Best Flashlights?

[HobieMarty]

These were my Grandparents and they still work great!!! Wizard is the big one, takes 3 D cell batteries, the others take 2. The Winchester has a round lens like a spotlight. The Eveready Captain has a plastic lens, the other two are glass. Old tech with actual flash buttons, but still work so I still use them.

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[masraum]

I remember seeing flashlights like those over the years. I'm sure they still work, but they probably put out a tiny fraction of the light of a more modern flashlight the size of your finger. It would be cool if it was possible to swap out the old incandescent bulbs with an LED replacement.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by masraum

Whatchyou talkin bout, Willis?!?

WTAF is that? It looks like....well it....is it?

[stevej37]

Yep

Fleshlight.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

WTAF is that? It looks like....well it....is it?

Yes, they call it a "fleshlight." (That's what widebody911's post was referencing).

You can get them where the inserts look like all sorts of orifices, and even the inside can be textured differently.

I'm not sure how helpful they'd be if you lost power and needed to see your way around at night. But then if that's all that you had, you may be less interesting in seeing your way around.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by jyl

It is time to buy some flashlights to restock the house and cars.

I used to have a whole bunch of Maglites and similar, but one by one the kids took them to college or camping and they disappeared.

What do you all like for flashlights, in the following categories?

A: Light Cannon. This is the flashlight you keep by the door for when you hear a sound and go outside, aim your flamethrower into the night sky, and light up a UFO taking off with a whole neighbor family. You raise the alarm but no-one believes you. A week later the UFO comes back for you and you fight them off with your light blaster, focused to max tight and broiling pasty aliens like ants under a magnifying glass. Not just a self defense weapon, in a pinch serves as a photon drive or tanning booth. Size and weight not that important, looking for sheer lightpower plus beam control. Optional club feature a nice to have but we’re not cops on a beat.

B: Utility Illuminator. This is the flashlight for the back of the refrigerator, the underside of the car, the basement during a blackout. The light cannon gets all the oooos but when you want to change a fuse without being knocked unconscious by the light beam ricocheting off the panel door, this is what you need. Wide and even illumination, good battery life, small and handy, stays where you put it, and cheap enough to have a dozen stashed in cars and rooms. Bonus if can be held in your teeth, double bonus if battery life is long enough to last through the whole blackout. Rechargeables will be considered.

C: Headlamp. More than just a utility illuminator stuck to your forehead, the ideal headlamp is feather-light, goes from bright enough to mountain bike a trail in the dark to dim enough to tie on a fly without spooking the whole stream. Waterproof, small and powered by standard batteries are all musts. Night vision red setting gets bonus points.

Have any recommendations to share? Post links and watch me do my patriotic consumer duty!

Buy at least 6 of these, leave them scattered around the house. I get the super glow tops...easy to spot during a power outage. Amazingly long burn time on a single battery, which is the handle. Invented by a then 15 year old home schooled rural Oregon kid...a family cottage industry. Gave one to my son-in-law when deployed in Iraq...instant orders from his buddies.

https://www.9voltlight.com/

Anyway, your B is is covered here. Possibly your C...it would be easy to rig as a headlamp, but for quick 2 hand chores, I just hold in in my mouth. Heavy rubber band would hold one for bike handlebars.

For the high candlepower, I bought a Fenix 4 D cell light plugged by a cop...you could drive using it.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by masraum

We've had a bunch of flashlight threads over the years and most of them get a ton of responses.

I've got a thrunight that was recommended by someone here in one of the threads. I've also got a zebralight headlight that was recommended here.

Some of the popular brands are streamlight and surefire.

Here's a thread with 100 posts from last Dec.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/875321-flashlight-review-thread-post-yours.html

and some more
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/928578-what-flashlight-do-you-use.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/791974-tactical-flashlight-impressed.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/680988-flashlight-addiction.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/514251-whats-best-flashlight-out-there.html

That was me, Steve. How do you like em'. I have a Thrunite in every one of my cars and use it around the house often. Perfect for those dark nights out where you are.

[look 171]

Here you go John. This will blind the mother ship, go away and never come back to see us. https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-TM28-Flashlight-p/fl-nite-tm28-4ximr3100.htm

Don't be fooled by the 4 small LED, its very, very powerful.

[onZedge]

Olight iR 2 Rechargeable. I always carry one in my pocket.
https://www.olightstore.com/i1r-2-kit-double.html

[vash]

This is a great one. Tiny and bright. In a pinch you can reverse the clip so you can pin it to your ball cap bill for hands free.

It’s so great. We bought a bunch. One more unopened package left.
Comes with a Velcro sleeve thing.

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by look 171

Here you go John. This will blind the mother ship, go away and never come back to see us. https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-TM28-Flashlight-p/fl-nite-tm28-4ximr3100.htm

Don't be fooled by the 4 small LED, its very, very powerful.

400 bucks for a flashlight??? Aww He|| Naw!!!

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[island911]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

WTAF is that? It looks like....well it....is it?

