Flashlight recommendation

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khari

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Not sure if this is where this should go but the description did include lights, so I gave it a try.

I was at a gun store the other day and bought a SE Redline Flashlight by Nebo tools as an impulse purchase. I've never been into flashlights so I didn't know what to expect, but that thing is really bright! After reading the reviews, it is becoming clear that maybe the light may not last long, so I'm interested in getting a replacement. Any suggestions? I'd like something compact and bright. Strobe/SOS would be nice, but not required.
 
I am a Streamlight fan. I used to carry a Stylus Pro daily until I lost it. Now a ProTac 2AA. That is my choice, but not necessarily my recommendation to you. What do you plan to do with it? EDC? Camping or hunting? Keep it in the glove box? Bedside? Toolbox?
 
I have cheap lights scattered about, and have better ones for outdoors activities, and for general reliability. All are good for the prices. I am particular to lights powered by 18650 batteries. Get a good charger and don't go cheap on the batteries. They last a good long time.

$7-$12: Ultrafire. Just to have an OK light in the garage, glovebox, wherever. Definitely a bargain, but the metal is thinner and not machined as well as higher priced lights.

$20-$40: Streamlight. These will take some abuse, and are available in many varieties including AA varieties. You will not get as much brightness or runtime with AAs, but they are good to have at work, since AAs are provided by the shop for free.

$40-$80: Fenix. Compared to the cheaper lights, it is a thing of beauty. I have been using the same PD32 for several years. The controls for strobe/brightness are separate from the on/off, which I like. If I have to pick my favorite, it is the PD32. The PD35 Tactical is their most poular model.

There are much higher-end lights out there, but I have been happy with flashlights from these brands. The more they are, the better they get. But don't be fooled by the Ultrafire prices, they will outshine and outlast the LED lights you get at Auto shop counters or tool stores for less money.

Oh, and don't pay attention to the Lumen ratings online. I think they just make up numbers....the cheaper the brand, the higher the number.
 
I have a fenix pd35 it is a very good light that was about $70. i also have a ultrafire that i ordered form china for about $ 10. it too is a good light plenty bright, the fenix is a little smaller and a bit brighter but for the money i am happy with the ultrafire
 
Another vote for Fenix. These are lifetime lights at a very reasonable price. Many models to fit about every need. I have several, and they have all been flawless for many years of use.
http://www.fenixgear.com
 
For the past year I've been using a streamlight polytec. Very bright LED with clicky. A good buy on sale for I think $20 at PSA last year. Surefire IMO is behind the curve but catching up slowly. Still, they are overpriced compared to what you get with streamlight.
Tried a lot of Fenix lights. I'll take the streamlight pen light over the preon any day of the week. My wife has had a Fenix pd2 for years. Works great but it will drain the battery if left in the light. Excellent light otherwise.
The best AA battery light I've used so far is the Fenix TK20. An absolute tank. I think it's discontinued (a real shame) because it's never failed in over 7 years. Has 2 output levels and a nice warm tint.
For a key chain light I'm sold on Inova. The one I've been using has a high, low, and strobe of all things. On high you get ~15 lumens which is darn good for a light the size of a quarter. I consider this light a must have and a bargain at $15.
 
Honestly, I think if I have a few good flashlights I can find a bunch of uses for them, as I'm sure you all already know. Right now I'm thinking toolbox and occasionally for camping.

Thanks for all the quick responses. After looking around at a few websites, I think I might just have slipped down another slope. As if guns and knives weren't enough...
 
I like Olight brand, with a fenix not far behind. I think the Olight M18 maverick is about the best EDC/tactical light out there right now, at least for the money.
 
Have a Fenix TK-15 on my AR. A Fenix LD-22 that i use for e.d.c. (amazing how often people ask if you have your light on you when they know you like to carry one. Lol). And a Fenix E-25 that i keep at work in my toolbox.

My E-25 has some of the finish starting to wear off around the bezel and tailcap, and has been dropped hard enough to dent the positive terminal on the top battery...several times. It hasn't deformed at either end, the lens has never cracked or started to fog or craze, and it has survived immersion in water, antifreeze, oil...all in all, i'm terribly impressed with it, considering i paid about $40 for it. It's nearly as bright as the Streamlight Stingers several of my coworkers bought from the Snap-on guy...for $200. It also has a memory circuit so it comes on at whatever brightness setting it was on when turned off. I use it many times a day, every day, and replace it's 2 AA batteries about once a month.
 
Depends on what you're gonna use it for. If you're looking for a "tactical light" that needs to dependable when used hard I would steer clear of the lower end Chinese lights. Surefire lights are rarely the brightest out there and are perhaps overpriced by a bit but they offer very solid lights with a good level of build quality and reliability. Surefire rarely uses the very newest emitters because they seem to place a premium on reliability so they go with the parts with good track records (something a new emitter by definition can't really have).

My personal favorite for hard use lights are by Elzetta. Their lights aren't cheap but I've never seen anything as overbuilt. The electronics are potted with epoxy to make them virtually indestructible. I saw a video of one thrown out of a helicopter a few hundred feet up and the light still worked fine.

In the lower cost end I have had great luck with the JETBeam BC series lights. I have a BC25 SE on my Beretta Carbine and the jolting from mag after mag of ammo through a blowback gun hasn't bothered the light at all (note: it's got springs on both ends of the battery compartment so it's probably basically immune to recoil).
 
