up and not pretty anymore, but lights up all the time. I have beaten them both up and they have never failed.