I think it's like a cellphone case, but for flashlights like HobieMarty posted.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

That was me, Steve. How do you like em'. I have a Thrunite in every one of my cars and use it around the house often. Perfect for those dark nights out where you are.

Yep, the thrunite is awesome. The zebralight headlight is nice, but it takes a AA. I like the ease of rechargeable, so I've considered a thrunite headlight. It's probably good to have rechargeable AND battery powered. The worst is when the battery in the headlight dies, and you realize that you don't have any batteries.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by onZedge

Olight iR 2 Rechargeable. I always carry one in my pocket.
https://www.olightstore.com/i1r-2-kit-double.html

Interesting. I got one of these, Olight I3E EOS Flashlight, free with an order from B&H Photo the other day. Seems like a good little light.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by masraum

I remember seeing flashlights like those over the years. I'm sure they still work, but they probably put out a tiny fraction of the light of a more modern flashlight the size of your finger. It would be cool if it was possible to swap out the old incandescent bulbs with an LED replacement.

They do make quartz bulb replacements, which help...but LED's still far superior..

[Ctopher]

SureFire
I have been EDC a old EB1 Backup which I believe is 100/5 lumen model that I’ve been carrying for about 12-13years. It’s a single CR123a battery and small enough that it fits in my palm when making a fist that people don’t see. It’s also amazingly handy, 5 lumen is plenty for searching for something in the car or quickly working on something needing more light. The 100 lumen which pales by the current standard of 200-500 lumens of newer models. This is enough to shoot a beam across a field, across the street or a couple of houses down the street and send more than enough to blind someone close by hitting them in the face. It’s way more handy than you would think from such a small light. And the best part is it lights up high first press/click and low on the second press/click.

The utilitarian light is the G2X series, a Tactical or Pro. The Tactical is the one you want for emergency to search for the UFO or lost cat at night with. These models only have one brightness setting. The new models are 600 lumens and will light up a whole backyard or most of a house from the street. The Pro model is similar except it has 2 modes 600/15 lumens. This is what I have in all my cars and get home bags. They both take 2 CR123A batteries and give anywhere from 1.5hrs -50hrs+ depending on model/mode your using. The 15lumen is plenty bright to do car repair at night, looking for something under the sink, BBQ at night, you name it, etc. And be aware that if you have bare white walls the 600lumen can blind you at night if your facing that wall and hit the button. And you should never do like you see in the movies, point the light at your face and turn it on!

The last is headlamp which I have the Minimus. It provides amazing spread and bright white light that makes whatever your looking at perfectly lit. I will say you’ll eat batteries if you keep it at full brightness trying to light up the night, you won’t need 100% to walk around at ngiht. It is amazingly useful for anything you need a hand free headlamp and is easy to adjust the brightness with a simple twist of the side knob, it’s infinitely adjustable from barely any light to max.

https://www.surefire.com/products/illumination/flashlights/e1b-backup-maxvision/
https://www.surefire.com/products/illumination/flashlights/g2x-pro/
https://www.surefire.com/products/illumination/flashlights/g2x-tactical/
https://www.surefire.com/categories/illumination/headlamps/

I bought my first SureFire around 15yrs ago and it’s still working. It was the older incandescent bulb using the same 2x CR123A batteries that nearly all of their models use. This makes it simple, same batteries for all flashlights. They last around 10yrs since they are lithium and are easy to keep stored everywhere. I have small little 4 battery packs with all the car lights, bags and of course the huge stash in the house kitchen drawer. Once you use a quality light you won’t go back. I’ve converted a lot of family and friends with SureFire G2X Pros. They are around $60 on Amazon and the yellow is a nice one to have in the car as you’ll see and hopefully won’t leave behind like the black models. I will say that I know people that have tons of different model lights but with such variety you have different batteries, chargers, and they operate differently. The thing with SureFire as they are a military use light is they are practically indestructible, all waterproof and most importantly all work the same way.

I highly recommend trying out a G2X Pro if you want good house or car light.


CTopher

[look 171]

The little flashlights are great but I found them difficult to handle due to their size and they almost slip out of my hand. Optimum size is at about 4" long 1" dia.

I bought my wife this little thing. Small enough to fit in her purse and not heavy. Plenty of light out put. I love the magnetic tail end. A little too small for my taste. https://thrunite.com/t1-red-cw/

[look 171]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

400 bucks for a flashlight??? Aww He|| Naw!!!

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Yeah, if you want to see the coyote in the woods or communicate with the SR71, that's the light. Its not a toy.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yep, the thrunite is awesome. The zebralight headlight is nice, but it takes a AA. I like the ease of rechargeable, so I've considered a thrunite headlight. It's probably good to have rechargeable AND battery powered. The worst is when the battery in the headlight dies, and you realize that you don't have any batteries.

I have been using their 18650 battery head lamp. Not sure if they can pack a USB recharge ability in a small package. I am ok with changing battery. Those batteries last a long time if you don't have it on full blast. Even if its on full, which I do often on my "super flood" Zebra headlight, it last about an hour.

[vash]

Here is my 20 year old torch.

And my man bag