Let's talk flashlights.

[MiddTennTaco]

I have the Surefire 6P LED and the M3 Millennium. The LED is absolutely the most dependable utilitarian light I have ever owned. It was my backup duty light. The LED saves a crap load of $$$ on batteries and the 'throw' of the beam is what makes them so much better than the cheapies.

good luck

I have two Surefire G2x's. The LED is absolutely the most dependable utilitarian light I have ever owned. It was my backup duty light. The LED saves a crap load of $$$ on batteries and the 'throw' of the beam is what makes them so much better than the cheapies.

In my own words, lol, Surefire is a true SHTF light. I know for a fact that my Surefires can take a beating. Run em over with a truck... throw em off a multistory-story building... its still absolutely going to work.

By the way, you don't NEED to use Surefire batteries for recreational use. I buy Titanium Innovations batteries at $1 a piece from battery junction (vs $2-3/piece for Surefire's). You can also get decent brand Panasonic's or Energizers for pennies more a piece. Just be sure to keep Surefire's in your weaponlights, optics, etc(anything important).

[charlessummers]

Wow... I have more flashlights than I know what to do with, but I recently bought myself another 2 cell AA LED light and that sucker is bright! For some reason while at Lowes the other day, I saw the Maglite Xl50 and I had to have it. I think it was about $30.00 and suppose to put out 104 Lumens. It's suppose to last about 9 hours on high, and 36 hours on low. Both of these new ones have the flashing strobe, but the 2 cell AA also has the flashing SOS strobe. Pretty cool if you get lost out in the dark woods I guess.

Flashlight junkie? Me?? No...

[Guest Curley78]

I have tried many cree led lights. Bang for buck, Streamlight & Fenix are both lights that I would trust with my life. I don't put much stock in any of those 3 AAA type of lights. Many Fenix models use AA batteries. They don't have that cheap little plastic AAA battery holder and therefor are more reliable in the long run. Try brightguy.com

[bronco302]

Try one of these, SIPIK SK68 Cree Q3-WC 120-Lumen Convex Lens LED Flashlight - Black (1*AA/1*14500) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme . Everyone who has seen mine has got one, my supervisor at work ordered 30 of them for people at work and his Volunteer Fire Department. Wide angle is just that it will light up a room, spot is so tight it shows the square Cree emitter. Mine is over a year old and I drag it under houses and cars and it keep going. One thing if you do get one it may take a couple of months to arrive. HTH.

Joe W.

[Paladin132]

I EDC three Surefire flashlights. One in my pocket and an additional two in whatever bag / jacket combination I am wearing. One in my pocket is a E2E that got me out of a mugging in my hometown in WV. Then I have a ED2 for long time "on" work as it is LED and variable output and a 6P. Why so many? Well with lights I follow the two is one one is none rule after having to many dump on me at just that moment when I am sticking my head into a hole where someone might be gonna poke me in the eye. I have not had any of my Surefires dump on me, but have ran out of batteries. My 6P has (through a dumb moment) been under the tracks of one of my M3 Bradley CFV at one point on concrete and other than being scratched up is still running great. Incidentally I also managed to let it get ran over by a light pickup once as well...

I am hard on lights.

Anyway, Surefire is expensive, and YMMV, but I have had great luck with the brand thus far. The white light versions do burn through batteries quick and get warm, but I use them a lot and honestly I have not bought batteries in quite a while. Have not replaced them in awhile either.

[Guest safes]

do you think that big lot light will hold up good sounds like a great deal

[Caster]

Mine has so far. I just dropped it in the cat's water. Still works:) I think it's brighter, although not as focused, than my surefire.

[Guest safes]

guess i will just try one sounds good to me thanks

[robin48]

Zebo is a good light for the money.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[Guest hawkeye10]

I bought a Fenix E21 on Ebay for $32 shipped. It is 150 lumens and uses 2 AA barreries. I use it a lot more than I thought I would. Don

[Caster]

I got an Ebay special on the way myself. Should be here today hopefully.

