Ideas for Flashlight for backyard

[I b retired]

Hello all

This is my first post. I am new to quality flashlights and also to this forum. I need a flashlight to use at night when I take my dog out into the backyard. The yard is about 35 feet (10 meters) in width and about 60 feet (20 meters) in length. It is fenced and I let the dog run. I need a light that will enable me to see th dog at all times as well as any opossum, raccoons or skunks that are out there before I let the dog out. I am a senior citizen and my eyesight is not what it used to be, so, within reason I ads dime that brighter is better. I am long for something that will do the job and if possible have a reasonable cost. Howver, getting the job done and flashlight reliably is more important than cost.

I am not sure if a cool white led or a more natural tone would be better for the task. I assume I would want more of a flood then a spot but maybe my assumption is not correct.

Any help or suggestions would be welcome.

Thank you

Get

 

[CelticCross74]

Welcome to the forum. There are so many options for your situation it is mind boggling. You can go on the cheap yet great side and just go to any Wal Mart and get the new 625 lumen 3 D cell Maglite. It is under 50 bucks and is designed to run best off of alkalines so you would be out the door for under 60 bucks. The new 625 lumen D Mag has 3 output settings low medium and high. The beam profile is VERY wide and being a full sized Mag has extremely good range.

There is a company called Thrunite. Most of their catalog is well under $100. They have a particular model called the TN4A. It is available in both cool white tint (very white/little bluish "official" looking)and an awesome neutral white tint. I have 4 of these. They are a mere 50 bucks and are powered by your choice of 4xAA best being rechargeable 2550mah Eneloop Pro NiMH cells or non rechargeable Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells. The NiMH route gets expensive as you would have to buy a charger for the cells. If I were you I would get the neutral white Thrunite TN4A. The value factor with it is off the charts. It has 5 main modes moonlight or 1 lumen(so you can creep around the sleeping family at night and not wake anyone up)low mode, medium mode, high mode and a blazing 1100 lumen turbo mode it also has a strobe function. I recommend the neutral white as the color rendition you get with its more incandescent like tint reflects back truer color.

To get a TN4A you just go to Thrunite.com and select the light. Be careful as when selecting the light there will be an option bar on the right of the screen where you select cool white or neutral white. It will be delivered from Amazon pretty quickly. I cannot say enough good things about it. It comes with a quality holster as well. The light itself is the size and shape of a small soda can. The beam it puts out is extremely wide with a large center spot. For your purposes it should light up your whole back yard easily.

On the expensive side there for example is the Zebralight SC600 MkIII HI. This is a small light but dont let that fool you. At max it puts out over 1100 lumens which is amazing. The beam and range are also perfect for your needs BUT..there is a catch with this one. It only runs off of a unprotected flat top 18650 cell so you will need a charger. Its a $100 light. Add in 7 bucks for the NCR18650GA cell it needs that is also sold on the ZL site plus a charger such as the Xtar VP2(should only be 20 bucks)and you are in 130 bucks.

There are SO many more options I am sure more will chime in. My strong suggestion is the neutral white TN4A it is amazing the quality is outstanding. Do NOT run alkalines in it. Good luck.

 

[[McE]]

For how often you'll be using it, which I assume is every night, you'll want something that's easily rechargeable.

Assuming you've already ruled out the option of actually running hardwired lighting, look for a flashlight that you can charge just by plugging a cable into and not have to remove the batteries to charge or discard.

 

[Str8stroke]

Welcome to the forum.
I too would probably go with the Maglite suggestion. Check out there 3 C lights also. They are a little lighter weight.

 

[Timothybil]

Since you are just starting out I would suggest staying away from Li-Ion rechargeable batteries. A really nice little handful of sun is the Nitecore EA41. It runs on four AA cells, and can throw a couple hundred yards on Turbo. For your yard I would see you using the Medium mode, which would be putting out a significant 120 lumens for around 8-10 hours. If you are an experienced Ebay and/or Amazon shopper you can probably find one for around $50, with AA alkalines costing between $0.75 to $1.00 per cell. If you want to be a little more secure in your purchase, buy it from the Nitecore Store. They are the Nitecore US dealer, and can provide warranty support right here in the US.

