Advice help on a torch / flashlight

Bondrich

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Oct 15, 2018
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Hi I was hoping for some help and assistance and to be honest I'm not sure if this is the correct location however if not please advise me, I'm looking for a powerful torch / flashlight to be used while walking in the cold dark winter here in the uk. Looking for something powerful with a very powerful strobe as a defence mode should it need to be used.

this needs to be hand held and not overly big or heavy but again not too small pencil type thing, my wife would use it while walking and I would use it while out with the dog and also it would be used to safe guard my property / land. Lots on eBay at £20 offering 8000LM with rechargeable batteries but they look too good to be true although some review videos do suggest they are ok.

im a novice so any advice welcome and I should say the torch / flashlight will be lightly used it certainly won't see lots of every day use, I'm happy to spend up to let's say £100 if I need too or would one of these eBay things fit the above.
 

DrafterDan

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Phoenix, AZ
welcome! you might have a look at taclight dot co dot uk. They seem to be outside of Leeds.

They are a distributor of some good torches such as:
Eagltac
Fenix
Klarus
Imalent
Manker
Nitecore
Olight

And a number of names I'm not familiar with. Maybe see if there are any makers in the UK?
 

Bondrich

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welcome! you might have a look at taclight dot co dot uk. They seem to be outside of Leeds.

They are a distributor of some good torches such as:
Eagltac
Fenix
Klarus
Imalent
Manker
Nitecore
Olight

And a number of names I'm not familiar with. Maybe see if there are any makers in the UK?


Hi thanks for that I will have a look now and Leeds is not too far away from my part of the world so perhaps they can answer my questions and point me in the right direction.
 

I b retired

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The brands that DrafterDan has listed include some of the better flashlight manufacturers. These days I personally mostly use Fenix, Maglite and to a lesser extent Streamlight, for my nighttime travels and I am happy with all of them. I use my flashlights to watch out for skunks, and coyotes. It is also helpful to avoid dog deposits that owners have not cleaned up.

Best of luck, and if you are like me, no matter what you buy, you will have the desire in the future to upgrade and try something else. BTW: my flashlight of choice is about 500 lumens and lights up the sidewalk to my satisfaction for several hundred feet in front of me.

Also, it's just my opinion, but I personally would not depend on a strobe light to ward off an attacker. I am not sure of the laws regarding self defense in the UK but if you have a serious fear of being attacked, I might suggest you consider seeking out another lawful (legal) method or item beside a strobe light to defend yourself against an attacker.

"I've seen the light!"
I b Retired
 
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Bondrich

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Thanks for the comments I've been looking at the Imalent DN70 which looks great but it's early days so I will keep looking and see what other brands can offer. With regards to warding off attackers it's very unlikely but possibly an added bonus if my wife is out walking and I'm not around.
 

matt4350

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If you're a novice, you may be well served by a USB rechargeable light. Keeps things simple and most come with a battery included. All the brands mentioned should serve you well. If you've got your heart set on a strobe, well and good, but I'll mention there's not much evidence out there to support it's use in defensive situations. I would submit any light with around 10000cd or more intensity should do the job.
 

ven

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Avoid the 8000lm lights off ebay like the plague! Junk at best, fire hazard at worst.............
Flashaholics is another UK shop to check out if want to buy local. Have a read up(search on here) about li ion safety, do's donts(dont buy cheap *****fire brands with 6000mah which dont exist etc). Good charger if go that way, ecoluxshopdirect is a good place for cells/chargers.

Zebralight are small, bright and some in stock at flashaholics. As P suggests, the D4 and D4s (26650 fed) is another option. Couple of weeks delivery allow from int outdoor.
:welcome:
 

Bondrich

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Oct 15, 2018
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Emisar D4 is getting rave reviews around these parts. Check it out.
Intl outdoor are selling them for 35 dollars plus shipping from China. If you can wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive it's worth a punt.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?436522-Emisar-D4
No strobe, but as others have said it's not a very effective defence device.
P

Thanks for the input and 35 dollars plus shipping sounds good depending on the shipping price to the uk, normally I don't like waiting weeks on things but I'm not in a hurry however importing from China makes me very nervous especially from a company I know nothing about. Been burned in the past importing things so where possible I stay clear unless the costs of an item is so good it stacks up.

The strobe thing is an added bonus it's not important if it has it great but if not but it does everything else well then that's the main thing to me, guess I need to decide to take a risk on them or you guys will know are they reliable. Import duty and vat fees I need to consider also I guess.
 