[DAdams]

I have a number of lights for various functions and have a couple Fenix and number of 4 Sevens. 4 Sevens has a 10 year warranty and uses current generation Cree LEDs which mean you are getting the highest number of lumens available today for the power input. They also use an ANSI rating of OTF or out the front lumens so there is no ambiguity as to how much light they put out. I don't know of many to any who do an industry standard rating. www.4sevens.com. These units are designed in the US and manufactured in China unfortunately to keep the cost competetive. The company is located in GA though and employs Georgians.

My highest output is a Maelstrom G5 I have two. 350Lumens. $150. each. Fits the hand nicely, comes with a holster, I use it with a neck lanyard so it can dangle or drop free. Nice size bright and it has a very versatile and programmable UI. I have a mount and switch so this can go on my AR if desired.

My favorite EDC are the Preon II. I have two of these also. I like this light so much I never wanted to be without one so one can be used for parts. Runs on AAAs and is a stylus format. Clips in the shirt pocket, drops nicely in the pocket with no bulk is a great low level task light yet is quite bright at a maximum of 160 lumens and as little at 2 which is plenty in a tent or indoors working on electronics. I like it because I can hold it/gum it in my mouth if need be, it is that light.

I have a number of other in between sizes sizes but these are two of my favorites.

Of course you have to have a couple Everready Headlamps.

[ProjectDexter]

I'm also a fan of 4 sevens lights. I recently picked up another Maelstrom g5 to add to my collection on optics planet for $99. IMO the versatility and quality can't be matched at that price. From the Preons to the Quarks, to some of their full size (mag lite size) models they have really impressed me. Downside for me is they use the fancy batteries that cost an arm an a leg, upside is they they are incredibly powerful.

[kieefer]

looks like a good deal on gearhog for a flashlight - GEARHOG | 50% - 70% off your favorite outdoors, hunting and fishing gear

+1 for the inexpensive Coleman lights.

[hornett22]

Surefire Backup is my EDC and favorite. Durable,bright,uses one 123 battery. And I'm not supporting the Chi Coms.

Best light I've ever owned and I've owned and still own a lot.

[Caster]

Sale expires tomorrow, but this is a pretty nice deal from midway.

G3 Flashlight Xenon Bulb Batteries (3 CR123A Lithium) Nitrolon Black

[Guest twpayne75]

I own several Surefires. Have never let me down. I have only used their customer service once and I must say I was impressed. On the other hand if your $8 light lays down I guess there is no need for customer service. You just throw it away.

If it's something laying around the house for if the power goes out, I would go with the cheap. If it's part of my security/protection plan, I would get something made for the job. Look inside a Surefire and the cheap ones. You will see a BIG difference.

[Caster]

Finally after waiting, my $35 ebay/hong kong special arrived toady. Charging the batteries now. I will make a comparison tonight between my older Surefire [(2) 123 battery] not sure what model it is, I've had it for years, and the (5) led (3) AAA battery, Coast light from Big Lots.

To be perfectly honest, I think the Big Lot's lights may be factory seconds (I mean, for $8 come on) because there is no colored bad or model designation like the picture I grabbed from their website.

Edited November 2, 2011 by Caster

[Smith]

Try one of these, SIPIK SK68 Cree Q3-WC 120-Lumen Convex Lens LED Flashlight - Black (1*AA/1*14500) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme . Everyone who has seen mine has got one, my supervisor at work ordered 30 of them for people at work and his Volunteer Fire Department. Wide angle is just that it will light up a room, spot is so tight it shows the square Cree emitter. Mine is over a year old and I drag it under houses and cars and it keep going. One thing if you do get one it may take a couple of months to arrive. HTH.

Joe W.

I gotta say the two Ultrafire flashlights I've had have been great. They've held up great and are super bright. Battery life is very good as well. For the money they are hard to beat and i won't feel bad if the kids loose one or they get beat up. Here are the ones I have. Would probably go with the single light mode on the next one.

Ultrafire C1 R2-WC 5-Mode Memory 250-LM LED Flashlight with 2*Assault Crowns (2*CR123A/1*18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

BTW - the 18650 battery is a single battery that takes the place of two CR123's. In my exerience they aren't as strong as two good CR123's but the battery life is a lot longer.

