"Sleeper" flashlights

[vali]

I think a Quark MiNi with li-ion is a good candidate.

 

[325addict]

I have a car that falls in this category, a BMW E36 four door(!) ///M3.
It just looks plain boring from the outside. No spoilers, no ///M badges, black metallic and just the original 17" Motorsport rims.
But... hit the accelerator and all 321 horses quickly come to life

A sleeper in terms of flashlights, well, I know at least two:

Take some 1AAA LED flashlight, and put a 10440 Li-ion cell in it. IF it survives, it will be incredibly bright!

Take any MC-E light on 1X 18650. Put an IMR cell in it, to make sure voltage will stay OK and look how insanely bright that small light is. I own a Wolf eyes MC-E sniper, which is rated to 580 Lumens and is technically "old" already. Now, WE offers 700 Lumens in the same light...:twothumbs


Timmo.

 

[Jash]

When camping over Easter, I gave a friend of mine a 3AA 120 lumen light I no longer use. He was over the moon and couldn't believe I would just 'give away' something so awesome.

Then I showed him the TK40.

To the unenlightened, it's a sleeper that will get the same jaw dropping reaction everytime.

 

[bigchelis]

I think the biggest sleeper by far would be the hardest to get:

• Moddoo Tripple XP-G R5
• in a 6P Hosts bored for 18mm
• Powered by IMR 18650 cell
• McClicky+brasss installed in stock switch
• UCL lens with stock plastic retaining ring

1260 OTF lumens in a pocket sized 6P that looks stock, well untill you look down the barrel or see it in action:thumbsup:

The next would be any Mag build or Milky light with no tape.:twothumbs

 

[Deputy T.]

Any Quark Mini makes for a good sleeper. My MiniCR2 never fails to catch people off guard. When some asks to borrow a light they're usually disappointed when I hand my keys to them. But even on the first level they say "wow it's actually pretty bright!" "Turn it off and on a couple times" I instruct them and they become speechless.

Or when ever one of my colleagues comes around toting their issued G2 (always with the nitrolon head still on) with an ebay drop in proudly saying "It's 295 lumens!" I reply "Really? This is what 190 looks likes," as I show them a beam that about as bright if not brighter coming from my keychain. I avoid be emasculating too much by not telling them that a cree XRE won't put out that much. Instead I offer them some advice that they'll may get more output and keep from burning out the module by switching to an aluminum head. The conversation almost always escalates to me pulling out my IMR-E2, and if available at the time, my 2d ROP.

 

[Dude Dudeson]

I think the Malkoff MD3 Wildcat would have to qualify.

That's a pretty small light, and 750 OTF lumens?

Of course the price is no sleeper lol!

 

[papajoe]

+1 on Deputy T. regarding the Quark MiNi CR2. It's sooooooo tiny and takes everyone by surprise ! :twothumbs

 

[mitro]

I'd say that there's really two ways to go for a sleeper. You can either go with a tiny high output light like the MiNis OR you can go with a super output hotwire Mag. I find that my stock looking Mag458 will generally surprise just about anyone. 5000+ lumens out of a light that people associate with 100 lumens (even if they don't have a clue what a lumen is) tends to be noticeable.

I think that mostly the mid-sized lights that us CPFers use just wouldn't shock people as much because they know nothing about these lights anyway. That's the key to a sleeper: having a preconceived notion and then being blown away.

 

[herbicide]

I can't believe no-one's mentioned the Minimag AA Aurora mod yet.

 

[Kestrel]

I can't believe no-one's mentioned the Minimag AA Aurora mod yet.

I found these threads:
Dummy Reference Guide to Minimag Modding(many pix) by AuroraLite
Lets see your Mini Mag mods by Liberty1992
and the more recent (& very promising)
Someone ever tried a 50W bulb in a MiniMag? by tuelleric

Any other links please?

The best part is that AW is promising us an IMR 14500 very soon:

Got a PM from AW saying that he will be releasing a 14500 IMR in a few weeks. It's rated for 8C (5A).

The mighty ROP-High (3853-H if not the 3854-H) should now be theoretically possible in a 2xAA Minimag! :thumbsup:

Edit: If anybody's curious, I just put in a suggestion for this in FM's 'What is Missing' thread.

 

[Brigadier]

Most people are very impressed with my E2E-LF combo. They are very impressed that an incan, smaller than a Mini MagLight can be so bright.

 

[nanomu]

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the Peak Eiger. At their brightest, ~100lumens in a tiny head. Sure to surprise people, when they're expecting something very dim from that size.

 

[LEDninja]

Just wave that Preon 2 WARMS around on low. 1.6 lumens. Everyone assumes you are using another crappy penlight with a 222 incan. bulb.
When someone suggest you get a proper flashlight, click click.

