LED Flashlights
- Thread starter Da Bull
- Start date
Moose-LandTran
Well-known member
I have a Streamlight Stylus Pro. Very bright, very reliable and strong and very light. According to the packaging, the batteryies last 7 hours, but i use it every day and the original batteries have lasted a month and show no signs of needing to be replaced. I'd definitely reccomend it. It's awesome.
G1K
Well-known member
Check out candlepowerforums.com. Prepare to sped lots of money.
R
R
billymade
Well-known member
All depends on how much you want to spend; the Snapon of flash lights seems to be SUREFIRE! http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/pgrfnbr/16/sesent/00
Be prepared to buy a bunch of batteries; this may not be so much that case on the new LED models but these lights are awesome!
Be prepared to buy a bunch of batteries; this may not be so much that case on the new LED models but these lights are awesome!
Stuey
Well-known member
What's your budget? Also, stats don't really mean much - there are too many factors to consider, so the best source for flashlight research are enthusiast user reviews. Check out candlepower forums as G1K mentioned.
Seriously, we NEED to know yout budget.
I've got a Petzl headlamp - awesome, but you lose handheld aiming.
Streamlight Stylus Pro - a pencil light with a few limitations given its size. Takes AAs as opposed to the slightly older Stylus series. Retails at ~$15-20. The push-button is a bit frustrating to engage.
Maglite 3xAA - awesome light. It has a newly designed reflector which tosses out a tight beam. Great for general purpose use, and affordable at $20-$25, and it takes AA.
Inova X1 - a great task light but too weak for heavy duty usage. Retails at ~$20
Inova X5 - great light for general purpose use. Takes CR123 lithiums. Retails at $25-35
My newest acquisition is a Surefire G2 LED. Holy **** it's bright! Retails at $65.
Seriously, we NEED to know yout budget.
I've got a Petzl headlamp - awesome, but you lose handheld aiming.
Streamlight Stylus Pro - a pencil light with a few limitations given its size. Takes AAs as opposed to the slightly older Stylus series. Retails at ~$15-20. The push-button is a bit frustrating to engage.
Maglite 3xAA - awesome light. It has a newly designed reflector which tosses out a tight beam. Great for general purpose use, and affordable at $20-$25, and it takes AA.
Inova X1 - a great task light but too weak for heavy duty usage. Retails at ~$20
Inova X5 - great light for general purpose use. Takes CR123 lithiums. Retails at $25-35
My newest acquisition is a Surefire G2 LED. Holy **** it's bright! Retails at $65.
Stuey
Well-known member
Surefire G2LED plus one or two additional smaller lights.I'm looking to spend under a $100.00
wantedabiggergarage
Member Emeritus
I like/liked those single bulb streamlights, but as the batteries corrode, I only bought them from the Mac man, as they relabel and warranty them.
Lately, my pocket flashlight, is a 12 led, 3 AAA, miniture Husky flashlight. $5 at HomeDepot, so I am not too worried about it disappearing.
Lately, my pocket flashlight, is a 12 led, 3 AAA, miniture Husky flashlight. $5 at HomeDepot, so I am not too worried about it disappearing.
PAToyota
Well-known member
I've had a 3-cell MagLite for decades. Recently I had to replace the bulb and went for a LED one. I notice significantly increased battery life and that thing is practically blinding.
stroked93
Well-known member
another vote for surefire g2 led. 20hour runtime on 2 batteries and u can get batteries from them for about half of retail. the G2L runs 65.00 batteries should be $4 a pack of 2.
Stuey
Well-known member
Surefire claims a "useful runtime" of 12 hours, not 20 - still very decent though.
Lowes has Surefire CR123 batteries at $5 for two, a bit more than their $1.75 each retail price, but a $10 off $25 brings the price down a few notches.
G1K
Well-known member
batterystation.com has the cr123's for $1.25 each. I've ordered plenty from them (house brand batteries) and have had zero problems with them.
R
R
billymade
Well-known member
Anyone used the surefire rechargeable system? Do they work well, have good run time and are worth the price? The battery situation is the main thing that has kept me from purchasing a Surefire for a very long time; I sure love them when I have checked them out and held them in my hand. Similar to the feeling of a Snap-On tool, high quality and just feels right in your hand. Ooozes, quality, performance, "beauty" (if you can call a Surefire "beautiful") and high end engineering, YUM!!! Whats not to like? I love things that are made for a specific purpose; with the design process emphasizing quality and durability! Its a rare thing to find products with these goals in mind!