[Caster]

Well the 3 function Ultrafire light is great so far. Very bright. Pending battery life, I'm very happy. It beats the surefire I have. The strobe function will induce epileptic seizures!!!

[kieefer]

Finally after waiting, my $35 ebay/hong kong special arrived toady. Charging the batteries now. I will make a comparison tonight between my older Surefire [(2) 123 battery] not sure what model it is, I've had it for years, and the (5) led (3) AAA battery, Coast light from Big Lots.

To be perfectly honest, I think the Big Lot's lights may be factory seconds (I mean, for $8 come on) because there is no colored bad or model designation like the picture I grabbed from their website.

I bought one of these when it was called SuperFire. Lasted about a year and died. I can't find any address or source to return or complain within the states. The batteries have UltraFire on them. I'm SOL as it appears.

Maybe you'll have better luck.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

The candlepower forum has long 'exploding flashlight' threads. A waterproof sealed flashlight "over-built" for strength and good looks-- If there is sudden heat-gas release then it turns into a pipe bomb. Rare happenings, but apparently they do occasionally happen.

I don't know anything about it except a couple of hours reading the threads. Maybe have mis-read the info, but my impression--

-- More likely with lithium batts, though less-catastrophic incidents apparently can occur with other chemistries

-- Less likely with "brand name" flashlights and batteries. Surefire, etc.

-- Less likely with non-rechargeable lithium batts

-- Less likely with lights which use a single batt, and more likely with lights which use 2 or more batts.

Read about it after getting the Fenix TK15 with uses a pair of CR123. It seems to work ok so am gonna keep it and only feed it SureFire batts (no cheap bulk batts or rechargeables). But keep an eye on it. Maybe that is too cautious but lithium fires are bad news. Decided to concentrate on lights that can use NIMH rechargeables. There are new nickel-zinc rechargeables which sound promising but not yet competitive with NIMH.

So later got a Fenix TK45 that is about the size of a 2-D-cell old-fashioned flashlight. It is real bright and runs on 8 AA cells.

====

I really like headlights and a few months ago got a ZebraLight H51.

Going Gear - Zebralight H51 200 Lumen LED Headlamp - Headlamps - Flashlights

The bright and long run-time headlights use four AA batts. The most convenient headlights use one AA batt. I've used headlights for years when working with my hands. Nice to be able to see what yer working on. Some of the big box store medium-price lights are pretty good but are plastic and usually the straps or case wear out or break before the light itself fails. I have a drawer full of old plastic headlights that worked great at one time but are too ratty to use nowadays, though they still light up.

That zebralight is all aluminum, has a nice holder-strap system that can be replaced, and can be taken out of the strap and used as a nice small pocket light. It is pretty bright on HIGH and will run on HIGH until the battery goes down (some of the bright headlights have a TURBO mode and automatically dim after a few minutes to avoid overheating). The aluminum case can get warm if you run on high a long time, but it seems excellently heat-sinked.

Of course a bright light with only one AA will run down the battery pretty quick. With earlier single-AA plastic headlights if I was working in the woodshop all day, would carry a few charged NIMH batts in the right pocket. Every hour or two when the light would go down, just quick swap batteries and put the dead one in left pocket. More comfortable to wear than a big heavy headlight that uses four AA batts. In situations doing stuff many hours outside in the dark, where it is inconvenient for the batts to run down, then it is worth using the heavier 4-AA headlights.

I run many gadgets on AA and had a couple of dozen NIMH batts most of them many years old but they still seemed to work OK. That little Zebralight is so bright that it exposed issues with the old NIMH batts. It has low-med-high settings and you change setting by holding down the button. It cycles each brightness setting. With some fully-charged NIMH batts, it would go low then medium then a very bright high. Others would go low then medium then barely brighter than medium. Others would go low then medium then not get any brighter on high.

====

Got a Maha MH-C9000 charger in order to try refreshing some of the old batts and also be able to measure their capacity, for curiosity and to easily match sets of batteries by capacity.

