/out/ - Outdoors » Thread #216766

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Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 02:56:52 No.216766 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By:

I have read flashlight threads here before, but the catalog showed none.

I'm looking for a new flashlight. As my experience goes as far as mini-maglights, i thought I'd ask yall.
Looking for
>$50, $70 max
>Small (no bigger than mini-maglight, pref smaller)
>Bright (obviously)
Will prob be used only in woods, with the occasional household application. Also, general flashlight thread I suppose.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 02:57:39 No.216767 Report

Quoted By: >>216780

Also, using normal (AA or AAA) batteries is a plus

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:06:55 No.216771 Report

Quoted By: >>216777

I would look at a Fenix LD22. 2 AA batteries, goes for $55 and around 200 lumens on high. And it's about the size you'd want as well.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:14:15 No.216777 Report

Quoted By: >>216785

>>216771
Any experience with the Fenix LD12? I like how lightweight it is

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:17:01 No.216780 Report

Quoted By: >>216805

>>216767
That caveat will SIGNIFICANTLY limit you, as most emitters are designed to run off 3.5-4v's... So you'll have things that use 3xAA(or even worse, AAA) which would work longer/better with a single 18650.

My advice? Accept that if you want a good flashlight, you'll need to use 18650's. Factor that into the cost(*decent* charger will be $15. Each battery will be $5-10) and than spend the other $50 you have left over on a jetbeam, nitecore, fenix, etc.... that uses that kind of cell.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:19:09 No.216785 Report

Quoted By: >>216858

>>216777
No but I do have the LD20 and never had any issues with it. The light is bright, gets decent enough battery life for only alkalines, and the lower brightness modes really come in handy. If you need a home light get the 22, if you need something for your EDC get the 12.

Pinzfag

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Pinzfag Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:34:44 No.216800 Report

Quoted By:

Love the shit out of my sunwayman v20c, 448 lumens, 3 hours runtime (AW 3100mAh)
Dimmer ring, stainless steel bezel. Had it for over 3 years now. Comes with a free AAA keychain light which is actually handy as fuck.
Have a m11r that I love as well, my edc light of choice.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO fenix ld20.jpg, 292KiB, 1245x830

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:38:43 No.216803 Report

Quoted By: >>216858

Seconding the Fenix LD20/22. I've carried my LD20 at work (electrician) everyday for three years and it's taken quite a beating and still works perfectly. It's also my go to /out/ flashlight but I use my Princeton Tec quad headlamp more around camp.

Pinzfag

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Pinzfag Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:42:17 No.216805 Report

Quoted By: >>216812 >>216818

>>216780
This man has sound advice, I got one of those intellicharge i4's that can handle any battery you can throw at it, alkalines and li-ion. I only have 3 batteries for my flashlight but its more than enough with 3 hours of runtime out of each. Quality cells will last a very long time and I think its pretty wasteful to power something you use almost every day on something disposable.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 03:58:19 No.216812 Report

Quoted By: >>216818

>>216805
Yup. Invest in some good panasonic or Sanyo 18650's. They'll run about $10 a cell. They will give a consistent discharge, and ~3200mah at 3.6volts.
Most 18650 lights that can use standard alkaline, use 3 AAA's. the best rechargeable AAA's will give you 1200mah at 1.2volts. So 3 rechargeable AAA's will give you 1200mah at 3.6volts, which would be 1/3rd the runtime of a single 18650.

If you're willing to make that inconvenient jump to a new battery, you will get so much more bang for your dollar. Its also, imo, a better form factor. The flashlights just feel more comfortable to hold, since the batteries are practically the perfect shape to fit into an average sized closed hand.

Another big plus is they hold their charge for years and dont leak. With AA's, if you want to keep your light at the ready, you either use alkalines, and run the risk of having them leak and break the light, or rechargeable and have them run dry.(Though there are LSD batteries like eneloops that solve this). ALL 18650's are LSD, provided they are not at the end of their life(more than 1000 charge cycles) so as long as you can reach the flashlight and it was charged before you packed it up, you will have dependable light.

I seriously cant stress this enough, If you're serious about flashlights, bite the bullet now and buy lithium cells now, rather than later after amassing a bunch of mediocre(or even higher-end) AA's. Because a shitty $10 18650 light will probably be better than a $50 AA.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 04:05:57 No.216818 Report

Quoted By: >>216823 >>216853

>>216812
>>216805
If they were more prevalent in today's electronics I'd consider making the switch.

But everything I own (gps/lights/radio) are all AA and it doesn't look like the manufacturers are going to change that anytime soon.

I'll give you this: I did just buy some cygolites for my bike that are lithium, but they are usb rechargeable, and you can't even open them to service the proprietary battery.

