Let's talk flashlights.

[BigK]

Man, I love me some flashlights. I have about a dozen or more, but the 2 I trust the most are the 4-D Maglite by the bed and the old Coleman in the kitchen that takes the big 6V lantern battery. I can't carry either on me, though.

The one I tote every day is a cheap Deal Extreme light (MX Power ML-310 Cree WC-Q5 3-Mode 180-Lumen LED Flashlight (1*AA/1*CR123A) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme). It uses a AA and puts out one helluva beam on high (180 lumens), but it gets hot. It will actually make you feel sick to your stomach on strobe. It has never failed me once in the 2 years I've had it and I use it a lot. I love the pocket clip too.

[Guest NYCrulesU]

Was it the aluminium or composite shell? These were the compact models I was looking at I think.

I don't recall what the package said...if it was aluminum. It was rock solid and tough as nails. It had a cold metal feel to it. I wrapped some G26 grip tape on it for a better hold.

I just remember it being on sale for $8.88 at Walmart and grabbing. Man do I wish I got a few more lol I even called Colemans and they are out of stock.

[VolunteerGuns]

ATAC L2 | Lithium High Powered Flashlight From 5.11 Tactical

[Guest FastMover]

Although there are some wonderful brands on the market I still fall back to Surefire. I have 2 G2's that have drop in CREE modules, 1 G2 LED, 2 G2X Pro's that are full time weapon lights, and a E2E Executive Elite that is my EDC.

IMO the G2/G2X is a great all purpose flashlight that's cheap and has a long run time.

[TNblues]

you may consider a Nebo Redline $ (25) or Nebo Edge $(9) whatever you consider I would highly recommend looking for a flashlight that contains a Cree Led. They make the best leds on the market. I cant remember what the best Cree Led is called but you check around. I also have heard good things about fenix but have never tried one.

[TNblues]

Also I saw a guy that is starting a new flashlight company on kickstarter.com making a cool programmable flashlight called the hexbright it looked really good.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/527051507/hexbright-an-open-source-light?ref=live

Edited February 14, 2012 by TNblues

[nightrunner]

I carry a surefire backup everyday now. Never thought id use it much but if i had to not have my knife or light id leave the knife. I use it all the time burns through batteries pretty fast as i use it on high most of the time and burns them up even faster if i use any brand other than surefire batteries. I drag it under houses, under cars, out in the woods, you name it. Also use it alot holding it with my mouth when i dont have my headlamp on, works good enough. Had mine for probably 3-4 years still working with all original except batteries. And its been dropped over 10ft on concrete multiple times and never skipped a beat.

[Guest NYCrulesU]

I bought one of these from Walmart. It's a Coleman and it has a Cree LED lamp and puts out I think 100ish lumens. Cost $20. Built very well and has taken some severe work related abuse. Runs on 3 AAA. It's got rubber gaskets for water resistance but I've never submerged it really to find out.

Owned one a while back. Paid $8.88 on sale at Walmart. I absolutely love this flashlight. Cheap, durable and reliable. Some lil punk stole it from my house, was SO mad. I couldn't find any for the longest time.

Found 4 of them at Walmart the other day...sadly for $18.88 now Bought ALL 4! LOL and enough batteries to reload them 5 times each (4...16 packs of AAA).

Like I said..I LOVE tbis flashlight lol

[willis68]

I have Surefire and Stream lights they are both awesome. My company purchases these http://www.inovaligh...features_t4.php I used one of these in the Baltic sea at -20 Celsius temperature offshore for 12 hours straight It was dropped onto the deck approximately 30 feet and still worked. I was impressed with that but what really impressed me was that while working on our submarine in Brazil, one was left in the frame of the ROV. We had the Sub in 1700 Feet of seawater for over 100 hours. While doing maintenance on the ROV I found it. I took it apart and sprayed contact cleaner in it waited 20 minutes and tried it, it worked! these are the best flashlights I have ever used at 227 Lumens they are extremely well built and bright and worth every red cent spent for one!

