[Lucky]

I was talking to a chick who had a bunch of flashlights, and she does night-time photography and stuff like that. I wanted to show off my smarts so I point to a big one and say, "what's that, like a thousand lumens?" and she thought I was confusing lumens and candlepower. I covered up by saying I'd seen people modifying their flashlights to get more out of them, that's why I was mistaken is all.

But what is the best flashlight with the most lumens? Which are the best to modify? I kind of said I'd get in touch with the info.

Scott

[Guns R Tools]

Made by Black Bear of this forum.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=125447&highlight=blackbear

Seems like plenty for hand held.

[rero360]

I don't know about handheld, but I know that surefire has one that draws power from your car battery, 7000 lumens, thats got to be about surface of the sun bright.

[rcmodel]

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/908/sesent/00

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/24279/sesent/00/HellFighterandtrade-

rcmodel

[black bear]

I often use my BOREALIS 1050 lumens (two million candlepower) for photography. By bouncing the light from a white ceiling or using the Medium Stippled reflector when more distance is involved.

To give an example of what 1050 lumens looks like, here are a few pictures of comparisons, at 35 yards

Maglite 2 D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/2dkripton.jpg

Maglite 3 D 39 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/tresd.jpg

Magcharger 200 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/magchagerr.jpg

Ultra Stinger 295 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/ultra.jpg

BOREALIS 1050 LUMENS rechargeable 50 minutes run time

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/borealisluz.jpg

Cheers
Black Bear

[ZeSpectre]

Go visit the Candlepower Forums (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/) for more flashlight info than you EVER care to read <grin>.

Much like firearms, "best" flashlight really depends heavily on what you plan to use it for. The BOREALIS is awesome for sure...but you do NOT want to try and read a map with it :evil:

[black bear]

For "map reading lights" see my thread "LIGHTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT"




http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=257029

Cheers
Black Bear

[CJ]

Second visiting CandlePowerForums. Just before I left California, I went to a gathering of members there, and their collections made mine look piddly by comparison (think of it like bringing your .45 collection and a couple AR-15s to show off and share, only to see that everyone else there seems to be pulling out SAWs, RPGs, and even a mobile missile platform).

At least two handheld flashlights were capable of igniting newsprint. At one point, the most powerful handhelds and HIDs were pointed across the field (pitch black otherwise), and I needed sunglasses. So yes, that's the place to go, but considering the cost of some of those things, you might need to reign in your acceptance criteria for 'strongest'.

[ZeSpectre]

If you are looking for a very decent light on a budget, you may want to look at the 3 watt version of the Rayovac "Sportsman Xtreme" (found in Target and Wal Mart) for about $25. It's not even remotely a BOREALIS but for typical use it is worth considering.

I wrote one of my (in)famous "real world reviews" over on the candlepower forums.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=189821

Ze

[nerfsrule2]

Trust black bear and his advice with any lighting concerns on this Forum. He is our resident Flashaholic.....:D

[beemerphile]

My highest power handheld is an HID PowerLight. Daylight in a tube.

[conwict]

"handheld" is pretty different from "carryable" if you know what I mean...

Those black bear lights look more reliable, but there is a mod you can do to a maglite to make it put out somewhere from 600-1100 (depending on size maglites etc) lumens, called "roar of the pelican"...it uses a pelican brand spotlight bulb.

It's probably fairly reliable, whereas black bear has clearly worked out a way to make it more durable and near100% reliable. You get what you pay for.

Again, "bright" is a relative term. I have an five-stage Olight 1-cell (CR123) that puts out either 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 - something like that - and the 180 is def too bright to read stuff. Throws far as hell (lights stuff up at 70 yrds easy), but it wouldn't draw as much attention as a 1000 lumen bulb would. It is about the length of my middle finger and 150% wider, and I'm really happy with it for EDC.

However, other situations might dictate other lights. This is fine for me for HD, reading maps (it has multi-stage remember), walking in the woods and to the car, etc.