I need a new Flashlight....

[watchmen]

Originally Posted by Cigar

+5 Surefire E2L great light.

Will last a lifetime.

I have the E1L, and I love it. One battery lasts a long time. I wanted the smaller size at the time. If i would to buy one again, it would be the E2L

[tony the tiger]

So, after reading some of the later posts, I decided "WTH" and ordered a couple of lights from a vendor...
ITP A3 EOS LED Flashlight ITP-A3-EOS-UPGRADE 1 $20.50 Finish = Black UPGRADE Edition - 3 MODE - 80 lumens - 1xAAA
&
Fenix LD15 LED Flashlight FENIX-LD15 1 $41.95 117 Lumens - 1 AA Battery

Should be here in a couple days... (I hope)

[Shaggie]

Originally Posted by tony the tiger

So, after reading some of the later posts, I decided "WTH" and ordered a couple of lights from a vendor...
ITP A3 EOS LED Flashlight ITP-A3-EOS-UPGRADE 1 $20.50 Finish = Black UPGRADE Edition - 3 MODE - 80 lumens - 1xAAA
&
Fenix LD15 LED Flashlight FENIX-LD15 1 $41.95 117 Lumens - 1 AA Battery

Should be here in a couple days... (I hope)

Hey Tony - am going to order the ITP soon too but hopefully am going to include the MG P-Rocket with the SST50 emitter as well.

Did you order from Shining Beam?

Cheers

S

[Klay]

I stick with PrincetonTec flashlights and headlamps because of their amazing product support. Their stuff lasts for years, but I've had a few pieces break eventually. When I call them up to ask how to order parts, they just ask for my address and say "we'll send you out replacement parts and include a few spares." Slam-dunk the best sevice I've ever seen. I don't even consider anything else.

[tony the tiger]

Originally Posted by Shaggie

Hey Tony - am going to order the ITP soon too but hopefully am going to include the MG P-Rocket with the SST50 emitter as well.

Did you order from Shining Beam?

Cheers

S

Nope. Sailah made it "point & click" easy, why try to improve that?

I will say they maybe took too long shipping, but maybe I was being impatient... Ordered on 2 AUG, billed on 3 AUG - still no "we shipped it" on 9 AUG so I wrote a quick two liner to their customer service explaining what had occurred to date, and should I dispute the charge on my credit card? ...next day I got the "we shipped it."

[Andrew]

Really liking my new Quarks from 4sevens. I got a 123 R5 for my wife, and a 123^2 R5 for myself. These are the brightest flashlights I have ever used, throwing out an amazing beam... but I can also nudge them to a "moonlight" mode that's all I need to see the locks on my sidebags at night. Incredibly well-built, and lightweight.

[SgtDuster]

One website: www.dealextreme.com

Plenty of nice LED flaslights.


They are knock-off for the most part but they are ¤£¢&*% cheap and works well.

Afraid of the building quality? OK...just buy 5 of them for half the price of a "well known" brand.

Expect 3-6 weeks for delivery though.

[Nobikebiker]

I'm going to go ahead and suggest to anyone looking around for ideas to look at HDS systems lights. I got a 140narrow a while ago, and ordered a 100 high CRI when I received my 140. I was that impressed.

The build quality is right up there with Surefire. It's amazingly efficient, tough, and dependable, and it has a list of outputs and strobes and modes as long as my arm. Each of the 4 modes is individually programmable for one of 22/23 outputs, or any of three strobe modes (SOS, beacon and tactical strobe). Plus you can program it so that it always turns on at a certain output, or at the last output you used. You can enable an automatic turn off timer, a button lock (in case it gets turned on in your pocket) and a locator flash.

[Shaggie]

hey all

just received my MG P-Rocket from Shining beam....

got recommended by an electrical guru friend of mine to contact a battery place here in town re 18650's....

spoke to guy twice on phone and he sounded a wee bit boffin-ish ie brains to the max but perhaps not so extrovert....if you get my drift...

I ask re chargers and he says we have just sold our last one but there should be another in soon....

payday week this week so shot in today and bought a couple of batteries (and naively expected them to be charged, like other rechargable batteries ive got - AA's, AAA's etc - but no they're not...) which is a bummer as i can't afford the charger this week but expected to be able to use the flashlight in the meantime....

got to talking to the guy re the charger and he said i think it's going to be here thursday and i asked if i could put my name on it and he said yes but ring me later in the week as i am not sure if i've ordered it or not..... (see what i said re the boffin thing??)

then he proceeded to tell me there needs to be a circuit board thing made up to fit between the batteries and the charger.....eh? Now i admit to being a definite noob when it comes to 18650 batteries but i was expected a charger similar to an AA charger:




but it appears i am wrong?


am i getting the run around?