Edited March 1, 2012 by willis68

[BryanP]

I carry a 28 lumen single AAA Streamlight Microstream in my pocket that covers 99% of my day to day flashlight use.

http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=144

I keep a NuFlare Rebel 90 in my murse. 90 lumens, runs on a pare of 123's. That covers the "I really need a lot more light" moments. If something happens to it I may try out one of those Coleman's linked above.

http://www.amazon.com/Nu-Flare-Ultrabright-Tactical-Luxeon-Flashlight/dp/B002CZ0UO2

[TGO David]

After seeing one owned by a fellow TGO member, I picked up a Streamlight Protac 2L light to use as my EDC light. The strobe feature sold itself the first time he blinded me with it.

[Caster]

After seeing one owned by a fellow TGO member, I picked up a Streamlight Protac 2L light to use as my EDC light. The strobe feature sold itself the first time he blinded me with it.

DId you get that local or order it? If local, where?

[TGO David]

DId you get that local or order it? If local, where?

Amazon.com Prime. Ordered it yesterday and it arrived today. Approximately $42 shipped.

[Seabeejason]

Amazon.com Prime. Ordered it yesterday and it arrived today. Approximately $42 shipped.

Got mine from Amazon too. Had it for several months now and it's definitely worth the money. I paid $50.00 for mine.

you may consider a Nebo Redline $ (25) or Nebo Edge $(9) whatever you consider I would highly recommend looking for a flashlight that contains a Cree Led. They make the best leds on the market. I cant remember what the best Cree Led is called but you check around. I also have heard good things about fenix but have never tried one.

I have one of those too. You can't beat a 220 Lumen flashlight for $25.00. Worth every penny.

Edited August 18, 2012 by Seabeejason

[Guest ThePunisher]

Any thoughts on the Elzetta lights.

[hornett22]

A Surefire Backup is part of the everyday stuff I stick in my pockets. Keys, wallet, phone, knife, Backup. I've had it for about.... 2 years now I believe, and I dont think there is a day that goes by that I do not use it multiple times. It's a great overall light, very tough, dual output LED. At first I was a little apprehensive about spending the cash on one and getting my money's worth out of it, but I think I've far exceeded that at this point. Now I just feel naked if I dont have a light on me.

You can't beat the Backup from Surefire. A little pricey but made in the USA and always works. Only uses one battery. Carried one for years and I love it. I cannot leave the house without it.

[gjohnsoniv]

I carry a surefire backup everyday now. Never thought id use it much but if i had to not have my knife or light id leave the knife. I use it all the time burns through batteries pretty fast as i use it on high most of the time and burns them up even faster if i use any brand other than surefire batteries. I drag it under houses, under cars, out in the woods, you name it. Also use it alot holding it with my mouth when i dont have my headlamp on, works good enough. Had mine for probably 3-4 years still working with all original except batteries. And its been dropped over 10ft on concrete multiple times and never skipped a beat.

That's what I carry everyday and what I have carried the past couple years. Just about the only thing I haven't done to it is run over with a vehicle. Lost it though a couple weeks ago and was in a horrible, horrible mood until I found it a week later hanging off a string that had pulled it out of my pocket at work. No clue how it happened but then again I didn't care. Edited August 18, 2012 by gjohnsoniv

[jacob]

i have a small nebo light i picked up at the range a few months back that i carry everyday...eyeballing the 5.11 atac 2 also...

[Howler]

Stinger HP incandescent

Eagletac T100C2

[Backon4]

http://www.gearhog.com/?did=15977

I bought 2 of these last time they ran this deal. Very nice light. I use AA's because of the price of 123's. Works well even with dollar tree sunbeam batteries.

[JAB]

Since this thread has come back around and it doesn't seem that I posted in it, before, I will, now. I carry an Inova X1 as my EDC flashlight. I got it at Target and IIRC, the price was right around twenty bucks. I have been EDCing it for two or three years now and it is and has been a great little pocket flashlight. The one I have is black - with a couple years worth of pocket scuffs on the finish. It is roughly the size of a roll of dimes. It doesn't have the highest ever lumen output rating (55 lumens on high) but somehow it seems like a very 'bright' 55 lumens. Where I live is a wooded area and there are no streetlights, etc. so it is often very dark around my yard at night, especially when there is no moon out and so on. This little, pocket flashlight sure does an amazing job lighting up the night. I am not sure it is bright enough to 'stun' someone - maybe it is or maybe it isn't - but it would sure as heck play havoc with their vision in a low-light situation. Best of all is that it runs on one AA battery. I refuse to have a flashlight for daily use that requires some kind of less common battery or battery pack. If it won't run on D, C, A, AA or AAA then it won't be my EDC light and there is a good chance that I won't own it, at all. If I remember to change the battery once a month then it will maintain more or less maximum brightness and 100% reliability. However, there have been a couple of times when I kept forgetting to replace the battery and it went for about two months without replacing it. Now, toward the end of that time the light output was noticeably very decreased and it became temperamental about not wanting to come on when I turned it on but those issues were immediately corrected by finally remembering to change the battery. Considering I use the light at least a little pretty much every, single day I don't think that is too bad, at all.

