looking for a light recommendation...

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Surefire lights sure look nice.... but seem ridiculously expensive.

I'm interested in getting a few tactical lights... more or less the size of a mini-mag or just a little larger....

something to keep in the car and my wifes purse... night stand....

would like to get multiples of the same thing for the sake of familiarity...

high lumen value is desired... I'd be satisfied with a couple hours of burn time... it just needs to be bright when the "hour of reconing" comes.... I can then change or recharge batteries for the next event...

Came accross the Pelican 2360 and it looks promising...

http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2360

thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
 
I have one that I like a lot, recommended to me by my FMA instructor: the Olight M20.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/premium-olight-m20-warrior.html

you can find a couple of reviews in the non-firearm section of THR.

It's a killer light for the dough; switchable from low to 90 to 250 (!) lumens. It has all the tacticool stuff hanging off it as well, FWIW.

One of my new favorite handgun instructors (Ed Santos) had a hand in designing some of the eGear lights; Ed seems to know his stuff when it comes to low-light tactics. His book and lights can be found here:

http://www.tacticalservicesgroup.com/store.html

A quick google of the xt 130 polymer light (130 lumens) will show it to be a hell of a lot of candles going out for not a lot of money (IMHO).

Might be worth a look.

I've also fondled some Fenix lights (ie: Q5... I think...) but I have no direct user experience. People seem to like them for the money as well.

Good luck. I'll be interested to see what other ideas come up here; always another light to buy...
 
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=451093

I highly recommend these. I have now ordered 4 of them (one for me, one for my AR and two for Christmas gifts). Plus they are supplied by a fellow High Roader who is great to deal with and ships very very quickly for free. I actually think these are nicer than several of the Surefires I've seen and I fell confident in saying they are equally durable and bright. Right now I think they are about the best deal on the market and if you don't believe me there's 8 pages worth of satisfied customers to mull over.
 
I've got an Inova Bolt. It's 3.8 watts, takes AA batteries, and it's on sale at Opticsplanet now for $29.

I paid less somewhere else, but don't remember where. :confused:

It appears to be a solidly built light, and it's blindingly bright. I also like the fact it takes easy to find AA batteries. Burn time is advertised at 3 hours.

Seems very inexpensive compared to some of the prices I see. Some are more than I've paid for cars in the past. :eek:
 
My advice is to get Surefire G2s. They are in the $30 range and have the attributes needed for a defensive light.

A task specific defensive light is a different creature than the light you use to look under the couch for Fido's ball. Simple is good in a defensive light, single power mode with a momentary on and off, no push to constant. The Surefire G2, 6P and Streamlight TL 2 are some that fit these requirements.

For a GP light get whatever tickles your fancy.
 
i know the SF's are pricey but there's one to consider: the E1B.

Has dual output... with the bright being pretty ridiculously bright but the lower setting giving you excellent battery time (35+ hrs at 5 lumens). The clip is much nicer than any of the other small surefires i've had.

i found a LNIB one on a forum for $95. if you hunt around, you may be able to find something similar. just an amazing little light.
 
Coleman makes a 115 lumen light that runs off AA batteries. It sells for $30 at WalMart. It's quite bright, and you get about 2 good hours off alkaline batts.

Not the best, but if you're trying to find decent lights for car, home, pocket, etc. it can get expensive.
 
I prefer the Coast product; uses 3 AAA batteries; EXTREMELY bright; has held up well to 12 gauge recoil.
Click to expand...

Here's a review for the $50 coast:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=141977

By the way, you know how THR has more info than you ever wanted to know about firearms? Candlepowerforums (the link above) has more than you ever wanted to know about flashlights. Some intersting stuff there if you have time to read it.

I have the coast light from Lowe's that's $25, runs on 3 AAAs, and is ~90 Lumens (advertised). For the money, I'd be hard pressed to find something better. It has the switches on the side (same location a 2D maglite would have it), not on the tailcap like the surefires.

It actually has 2 switches, each on opposite side, one operates the bright white LEDs, the other operates a single red one, which doesn't disturb your night vision. The switch for the white light is textured so you can tell them apart. I really like having options for brightness, if I'm looking for my glasses in our dome tent at dark 30 so I can go pee, I don't WANT 90 lumens, I just want a little light.

Aside from the other good recommendations already mentioned, look into the Fenix lights as well.

edit: For $25, if you don't need brightness options, that pelican you suggested looks quite nice.
 