Hope the cells don't die.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 04:22:44 No.216823 Report

Quoted By:

>>216818
Yeah, them being uncommon is the biggest 'fuck you' to people who adopt them.
Thankfully, you can buy battery banks that use 18650's, and have USB output.
My electric 'setup' for camping is a FRS, GMRS, NOAA walkie talkie that uses 3xAA, and a GPR-5 shortwave radio that also uses 3XAA. Both can be powered with USB cables. So i put Eneloops in each thing, and than carry the battery bank with 2 Panasonic 18650's. Should either radios die, i can plug them into the battery bank and fully charge both of them from dead to full.
Than i also keep a few extra 18650's for my flashlight(and should the battery bank run out of power)

Its a bullet proof system that took a bit of research (and shopping around) to put together. I'm really happy with it though. If you're interested in this, look for ENB chargers on eBay. Its 1000x better than any of those sealed systems(where they batteries eventually stop holding a charge) and lightyears better than the ones that convert AA's into USB power.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 04:24:29 No.216825 Report

Quoted By: >>216843 >>217022

What are you guys living in the 90's or something? Go solar powered.

>batteries

Fuckin plebs

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 04:52:18 No.216840 Report

Quoted By:

It depends on what the "woods" application is. I have the exact light in the pic but only use it around the house (and auto). In the back country-and in the woods (like going hunting when it's pitch black dark in the East Texas piney woods), I have a cheap-ass headlamp that came with my spotlight and a hand held LED that I picked up as vendor swag off a table at one of the user conferences I participate in. It was light as hell and works fine...hell, I read by it in the tent.

I have nothing against a good torch but when a few ounces of free LED flashlight can walk me 1/2 mile through thick bushwacking underbrush in utter darkness, I don't need to spend $100 on a light. But just look at the job you need to do and go from there.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 05:02:00 No.216843 Report

Quoted By:

>>216825
>mfw I have a solar charger for my eneloops
>mfw you have a battery inside your solar light
>mfw I have no face.

Pinzfag

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Pinzfag Mon 28 Oct 2013 05:38:15 No.216853 Report

Quoted By:

>>216818

Mule

Mule Mon 28 Oct 2013 05:50:05 No.216858 Report

Quoted By: >>216912

>>216785
>>216803
Another +1 for Fenix LD20. It's been my EDC for a few years now, and it just keeps on going.
~$50, the local Army-Navy surplus shop carries them. Bright ... as fuck. Painful at night if you're not expecting it.

I've got a couple pairs of AA's I swap between GPS, camera, and flashlight as needed. With my use, I get about a month out of a set of 2300mAh NiCd AA's.

Almost exactly the same size as the AA Minimags. Close enough that the nylon holsters fit nicely after they're broken in.

Innawoods at night I usually use both a small hat-mounted headlight, and my LD20 for a little more throw.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 10:08:05 No.216912 Report

Quoted By: >>217468

>>216858
>I've got a couple pairs of AA's I swap between GPS, camera, and flashlight as needed.

Doesn't it make more sense to keep all the gadgets loaded with batteries and keep an extra spare pair? That way you're always up a refill and if needed you can scavenge the batteries of something less useful later.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 28 Oct 2013 15:07:43 No.217022 Report

Quoted By:

>>216825
Solar is good, but those flashlights with the panels built in are HORRIBLE. They are all shitty low quality emitters, they always have crappy low capacity batteries(One my friend bought was glued shut. When i pried it open, i saw AA's with 200mah. Standard alkaline's have 3000mah, and standard rechargeable are usually 2400-2800mah) and the solar panel usually takes 10 hours to fully charge the low-cap batteries.

Look at voltaic panels if you're serious.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 01:08:50 No.217330 Report

Quoted By: >>217339

should i ?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 01:40:06 No.217339 Report

Quoted By:

>>217330
I have an older LEDLenser light and it's been great for years. They also have excellent customer service, at least in my experience.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 02:49:34 No.217389 Report

Quoted By: >>217416 >>217440

Anyone ever heard of Pak-lites? They're just these little caps you snap onto a 9-volt battery. Apparently they last for days of constant use, and can stay on constantly for months on low setting.

Seems like a neat thing to keep in a emergency bag

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 02:58:29 No.217394 Report

Quoted By:

Can anyone recommend a headlamp? Preferably the best I can get for a lower price.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 03:53:46 No.217416 Report

Quoted By: >>217440

>>217389
They are great. The issue is, they feel like cheap garbage and cost $20+. The engineering behind them is amazing and really is optimized to squeeze as much juice out of the battery as efficiently as possible... But theres no reason it should cost that much, and feel/look so crappy. Honestly, i'm amazed there isnt an alternative to them from China, charging cost +10%(which would be maybe $2)....

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 29 Oct 2013 04:20:44 No.217440 Report

Quoted By:

>>217389
>>217416
White LEDs ain't super duper cheap yet. If you got them in other colors I imagine they'd cost pennies.

Mule

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO DSC_9917_-L.jpg, 126KiB, 800x534

Mule Tue 29 Oct 2013 06:03:50 No.217468 Report

Quoted By:

>>216912
>keep all the gadgets loaded with batteries and keep an extra spare pair
That's what I meant.

If my GPS dies, I can take the batts out of my camera. If my flashlight dies, I can take the batts out of my GPS.
That's if I don't have the spare/charged set with me.

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