Household flashlight for bedside?

If you are willing to spend some money check out Surefire Flashlights . In the near future I plan on buying one myself, I'm a firm believer you get what you pay for.

-Ryan

Surefire makes some very fine flashlights, and I believe that they have a rechargeable line. I inherited my dad's Streamlights (Stinger and Ultra Stinger), and I have to say, those are some serious flashlights. Now, if I can just remember which box the recharger was put in when we moved!:banghead:

While I'm quite sure a lot of guys will disagree with me here, I think a couple of $30 Surefire G2s are all you'll ever really need. Well, that and some batteries.

I have a G2 at the ready, and one mounted on the Mossy 590 with a quick detach mount.

Surefire seems the best, but very expensive (~$100).
Maglight seems the best at a more mundane price. Get a big one - plus a copy of the book "Defensive Techniques with Flashlights".

I went through a flashlight binge a year or so ago. Now I have a few that are really nice (including a SF Z2, L2 and Streamlight TL-3). For most applications, I reach for the L2 but lately I've reverted back to the TL3...there is no substitution for lumen output and the TL-3 is a very economical way to 200 lumens.

Tried re-chargeable years ago for business/ home setting. No go for me.
Power goes out for a bit, one cannot re-charge if there is no power to re-charge by.
I understand some Katrina folks found out about re-chargeable products from flashlights to can openers to ...

I never stopped using Mag-Lights. I prefer the 3 D cell for my personal use as this one fits my hands.
Best kept secret is the 3 C cell one, fits smaller hands better.
My 3 C cell is on loan for testing and comparison at the moment.

AA size and Solitare Mag-Lites I still use and keep handy.

3 C cell size is what I recommend for a home, fits the smaller hands better, and my recommendation for vehicle flashlight. Do NOT buy a camo one.

I do not know whether they still teach this with all the new lights on the market...

Weak hand, and hold near the front of Mag-light so index or middle finger pushes button on and off.
Flick your wrist and notice how the back end of Mag-Light easily and effortlessly goes forward.
"Bop" a cantelope and take notice of dent.

Add this to low light/no light shooting sometime.

I learned this on a chrome finish 2 regular cell flashlight with glass lens and intermittent button when I was about 4 years old in '59. I had some great Mentors...always have...

My bedroom light at the time.

Why limit yourself? We're not talking big bucks here. I've got a $30 G2 & a $3 LED shakelight knockoff & 2 $20 off-brand 3-watt multi-LED - all in easy reach.


(and since I'm in FL, I've also got 5 candle lanterns & 4 battery lanterns for hurricanes)

I agree with the Surefire G2 for tactical use. I keep one "on" the night stand beside my bed. Since I don't use it much battery cost is not an issue. I have purchased batteries by the case and they end up pretty cheap that way. I also have a cheap ($16 per 4 pack - batteries included) LED light that I bought at Costco. I use it for most applications and it stays "in" the night stand. I also have three rechargeable lights strategicy located around the house in case I am not near any of my other flashlights when the power goes out. These lights are prett cool because when the power goes out, the turn on to a low setting so you can see them. When you pull the light out of the wall plug, you can turn them on high and use them. They were only a few dollars each on clearance at Target.

Maglite for everyday tasks.

Surefire z2 stays with the pistol.

Streamlight Twintask

Mine runs on two CR123's and can select the triple LEDs for general lighting and save battery power or switch over to the high beams, the Xenon illuminator for bright white light. Love the thing, and I think they make a C battery version too.

Otherwise my go-to is a 3-D cell MagLite because it is a good light, and a weapon if need be.

Also got a nice Surefire on the accessory rail of my XD and that is a nice light too.

i got a 41 led flashlight off ebay for 13 bucks shipped. its aluminum and fairly rugged(ive droped it a few times onto cement_not on glass side tho). anyway, its aprox as bright as a 4 cell maglight but is a flood light, it doesnt throw. good inside 30 feet but outdoors past 50 feet its not very good. takes 4 aaa batteries and light lasts 18 hours continuous. its advertized 40 hours but it really only lasts 18. i tested it. dims after 12 but if you turn it off for a while it comes back well and is still useful for short 20 min runs before dimming again.

anyway, this is my current favorite flashlight. for its cost and how well it works. for the cost of other tacti-cool lights i can have one of these in each car as well as a few around the house.

they make a good/safe alternitive to candles and lanterns during power outages. i just point one at a white painted surface and use reflective light to light the whole room enough to not trip over stuff. aaa batteries are cheap if you get them in bulk at home depot. cheaper than lamp oil anyway.

We're issued Surefire Centurion C2's every few months for some reason so I have them laying all over the place. We get the green anodized models which I think look a little sexier than the glossy black. I give them away for presents usually. They're awesome lights and I haven't even considered buying a mag-light since Surefire came on the scene.