If you are going to be using your light on a regular basis, like nightly, it would be all right to use name brand Alkaline batteries. If you are comfortable with rechargeable AA batteries, Amazon sells their Amazon Basics High Capacity AA batteries at a very nice price. For a charger I would recommend the Nitecore D4 or the Xtar VC4.

If you have any questions feel free to ask them. As the saying goes, "The only dumb question is the one not asked!"

 

[LetThereBeLight!]

I would recommend the Eagletac D25A2 which uses 2 AA batteries and will give you 400 Lumens maximum.

However so will Nebotools' "Big Larry" which is a powerful 400 lumens maximum.

The Big Larry is about $26. and uses 3 AA batteries.

The D25A2 is in the $50. dollar range.

Good luck to you, Sir!

 

[Drift Monkey]

Neutral white master race

 

[Lateck]

Welcome I b;
Way to many options.... All that have been listed are great. If you are look for a light to flood your entire yard you may check out the Niwalker MM 1mb and MM18 ll.
I have just added my MM18ll and it WILL fill you yard. Search selfbuilts reviews for the first gen model review.
There are many lights to choose from.
Good Luck,

Lateck,

 

[DIPSTIX]

I believe as previously stated there many many many lights to choose. The thing is..... once you get a quality light you will be finding more and more excuses to use it which will eventually lead you wanting a better one lol. Never the less look into something made by fenix, Olight, or zebralight they are major competitors here on the forums. Some even recomended armytek but i have heard bad things about customer service.

 

[bykfixer]

Staying on the Maglite theme, your local WalMart carries one called ML25LT, which is a 2C light in a small package that operates like a mini mag. It should be plenty bright while being small enough to fit a jacket pocket in winter or back pocket of your trousers or shorts in the summer. About $20. A 3 cell version is available at Home Depot that offers 18 hours of runtime on 3 alkalines.

As a rechargeable alternative you can find Eneloop double a cells with C size adapters to allow swapping cells as needed. The bonus is the light feels like it's empty compared to have C cells in it. About $8 a pair. And you can buy an Eneloop 4 pack with a charger for about $20.

If you choose to stay with traditional batteries the gray Rayovac batteries are as good as those copper top'd or bunny cells for way less and are US made.

Welcome to the site.

 

[CelticCross74]

after giving the new CPFers dilemma more thought I still stick to my just go to Wal Mart get the 3 D 625 lumen Mag and some D cells and my just go to the Thrunite website and order a neutral white TN4A.

 

[xxo]

If you are in the USA, I would go with a Maglite ML300 (3 D cell) or ML50 (3 C cell) from Home Depot or Walmart. Both of these are very bright (over 600 lumens) and have several modes, but are still very simple to use. While not as bright, the 177 lumen 2C ML25LT is a nice single mode LED with good throw if you want something a little smaller.


If you looking for something that runs on AA's without adapters (which are used to run AA's in C and D cell lights) the 2AA 300 lumen Rayovac "Indestructible" from Home Depot or Lowes would be a good low cost option, though I would strongly recommend investing in some Eneloops and a smart charger for it. Another Maglite option would be the 2AA 272 lumen Mini Mag Pro, which is sold in most of the big box stores. The Mini Mag Pro Plus is similar with an added low mode should you need it, but is harder to find in most store chains.


If you are shopping on line, the choices are nearly endless, but I would stick with simple, reliable LEDs that run on common alkaline or NiMH batteries.

