Flashlight

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metalman8600

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Not a weapon, but a tool that a lot of you guys have.

Can anyone recommend a good LED flashlight that costs around 60? Waterproof, aluminum body, decent brightness, good battery life... an integrated laser pointer would be cool too.

And just how bright is 80, 100, 200 lumens and such?

What is the difference between the $50-70 ones and the $150 ones?
 
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In that price range, I would sure give a hard look at the new G2X Pro from Surefire.
http://www.lapolicegear.com/sug2xproflne.html

Couple of things though.
Don't put too much stock in Lumen ratings from the different manufactures.
Surefire doesn't lie, but a lot of other companies do.

The problem is, there is no industry-wide standard for measuring lumens.
One company might measure at the normal range of the light.
The next company might set the light right on top of the light meter.
The next company might let the ad copy guy decide what sounds the best.

And the actual light beam, focus, spill, no shadow in the center of the beam, etc, are all more importent then how many lumens it is, assuming it is really 80, 120, 180, or so.

The other thing is, no hi-quality Tactical light is going to have a laser pointer in it.
Unless of course, you buy a weapon light with a built-in laser sight.
And they ain't selling them for $60 bucks!!

rc
 
I really like the Coast LED lights. They were among the first to market these things, and they're still the choice for professional uses. I'm using one of their "lensers" as my EDC flashlight now. It's got sufficient lumens but not so much you'll set paper on fire with it. They have a very wide selection all the way up to 1,000 lumens spotlights.

http://www.coastportland.com/

The Maglights, still made in the USA, are also really great for EDC. The technology is more primitive but they have a good battery life and are easy to focus.

Keep in mind that tactical lights are a distinct group from the more typical everyday carry lights. Tac lights will often run on lithiums, have very intense, blinding beams and have a pretty short life. They also tend to die almost instantly when the btty's are gone. So they have some serious shortcomings as everyday lights.

It's a question of the right tool for the right job, so you have to have your job defined before you can select your lights. Some lights are designed for intense beams at some distance. Others, esp. the LED's, are designed to throw a diffuse beam over a wide area but lack the distance ability and tend to work best in very dark conditions. Some are designed for longevity of battery life, others to be emergency lights that sit on rechargers until needed. Some, like my headlamp, are for extreme cold with a separated battery pack and a variety of beams from diffuse LED for very dark conditions to a high-octane spotlight for traffic.

Sometimes what you need will cost $$, othertimes it won't. An EDC flashlight does not need to cost much more than $20. Possibly a lot less. A good, simple two lithium tactical light can be had for under $100. Surefire is my favorite.
 
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I would suggest you just look down a few threads to the other active Flash light thread. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=554985

My main contribution there was to recommend the Rocky brand LED flashlights which I purchased at Sam's Club. There are two types that I am familiar with; a 130 lumens 3-AAA cell light, and a 200 lumens 6-AAA cell light. You can find them via goggle searching on Rocky flashlight. They run under $30 for two lights and come with batteries. The Coleman lights are very good too. They are sold at Walmart and I saw them at Lowe's. Good lights.
 
Ok since I was informed it is best when I have a purpose for it, here is my purpose for it:
Everyday carry for when I need to see at night. One with a red or green smaller auxiliary LED for when you just want to see something without ruining your natural nightvision would be good too.
 
Metalman, there are lots of quality 2 AA led flashlights out now that should meet your needs. They typically run $20-30 at WalMart or Target. Carry that with a red, green, or yellow Photon 2 or Freedom. And money left over for a good battery charger and rc AAs.
 
Everyday carry for when I need to see at night. One with a red or green smaller auxiliary LED for when you just want to see something without ruining your natural nightvision would be good too.
Click to expand...

Check out the Coast V2 dual color. It has both white and red, changed with a push button. According to the website, it's 70 lumens, runs for 100 hours on 3 AA's.

Amazon has them for a real good price:

http://www.amazon.com/Coast-TT7736D...ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1294616122&sr=1-1
 
I have a Streamlight Stylus that I carry every day.
It doesn't strobe or blind your attackers, but it will light your way in the dark. It is the size of an ink pen. It also works great as a bore light. $25.00
 
I got a Streamlight PT-2L as an early Christmas present about a month ago, I've been very pleased with it. I paid $55 at a local gun store, they're goin for around $40 or so at vaious places online. It's got three outputs, high at 180 lumens, strobe, wich they don't say but I believe is the same, and a 10 lumen low output. The run times are two and a half, six, and fifty hours, respectively. Takes two CR123 batteries. If you'd rather run AAs, there's the PT-2AA, don't have all the specs on that one, but the max output is 120 lumens, the biggest difference between the two is gonna be the run time.
 
I recently picked up a Solarforce L2 from Jimdo and am very happy with it. Happy enough that I killed my first set of batteries in a week. :eek:

It doesn't have the laser pointer (...why?) but it does cost about half the price you're looking at and is VERY bright on the high setting.

Certainly worth a try before you decide you need to spend 2-4 times that much for something better.
 
Depends on what it is for.
I want a "tactical" light that may be used to help aim a gun to be quite bright and have only off and on at the tailcap. I have a Digilight Surefire knockoff - it actually has a Surefire LED conversion - and a two-mode Fenix left locked on bright for such use.

A utility light can make use of different levels or modes to stretch battery life. I have a couple of Costco specials for that.

My Surefire E2L two mode was a match prize, I would not have paid the price for the type. But I bailed out of my burning house with it which makes it somewhat special to me.
 
If the OP wants a decent flashlight with a built-in laser, maybe take a look at the Streamlight Twin Task, they make a model w/ built-in laser: http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=124

IMO the best value-priced flashlight out there is the Streamlight PolyTac LED, mine survived a structural fire (as in I used it in a fire). It now lives in my wifes purse because she likes the PolyTac more than the heavier SureFire Z2s that I carry now.

Usually around $40 or less: http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=159
 
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Streamlight LED

I carry a Streamlight PolyTac® LED...it was between this and a Surefire LED...I choose the Streamlight b/c I like the tail cap press for continuous on instead the Surefire twist.
 
I really like my Streamlight PolyTac HP LED. Not aluminum, but you will like it. Notice the HP designation - bigger, brighter than the regular PolyTac.
 
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