Any flashlight geeks here?

[e d o]

Guys, I need some advice. I'm not exactly a flashlight geek but I did acquire a Inova X1 (single AA) a few years back. I loved this thing and thought it was the best FL I had ever owned. I didn't use it very often and that was part of the problem. A battery leaked in it and I messed it up but good opening it. So I'm in the market for a replacement. So I'm wondering:
1. Should I buy the same one (they are about $24) or is there something better for the same kind of money? I see the Fenix LD10 is popular but it's 2X the $.
2. What kind of batteries should I use (that will never leak)?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Arkansas]

Guys, I need some advice. I'm not exactly a flashlight geek but I did acquire a Inova X1 (single AA) a few years back. I loved this thing and thought it was the best FL I had ever owned. I didn't use it very often and that was part of the problem. A battery leaked in it and I messed it up but good opening it. So I'm in the market for a replacement. So I'm wondering:
1. Should I buy the same one (they are about $24) or is there something better for the same kind of money? I see the Fenix LD10 is popular but it's 2X the $.
2. What kind of batteries should I use (that will never leak)?
Thanks for any help.

The inova website claims a 25 lumen max for the x1, with a runtime of two hours. That's a bit inefficient compared with the latest lights.
The iTP A3 EOS that Coolbluewater mentions appears to be a good light for the money. That light uses a AAA battery, and has three settings, 1.5 lumens, 18 lumens, and 62 lumens.
I recently ordered a maratac light that the guys at candlepower think is almost exactly the same as the iTP, made by the same company. The main difference is that the maratac will tail stand, and the itp won't.
There is a AA maratac, in polished stainless, http://www.countycomm.com/AASTAINLESSWORLDSMALLEST.html. $33.95 Has three modes, 1.5 lumens for 100 hrs., 18 lumens for 7 hrs., and 85 lumens for 2 hrs.

They've got lots of other goodies at countycomm.com as well.


I spent two weeks trying to figure out which $25 light I wanted.

 

[RayG]

I have a few surefires with Gene Malkoff's drop-ins.

 

[Doric]

Can someone suggest to me a good flashlight around $20? No mag lites please.

This, I have one and I love it!

 

[HesNot]

I'm late to the party but certainly qualify as a flashaholic. I have a few lights... My most used ones:

Surefire 6PL - had it bored to accept 18650 cells and a McClickie switch installed in the tailcap. I replaced the stock drop in with a Dereelight 3 stage digital but am looking long and hard at turning this into my flamethrower light.

Dereelight CL1H v3 - basically a 6P style light, currently running a Dereelight 3 stage drop in that is my one "warm" tinted light. It'll get the 6PL driver when I get a new one for the 6PL.

Novatac 120P - love this light. This and the Ra Clickie are all from the same family tree back to the Arc4 (which I once owned) and the original HDS EDC lights (which I also owned). The versatility of the interface is for my uses the best on the market. The Ra clickie is the next progression I suppose but I had this modded to a K2 TFFC emitter and it is a screamer as it is so I don't know that I need much more.

Milky "Creemator" - this is a Surefire head that has been modded by a candlepowerforum member (Milkyspit) with a custom driver board and reflector in place of the optics. It is a beautiful beam and runs on 1xRCR123 or 2xCR123 - and it's about as bright as you can get in a single die LED. I'm sending it back to have the software upgraded to his latest version - it is really really flexible with a variety of modes you can use for long runtime, or high output and everything in between. I mostly use it on a small Vital Gear FB1 body.

Some stock Surefires - an L1, and E1L, an E2L. A stock Surefire KL1 head on an Aleph body with a two stage McE2S tailcap that I need to send to someone to get an emitter swap and really bring it up to date although I do carry this one a decent amount. Two Liteflux models (LF2 and LF3XT). A couple small Peak LED Solutions lights which are my last ditch backup lights as they run on common cells (AA) and the twisty design and Peak's high build quality make them arguably the lights I trust the most to always work. All of which are all nice but don't get used as much as the ones listed above...