I purchased a Fenix LD41 a little over a week ago. It takes 4 AA batteries, which is my preferred battery in flashlights as I can get the premium lithium batteries for the cold months with no loss in performance. The LD41 is super bright and it's half the size of the off brand Maglight style incandescent flashlight I'm now looking at donating to Goodwill.

So, the LD41 is my "I need a lot of light now!" flashlight, but for something smaller and more everyday type light, I've gotten turned on to the Ultrafire lights. I like that they only use one AA battery, but also are able to use the 14500 3.7v battery. The 14500 produces a brighter light, but its runtime isn't as long as AA's. Sure, they may not be the best small LED lights on the market, but they're still better than bulb lights and they're the best priced lights. For what they cost, they can't be beat.

In the future, when I want a higher quality, small LED flashlight, I'll probably go with the Fenix LD11.

I like Fenix the most, they make damn good lights. I've also seen a lot of praise for FourSevens and Streamlight and have heard good things about Olight.
 
Another Streamlight fan. I keep a Stylus Pro in my gun cleaning kit for bore inspections. I wear a Protac 1AA on my belt for EDC, and have another one, forget the model number, that takes 2 CR123 batteries on my AR HD carbine.

Also have an abundance of cheaper flashlights, like Coleman or Craftsman or $0.99 Harbor Freight LEDs, but the Streamlights are my "serious work" lights.
 
I own many flashlights, more than I could name, or even FIND right now, from high-end Surefires to no-name budget lights (most of which have been great.)
In my opinion, it's better to have several "good" examples of a particular item (whether guns,lights, or whatever), than it is to one one single "best-of-the-best" item, that costs a buttload of money.
These days, there are better and better lights coming out at lower and lower prices, and the LED technology continues to improve, so these days you don;t need a big giant Mag-light with 4 D batteries to get good run time. there are lights now that run even on just a single AA battery that give phenomenal run times.
Many of the budget lights you'll find at Lowes,Home Depot, Wal-mart and Sams generally give very good service,and I would recommend a shoebox full of these over a single $200 Surefire (though I trust my Surefires more than all the rest combined, and they're the only one's that have NEVER had any glitches. I can't say the same for most of the rest).
As mentioned above, stremalight and fenix are good lights,with some at very reasonable prices. I would also consider Inova. Target sells them, and they can be found on-line at Swissknifeshop, w/ free shipping.
 
Any of the brand name flashlights are solid. I'm partial to nitecore myself, but the real advancement in flashlights has been in getting away from the alkaline batteries. Do yourself a favor and spend 20 Bucks getting a lithium ion charger and either 14500(AA sized) or 18650 (2 cr123 battery footprint. Looks like an oversized AA battery)battery. They put out 3.7v instead of 1.5v of an alkaline. In a flashlight that supports AA and 14500 batteries, swapping from AA to 14500 is like clicking on the high beams on a car. Easily twice as bright.

I've been pleased with the ultrafire charger and batteries from dealextreme. My trustfire flashlight died after 3 years in the car in Texas though...... :(
 
I'm a Surefire guy. Yeah they're expensive but from a customer service standpoint they've earned me as a customer. I had an old P6 Defender (Bulb based) for a long time that I used for work and personal use. Bulbs were... Less then stellar in their longevity and weren't cheap either. After a few calls for replacements they mentioned that I'd put a few orders in and asked what was happening. Told them my usual use and wasn't sure why they were burning out, they sent an LED conversion and 2 new bulbs for free.

I have a P2X Fury now with the dual output and LED. Things been through quite a bit, banged up but still works like new, and the battery life with the low setting is amazing.

My 2nd choice though, would have to be Fenix. Job recently upgraded out ancient Maglites to the UC45 and the thing is just downright amazing. Solidly built and no failures to work so far (well some failures but those were user error due to new equipment lol) That rechargeable batteries being recharged by a simple USB port is a godsend.
 
Another vote for Fenix. I love my LD22, 4 brightness modes, strobe as well. Runs on 2aa and the newer model is 300 lumens.
 
For those $3-4 Ultrafire lights, are they able to use the 14500 batteries or will the LED get fried? I've been reading conflicting user reports that some work with the 14500's and some don't.
 
Had great luck with the Inova X1 ($20) and X2 ($40) flashlights. Really bright, seem to be rugged and well made and use AA batteries.

The Zebralight flashlights are awesome too. More of a utility or flood light. Takes a AA battery. My most used flashlight. Really nice warm tint on the light color.

Surefire makes the E2l AA Outdoorsman which is a really nice light too. Probably has the most green / blue tint when compared to the above light however.

Flashlight technology has really changed in the past decade and there are dozens of good manufacturers. Ive bought cheap $2 lights and $200 surefires. I think the sweet spot is in the $30-$60 range.

My best advice is to get a flashlight that uses AA batteries and if you want real toughness look for fully potted electronics. I would also get yourself a good charger (Powerex MH-C800S is what I use) and some Eneloop rechargable batteries.

Dan
 
LED Lenser. I'm surprised that I am the only one that mentioned them so far. I carry a Tac-Torch model every day for work. Its just a great general purpose light. Runs several hours on 3 AAAs and has a focus-able beam. That what I like the most, wide soft flood light or a long distance beam. Very rugged. 5 year warranty I think. Good tail-cap button. Momentary ON just by lightly pressing it and holding down or fully depress it for a click ON.

I have had a lot of different lights and I stick with the LED Lenser. They are great. I have carried one every day for 3 years now without a single problem.

http://www.amazon.com/LED-Lenser-880026-TORCH-Flashlight/dp/B0054KZKXS
 
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