Luckily we have unlimited 123 batteries 'cuz they're sorta pricey, and we get replacement bulbs when we need them. Bulbs [for Surefires] are very pricey I'm told.

I've got more flashlights than I know what to do with around the house and here's what I keep handy near the bed. Streamlight TL-2 in the drawer with the pistol. Mag 2C modded with a Cree XRE at 1A for utility tasks, plus a SF fore end on the shotgun in the corner.

The Streamlight Strion is a nice size, rechargeable too. Brinkmann Maxfire is under twenty dollars at Target. For less than thirty dollars you could have a Streamlight Propolymer Luxeon. There are so many to choose from and you don't need to spend anywhere near $100 to get a good light. Spend some time over at:
Candlepowerforums.com.

For getting up and looking around/finding stuff, I like a plan, not-very-bright LED flashlight. When my eyes are fully dark adapted, the last thing I want is to sear my eyeballs and light up every bedroom in the house with a tac-light when I'm just trying to get ready for work in the morning or check on the kids.

I have an inexpensive aluminum-body LED light with ~100 hours of runtime on 3 AAA batteries, and that's plenty bright for general purposes. I usually navigate by shining it at the ceiling to cast a soft glow on everything (looks like moonlight), and it has a fairly narrow spot beam.

If you go with a high-end tac-light for bedside use, at least get one with a low-beam setting. Remember that its primary use will be for getting to the bathroom without tripping over the cat, and other such mundane things.

For everyday task lighting a rechargeable like the Streamlight Stinger is great. Much lighter and more compact than the Maglights with lots of power. I have a bunch of old Maglights that are gathering dust--today there are much better choices for almost any task out there.

LEDs are much more rugged. It is very easy to drop your pricey Sure Fire and have the bulb break. These are great lights but make sure you have spare bulbs and batteries--3v CR123A batteries are expensive for everyday use.

Streamlight makes great lights that are less expensive than Sure Fire.

With flashlights you can't have too much redundancy.

“I'd like something bright that's rechargeable so I don't have to pay fortune for batteries.”


Battery cost seems to be a big issue with you, so I thought I mention this product.
Battery life is list at 50 hours
Don’t waste your time on rechargeable they will fail when you need them most.
Manufacture’s page
http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail_specs.php?recordID=2010PL

Lowest price I could find
http://www.fox-intl.com/searchresult.asp?id=2913
36.95 with out batteries

Yes, the Surefires are great I have two of them, one mounted on a rifle and one on a shotgun. You know, just incase company drops by when it dark.
NOTE Surefire makes a rechargeable product only recommended for “training only” not combat

Most underrated flashlight on the market:

Dorcy Spyder
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Dorcy_Spyder_Tactical_Flashlight.php

I got mine at Meijer for $18 with 2 CR123 batteries. thing's brighter than my surefire E1E (maybe not quite as tight a beam). I carry the surefire during the day b/c of size. the Spyder is in the safe next to my nightstand next to the Springfield XD.

Used to be able to get them in 2 packs at Home Depot. EXCELLENT light. can't speak highly enough about this light.

check out candlepower forums for more info on it and other lights.

I'll second benEzra's comments about a dim light. My favorites are the Gladius, HDS, and Proton because I can dim them to almost nothing. Most of my uses need just a little light. Fenix-store.com carries adjustable brightness Fenix lights. Streamlight Tasklight is a two-level light. Nuwai makes one. You could even use a Photon Freedom for lower-light uses and have another light for brighter needs. There are several lights that use AA batteries so you can use rechargable ones; you can also buy rechargeable RCR123 batteries. So many choices, so few dollars.

If power goes down often you need rechargeable batteries, or else you’ll end up spending a fortune on batteries. Try standardizing as much as possible, AA and some AAA works for me.
I have a couple of 5 LED flashlights that use only one AA battery. Using Samsung 2500Mh rechargeable batteries they last for days, literally. LED head lamps are terrific too, specially when lights go out for long periods of time and you simply have to go on doing stuff around the house, since it allows you to use light AND have both hands are still available. Think about cooking, cleaning the dishes, repairing the car, fixing stuff around the car, just to name a few.
About your question, the best solution is to get two flashlights, a Surefire G2 ( or a similar “tactical” light, though Surefires are among the best) and a trusty LED light for everything else. That’s what I keep near my bed. 123 batteries are too expensive for everyday use, AA is much cheaper.
Also keep in mind that rechargeable batteries loose power as time goes by, always keep an extra pack of regular batteries ( good brand, such as Duracell) in case light goes down and your rechargeable batteries are dead.

FerFAL

Well I have a Cyclops 15million candle power HID next to my bed. It lights up the ranch areas real good!

I think the Streamlight brand offers the most bang for your buck. The TL-3 is an amazingly bright light for around $60. I also like the Scorpion LED(bright, good runtime, tough). I would also check the Inova brand lights. Great lights at reasonable prices. Check out this site http://www.brightguy.com/