Maha MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer 4 AA / Aaa

Also got some of the newer low self-discharge NIMH batts to test, and four Ansmann 2850 mAh high-capacity but not low self-discharge to test. Most of my applications can benefit from low self-discharge so you can put batts in a gadget and not worry about them running down prematurely sitting on the shelf. But was thinking that routine use of a single-AA bright headlight might benefit from as high capacity as possible because you are frequently changing batts regardless.

That C9000 charger is fun. It does seem capable of somewhat renewing old batts if they are not in too bad shape. Had some old Energizer 2500 mAh batts that refresh up to a 2100 mAh capacity. Those were the best performing of my old batts. Some new-bought GP 2100 mAh low-self-discharge batts measure very near 2100 mAh. Some new spensive Sanyo 2500 mAh low self discharge batts really do measure around 2500 mAh. Those seem the highest-capacity low self discharge batts available at the moment. The new-bought Ansmann 2850 mAh batts measured about 2600 mAh but it is said that sometimes capacity will increase some after the batt has been exercised a few cycles.

So if price is no problemo, maybe those Sanyo 2500 lsd batts are about as good as it gets at the moment? They measure about the same as ordinary high-capacity batts and have a longer charged shelf life. But the ordinary high-cap batts are a lot cheaper.

The C9000 refused to measure or charge a dozen of my old NIMH batts. Some are at least 8 years old. Most modern chargers do rudimentary good-bad testing before entering a charge cycle, but apparently the C9000 is pickier than most. A dozen of my oldest batts measured having too much internal resistance.

I earlier acquired a less-picky 8-bay Maha MH-C801D which is simple and elegant and can do a refresh cycle. That charger only has options for fast charge / slow charge / refresh cycle, but works great. It accepts and charges the old batts which the C9000 rejects.

Testing the rejected old batts in the Zebralight, it was easy to see the difference about internal resistance. The nicer modern LED lights can auto-regulate and draw lots of power out of an appropriate battery regardless of voltage, as long as there is sufficient delivered current. I tested an old Energizer 2500 mAh tested BAD by the C9000, which ran the Zebralight about four hours on medium brightness but could not drive the Zebralight on high brightness even fresh off the charger. The old battery's internal resistance is too big to deliver sufficient current for the high beam.

On the other hand, new or old 2000+ mAh batts which were tested GOOD by the C9000 will drive the Zebralight very bright on the high beam.

So my dozen old "bad" batteries will run a portable radio or low-brightness light just fine. Any device that doesn't draw a lot of current. So maybe the C9000 is too picky.

On the other hand it is great to identify the high-resistance batteries which will compromise performance on high-current devices. I'll probably gradually replace the dozen old batts rejected by the C9000, even if they still work fine in my portable radio. On one hand it seems wasteful discarding something that still works, but in an emergency it would be a bummer to have marginal weak batts in the radio or gps.

Apologies for the long-winded ramble. Just what I've been messing with lately. Was thinking maybe some of ya'll might have a collection of ancient NIMH cells then buy a new light and blame bad performance on the light when the fault is with the batteries (or charger).

Edited November 4, 2011 by Lester Weevils

[Schadenfreude]

If you want a rechargeable 123 look for LFP123's they were designed to be safer & not explode the chemistry is different. They don't have or perhaps don't overstate their capacity like many other rechargeable 123's. We sell a device where I work that we have sold many different 123's with & it is not sealed but we have had many incidents with batteries until we switched to these & have never seen one of these vented even when severly abused. I personally use them in my surefires & have never had an issue.

[Guest Skeeter]

Rechargeable comes with AC/DC charger

Adjustable Spot

Smaller Lighter than C cell's

Lifetime LED Bulb

All under $50.00

I have a Stinger or Two but use Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

.

Two Hour Run Time

[Caster]

Hey guys, those Coast lights at Big Lots have gone up to $10 now. I bought three more to toss about the house. For the money, these are really great lights. If you get a year or two out of them, it's worth the ten spot.