Best all rounder you own.

[burntoshine]

HDS 3700k high cri clicky

 

[Lithium466]

Same for me...even if mine is not orange! Wish it was.

 

[Treeguy]

Best all rounder... probably my little Quark Pro 1xAA. Really like that light. :thumbsup:

 

[leon2245]

Mini maglite aaa.

I forgot to mention that I just ordered a
CQG S2 2AAA XP-G2 penlight 15lm / 120 lm.
I'm thinking that it might be comfortable enough to EDC a penlight. IF so, then THIS might be EDC-able, and a better all around light than the single AAA light.
SO the jury is still out. LOL

thats what I've found, thinner/longer disappears better & easier to retrieve from my pocket.

 

[torchsarecool]

Hi.

a new favourite for me is my SWM M40a.

Love the beam profile, good throw but quite a broad hotspot and nice spill
powered by AA batteries for convenience
good size and weight. Makes me feel secure having it there but its not a burden to carry.

looks ace! The reason why I bought it was for its design more then anything else. Until I got it in my hands and tried it I wasn't expecting much performance wise, but It has surpassed expectations.

 

[radiopej]

Very hard to choose, but if I had to I'd keep the Fenix PD32 UE or the Olight M10.

 

[Garanddad]

HDS rotary with a very close second of Preon Revo. They are both always near.

 

[drillbit]

HDS clicky, w/Nichia 219. Always with me.

 

[fonaryk]

Alpha ready made.

 

[johnnyl]

Niteye 10 modded with an xml2 4c tint noctigon with an Efest imr 18350 or an 18650 with my extension.

 

[Daekar]

As much as I would like to say it's a larger and brighter light, the light that to me is the most useful do-all is nothing glamorous - it's my 4Sevens Mini AA. Always on my keychain, the same or better OTF output as an old school 6P for the same runtime, and great low and medium runtimes. Runs on an eneloop by default and any cheap AA in a pinch.

Runner up would be another 4Sevens light, Quark 2AA Neutral - really low low, very useful high/turbo, well shaped beam with decent flood and throw.

EDIT: I could be pursuaded to abandon the Mini AA for an 18350-powered neutral light that had slightly higher output on high and just extended runtime on low and medium. But only if it had a neutral emitter. Honestly, I'm not going to be buying anything (and haven't for several years) that isn't neutral tint.

 

[Berneck1]

I think many of the single AA lights that are out today could fall into this category. It's very subjective, but for best "all-rounder" it needs to check a lot of boxes.

First and foremost is battery type. 18650 and CR123 are just not common enough, in my opinion. The most common battery type is the AA. I don't think anyone would dispute this. So, the best all-rounder would have to take AA's.

Next would be portability. It has to be something someone would always carry with them. 2xAA lights are portable enough, but just about everybody can manage to fit a 1xAA in their pocket. Not everybody would carry a 2xAA light at all times. So, it would have to be single AA.

Then I suppose you need a few brightness levels. I think you would need something that can achieve at around 200 lumens at the high end. That is a lot of light for the vast majority of situations. You will also need a good firefly mode to be very discreet. And finally, a level or two well spaced in between.

You would need some level of weatherproofing. I'm not saying that it needs to be waterproof, but you should feel confident in heavy rain, etc.

Some people feel strobe mode is a gimmick. I, for one, have actually found it useful on two occasions through the years. Is it a deal breaker if it doesn't have it? Not at all. I only mention it because many people do happen to like it. However, the strobe HAS to be immediately accessible. If you have to cycle through modes to get to it, it's probably useless in most situations where you might want it. The other blinking modes are even less useful.

Another requirement I have is a switch that is not easily activated in the pocket. Rear-clicky switches with a guard around them usually solve this issue. I find that many of the side switches activate too easily in the pocket and unexpectedly drain the battery. I'm surprised at how many EDC lights are so easily activated.

I could probably go on and on about certain performance specs, etc. The amount of light some of these companies are getting out of every day AA's is nothing short of astounding. Just look at the Thrunite Neutron 2014 version. It will only continue to get better. Some will argue you need more lumens. I argue that the brighter the lights get, the less useful the light becomes in many situations. I have lights nearing 3000 lumens and I find in most situations I have to step them down considerably because I can't even see what the light is pointing at because it's so bright. The more lumens you achieve the higher the lows tend to be also. For an all-rounder you do not need retina burning levels.

All that being said, the best all-rounder is the light that will be useful in the vast majority of everyday situations. It will also be one that most people will be willing to have with them at all times. The light I like most at the moment is the Eagletac D25a. It checks the most boxes for my needs. I do like the Thrunite Neutron, but the easily activated switch negates any usefulness.

