What LED to buy.....

Hope you find this interesting -

I was trying to fix a broken tailcap for my ATN Javelin a while back, and believe it or not found out there are as many 'flashlight nuts' as there are 'gun nuts' lets see, I have them bookmarked...
http://www.lighthound.com/Custom-Flashlights-and-Parts_c_105.html

http://www.wirelesshut.com/320829/feature.html

http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/?p=1415

http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.917~page.1

It was amazing to me that 'some' of the most expensive, high output flashlights on the market are pretty much the same. Seems only the actual electronics manufacturers make the stuff they all use, the rest is all smoke and mirrors for the most part. Besides, unless you really just want to see the name 'surefire' or whatnot, you can literally make the same or better flashlight for around 25.00 and start a new, inexpensive hobby!

Steer clear of any LED flashlight with more then one LED.

They are never nearly as bright, as the more expensive lights using only one high-output LED. They are never all going to be in focus either.

They can put 3 - 5 - 7 or more .19 cent LEDs in one, and still only get 1/50th. as much light as one expensive High-Output LED.

rc

Fenixgear.com

I recommend the L, P, or T series. I have the PD30. For more advice and reviews go over to candlepowerforums.com (flashlight nuts instead of gun nuts)

For a LED I recommend the Fenix TK-11 it can use two RC123's or a rechargeable 18650 battery.

You get 10 hours at 60 lumens or 1.5 hours at 225 lumens. It comes with a good holster.

Less than $80 at many places.





If your budget is under $40 get the Terralux Lighstar 220.
It works on 2 AA's and is 100 lumens for 6 hours or 220 lumens for 1.5 hours.

This one has a small reflector, so the throw is not that good, but gives a good flood.



Cheers
Black Bear

I do not like LED flashlights. Yes, they may be "bright," but other than that they suck IMO. They have no "throw"... for whatever reason the light beam can't penetrate into a woods no matter how bright it is. And everything looks 2-dimmensional and washed-out when illuminated with an LED.

I much prefer a beam produced by a high-intensity incandescent flashlight, e.g. Xenon or Halogen.

For the ultimate flashlight, get this.

I was at the SHOT Show. Everybody has flashlights.

Maybe a little bigger and more expensive than you want, but I was impressed by the 5.11 Light for Life with a 90 SECOND recharge. Runs on ultracapacitors instead of batteries.

Bushnell had but was not actively promoting a flashlight with a SQUARE beam. No rings or falloff, just a white square with only slightly blurry edges. I don't know how much light was lost to the necessary optics but it was a strange sight.

Me? I have been accumulating flashlights, a couple of Surefire, a couple from the defunct Digilight, now a couple of Fenix. A little single AA Fenix is a great pocket light that goes with me any time after dusk.

Buy the surefire 6p with the xenon bulb (just because its cheaper than the led version) and then go to dealextreme.com and buy a Cree Q5 LED drop in module for like 10 bucks. That will give you a great setup.

I have had some great experiences with Surefire flashlights! They do not break, and my Z2 has been through a lot of wear and tear, even falling into rapids, and it still works, and when my first bulb broke, they sent me a new one and I had it within 4 days. The staff there are also very helpful.

Good luck, and also, Streamlight has some good flashlights, too, such as the Stinger.

After showing off my PD30 at work a few weeks ago, one of my co-workers said she would like to buy her husband a cool tactical flashlight like mine, for his birthday. I told her the specs and cost, then said it was made in China. She told me her husband is one of those "buy America" fans. I told her there are some good American made flashlights out there. But none have all of the settings that mine does, and the ones that do have more than 1 setting cost 2-3 times as much as my Chinese flashlight. Now my flashlight may not be tough enough to hammer nails with, but I haven't had any problems with it.

If you are looking at the Fenix TK's then you might also want to check out the Olight M20. 7 lumens (150hrs), Med: 90 lumens (12hrs), Hi 250 lumens (~3hrs), Strobe. Your choice of smooth or textured reflector or both.

A smooth reflector will give you more throw, but it allows ugly artifacts to show up in the beam. A textured reflector (also called orange peel) will create a wider, less intense hotspot, a smooth beam without/with less artifacts, and a smooth transition from hotspot to spill. - CPF

Click to expand...

And your choice of black or OD.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/premium-olight-m20-warrior.html

I happen to be mighty fond of the INOVA lights. I own several of them. Ok, at least 6. 1 in each of our BOB kits..1 on my duty belt(T4) and 1 in each vehicle. For a back-up light in my patrol bag?...a Dorcey light bought at Wally World....125 lumens I believe and it cost around $40. Tailcap has an internal light indicating battery life. Fairly good light except the lense is plastic. If it were glass, I'd still drop another $5-10 for it.