Best 18650 Flashlight at the moment Under $30?

wauwau

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New user here but Have trawled this forum and few others looking for a new flashlight however still not 100% sure , I currently have some $5 xml t6 I bought from ebay few years ago, however its past its best now so want something new/way better.


My budget is max max max $30 (could be lower price as well!),
looking for a single cell 18650 which has a good flood-light capabilities , I will use it daily as a main bike Light + to walk a dog at night sometimes.
I won't mod anything and will use it stock.
Looking for the best quality/brightest one you can currently get for that $?


What I have found myself:
- first I found Convoy s2+/ s3 ( about $13)
- than now I found BLF A6 ( about $19.6) , I think I will go for this one as its brighter than the Convoy S3 and I think it has better build quality when you check the pictures.

*link removed


is there anything better available than that BLF a6 for my use?
I'm not a flashlight collector so I only want 1, but the best I can afford :)
 
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Timothybil

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I don't know if it is better, but the Lumens Factory Seraph 6 is a contender. I believe Lumintop also and 18650 lights for a reasonable price but I have never checked, being more interested in their AAA lights.
 

Str8stroke

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Came here to suggest the BLF A6. I have a few, and they are great. Great value for sure.

To go a step further: If you want mega flood, check out the Manker E14. The E14 head will work with A6 body and vice versa. SO.....You could get a A6 in say 18650 size, and later get a E14 in 18350 size and you can lego any combo you want.
Have fun!
 

Blackbeard

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only thing I can think of in that price range from the bigger manufacturers is Nitecore EC20, $33, maybe check the budget lights subforum as well
 

wauwau

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Alright thanks everyone ended up ordering the BLF A6 , about $18.3 after cashback.
Spent way way way too much time and couldn't find anything better myself as well for the stuff I wanted.
btw are the high-discharge batteries really needed for these? I have a bunch of old cells taken out from laptop batteries that I'm using , do you get any real performance boost with likes of samsung 30q or just a very tiny barely noticable boost with these flashlights?
 

cp2315

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I recently got a thorfire tk15s xpl2 and was amazed by its quality and brightness. The ui is the same as nitecore p12 or Fenix pd35, with tail switch to turn on and off, side switch to change mode. It is a general all around light, but also designed for biking because when it is on, holding the side button for one second gives you the bike flashing.
Quality is great. Bright. Xpl2 tint is neutral. Right now is $28 on amazon. Search for it on amazon. There are lots of reviews around too.
 

vadimax

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Man, I have passed the way. I assure you, finally you will end up with a Zebralight SC600w (HI)... and Malkoff MD2 M361N Hi/Low... You may wisely skip all the unnecessary purchases :D

And yes, there will be Nichia 219B CRI marvels. Nothing compares to 219B in color authenticity. Those are standard traps I had to warn you about.
 
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Fireclaw18

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For about $20 the BLF A6. For about $40 the Emisar D4. For $70-80 a Zebralight.
I have 3 Emisar D4s and a dozen Zebralights. I consider the Emisar D4 to be superior to all the Zebras. The Emisar is brighter, much more reliable, more heavily built, and has a much superior UI. The Zebras advantage is they are more efficient at intermediate power and have longer runtime at their considerably less bright max power.
 

eraursls1984

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I have 3 Emisar D4s and a dozen Zebralights. I consider the Emisar D4 to be superior to all the Zebras. The Emisar is brighter, much more reliable, more heavily built, and has a much superior UI. The Zebras advantage is they are more efficient at intermediate power and have longer runtime at their considerably less bright max power.
Haha, we already went over this in another thread. I will have to disagree.
 

Dio

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I have 3 Emisar D4s and a dozen Zebralights. I consider the Emisar D4 to be superior to all the Zebras. The Emisar is brighter, much more reliable, more heavily built, and has a much superior UI. The Zebras advantage is they are more efficient at intermediate power and have longer runtime at their considerably less bright max power.

Your opinion..but you also claim to have MANY ZL failures..something NOBODY else claims..

Reliability is therefore something only you seem to have major issues with.

I own SC600 HI, SC600Fd, H600 Mk2 (XM-L2), SC62, SC62w, SC52w L2, 2 x H52Fw, SC5, SC5w II, SC5Fw II, SC53Fw, SC53Fc, SC32, H32, H32F, H302...I don't think I missed any... ANYWAY... absolutely NO issues... mates and family members who have bought ZL on my recommendation have had no issues either so all I can conclude is your luck really is bad with ZL which could be your point of bias...

I also own Emisar D4 in XP-L HI 3A tint and while it is a good light I would no way consider it superior to ZL in any way other than it's briefly higher output - the thing gets waaaaay too hot to hold in a matter of seconds anyway so the higher output is a moot point for extended usage. Put next to my SC600Fd, it drops to a lower output much much faster and eventually stabalises at a much lower output if started on roughly equal brightness due to wasted energy being turned to heat due to the inherrently far less efficient driver design.

To top that off I have seen breakdown of the D4 and it is not thermally potted or have sealed electronics like all new (from about SC600 III as far as I remember) Zebralights so ingress of water is more of a possibility with the D4.

The ramping UI might be preferred by some but with little time to stop exactly at the fully regulated mode (unless you unscrew tail each time you want it) you are again stuck using a far less efficient mode due to high rate PWM switching. I don't really rate the fact that you can't get to moonlight whilst on either.

