17 replies to this topic

[mikejulietpapa]

Hey everyone, I have a buddy who needs a new flashlight. Nothing too extreme but it needs to be bright and built to last. Also he has a budget but no real number just yet. He sent me two options and asked my thoughts, I want to send him some other ideas as well and I'm looking for your input.

Here's what he sent:

• Streamlight Night Com UV
  
• Streamlight TL-2 X

I have the SureFire G2X Pro (15/200 lumen) and love it. Got a great deal through SureFire a while back. I've also heard some good things about Fenix and FourSevens.

[Spooky353]

forsevens are pretty good at stretching your buck, they include a holster,lanyard, and other accessories. I have been carrying a NovaTac Storm for about 2 years now and have had zero issues with it but I think they are out of business now. Im pretty sure you can pick one up on ebay on the cheap. Also poke around on the Candle power forums (http://www.candlepow.../vb/content.php) this has been brought up many times and they have great info available there. Hope this helps.

[Scuba CN]

I've got two Quarks (FourSevens) lights and they rock. They feel very sturdy yet light in hand, as Spooky mentioned they come with a number of accessories right off the bat, and they are legoable. That means that you can switch the light head and clicky, put the batteries in facing the opposite direction and the light works, or you can change out the body tubes for different configurations, like going from a 2AA body to a 1AA body to a 1CR123 body etc. So when you buy one FourSevens light you pretty much have the ability to change it to almost any other light in their Quark line. On top of that they have two different UI's (User Interface's) so you can choose their Regular lights that have the modes Moonlight>Low>Medium>High>SOS>Beacon with the lighthead loose and modes Max>Strobe with the head tight, or you can choose their Tactical lights that let you program your two most used light outputs (e.g. Moonlight and Max) for the head loose and head tight positions. In short, I highly recommend FourSevens lights. Like Spooky said, check out Candlepower Forums for more info on lights, or check out Nutnfancy's light reviews (http://www.youtube.c...91DA004D1100E2D). He's reviewed lights from FourSevens (when they were still branded "4Sevens"), Fenix, a Nitecore and a couple Streamlights, and for the FourSevens "Quark" lights you can save about 15% or so ordering them through firearmsprostore.com using the discount code "nutnfancy", and who doesn't like saving money.

Chris

[langston302]

Oh man....I have had great luck with the lights from this site.

www.shiningbeam.com

I have many of the romisen lights and they are holding up well.  I EDC a single cr123 twist model just about every day and have been for 2 years.  Its holding up wonderfully.

[Psybain]

If he can find a PentagonLight MOLLE Light, those things are pretty bright for their size. They have a LED for the bulb, and they run off 1 AA, so you can go a long time between changing batteries. These are getting hard to find though, because the company went out of business a few years ago after surefire sued the pants off of them.

[DStevenson]

I have 2 primary small flashlights.
Sure Fire Millenium M952V, you can exclude right off the bat but it will melt your eye lids off.  Though its the best light I have ever used it is primarily a long gun light and will run you almost $600.00 (I got mine for about $500.00 by shopping vendors).  I have seen it closer to $300.00 used.


But the one I really want to tout is a silly little Smith and Wesson MP7 CREE LED flashlight I got off Woot.com for only $39.00... This is just perfect for EDC or your go bag!  It's listed on Amazon for $61.00 but like I mentioned, time it right and you can get it on Woot.com for $39.00

[AaronK]

I love my FourSevens Quark AA2

[surfandsummit]

Tell him to look at Fenix lights.  I carry the LD10, it has several brightness modes, tail cap switch, and runs on 1 AA.

[kyle baum]

Fenix E11, $25. 100lumen high and  low mode. One AA battery. Or the Streamlight Protac series. typically $30-40 off Amazon, various battery sizes and types.

[Slipery4life]

if he can drop $50 the  fenix ld20 is a good light  rated at 200lumen found a deal for a new one on ebay with the holster, lanyerd for $40 plus a good attachment is the white diffuser cap goes for like $10

[Kenny]

Slipery4life, on 25 November 2012 - 10:49 AM, said:

if he can drop $50 the  fenix ld20 is a good light  rated at 200lumen found a deal for a new one on ebay with the holster, lanyerd for $40 plus a good attachment is the white diffuser cap goes for like $10

I have 2 Fenix LD10 flashlights - only 100 lumen, but it's smaller, using only 1 AA battery instead of 2 in the LD20 - one is part of my EDC and the other is attached to my Remington 870 with a Nebo ProTech Universal Shotguns and Rifles Light Mount (http://www.amazon.co...ag=613240924-20). Granted, Amazon sells the LD10 for $45.00, but if size is a factor, it makes a really great light for its size.

[mikejulietpapa]

Great suggestions, thanks all!

[Lao]

I've always been happy with the Mag Light... cheap, durable and powerful.

[Highwaystreets]

For cheap, reliable and bright go with Fenix. I've been running one for about a year in some tough situations and its been great. I think I have the TK 20. I also have one mounted on my 870 and even tho its not a dedicated weapon light it's handled it like a champ.i would highly suggest them.

[slicksierra]

My old sure fire G2 is great but it eats up batteries like nothing else! And for the price of a K4 drop in, i might as well get another light! But its a proven platform thats been around for awhile.

[Probablytaken]

I carry everyday at work both a Streamlight Stylus Pro and a four.sevens Mini ML (Mini123) on my keychain. Both are relatively cheap and work wonders. The Quark Mini ML is extremely bright on its highest setting and has several other useful settings.

[scrooks298]

I have heard some very bad things about Fenix's durability. Fenix, Klarus, 4sevens and some of Streamlight and Princeton Tec have outsourced. The best are obviously Surefire, Inforce, and El Zetta. Ironically, I was thrust with buying a budget flashlight for someone as well. My grandmother is traditional Portuguese (FRUGAL), and I felt that she needed a new flashlight (she uses one of two old ones that are cracked, low-power and jury-rigged with elastic bands, which she is proud of). I wanted to get her a Surefire (6PX PRO), but realized she would have my head if she found out the Price. I did some shopping around and came up with a few alternatives that were still all AMERICAN MADE. The Products I Found were as follows: Princeton Tec League 100 Series, The Pelican Polytac Series and other models, The Old Surefire Incandescent Models and The Maglite XL50 and XL200. I ended up choosing the Maglite Option (Forget which one) and picked it up at REI. The Mag has High, Low and Strobe Settings, is anodized Metal and just as durable as my Surefire, and while it Says 139-lUMENS on the Box, it is just as bright as My Surefire G2X PRO on 200 as Well. Mind you This is still in American Made Flashlight. I Picked it up for $29.95. Unbeatable Price for the Quality and The Support of American Workers. HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED! (From Me and Her). Hope I'm not too late with this Post to not make a Differance.

[TearsOfNorris]

For budget tac-lights, you can't beat the pack of three Techlite 200's for $20 at Costco (or on Amazon for ~$30).  They have a solid aluminum housing, take 3 AAAs, have a Cree XPG LED, high and low beams, a strobe setting, and are waterproof.  

Youtube review here