And a smattering of Maglites (mostly with LED upgrades of some sort) and power outage backup lanterns.

Yes, I'm in need of a "den cleaning" on some of these!

 

[sideman7]

Wow, OK... All I can say is I got out easy on the razor side... I ended up with a Feather stainless for my second razor and am good. Flashlights, not so much.
Here is part of my collection:

I won't even go into what these are because unless you are over at CPF, it won't mean much to you. I am a fan of smaller lights though. Even the "big" Lumapower in the photo can be changed to a single RCR123 with a smaller refelctor that fits in your pocket and can provide over 500 lumens...

 

[HesNot]

Wow, OK... All I can say is I got out easy on the razor side... I ended up with a Feather stainless for my second razor and am good. Flashlights, not so much.
Here is part of my collection:

I won't even go into what these are because unless you are over at CPF, it won't mean much to you. I am a fan of smaller lights though. Even the "big" Lumapower in the photo can be changed to a single RCR123 with a smaller refelctor that fits in your pocket and can provide over 500 lumens...

Nice collection! I recognize everything except the light to the left of your Titan. It is particularly nice to see an old school HDS Ultimate. I really do love that lineage of lights.

 

[sideman7]

Nice collection! I recognize everything except the light to the left of your Titan. It is particularly nice to see an old school HDS Ultimate. I really do love that lineage of lights.

The HDS has had several emitter changes over the years (I got it when it first came out). It currently has a XPG R5 and is pushing over 200 lumens on max. It's still my workhorse light. I also have a 17670 tube for it when I need more runtime.

The light you didn't recognize is my favorite of the bunch. It's a custom ti EX10 "fatty". It has the innards of a Nitecore EX10 (except the XPG emitter). I also have another ti EX10 made by someone else, but that is at my girlfriends house... I do have photos of it here though. I am a big fan of the Nitecore continuously variable lights...

 

[Rivguy]

I am sort of old school when it comes to flashlights. I have many flashlights that are old and very serviceable. Some are rechargeable but most are not.

I have several Mag lites that I like very much and have served me well. I know that they are not state of the art but they work and are reliable. I had one of the early LED Mags and not like it because it did not have the focus feature. I do not have this unit anymore.

There certainly appears to be a bias against Mag lites so I am wondering is it just because there are better choices or are they just to "old school" or perhaps both.

Thanks guys,

Doug

 

[HesNot]

I am sort of old school when it comes to flashlights. I have many flashlights that are old and very serviceable. Some are rechargeable but most are not.

I have several Mag lites that I like very much and have served me well. I know that they are not state of the art but they work and are reliable. I had one of the early LED Mags and not like it because it did not have the focus feature. I do not have this unit anymore.

There certainly appears to be a bias against Mag lites so I am wondering is it just because there are better choices or are they just to "old school" or perhaps both.

Thanks guys,

Doug

Maglites are a controversial subject around the flashaholic world much like Rolex with the watch crowd and Mont Blanc with pen folks, although for different reasons. Generally they are regarded as well made mass production general purpose lights that are overall rock solid reliable, and have served as modification platforms for a ton of folks. The knock, such as it is, mostly is around their very very very slow product upgrade curve, they were quite late to the LED revolution for example, and when they do finally introduce a new product it is often to the flashaholic crowd rather underwhelming (but recognize that is a tiny tiny part of the marketplace). There is no reason to avoid them - I still have a number of them around the house as my wife knows where they are and how to use them - although I've upgraded them all with LED's of one stripe or the other, but there are often choices that are slightly more expensive and offer much higher levels of performance.

 

[kg4ghn]

I have a Surefire 6PLED that I've carried and used for the last 1 1/2 years. I like it. Maybe not as much of a flashlight geek as some here, but I do like quality.

 

[HesNot]

The HDS has had several emitter changes over the years (I got it when it first came out). It currently has a XPG R5 and is pushing over 200 lumens on max. It's still my workhorse light. I also have a 17670 tube for it when I need more runtime.