[Shaggie]

anyone?

[EvilGenius]

Depends on the charger.

There's some chinese manufacturers that make universal chargers for small batteries and they just manufacture a single charging base that uses different plates to hold and charge different batteries.

You might not be getting the run around, but he sounds too stupid to give you what you need also.

[A-Bone]

Originally Posted by Shaggie

anyone?

You might try giving these guys a call...

http://www.batteryjunction.com/

[sailah]

to charge Li Ions you need a charger that is specifically designed for them. Being in NZ I have no local references. I paid ~$15 for a 18650 charger. You can get it from Deal Extreme but it takes 2-3 weeks.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251

You cannot use a NiCad, NiMH charger in Li Ions and vice versa. The hobby charger I have can actually be used for all chemistries.

I've had excellent luck with this one:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/wf-139-.html

Pretty much available everywhere. It also will charge 14500 batteries (AA sized Li Ions for flashlights that can accept AA Li Ions) It also does the very popular CR123A batteries (short fat chunky battereis) but you need to put a little spacer like a bolt or alum spacer as the clips won't reach.

I think it's the best deal out there for a single charger. Cheaper from Deal Extreme but again the shipping time.

Don't try and charge it with a regular charger.

If you know anyone with RC cars, they probably have a hobby charger that will get you going. Just use magnets to attach the leads.

Don't screw around with some homemade charger, Li Ions have a lot of energy and can explode. Google LiPo explosion for proof.

[SteelJM1]

That's a lot guys, now I have another addiction to waste money on! :

In all seriousness, I do not own ANY flashlight of any sort. Please leave my mancard be. There's just too much flashlight tehcnical mumbo jumbo out there now for me to wrap my head around, plus I don't have a reference point for lumens.

Now that you all have twisted my arm into getting a nice new bright fancy flashlight, i need recommendations.

1. Medium sized (maybe 6 inches long or so) would be best, harder to lose

2. Bright enough for house / broken down car / camping / "The Strangers" duties, but doesnt need to be some insane laser beam. I'm guessing 100 lumens max?

3. I've always been bugged by the blueness of LED lights... I imagine they've fixed this by now. Do they have white-almost-leaning-towards-an-incandescent-yellow beam now?

4. WaterPROOF

5. DropPROOF

6. Not sure whether to go AA or some silly 5 digit number battery

7. Finally, not SureFire expensive. I nearly had a heart attack looking at those insanely inflated prices.

Ok, fire away!

[sailah]

Originally Posted by SteelJM1

That's a lot guys, now I have another addiction to waste money on! :

In all seriousness, I do not own ANY flashlight of any sort. Please leave my mancard be. There's just too much flashlight tehcnical mumbo jumbo out there now for me to wrap my head around, plus I don't have a reference point for lumens.

Now that you all have twisted my arm into getting a nice new bright fancy flashlight, i need recommendations.

1. Medium sized (maybe 6 inches long or so) would be best, harder to lose

http://bugoutgearusa.com/jetipro.html

This is my favorite light, and I have some expensive ones. Reason I like it, compact, user adjustable modes, AA format so I can use powerful Li Ion and regular AA's if needed. Pretty damn bright, compact, well made etc. Love it. Join CPF forums and you get 20% off on it too!!

2. Bright enough for house / broken down car / camping / "The Strangers" duties, but doesnt need to be some insane laser beam. I'm guessing 100 lumens max?

This will have you covered. It is a tail switch, 3 modes which you can adjust yourself. It has strobe SOS functions but I turned them off.

3. I've always been bugged by the blueness of LED lights... I imagine they've fixed this by now. Do they have white-almost-leaning-towards-an-incandescent-yellow beam now?

Yes you can now get Warm LEDs, just spec it that way. I love the warms
4. WaterPROOF

Check

5. DropPROOF

Check

6. Not sure whether to go AA or some silly 5 digit number battery

Does both

7. Finally, not SureFire expensive. I nearly had a heart attack looking at those insanely inflated prices.

I think $50ish is what I paid with my discount.

Ok, fire away!

I also think the Quark series is highly regarded from www.4sevens.com although I don't have one. Maybe a AA warm version like this?

http://www.4sevens.com/product_info....oducts_id=2287

If you don't want to jump into the battery thing quite yet, make sure your light is compatible with the various voltages so you can upgrade later. Most are, so not a huge worry. BTW, the 5 digit code like 14500 (AA battery size) means 14 mm dia, 50 mm long, 0 means round.