 

[roger-roger]

Hello all

This is my first post. I am new to quality flashlights and also to this forum. I need a flashlight to use at night when I take my dog out into the backyard. The yard is about 35 feet (10 meters) in width and about 60 feet (20 meters) in length. It is fenced and I let the dog run. I need a light that will enable me to see th dog at all times as well as any opossum, raccoons or skunks that are out there before I let the dog out. I am a senior citizen and my eyesight is not what it used to be, so, within reason I ads dime that brighter is better. I am long for something that will do the job and if possible have a reasonable cost. Howver, getting the job done and flashlight reliably is more important than cost.

I am not sure if a cool white led or a more natural tone would be better for the task. I assume I would want more of a flood then a spot but maybe my assumption is not correct.

Any help or suggestions would be welcome.

Thank you

Get

If you have the budget, I'd recommend Zebralight. The SC600 MKIII, SC62, SC63, which all have warm/neutral white options, come with floody beams that show very well in the scenario you describe. Their wide hotspot w/soft transition to spill excels at <60'.

 

[mcnair55]

Nip into your local Costco,some nice lights totally suitable for your use.

 

[ZMZ67]

Staying on the Maglite theme, your local WalMart carries one called ML25LT, which is a 2C light in a small package that operates like a mini mag. It should be plenty bright while being small enough to fit a jacket pocket in winter or back pocket of your trousers or shorts in the summer. About $20. A 3 cell version is available at Home Depot that offers 18 hours of runtime on 3 alkalines.

As a rechargeable alternative you can find Eneloop double a cells with C size adapters to allow swapping cells as needed. The bonus is the light feels like it's empty compared to have C cells in it. About $8 a pair. And you can buy an Eneloop 4 pack with a charger for about $20.

If you choose to stay with traditional batteries the gray Rayovac batteries are as good as those copper top'd or bunny cells for way less and are US made.

Welcome to the site.

I agree with bykfixer,the ML25 Mags are a relatively low cost way to start. I like the output and size of the 2C best.The 2C may have short run time compared to the 3C but it is regulated and consistent for the entire time.The output of the 3C will drop off long before the 18 hour mark and you will end up replacing the batteries anyway.You can even modify the tint with filter material used for photography lighting to see what works best for you.Once you have used the Mag for a little while you can always upgrade to something better if you find it doesn't suit your needs.

 

[I b retired]

Thank you all for your help. After reviewing your comments I have
selected the Maglite ML300 2D. It has the characteristics that
i think will work well for my application.

As to the suggestion to try Costco, I did. I had bought two
3 packs of Duracell 350
lum. 4AA flashlights. All of them had the same
problem. With almost no use the batteries drained in
about a week or so. I assume that there is within those
flashlights a high rate of parasitic drain and I returned one of the packages and
when I find my receipt I will return the other.

I used fresh AA Panasonic Eneloops and the Eneloop advanced
charger. I use AA for lots of teens around the house
and have several of their advanced chargers as well as
about 20 of Aa and 20 Aa eneloops.

i plan to feed the Maglite with Duracell copper top D
batteries. They cist about a buck a battery in the
packages sold at Costco.

Thanks to all-

I b retired

 

[bykfixer]

^^ Good call(s) sir.

 

[ven]

1st time i read this i thought olight SRmini II, did not post as 18650 fed but does have a USB charge option

Time has passed, i have come back and i still think an olight srmini II will suit you. It will light up in high your area, to see all. UI is simple, double click to advance modes, press hold for instant turbo, when released back to the mode you came from.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?408410-*new*-Olight-SR-Mini-Intimidator-II-(kit)

All i can say is it is very comfy in hand, solid feel/build and gives a nice wall of light that reaches out enough for your needs.

:welcome:

 

[chumley]

I b retired you can return items to Costco without a receipt, they can look up the purchase on their computer. I use copper top D cells from Costco for a c.crane radio, so far no leakage.

 

[mcnair55]

I would also return your bad lights to Costco.I after a heads up from a customer bought a pack of 5 penlights a year or so back and they have proved to be a very good purchase and what made the deal super sweet they were badged as Snap On.