# What flashlight?



## DeadI (Sep 12, 2007)

I am looking into getting a good flashlight. Up till now it has been the good ole mag light. Nothing wrong with them but there has got to be a better light out there that does not break the bank, I know the surefires are good but they are also pricey, they have some cheaper lights but then the batteries are pretty expensive as well.

Just wondering what lights you guys are using and what you like the most, but that is economical as well?

Thanks.


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

What is your primary use going to be for the light? Ton's of variety and uses out there. When you say better, does that mean brighter? Different type/color of light?


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## Stellarmike (Mar 12, 2009)

I have a small surefire that I spent about $60 on. Its small but puts out more light than any Mag light I have ever had. Hope that might help!


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I have a hard time buying the ones that use the new lithium batteries as the batteries are so expensive. I just got one of the duracell ones from Costco that uses two C batteries and it puts out a ton of light and the batteries last forever, $12.


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## DeadI (Sep 12, 2007)

The use is mainly camping / hunting / fishing and general every day use.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I won a compact Surefire in a contest and except for the price of them I think that I would buy another one. I can't believe the light that it puts our being a compact light and not a full size one. But they are expensive. I think that for general all around use I would just stick with the Mag-light 2 or 3 D cell lights. They are good all around lights and I have never had one fail me.


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## truemule (Sep 12, 2007)

Browning make a small 75 lumen light that runs off of 1 double AA battery its the alpha series. It lasts for about 2 hours off one battery. I used it on an elk hunt that we hiked out three hours after sunset, and it was awesome. Its smaller than a maglite but brighter.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=016H&catalog_=H&content=Tactical-Hunter


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## Briar Patch (Feb 1, 2010)

I use a flashlight at work on a daily basis. For a good general purpose flashlight I really like Pelican SabreLite 2000. It can really take a beating, it's quite bright, it takes regular "C" batteries and it has a 5 hour burn time.

http://www.allpelicanflashlights.com/pelican-sabrelite-2000-xenon-flashlight-p-56.html

If you get one, it'd be cheaper to get it through Amazon.com - free shipping :mrgreen:


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

I have a lot of flashlights of various sizes and power. Surefire, Streamlight, Pelican, Maglite, Browning, Cabela's, Gerber, they're all good lights. Unless I really need the type of lighting a xenon bulb is good for, I usually stick to the LED bulbs in the CR123A types. They just get too hot. Intermittent use is ok, but a constant beam for more than a very short while is not recommended. I also have noticed that I usually don't get very good life from the CR123A's.

My daily use light as of late is a Mini Maglite that I upgraded the bulb to one of these little guys.

http://www.terraluxcorp.com/terralu...grades/MiniStar2Extreme/tabid/82/Default.aspx

They usually run about $15 on Amazon or eBay, but man does this thing put out a ton of light from such a tiny source. It's also great being able to get such a bright light out of something using AA instead of the more expensive CR123A batteries. They make an upgrade for the D-cell Maglites that will put out 700 lumens, but they are really pricey, so I haven't pulled the trigger on one of those. Most of the type I just need something compact.


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

http://www.rayovac.com/Products/Lights/ ... light.aspx
I use one of these at work. This is a really tough light. It puts up with intense heat. Being dropped. Used as a chipping hammer! I also have one at home and I could shoot stuff out to close to 100 yards with it. Not very expensive either.


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

Lot of good ideas above. I like the surefire, but it is pricey. Get what you pay for most of the time. Here is a link to another forum (sorry mods/Pete) but it is very informational...and long. Anything and everything you want to know about flashlights.

http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3126


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

stillhunterman said:


> Lot of good ideas above. I like the surefire, but it is pricey. Get what you pay for most of the time. *Here is a link to another forum (sorry mods/Pete) *but it is very informational...and long.


 There isn't any issue with links to other sites like this one; I know that some other forums prohibit such, but no issue here whatsoever! Good link!