Now that ZL offer full programability on all new models I see that as another step above the D4.

TL;DR: The Emisar has some features the ZL lacks like ramping UI but since the max output is not usable for long periods due to insane heat produced it really is more of a gimmick and a show off light IMO. Safe, useful and efficient are 3 words I would use to describe the ZL's whereas insanely hot, cheap, gimmick is what I would use to describe the D4..YMMV and of course that is just my opinion based on tons of ZL use and NO failures...
 

Nichia!

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I have 3 Emisar D4s and a dozen Zebralights. I consider the Emisar D4 to be superior to all the Zebras. The Emisar is brighter, much more reliable, more heavily built, and has a much superior UI. The Zebras advantage is they are more efficient at intermediate power and have longer runtime at their considerably less bright max power.

More reliable than ZL? Ha?! Good luck with that
 

RollerBoySE

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Increase your budget slightly and get the USD 40:- Emisar D4. There is nothing on the market in the same price range that even comes close.
 

RollerBoySE

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I also own Emisar D4 in XP-L HI 3A tint and while it is a good light I would no way consider it superior to ZL in any way other than it's briefly higher output - the thing gets waaaaay too hot to hold in a matter of seconds anyway so the higher output is a moot point for extended usage. Put next to my SC600Fd, it drops to a lower output much much faster and eventually stabalises at a much lower output if started on roughly equal brightness due to wasted energy being turned to heat due to the inherrently far less efficient driver design.

The SC600Fd is a great light; but since it's THREE TIMES AS EXPENSIVE as the D4, the comparison is a bit unfair.
 

Fireclaw18

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More reliable than ZL? Ha?! Good luck with that

I like Zebralights and own quite a few, but in my experience they are VERY unreliable. I am not comfortable carrying a Zebra as my EDC simply because I have no confidence it will work when I press the button.

- UI: generally good. But it's very easy to accidentally blast yourself with turbo when you only wanted moonlight. Especially if it's the middle of the night and you're half asleep. Very easy to mess up the timing. I consider the Olight UI or the DrJones Moppydrv UI to be superior, because those do not have this issue.
- reliability: I've had awful luck with mine, with 8 of 11 Zebras experiencing problems (72% dud rate). I've owned the following Zebralights:

SC51 - no issues
SC52 - worked fine initially, but after minimal use it no longer stays in turbo. Even on a full cell, it will drop out of turbo mode in less than 10 seconds. This is much less than the 1 minute of turbo the light is rated for.
SC52w - same problem as SC52
SC600 (early Mark 1) - light came with a switch defect common to first-run early model SC600s. The switch would activate just from being lightly brushed with a finger or thumb without being depressed or clicked at all. Returned for warranty repair. Took 2-3 months to come back, but no issues since.
SC80 - H2 setting didn't work out of the box. Double-clicking to switch from H1 to H2 causes the LED to flash briefly then turn off. However, low modes, medium modes, and H1 all work fine so the light is good enough as-is.
SC32w - same problem as SC53
SC62w - initially worked fine. After a few days it was dropping out of turbo mode after just 1-2 seconds even on a fresh high-quality cell. Returned and replaced it with another SC62w.
Second SC62w - Same issue as SC52
SC5w - initially worked great. After less than 3 weeks of use the output greatly dimmed. Now on a fresh cell maximum output is maybe 1 lumen. Either the driver or LED needs replacement.
SC63w - no issues
SC600w III HI - no issues.

None of my Zebralights has seen heavy use or been dropped. The casing on all of them is in pristine condition.

I like Zebras, but given my history of 72% being duds, I'm hesitant to buy another.
 

Dio

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The SC600Fd is a great light; but since it's THREE TIMES AS EXPENSIVE as the D4, the comparison is a bit unfair.

Indeed, but I was merely offering my experience in defence of Fireclaw18's claims ZL's are lesser than the D4.

If I only had the money for a D4 right now I would still probably save a little longer (if willing to spend more and wait) for a ZL.

Let's be honest, if the OP hangs out here too long they will either buy multiple cheaper lights or more than likely move onto the more sophisticated and more expensive lights anyway..

EDIT: BTW the ZL is only 2.5 times the price but either way BOTH ZL's and the D4 will likely require the purchase of new cells anyway as I doubt the OP has the latest/greatest cells if they are only looking to spend so little on a light to begin with...
 
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eraursls1984

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...TL;DR: The Emisar has some features the ZL lacks like ramping UI but since the max output is not usable for long periods due to insane heat produced it really is more of a gimmick and a show off light IMO. Safe, useful and efficient are 3 words I would use to describe the ZL's whereas insanely hot, cheap, gimmick is what I would use to describe the D4..YMMV and of course that is just my opinion based on tons of ZL use and NO failures...
I agree with you, but I think you are missing the point of the D4. The D4 is a enthusiasts light. The lack of potting is why I would trust a Zebra over the D4, but it's what makes it so mod friendly, on purpose. The main two gripes I have with the D4 is the lack of regulation at moderate levels (at least 500-600 lumens), and the button that's too easily accidentally activated.

The SC600Fd is a great light; but since it's THREE TIMES AS EXPENSIVE as the D4, the comparison is a bit unfair.
His comparison is just in response to another comparison of the same lights. It's also not three times as expensive, and I think the SC62/63 is a better comparison anyway, and it's about double ( or 1.36x's the XP-L HI).
 
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