Is there anything I may have left out? What are your thoughts?









Sent from my iPhone using Candlepowerforums

 

[thedoc007]

Is there anything I may have left out? What are your thoughts?

I agree with most of your thoughts, with a couple exceptions.

To me, all rounder means it is capable of doing a huge variety of tasks. And 1x18650 based lights are not necessarily that much larger, but they offer either four times the performance, or four times the runtime, or double the performance and double the runtime, etc., when compared to a 1xAA light. Hard to argue with that. They are simply capable of a far greater range of tasks. I don't see how the availability of a battery type has anything to do with it. For a SHTF light, perhaps, although even then my belief is that obtaining a off-the-grid charging solution makes more sense than trying to scavenge batteries.

Also, although some brighter lights forgo low lows (Fenix, I'm looking at you!), there are certainly bright lights with very low modes too. My pick, the Zebralight SC600 Mk II L2, offers multiple lows, down to a small fraction of one lumen. But it can also do 1000 lumens on turbo. No AA light has that kind of range.

 

[markr6]

I agree with most of your thoughts, with a couple exceptions.

To me, all rounder means it is capable of doing a huge variety of tasks. And 1x18650 based lights are not necessarily that much larger, but they offer either four times the performance, or four times the runtime, or double the performance and double the runtime, etc., when compared to a 1xAA light. Hard to argue with that. They are simply capable of a far greater range of tasks. I don't see how the availability of a battery type has anything to do with it. For a SHTF light, perhaps, although even then my belief is that obtaining a off-the-grid charging solution makes more sense than trying to scavenge batteries.

Also, although some brighter lights forgo low lows (Fenix, I'm looking at you!), there are certainly bright lights with very low modes too. My pick, the Zebralight SC600 Mk II L2, offers multiple lows, down to a small fraction of one lumen. But it can also do 1000 lumens on turbo. No AA light has that kind of range.

I agree with this too. I was topping off the batteries on most of my flashlights last night and realized they were ALL 1x18650. I still have a few AA lights, but only 18650 cells really make sense to me anymore 99% of the time. I keep an AA in my car for emergencies and in some random places.

 

[PierceTheNight]

I don't have many lights, but I would consider the Foursevens Mini MA with Nite Ize headband to be the most versatile light I own.

 

[mudcamper]

First and foremost is battery type. 18650 and CR123 are just not common enough, in my opinion. The most common battery type is the AA. I don't think anyone would dispute this. So, the best all-rounder would have to take AA's.

I dispute this. It depends on the person. I long ago abandoned AA for CR123. Then about a year ago, I abandoned CR123 and made the move to 18650 rechargeable ONLY.

So for me, the clear winner is the Zebralight SC62. I just don't pick up any of my other lights anymore. The SC62 has replaced them all, except for one, my best thrower, the Eagletac M25C2.

 

[Danielsan]

an allrounder in my opinion is a super bright light which throws good and have a good flood as well. Its a light that can do everything, super low and super bright. The size dosnt matter here so i would go for lets say a niwalker MM18, its like the only flashlight you need as a household light and its still pretty compact. For me even a niwalker MM15 would be the perfect one for all light because i just never need a throw greater then 200m. But those 4xaa lights like the jetbeam SRA40 are great allround lights as well.

 

[funkychateau]

For me in a smaller package it is the Zebralight SC600 MK2 or SC52 L2.

My thoughts exactly. I've had the SC600-II for about a year, and recently added the SC52W L2. This pair does everything (other than long-range throw) well, in very compact packages with intuitive user interface.

I'm now in the mode of giving away a lot of my other lights because I'm no longer interested in using them.

 

[twl]

Berneck1 asked for our thoughts on his post.
My thoughts are that the "most common" AA batteries are alkalines, and they leak. And they don't recharge.
I'm okay with Eneloops or 14500 lithium, but then we aren''t talking the "most common" batteries any more, and they are rechargeable specialty cells, just like other rechargeable specialty cells.
It doesn't do any good to have a "common" battery that ruins your flashlight.

After that, pick any battery you want, because they will all be specialty batteries.
Personally, I use 18350 and 18650 cells the most. My "all rounders" are Oveready TorchLab Pocket Triples in the pocket, and Malkoff Hound Dog or Wildcat on the belt or in my coat pocket. I also have an MBI HFR with an IMR 10440 on my keychain.

 

[davidt1]

Zebralight H52w because it is a:

1. Headlamp
2. Flashlight
3. Work light