How do you choose ?

[qt11]

Guys,

This is a serious question, how do you choose which flashlight to purchase ??

I'm looking for my first real light and have been researching for a few weeks now, reading this forum, internet reviews and the great video reviews from goinggear....

In this time I've gone from 2AA tactical lights, 1 CR123 lights, rechargeable 18650 lights, back to 2AA lights and now onto 18650s again....

How do you choose ??

My wife is about to leave me if she sees me watching one move goinggear YouTube review.... (the same one's I've watched several times before and just can't decide)



Price is not much of a concern, I just want a really good one, that's bright, lasts a long time, isn't too big, however not too small...

Advice and guidance is very much needed.....

Alan

 

[john doe]

i read review after review ,watched video after video ,read reviews here on cpf,then i bought a eagletac p100a2 .been very happy with it .
i also looked at beam shots alot .i still get overwhelmed at the amount of choices out there .
for xmas the wife got me a fenix tk41 .of course i picked it out but its what i wanted so she bought it .i like AA powered lights when possible.

 

[Glock27]

I started with AA lights....I bought several of those. I ended up giving them away or to my kids. I carry only 18650 lights now. I could have saved a bunch of money by going the 18650 route to start.
I recommend a Pila charger, an SC60w and anyone of several 18650 lights for throw (Eagletac, Jetbeam, etc).

G27

 

[mcnair55]

Alan,

We have all been there before and many are still but I have seen the light and halted my demands for more and better light.My advice for what its worth, go out get a decent Fenix or similar to start with and ponder with what you have is enough or do you want more later.Snag is there dozens of good lights and dozens of users all preferring that model to another model etc etc.

 

[cummins4x4]

Alan, I jumped right into 18650's, most of these can use CR123's as well which is a consideration if carrying spares or freezing temps are necessary. I got some Ultrafire cheapies and UF 18650's, they work good for the $ invested. Then got an Olight SR51 for more light, have a Deree VBS thrower on order for a dedicated thrower. Also got a Cr123 keychain light for EDC. I see no point in the AA +AAA lights but thats JMO.

 

[spumwuzzle]

Choose? You buy them ALL!

It helps to identify what you want to do with the light - if you're preparing for disasters and outages, AA batteries are pretty much everywhere (at least pre-disaster) and a set of rechargeable AA's and a solar charger aren't terrible expensive.

If you're going to be working under the sink, 200+ lumens is not going to be helpful - the same if you want to illuminate the inside of a briefcase or a purse on a flight.

The shape of the beam is important as well - to you need to concentrate the beam in a tight spot? Or is more of a flood important, or the ability to do both?

Are you likely to be using it in the rain, or around water? Do you work around explosive gasses?

Is battery life important? Does your job or your hobby take you away from civilization for extended periods? Spend a lot of time in caves?

I little planning can help you not to waste money.

Good luck!

spumwuzzle

 

[billyel]

When I finally took the plunge and decided to get a real light I made the decision that quality and reliability were #1. The first was a Surefire E2DL and a recent addition was the Malkoff Hound Dog XM-L [and dual 18650s, charger, awesome!]. These have been the extent of my madness. The fact that I could call and personally speak with the man that made my flashlight was also a big plus.

The challenging part is that I, and most of the rest of CPF users, like many lights. One nice thing about buying a light with lego capability is the ability to upgrade in place without making as large a change in hardware. If your wife is like mine it won't be long and you'll get the 'if I see one more flashlight show up around here I'll...' speeches. I'm hoping in a few years when the XE-W LEDs come out I can call Mr. Malkoff and order a new head for my MD4 body and keep on trucking.

If price is no matter, I'd say find the ones that really appeal to you and move forward.

 

[tre]

There are many factors to consider.

1) tint. Do you want neutral or cool. Cool is never white. It is blue, green, purple, etc. Anybody who tells you they have a "pure white" cool tint has not owned many lights.
2) flood, throw, or something in between? A light with too much throw is useless inside the house and for close up projects. The light is just too intense and hurts your eyes.
3) look for a good low mode to use at night. 5 to 10 lumens is just too much when your eyes are night vision adapted. Look for lights with a low mode of less than 1 lumen.
4) batteries. You need some AA lgihts. When the power is out and you can't charge your 18650 cells what are you going to do? AA cells are cheap and available. Get some Eneloops for daily usage and you can always use alkaline for prolonged outages. Many 2AA lights put out as much light as single 18650 lights. I am amazed at the amount of light my Quark X 2AA neutral puts out.
5) UI. You want a user interface that is easy to use. You don't want to have to click through a zillion modes to get to the one you want. At the same time you don't want a light so complex that your wife can't use it.
6) size and weight. get what you want.
7) run time. Get a light that will run the required amount of time. For example, I use a light on my snow blower. It takes a little over 1 hour to snow blow my drive way so I wanted a floody light for my snow blower that will go at least 1 hour 15 min on high.
8) forward clicky, reverse clicky, side clicky etc. - I dislike the reverse clicky. I only buy a reverse clicky light if I can change it to a forward clicky. I also like electronic clicky switches.

Remember, you can always own more than one light. I have intense lights with a lot of lumens and throw for outside. I have floody lights for inside and close up work. I have AA lights, 18650 lights, cr123a lights all for different tasks. When you want to upgrade or try something different, you can always sell your lights on the marketplace. I'm guessing I've sold at least 25 of my old lights at this point.