Another thing I like about it is that with the size, weight and light output it is fairly easy to use in conjunction with a handgun. I have practiced holding it in my non-dominant hand while bracing my shooting hand with the non-dominant hand and can actually get some pretty good hits on target at reasonable self defense distances that way. It isn't a laser cutting torch or even a 'burn out their retinas' tactical light but it is a fairly small, lightweight, easy to use and reliable light that runs on batteries I can probably find at many convenience store/gas stations and that come in gigantic mega-packs at Walmart.

http://www.inovaligh...features_x1.php

Edited August 29, 2012 by JAB

[jacob]

just ordered a streamlight protact L2....hoping it will live up to its reputation...

[PackinMama]

I've been carrying a Fenix PD10 for over a year now and I absolutely love it! It is tiny, uses 1 CR123 battery, and is rated at 180 lumens. I still have a hard time believing how dang bright it is for such a tiny little light.

[Erik88]

I've been carrying a Fenix PD10 for over a year now and I absolutely love it! It is tiny, uses 1 CR123 battery, and is rated at 180 lumens. I still have a hard time believing how dang bright it is for such a tiny little light.

That is a great light. I have the LD20 which runs on 2 AA batteries.

I also have the PD31 which uses 2 CR123's. It's the best light I own.

[Fourtyfive]

Since this thread has come back around and it doesn't seem that I posted in it, before, I will, now. I carry an Inova X1 as my EDC flashlight. I got it at Target and IIRC, the price was right around twenty bucks. I have been EDCing it for two or three years now and it is and has been a great little pocket flashlight. The one I have is black - with a couple years worth of pocket scuffs on the finish. It is roughly the size of a roll of dimes. It doesn't have the highest ever lumen output rating (55 lumens on high) but somehow it seems like a very 'bright' 55 lumens. Where I live is a wooded area and there are no streetlights, etc. so it is often very dark around my yard at night, especially when there is no moon out and so on. This little, pocket flashlight sure does an amazing job lighting up the night. I am not sure it is bright enough to 'stun' someone - maybe it is or maybe it isn't - but it would sure as heck play havoc with their vision in a low-light situation. Best of all is that it runs on one AA battery. I refuse to have a flashlight for daily use that requires some kind of less common battery or battery pack. If it won't run on D, C, A, AA or AAA then it won't be my EDC light and there is a good chance that I won't own it, at all. If I remember to change the battery once a month then it will maintain more or less maximum brightness and 100% reliability. However, there have been a couple of times when I kept forgetting to replace the battery and it went for about two months without replacing it. Now, toward the end of that time the light output was noticeably very decreased and it became temperamental about not wanting to come on when I turned it on but those issues were immediately corrected by finally remembering to change the battery. Considering I use the light at least a little pretty much every, single day I don't think that is too bad, at all.

Another thing I like about it is that with the size, weight and light output it is fairly easy to use in conjunction with a handgun. I have practiced holding it in my non-dominant hand while bracing my shooting hand with the non-dominant hand and can actually get some pretty good hits on target at reasonable self defense distances that way. It isn't a laser cutting torch or even a 'burn out their retinas' tactical light but it is a fairly small, lightweight, easy to use and reliable light that runs on batteries I can probably find at many convenience store/gas stations and that come in gigantic mega-packs at Walmart.

http://www.inovaligh...features_x1.php

I carry the same , $19.00 at Ace Hardware , great little light. It even has a high and low setting , twist on and momentary switch.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Threeeighty