Every shop I've been in has a kind of who's flashlight is best thing, but I can't see this fascination lasting more than a few more years since its just not rocket science to make a good cheap flashlight.
I wouldn't buy anything that couldn't use a common rechargeable battery.
I wouldn't buy anything that couldn't use a common rechargeable battery.
Stuey
Well-known member
Actually, flashlight LEDs are much more sophisticated than they seem. So while it doesn't take rocket science to design and manufacture quality LEDs, it does require a great deal of complexity.
There are many cheap flashlights that are good, but they're often not as good as costlier better quality ones.
Common rechargeable battery as in a NiMH AA? Those typically output 1.2V vs. 3V for a lithium CR123.
Moose-LandTran
Well-known member
As a quick follow-up, the packaging on my Streamlight Stylus Pro listed battery life as 7 hours. Last weekend i changed the batteries as they were going flat. They lasted me 5 weeks of daily use.
I'd reccomend that light to anyone, it's become invaluable to me. I use it all the time, keep in in my pocket because it's so damn handy to have on me, it's small and light, so i don't even notice it. But it's far brighter than anything else that size, and many larger AA flashlights.
I'd reccomend that light to anyone, it's become invaluable to me. I use it all the time, keep in in my pocket because it's so damn handy to have on me, it's small and light, so i don't even notice it. But it's far brighter than anything else that size, and many larger AA flashlights.
eschoendorff
Well-known member
As a quick follow-up, the packaging on my Streamlight Stylus Pro listed battery life as 7 hours. Last weekend i changed the batteries as they were going flat. They lasted me 5 weeks of daily use.
I'd reccomend that light to anyone, it's become invaluable to me. I use it all the time, keep in in my pocket because it's so damn handy to have on me, it's small and light, so i don't even notice it. But it's far brighter than anything else that size, and many larger AA flashlights.
I like the looks of taht light.... and the price isn't too bad either.
Detroit Diesel Man
Well-known member
I use a Streamlight Stinger everyday..never leaves my side..seems to last forever..I had the LED Model but really didnt like the color of the light..a blueish tint..I switched to the Xenon that gives off a brighter white light..the LED light I didnt like, looking at cylinder walls or gears ina trans or rear end it emits an odd color.hard to explain..either way I am very happy with my streamlight.
DDM
DDM
Moose-LandTran
Well-known member
I like the looks of taht light.... and the price isn't too bad either.
I'd definitely reccomend it. It really is that good. It puts out an amazingly bright light, in a perfect circle and it's just handy as hell. Trust me, if you buy one, you won't regret it.
ratchet_gear
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2006
- Messages
- 553
You should check out Fenix Lights. Extremely bright lights for a reasonable price.
Wow that Fenix is a nice looking unit.
ONE is left on ebay right now for $38 incl shipping in US.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110274818984
ONE is left on ebay right now for $38 incl shipping in US.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110274818984
ddawg16
Well-known member
I have the MagLight 3 cell...slightly modified....
I use a 5 cell battery stick (same as the streamlight) but with the MagLight LED bulb. Almost as bright as the streamlight, but lasts a LOT longer. I just use the Streamlight to recharge the batteries.
As time permits, I will be changing all of my portable lights over to LED....besides the longer time, much less of a chance the bulb breaking when you drop the light.....and you will drop the light....
I use a 5 cell battery stick (same as the streamlight) but with the MagLight LED bulb. Almost as bright as the streamlight, but lasts a LOT longer. I just use the Streamlight to recharge the batteries.
As time permits, I will be changing all of my portable lights over to LED....besides the longer time, much less of a chance the bulb breaking when you drop the light.....and you will drop the light....
billymade
Well-known member
ddawg16, I am interested in your "custom", rechargeable set up for the new mag led flashlight; can you post more info? Some pics, part #s and other info would be appreciated! Thanks!
I bought the Streamlight stinger LED light. If you can deal with the off blue-ish color of LED bulbs this thing is great. You can't focus it like a regular stinger however it does deliver a much larger and brighter beam of light and it does last longer then my regular stinger. Best of all, rechargable with a regular stinger base. It seems up to par with the regular stinger in terms of build quality though it is a little bigger.
I am pretty happy with the older LED lights I have now, but I think in about one more generation LED's will have improved enough, and the support circuits like regulators and voltage converters will have dropped in cost enough, that I won't be able to resist.