The light you didn't recognize is my favorite of the bunch. It's a custom ti EX10 "fatty". It has the innards of a Nitecore EX10 (except the XPG emitter). I also have another ti EX10 made by someone else, but that is at my girlfriends house... I do have photos of it here though. I am a big fan of the Nitecore continuously variable lights...

I had a B42XRGT that I had unlocked - thought about getting it modded to a Seoul P4 but ended up getting a Novatac 85P, which I sold and got a 120P which I now have modded with a K2. Still the B42 with a P4 or K2 would have been more than sufficient - I wish I still had it at times.

That fatty is a neat upgrade. I'd like to find an upgrade for the guts to my Liteflux LF3XT - a neat light but the reflector drives me crazy and the form factor is a bit blah...

 

[Groat]

I have a Surefire 6PLED that I've carried and used for the last 1 1/2 years. I like it. Maybe not as much of a flashlight geek as some here, but I do like quality.

I'd consider myself to be in the same boat. I bought a Surefire 6P originally. That went through batteries fairly quickly, so I switched to a G2 LED. That flashlight was an amazing workhorse and it was perfect to carry around Iraq. It got dropped, kicked and bumped around its share of times, but it still looks pretty good and it works as well as they day I got it. About a year ago, I upgraded to a Surefire LX2 which is amazing. I can't believe the amount of light that they can pump out of these things now. The LX2 has two brightness settings as well, and the low is perfect for stuff like walking the dog at night.

 

[NBT]

Pelican Big Ed and I have been in multiple structure fires...USAR deployment's...and just about every extreme condition you can think of...still going strong. Can't kill him

 

[Esox]

This was in my mailbox today.

 

[SharpieB]

This was in my mailbox today.

View attachment 1220137

Wow. Thats a hellava thread revival!

I have a few nice OLight, Nightcore, Fenix and and Envoy flashlights And headlamps. Mostly 18650 battery lights. I am in the woods all summer, so I use them a ton.

I was into the hobby aspect briefly, but couldn’t justify paying hundreds for a flashlight.

 

[Esox]

Wow. Thats a hellava thread revival!

I have a few nice OLight, Nightcore, Fenix and and Envoy flashlights And headlamps. Mostly 18650 battery lights. I am in the woods all summer, so I use them a ton.

I was into the hobby aspect briefly, but couldn’t justify paying hundreds for a flashlight.

The threads still here so why not! lol

I have a Nitecore P12 18650 and have used it daily for the last, I dont even know, 8 years or more. This one came with an 18650 battery sleeve so I can also load my 18650's in it. They still charge and hold 4.1v after all these years too but I wanted a bit more throw and from what I gather, this one has that and its not much bigger in the hand.

 

[Old School TSD]

Streamlight- for the win!

I sold power ic's and led's to Streamlight for years. They don't mess around, quality first.

 

[Ad Astra]

Take no advice from this necro-thread! Unless it's from Mike's post #335 on!

The "best in flashlights" changes monthly or faster! As new leds come out...


AA

 

[Old School TSD]

Take no advice from this necro-thread! Unless it's from Mike's post #335 on!

The "best in flashlights" changes monthly or faster! As new leds come out...


AA

You've got the wrong guy on this thread to argue with. I've been in Streamlight development labs hundreds of times over the last 10 years. Nobody designs their own leds, but they have tremendous pull with the led manufacturers. Their led testing is unbelievable! Beam uniformity and lumens are simply second to none.
They have shown me their side by side comparisons with nitecore (not pictures, hands on) and they're not in the same league. Not opinion, fact. There's a reason Streamlight is on every police officers gun in the field, fireman's lights, and ems tool box.
I'm not a collector, no dog in the fight here, but sit with their engineers for 10 minutes and I'll say I've never seen such pride in a product.
They'll source the best leds available every year, sort out the best of the batch and send about half back to the manufacturer to sell to nitecore