Looking for an EDC flashlight; general illumination, outdoors and indoors

[Zeihous]

I'm looking for a small LED flashlight for EDC that I can put in my pocket or in my bag, depending on what the situation requires. In the top end, my budget is about $90. Mostly, it'd be used for general illumination, both indoors and out, but I'd like it to be able to cast a beam fairly distantly, maybe up to 250 meters or so, if necessary. It will also be used when geocaching for finding small caches in a wide area close by, both in urban and rural environments. Water resistance is important, should I drop it in a puddle or shallow pond. Compatibility with 18650's is a must, as I already have charging and storage solutions for that form factor. I'd prefer a forward clicky switch.

I'm considering the Nitecore P12. It seems to tick all the boxes. I also looked at the MH12, but from what I understand, the only difference between the P12 and the MH12 is the fact that you can charge the battery in the MH12 instead of having to remove it and charge it externally.

Will the P12 do the things I need in a light? Do you have another recommendation?

Thanks.

 

[Parrot Quack]

Several lights come to mind.

Nitecore MH20
Nitecore EC4S
JETBeam RRT0SE

For nighttime geocaching, a Nitecore HC90 headlamp and a Nitecore EC4S.

 

[d123]

Sounds like you need 2 lights, something like an Olight s15 for pocket use and 90% of what you want and something else with an 18650 for the 250m throw...

 

[Zeihous]

Several lights come to mind.

Nitecore MH20
Nitecore EC4S
JETBeam RRT0SE

For nighttime geocaching, a Nitecore HC90 headlamp and a Nitecore EC4S.

Since geocaching will comprise a small portion of use of this light (though significant enough to consider when buying a device), I'm not considering headlamps. They have their uses, but not what I'm looking for.

The EC4S is a little bigger than what I'd like to carry, but I'm definitely going to look into the MH20 and the RRT0SE. Much appreciated!

 

[ven]

Fenix pd35 and the tac version, still have a lot of love for the pd35,nicely made,well spaced modes and of nice build quality. Only down see for some is the low mode is not that low, for me it's fine as rarely use moonlight. I like adequate light ...

 

[Parrot Quack]

The EC4S is a little bigger than what I'd like to carry, but I'm definitely going to look into the MH20 and the RRT0SE. Much appreciated!

A suggestion, go by a local golf course driving range when their lights are off as 250m is a long way for a pocket light. The point, folks want a lot more than their little itty-bitty light will give them.

For that reason, ven, who posted above, has convinced me to look at modded lights as an alternative lighting option. I don't want to but my choices are, less expensive retail lights that don't have the ability or modded lights that pump out the lumens and candela. Ven called it. I'm light greedy and like everybody else, I want more.

 

[Zeihous]

A suggestion, go by a local golf course driving range when their lights are off as 250m is a long way for a pocket light. The point, folks want a lot more than their little itty-bitty light will give them.

For that reason, ven, who posted above, has convinced me to look at modded lights as an alternative lighting option. I don't want to but my choices are, less expensive retail lights that don't have the ability or modded lights that pump out the lumens and candela. Ven called it. I'm light greedy and like everybody else, I want more.

You have a point. That distance is quite a long way. I suppose I didn't think before throwing that number out. Now that I'm actually thinking about it, half that range would probably be more than sufficient.

 

[Poppy]

d123 makes a very valid point. You probably need two lights. None of the lights mentioned above will do everything that you ask of it.

Any standard light that will do 250 meters, with enough light to be useful, will be too big to edc, unless it is holstered. And typically if it will do 250 meters, then it will be too tightly focused to be a general purpose light. So... you'll need two lights.

I personally like the cigar shaped 18650 lights, where the head, body and tail are all the same diameter. Lights like the Fenix PD35, Thrunite TN12, NiteCore PD12, Convoy S2+, and the Eagletac DX30LC2, are of that style. Of these, the DX30LC2 has the farthest throw.

When you read advertised beam throws, that is to only 0.25 lux. So for the most part, take whatever they state, and divide it in half. That'll give you the distance that you'll get 1 lux. At 100 yards, you'll barely make out 1 lux. You'll see that it hit something, but unless it is a white fence, you won't know what it is. So you might want to cut that distance in half again.

I am guessing that you just threw 250 meters out there, not really knowing how far you need, nor what it takes to get there. So I am going to suggest that you get an inexpensive but decent thrower, in part because you're not working with a whole lot of money. I'd suggest a Convoy C8 driven at 2.8 amps, with a smooth reflector. It's about $18, and that'll leave you with enough to get one of the other lights mentioned above as general purpose lights.

 

[Lumiture]

The Olight M23 Javelot could be a good choice. It has 436m beam distance so it should be bright at 250m.

 

[Poppy]

OIC that you posted while I was still writing mine.

I have read that the Convoy C8 delivers about 40,000 cd which means that it'll put 1 lux @ 200 yards, and about 4 lux @ 100 yards.

To compare to others, take the square root of the advertised cd number that'll give you the distance that you'll get 1 lux.

 

[Parrot Quack]

If willing to do a holstered light, then a Nitecore MH40GT will light em up. The problem, the MH40GT is bigger than the EC4/EC4S and the EC4/EC4S is bigger than a MH20. Also, the MH40GT has a builtin charging port.

 

[Vothelo]

You may want to try an Eagletac TX25C. It can run on a single 16340 and get the throw you're looking for, or alternately throw on the extender tube and run 2xcr123's for more throw...or just get a Vn modded version. ET D25LC2 is another good choice, that runs on 18650. For EDC I usually go with an MH20 and the TX25c and at night I switch to a Nitecore P20 and MH20 combo....all good choices.

 

[En Fuego Mark]

Another vote for the MH20

 

[Zeihous]

OIC that you posted while I was still writing mine.

I have read that the Convoy C8 delivers about 40,000 cd which means that it'll put 1 lux @ 200 yards, and about 4 lux @ 100 yards.

To compare to others, take the square root of the advertised cd number that'll give you the distance that you'll get 1 lux.

I will probably do this. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Poppy]

OIC that you posted while I was still writing mine.

I have read that the Convoy C8 delivers about 40,000 cd which means that it'll put 1 lux @ 200 yards, and about 4 lux @ 100 yards.

To compare to others, take the square root of the advertised cd number that'll give you the distance that you'll get 1 lux.

I will probably do this. Thanks for the advice.

Great! I think that you'll be happy.

Now what do you plan to use for a general purpose edc light? Yes the C8 can be carried every day in your bag if you carry your bag every day, but you'll want something smaller to carry in your pocket. Also something that is more floody for every day close up work.

I generally like my lights to be smaller, especially for edc. I think that of many of the 18650 lights mentioned above, the Convoy C2+ and the eagletac D25LC2 may be the smallest. For me... it is as large as I would go for an edc. The Fenix PD35 is liked by all who own one, so you can't go wrong there either.

More and more I have grown to love my little Eagletac D25a Ti powered with a 14500 Li-Ion. It is smaller and thinner that any of the lights mentioned, well yeah... it's not an 18650 light. Since you are set up to charge 18650's, you might be set up to charge 14500's, and you are Li-Ion savy.

I like Ti and Stainless for EDC because they continue to look good for years, without any special care. Vothelo's suggestions also have merit. The larger head of the TX25C, wouldn't work as well for me, as an EDC, but I do have a vinh modified light, and he does incredible work.