Bondrich

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Oct 15, 2018
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Avoid the 8000lm lights off ebay like the plague! Junk at best, fire hazard at worst.............
Flashaholics is another UK shop to check out if want to buy local. Have a read up(search on here) about li ion safety, do's donts(dont buy cheap *****fire brands with 6000mah which dont exist etc). Good charger if go that way, ecoluxshopdirect is a good place for cells/chargers.

Zebralight are small, bright and some in stock at flashaholics. As P suggests, the D4 and D4s (26650 fed) is another option. Couple of weeks delivery allow from int outdoor.
:welcome:

Trying to stay clear of eBay but when you see the price it can drag you in but I'm old enough to know better hence why I come here to ask for advice as it's clear a lot of people on here know there stuff but on this subject I'm a novice. Health and safety is something I respect as I've got family so I take no risks on things like that especially when people advise me what to stay clear of and why.
 

ven

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Trouble is Bondrich, the cells are often 600-900mah, even can have sand in to weigh down. This coupled with cheap $3 chargers which trickle over night(some leave on over night, not a recommend any way or any charger) but the risks change significantly with cheap junk. So by morning over charged cell, with low capacity, slap in a light and BOOM. Or catch fire in your sleep................does not bare thinking about.

Cells, samsung,LG,Sony, Panasonic,Sanyo are the ones to look for. Rewrapped could be in Fenix/nitecore/KeepPower etc wraps. Trouble is, you can pay quite a premium for a branded wrap! Like 3x the cost of the cell without. Trusted sellers are a must, yes some on ebay if you know where to go. Also a lot of dodgy on there to.

International outdoor in china who do the emisar range are reputable, Hank is one of the good guys, knows his stuff and comes out with innovative lights using good components. Hard to beat full stop for $40 or so. Great UI, decent quality...................defo worth a look if you want a crazy hot rod for fun, yet also a usable tool when lower outputs are required. 200lm or so seems to cover most peoples needs, still 3000+ is fun and WOW factor.............With the emisar lights, why not have both. Even program to reduce the ceiling, may want a 1000lm max or 1500lm max. Ramps up/down, short cuts to min and max. Battery read out, adjust the driver temp(not an exact in temp, but can be worked with and user friendly.)

If a buy once cry once comes into it, then check malkoff and even HDS(more pricey, kinves and tools netherlands have stock). More money, but it will still be working when the great grandson gets his hands on it! Life time warranty(hope Henry at HDS has kids or Hogo, to hand the business to! lol). Still for a bit over $100, you can have a tank of a light(malkoff, check them out). Going a little extreme maybe, but 2 oe 3 fenix or nitecore lights can cost more. No sending to china for weeks/months come issue. This is why at first, if wanting a fenix or zebralight type brand(good and reputable), buying from a reputable shop UK side helps come time of any potential issue. Still sending a light to the states is under $20................although it would be more unlikely .

Charger brands, xtar, nitecore, opus, miboxer so far has been good to. So a few brands to check out, would go 2 bay minimum, ideally 4 bay. As down the line who knows, might need a few cells at once charging.

Good luck, fire away any Q's, enjoy the journey. Specific LED's, colour temps, tints and CRI will soon come into play...........:D
 

Bondrich

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Oct 15, 2018
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Hi Ven err thanks for the above I think although most of it I'm still translating somewhat ha, I certainly want to stay away from the issues I've a bit of experience with lipo batteries for my sons radio controlled car and I know they can also be dangerous but I've been ok. Whilst to begin with I want to keep to a budget I may further down the line go further into it and spend a lot more money.

budget well £100 maximum to start with and if I can get something cheaper to start with then all well and good as I don't want to go overboard to start with, importing I'd be happy to do if it stacks up but if from within the uk that's good I'm open minded on it.
 
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Scourie

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Mar 22, 2007
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56° 24' N
Olight M2R fits the bill perfectly. Comes with a battery and is simple to charge. Sideswitch can be set to a decent output, but push the tailswitch for huge output or push harder for strobe. I've got one and it's my current favourite.

Oh, and they can come with a excellent neutral tint LED.
 
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Bondrich

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Oct 15, 2018
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Hi that's funny as I tried to buy Olight m2r from a guy locally but couldn't get it at the right price, was only yesterday I was trying to get a deal on it but could get it at the price I wanted.
 

Scourie

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The M2R is a cracking torch, but with just one flaw; If you've got it on via the sideswitch and you hit the tailswitch for turbo or strobe, when released the torch turns off. Ideally it should revert to the original condition. I've mailed Olight to suggest that. Apart from that minor quibble, it is perfect for me.
 
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