 

[nbp]

Just start with something. From there, decide which features you like and dislike about what you bought. Look for those things in the next one. See what you like and dislike about that one. Keep refining till you figure out what you are looking for and what suits you. Then just buy those ones from the get-go. That's how I'm ending up with multiple lights from each of only a couple makers. They are the ones that make the lights I want to buy.

 

[Kestrel]

A) Read a lot on CPF. By the time I end up purchasing a light, I'm pretty confident that it will fit my needs well since there is a vast amount of info here on pretty much any light a person might be interested in. The best posts/threads are the ones that discuss what it's like to actually use the light. Search, read, and search some more.

B) Be patient and pick up used lights at CPF/MP. It takes longer to find what you're looking for, but allows you to resell the ones that don't work out for you at little to no cost.
C) and last but definitely not least, buy both!

 

[LGT]

If this is your first light, I would suggest one that runs on both primaries and rechargeable batteries, regardless or their battery size. Though AA would be a nice place to start. While the high lumen number can look impressive, low lumens, IMO, are equally as useful, inside the house at night or looking under the sink, 400 lumens will just blind you. If you plan on getting rechargeable batteries, and you already haven't, please do a lot of reading on proper use of these batteries. It's not just buying a charger and batteries. Now, how do we know which one to buy? Through research, as you have done. But sometimes after you finally get the light, wellll, this isn't exactly what I wanted, so you buy another hoping to fit your needs. It can become quite addictive trying to find the perfect light as to whatever your idea of a perfect light is.

 

[Derek Dean]

Howdy qt11, and welcome to CPF!
If you're thinking about using lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (18650, RCR123, or 14500), then be sure and spend some time learning about the proper care and handling required. Given the respect they deserve, they can provide years of service and give your new light the juice it needs.

Here's a good resource for that:
Battery University:
http://batteryuniversity.com/

As far as how to choose a light, make a list of your priorities, from most important to least. This will often change over the course of looking for a light, but it's good to start somewhere, and writing it down usually helps to focus our ideas.

For instance, for some folks, the single most important thing is that their light can withstand extreme abuse....drops, kicks, rain, mud, snow, dogs, kids, etc. So, you'd start looking for lights known to be extremely reliable....... Surefire, Malkoff, HDS, Elzetta, etc.

Some folks just want the brightest light they can find. Some want the longest runtime, some want a light that can be used for spotting animals at a great distance, and some want a light with a wide, floody beam for closeup work.

Decide what's important and start making a list of lights that fit your requirements. Then start reading reviews and begin eliminating lights, noting the reason on your list.

Then finally, dive in and buy one. The only real way to find the right light is to start by getting your feet wet and buying one. By using it, you'll begin to see what you like about it and what you don't, and that will help guide your next purchase.

Remember, buy from a dealer with a good return policy, and it will often only cost you the postage to try a light out and see if you like it. At worst, you can always list it on the CPF Marketplace.

So, don't stress out about it, just pick one and get going . Have fun!

 

[Danjojo]

I think the best goldilocks size for not too big or too small is a 2xCR123A light. The goinggear videos are very nice but there are some variances in the ambient light, distance, angles, etc. (moonlight, pollen, season changes) in the vids so more importance to measured outputs, runtimes, and beamshots in reviews of the lights you are interested in and owner feedback.

Think if you want to carry it in a pants pocket every day, if you need one that can throw nicely over 100 meters, how often are you really going to use it, etc. Good runtime on a setting between 50-150 lumens is probably more important in real life use for majority of people living in an urban area than whether max mode is 400 or 600 or 800 lumens. I wouldn't worry a lot about having a super-duper low setting as a main priority - a low of 10-40 lumens can be bounced off your body to get a moonlight glow or bust out your cell phone to use the backlighting.

 

[BIGLOU]

Get an 18650'd Surefire 6P or a Solarforce and let the legoing begin. I remember when i first found CPF. I wrote down all the manufactures and went and bought all the lights (Jetbeam, Nitecore, Eagletac). Not that these lights are'nt good but ended also selling them or giving them away or are collecting dust. Once I got my Surefires bored and put Nailbender XMLs I found perfection.

 

[cummins4x4]

Once I got my Surefires bored and put Nailbender XMLs I found perfection.

Noooo, I didn't want to hear that, my CC is getting killed by this place..

 

[BIGLOU]

cummins4X4 OK. OK. Get a Solarforce L2T ($20 eBay), and one of NBs XMLs ($45 CPFMP) and an AW 18650 3100 mAh ($20 CPFMP) WF-139 charger ($8 eBay) and you get one hell off a light for less than $100 bucks. You have an excuse and say you got yourself an early X-mas gift.

 

[Sparky's Magic]

Eagletac D25LC2 mini. 1x18650 or 2xCR123's. Small size for an easy EDC, 4 useful light levels with plenty of output on max, beautifully made Twisty Action, flawless finish, affordable price, great white tint, blinky features: Certainly worth a look!

 

[cummins4x4]

BIGLOU, too late, if you look at my browser (Safari) history it is full of flashlight vendors, USPS and Canada Post tracking pages. I been drinkin the CPF koolaid and now I found the marketplace, I'm doomed

 

[baterija]

Price is not much of a concern, I just want a really good one, that's bright, lasts a long time, isn't too big, however not too small...

I think I see your problem. You haven't constrained your choices by being clear about what you want/need. A good place to start is just thinking hard about what you see the light doing for you that makes your life better than not having it. The hard work there then eliminates options and gives you a goal to evaluate the ones remaining against.