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

Thanks for the insight Huge29


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-Level-Performance-Flashlight-Lumens/dp/B001H4MW7W

Im like you, i grew up my entire life with mag lights and they worked. Where i live we frequently get power outages that sometimes last more than 6 hours, I was getting sick and tired of replacing the light bulbs in my mini mags and they just werent bright.

I upgraded to the light above, well that looks like the new version, mines the LD20 but the one linked seems to have better specs than mine. It runs off two AA batteries and mine has 3 brightness setting as well as an SOS mode. #1 is good for buming around in the house in the dark etc. #2 I personally dont use and #3 is good for going outside. Then with the turn of the bezzle it has a "turbo" mode and that is good for lighting things up about 50-60 yards away and lighting a foxes eyes up at about 80 (i tried it) when in turbo mode it also has a "tactical" strobe that will flat out blind you. you wont see straight for a few minutes. I also feel that it is brighter and throws a better beam than my D cell mag light.


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

Not sure what this forums mood is on Nutn Fancy, he catches hate from the elietests on other forums but i quite enjoy some of his videos (and I believe he is from central Utah area?) anyways he did a review on the LD20 (kind of swayed me on my purchase)[youtube:vj6fmsz6]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arwWjpZSCmc[/youtube:vj6fmsz6]


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## huntingbuddy (Sep 10, 2007)

Another good brand is streamlight they have a good line of flashlights. A good portion of them are rechargeable so you don't have to worry about replacing batteries.


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## gnfishn (Sep 25, 2007)

I'll go a +1 on the fenix 
http://www.fenixlight.com/viewnproduct.asp?id=63

I have had the PD30 for about 3-4 years now and absolutely love it! As far as my outdoors equipment it is actually one of my favorite pieces of equipment. It looks like it has been updated to the PD31 with an additional 47 lumens. I have had no problems using the cr123 batteries and I bought my light and a bunch of no name brand batteries off of amazon. It has the same setting options that flyfisher117 mentioned and you are not suppose to run it for longer than 10 minutes on "hyper mode" but that is not a problem, but the hyper mode does come in very handy for some situations for short periods at a time.


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## lehi (Sep 13, 2007)

flyfisher117 said:


> Not sure what this forums mood is on Nutn Fancy, he catches hate from the elietests on other forums but i quite enjoy some of his videos (and I believe he is from central Utah area?) anyways he did a review on the LD20 (kind of swayed me on my purchase)[youtube:m4qgli44]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arwWjpZSCmc[/youtube:m4qgli44]


I like NutnFancy. I don't agree with everything he says, but he reviews products to what HIS standards are, and understands that other people may have a different view on a product. No problem with that. He goes into deep details with the products he reviews and does very good camera work. He really tests the products he uses and gives honest reviews.

On flashlights, I would recommend the Fenix headband. It is just the band and not the flashlight, you can attach lights 18-22 mm in diameter to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-Flashlights ... 019&sr=8-2

I have the headband paired with this light:

http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-E15-Lumen-M ... 165&sr=1-1

It is new from Fenix. I haven't used it enough to give an honest review on the long term reliability, but so far it's an awesome light and VERY bright. It takes 1 CR123 battery and is very small and lightweight.

If you want something bigger, Fenix, along with other brands like 4Sevens, O Light, Streamlight and surefire all make bigger flashlights ( longer ones that will still fit in the headband ) for a good price.

Here's one I've heard good things about.

http://www.amazon.com/4Sevens-Tactical- ... 631&sr=1-5

I like the CR123 batteries. Can be a bit pricey but you can find good deals.

http://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-85177 ... 524&sr=1-1


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

The head bands are neat, i plan on getting one here soon. I as well dont agree with all of nutnfancy's thoughts and oppinions but i like how he reviews objects for the middle class people. Stuff that even I can afford. and he doesnt just say "yea its good i like it" he does great jobs of testing his products. He has many other light reviews that are well worth checking out.


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