Flashlights

B

bikerbill

New member
Wondering what your favorites are, and why ...

I replaced my Surefire 9p nightstand light with a TerraLUX 180 a while back. For about $20, I got a super bright 180 lumen LED with tactical tail switch to replace the dimming bulb in the Surefire, which would have cost easily five times the TerraLUX to replace with a similar Surefire. Then I replaced another old bulb Surefire 6p with a TerraLUX 220, which offers 220 lumens on high and also has a low setting to conserve batteries. It's my dog walk light and again, works perfectly every time. It was about $25.

Finally, I picked up a TerraLUX 100 this week for a cruise we're taking. This little jewel offers three modes, high, low and strobe .. for $20.

One of the best features is that they all run on AA batteries, not those pricy fat 123s. This sounds like an ad, I know, but these are amazing lights for the price. I've had no problems in daily use with first the 180 and then the 220 in daily use for months.

If you've had problems with them -- or have other favorites -- I'd love to hear about them.
 
I purchased a 500 lumen flashlight from Tmart for $6.00, it has a tail switch and it uses 3 AAA batteries. It is aluminum and a variable beam from wide angle to a spot. I have had it for about 3 weeks and it works great. The draw back is it is shipped from Hong kong and takes about 5 weeks to get, but the wait is worth it. It is a Cree brand. Shipping is free for anything from Tmart, now matter the price. I had ordered two different flashlights and one did not work when I received it, I got in touch with them and they are shipping out another one no questions asked, did not want the other one back. I have purchased other items from there and most were shipped from a US warehouse in a few days.
 
I've had good experiences with the Fenix line of AA lights.

I am currently loving E41, 1000lm burst mode on 4 AA's is pretty awesome. Pretty good runtimes on the regular modes of 20, 140 and 400lm.
 
Found the LED AA headlamps the most useful. There are many high quality
ones available. The Bright Guy often has the best prices. Idaho Gaiters
 
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I like either the LED headlights or the AA mag-lite with the LED bulb. I really don't have a need for the eyeblastin' super spotlights.
 
I like to pickup whatever chinese flashlights i can find for cheap... well, relatively cheap. I have a $100 trust fire i bought for work that blazes like the sun. I have a few $20 lights too that are plenty bright. I usually. Just look for a good led, like cree xml or such. I have found the no name chinese are btter than comperably priced bargain lights like you find at ho.e depot and such.

Also, i am pretty much hooked on 18650 rechargeable batteries....they give you lots of power and save you from buying new batteries every few weeks.
 
Hello.

I've used a few differnt flashlights over the years and think my most recent is a keeper. I started out with a SureFire G2 that I have never really liked For a variety of reasons. It's big and burned through expensive, hard to find batteries. I also am not a fan of the twist on/off button. However, of all the lights I've owned, none throw a beam like the SureFire. It's like a small flood light in your pocket but impractical for my needs. After that I started carrying a Fenix F-(?) that uses regular batteries, is small, bright and has a simple push button on/off.

For Valentine's Day this year, my daughter gave me (she's 2, so her name was on the card) A 5.11 light that I love. It's small, thin, uses AAA batteries, has a push button on/off and best of all, has a pocket clip. The pocket clip is a little loose but makes all the difference. Now, it's always with me and I'm never without a light when I need one. It rides nicely next to my Benchmade (another gift from my daughter) and seems to be along the same lines in terms of quality.
 
I got a couple from Thrunite and I am happy with them. They seem to be about Fenix quality.

I'm still looking for a pen size light with one or two AAA batteries, two or three useful modes (I don't need strobe, SOS, etc) and a click switch instead of a twist type. Anybody?
 
I really like this little guy as a little EDC utility light. I prefer the single mode version on as the 3 mode version doesn't have memory. It runs on a single AA or runs really bright on a rechargeable 14500 battery. They run about $4 and a pair of batteries and charger will run less than $10.

http://www.amazon.com/UltraFire®7W-...hlight+Torch+Adjustable+Focus+Zoom+Light+Lamp

The light is small, bright, and will zoom. It is a nice pocket carry light.
 
For a nightstand light I like a red option. A red light allows me to see to navigate while preserving my night vision.

I have an old Surefire Kroma. They're expensive; but I've had mine for quite a few years, and they were a bit cheaper when I got mine. It gives me a bright, white light, two levels of blue and two levels of red lights. The white light isn't as bright as some of the newer LED lights, but it's more than adequate inside. I have other lights available if I need to "light up the night."
 
I carry a Fenix LD12 in my pocket.
http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-LD12-Flashlight-Upgraded-Black/dp/B00C8757EM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8

On my keychain I have a Photon micro light
http://www.amazon.com/LRI-AW-Photon-Keychain-Micro-Light/dp/B000JGO7Z4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8

Next to the bed I have a Mag Lite with two C batteries and the bulb swapped out for an LED. It will run for days during a power outage and doubles as a club.

I have battery powered LED lamps that are motion detectors scattered throughout the house, so I can't walk in the dark. I hate smashing my head into glass doors that are closed.

And my emergency back up flashlight is my cell phone.
 
Love my Streamlight ProTac 2AA, and have a couple of their Stylus Pro's too.
Also have a SureFire Defender that I like, but the thing is TOO bright for everyday use, and batteries are expensive.
 
Take a peek over at the candlepower.com forum for additional opinions on flashlight and battery options. There is a wealth of information there.
 
I refuse to carry a flashlight with different modes unless it is possible to semi-permanently select the mode with a physical switch or control of some type so that I always get the mode I want when I turn on the flashlight without having to cycle through modes.

I used to carry a flashlight with multiple modes and it was awkward to cycle through the various modes to select the proper mode. It would not have been reasonable to try to do so in any kind of a tactical/self-defense situation.

The flashlight I carry now has a twist control that can not be operated accidentally which selects between two brightness modes. It is always selected to the brightest mode in case I need it quickly and I manually reduce the mode for small tasks by twisting the control.
 
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