I prefer the Coast product; uses 3 AAA batteries; EXTREMELY bright; has held up well to 12 gauge recoil.
Click to expand...

Yeah those are great. I have a few of the 200 lumen ($30 model) from Lowe's and they are cool little lights. I definitely thing the Solarforce lights are brighter and stronger for the same price, but the Coast is awesome.
 
well I ordered the Pelican from Optics Planet lat night, only to find out this a.m. that they're sold out and on back order.... so I canceled that one...

Today I ordered...

An L2 Solar Force (w/ Cree R2 LED bulb and two CR123 batteries) for $32 shipped from JimDo's thread. This one has all the Mr. Tacticool bells and whistles for me.

and ....

a 4.6 Watt LED Innova Bolt LED with two CR123 batteries from Amazon's warehouse for $27 Shipped. This one is more sleek looking, with fewer features to figure out for my lovely wife to carry in her purse, next to her O.C. spray.

Thanks for all the links and recommendations.

I think I found exactly what I was looking for.... for a lot less money than I expected to pay.
 
I have purchased a LOT of lights, some good / some not so good. Some name brands and some not. The question you have to ask yourself is WHAT are you going to use the light to do? In what situations? Is it OK if it flickers?

The sure fire light WILL ALWAYS WORK. So, if you are just looking for a tac light to give bright light for odd jobs and so forth, then it is over kill to get one. If you are using a weapons light or otherwise are a fire fighter / operator then it is money well spent.

I have a smith and wesson galaxy that I use as a night stand light. It works, is bright, doesn't kill batteries. I have a dorcy as well, the thing is bright, works fine, but it flickers because of the AAA batt adapter piece they used. Does that bug me... Not really, I don't use it to disarm bombs, or clear houses. I use it to do odd jobs.

I have owned a sure fire and it was awesome. Always worked. Great until I lost it, then I felt awful... $150 out the window... :(
 
I too have several of Jimdo's SolarForce lights. I'm extremely pleased.. have probably ordered 7 or 8 of them for self, friends and family.
 
I love my surefire, except I should get a second. The reason is I use it a lot, and when I put it in my turnout gear pockets it always manages to turn itself on and I do not have the LED model and it eats the special batteries fast.

But, with new batteries it is an awesome light. Also, LOWES in SP now carries the batteries.
 
I have been put off by the price of Surefire lights also -- but two nights ago, looking for a wounded deer after dark, I had a Surefire and my son a 3-cell Maglight, and the difference was amazing. The Surefire made the other light look like it was barely working. I'll have to find room in the budget for more Surefires.
 
wgp said:
I have been put off by the price of Surefire lights also -- but two nights ago, looking for a wounded deer after dark, I had a Surefire and my son a 3-cell Maglight, and the difference was amazing. The Surefire made the other light look like it was barely working. I'll have to find room in the budget for more Surefires.
Click to expand...

I'm a dedicated Surefire user. You really do get what you pay for.

My primary light for years has been a 9P. Chews through batteries like mad, but I always bought in bulk from law enforcement supply shops. This past summer I got around to putting a LED head into the light. Dropped from 110 lumens to 85 lumens, but I'm still on the same set of batteries. :)

-Mark
 
The SolarForce light arived last night.... very quick turn around and shipping via 1st class mail.

It's really a nice quality light.... very bright.... multiple modes of operation... fit and finish is top shelf!

It will be interesting to compare it to the Bolt light I ordered for my wife to carry in her purse...

may have to get the rechargeable CR123 battery pack, though, as I suspect I will want to use this light all the time in place of my big 3D Mag Lights
 
bought a rechargeable...

...Streamlight Stinger LED...it about blinds me...have the older pin-bulb Stinger and it's about 1/4 as bright...also rechargeable...$85-105 range and small enough to fit a coat pocket or back pocket...worth a look...it will coon hunt!!!
 
I'd love to fiddle with a SureFire....

But for me, if the choice was left to "spend $100" on a flashlight and "don't buy a flashlight" the later would have to be my decision.

I looked into the G2... but wanted an LED and was happy to find one, in aluminum, for the same $.

I'm just glad I found a light that meets my criteria for $30, because that's what I could justify spending.
 
The Innova Bolt arrived today...

compared it side by side with the SolarForce L2...

no comparison!

the SolarForce is much, much, much brighter, with the same batteries.
 
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