The Preon 2 NEUTRAL might be better at 29% brighter. (138 lumens vs. 112 lumens on high) Still not enough blue to give away it is a stealth light.

The regular Preon 2 might not be a good idea. While the lumens is still a lowly 2.2, the cool tint indicates a possible multimode LED torch.

 

[swampgator]

I'd say, hide a 6P with a malkof drop in inside the oldest D sized battery flashlight you can find (you will need to remove all the innards), preferably something colorful and made for children (even better if it has dolphins on the side)

No need to go hiding lights inside of other lights:

Just get an old Eveready Captain or ROV Sportsman, they're everywhere. Try for an older version with metal reflector and glass lens. Slap in a ROP-LO bulb, make a 2 x 18650 battery holder, cut tailspring to fit.

Learn to say with a straight face, "it's just an flashlight I got from my grandpa."

 

[UpChUcK]

A nailbender SST-90 drop-in in a Surefire 6P or SolarForce L2 host. A veritable "wall of light". :thumbsup:

Or the Quark Mini123. :thumbsup:

 

[Cataract]

No need to go hiding lights inside of other lights:

Just get an old Eveready Captain or ROV Sportsman, they're everywhere. Try for an older version with metal reflector and glass lens. Slap in a ROP-LO bulb, make a 2 x 18650 battery holder, cut tailspring to fit.

Learn to say with a straight face, "it's just an flashlight I got from my grandpa."

.. and find a sobering answer to "SOooo ... what did your granpa do for a living?"

 

[daimleramg]

Why would anyone want a sleeper?

Its like putting lamborghini's engine in the trunk and back seat of a honda civic hatchback.

I want my lights to look just as good as they perform, its not like you can not afford a light that looks good and performs well. If your mentality is to suprise a person because a light that looks normal can produce so much light. Isn't is better to show that person a gorgeous light that is also as bright?

 

[JCD]

Why would anyone want a sleeper?

The first reason that comes to mind is theft prevention. A "sleeper" light is more likely to be overlooked by thieves than "a gorgeous light that is also as bright."

Years ago, when I drove a Jeep Wrangler with a soft top, I was faced with the problem of being able to install decent quality speakers without having to worry about theft, since locking the vehicle was not a realistic option. The solution I found was to place speaker grills from cheap Walmart speakers over high quality speakers, making it appear that the speakers were not worth stealing. The strategy worked. While things would disappear from the Jeep from time to time, the speakers remained.

Also, some people prefer quality without the bling. They have no desire to have a "gorgeous" light. They want to spend their money on output, runtime, and suitable beam quality, not a fancy looking host.

 

[daimleramg]

They have no desire to have a "gorgeous" light. They want to spend their money on output, runtime, and suitable beam quality, not a fancy looking host.

Who says you can't have a gorgeous light without output, runtime, and suitable beam quality? It just costs more and no one here said they were on a tight budget. If you spend $800.00 on a custom light with all the bells and whistles the only way it will be stolen is if someone breaks into your house because if you take it out of your house you will hold onto it like gold. Its not like you will set it down on a park bench and walk away from it for half a day.

And your situation with your quality speakers with cheap grills seems like the theif was too dumb to pop the grill and actually look at the speaker behind it. Not all theives are dumb you just got lucky and with a dumb theif.


edit: Why would anyone choose a sleeper over these "GORGEOUS" lights...

Mac Santa found his way...

 

[JCD]

Who says you can't have a gorgeous light without output, runtime, and suitable beam quality?

No one said that. Nor did I imply that any did.

It just costs more and no one here said they were on a tight budget.

Exactly, it costs more. One does not have to be on a budget to not place value on bling.

If you spend $800.00 on a custom light with all the bells and whistles the only way it will be stolen is if someone breaks into your house because if you take it out of your house you will hold onto it like gold.

Yet, some people need quality lights that they don't need to pay $800 for or "hold onto like gold." They need to be able to leave it in a vehicle, or even unlocked and unattended for short periods of time. For some people, a flashlight is a tool, not a collector's item or an accessory.

And your situation with your quality speakers with cheap grills seems like the theif was too dumb to pop the grill and actually look at the speaker behind it. Not all theives are dumb you just got lucky and with a dumb theif.

You're correct. Not all thieves are dumb. Some are smart enough not to increase their risk by taking the time to make sure everything is as it appears. The payoff:reward ratio tends to be very low, because the overwhelming majority of the time, there really are cheap speakers behind cheap speaker grills. Likewise, a flashlight designed to look nondescript is less likely to be perceived as an object of value to a thief.

edit: Why would anyone choose a sleeper over these "GORGEOUS" lights...

Personally, those lights have no appeal to me. They might provide outstanding performance, but they're way too fancy for my taste. I'm sure others would love to own such lights, which is fine. Different strokes for different folks.