# Best budget 500 lumen or Better Light.



## maxsutter (Jun 22, 2010)

I see all of these bugget lights on Deal Extreme. Well which one is 50 or better lumens -


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## how2 (Jun 22, 2010)

Hi

These should be 500 lm or better?
You need to buy lights that can take 2*18650
Don't expect the claimed lumens.


*[advertising deleted - DM51]*


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## sol-leks (Jun 22, 2010)

I think your best option is to get the MG PLI SST-50 from shiningbeam.


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## aurum (Jun 22, 2010)

Received the MG PLI SST-50 few days ago and i don't know if it's worth the money ... The LED is not not centered correctly, draws only ~2A from my 18650, the reflector has some imperfections. 70$ shipping included compared to my sf-23 for 33$. The SF-23 puts out more lm and is half the price (you'll have to glue the emitter to the heatsink with as).


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## shipwreck (Jun 22, 2010)

I am awaiting a fairly cheap C30 from them - it's a spot to flood flashlight that runs on AAA batteries. I should get it this week.

I made a few posts about some of the models there, and I soon figured out that most are over rated on their actual lumen output. And, the quality seemed spotty unless you know how to mod your own lights.

I also am awaiting a solarforce light to come in - and the quality seems much better on those. They are no priced too bad on the ebay website.


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## Hill (Jun 22, 2010)

Why not make one yourself? A C-cell mag + MC-E emitter on a heatsink is pretty easy to build - there are plenty of step-by-step tutorials here. You can make it direct drive (no driver) to simplify things. It may cost more than a DX or KD light, but it will be rock solid and quality, plus the satisfaction of having made it yourself. 

Approximate cost would be
host $15
heatsink $15
MC-E or P7 $20

Total = ~$50

Satisfaction of making it yourself = priceless


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## Hill (Jun 22, 2010)

aurum said:


> Received the MG PLI SST-50 few days ago and i don't know if it's worth the money ... The LED is not not centered correctly, draws only ~2A from my 18650, the reflector has some imperfections. 70$ shipping included compared to my sf-23 for 33$. The SF-23 puts out more lm and is half the price (you'll have to glue the emitter to the heatsink with as).



That is disappointing. You should contact him about trading in for a better one. I've heard he was a reliable dealer and should be able to work with you.


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## joe1512 (Jun 23, 2010)

aurum said:


> Received the MG PLI SST-50 few days ago and i don't know if it's worth the money ... The LED is not not centered correctly, draws only ~2A from my 18650, the reflector has some imperfections. 70$ shipping included compared to my sf-23 for 33$. The SF-23 puts out more lm and is half the price (you'll have to glue the emitter to the heatsink with as).



Its still gonna be a lot better than a random Deal Extreme one! Plus you will have much better customer service in case you do get a defective one.


Otherwise, the Trustfire TR1200 is probably a good bet. For 45 bucks, it can use 2 or 3 18650s. Most DX lights that use more than 1 18650 cost around 70 bucks. The TR1200 will be a lot more efficient and brighter than 1x18650 P7s or SST50.
It isnt perfect but it seems to be pretty well received by those here.


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## randomlugia (Jun 23, 2010)

The Aurora AK-P7-5 2-mode is considered one of the more consistent DX lights, and the current draw is usually between 3 and 4.5 amps (which is probably about 600-800 lumens OTF).


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## Tally-ho (Jun 23, 2010)

Hill said:


> Why not make one yourself? A C-cell mag + MC-E emitter on a heatsink is pretty easy to build - there are plenty of step-by-step tutorials here.



Mag + ssc P7 emitter ?





BEAMSHOTS !!!:
http://flashlightnews.net/forum/index.php?topic=971.0


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## LEDninja (Jun 23, 2010)

How To Mod a Maglite P7 - 38 PICS
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/238641


Hill said:


> Why not make one yourself? A C-cell mag + MC-E emitter on a heatsink is pretty easy to build - there are plenty of step-by-step tutorials here. You can make it direct drive (no driver) to simplify things. It may cost more than a DX or KD light, but it will be rock solid and quality, plus the satisfaction of having made it yourself.
> 
> Approximate cost would be
> host $15
> ...


I prefer my Mag P7 to my DX P7 despite 4X the size, 2X the weight and only 1 mode vs 5.
Mag P7 left, MTE P7 right.


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## Trancersteve (Jul 13, 2010)

Any other suggestions?

I was about to buy the Trustfire TR1200 until I saw the current batch aren't up to scratch.


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## Jash (Jul 13, 2010)

One of these is probably the cheapest/easiest way to do a P7 mag mod.

It needs a little grinding to get it to fit and you need to modify your switch and do some soldering (all up about an hour of work), but the end result is a 500 lumen light that works every time.

In a 4D mag with some 10k,mah LSD ni-mh batteries, you will get many hours of runtime.


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## joe1512 (Jul 14, 2010)

Yeah too bad about the TR1200 being crappy now. It was a great light.

There just aren't a whole lot of budget options for 500+ lumen lights. You can get a DX P7 light with 1x18650 but expect about 300 lumens at best... but its 32 bucks too.

Your only real choices are:

the new MG P-Rocket from shiningbeam.com.

An itp A6 Polestar (72 bucks delivered from goinggear.com)

A Deal Extreme light. But any of the 2x18650 lights cost around 70 bucks anyways, so you mine as well get a more mainstream option with better support.

Its too bad there are no commercial triple XP-G lights (except for the TK45 which is 150 bucks!). That would be quite efficient, produce good output with less heat concerns.

Good luck!


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## entoptics (Jul 14, 2010)

If your budget allows, the iTP Polestar A6 is a pretty sweet deal. Decent quality, reputable dealers/service, and monster output.

Some things to consider about the Polestar
1) Very floody beam results in a "wall of light". Awesome for some things, but obviously distance performance suffers

2) 6xAA powered means relatively short runtimes (about 1.25 hours on max) and a somewhat inconvenient battery holder.

3) Mode switching requires you pass through strobe to go from high back to low.

All in all it's a great light for the money, but it does have some draw backs.


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## davefr (Jul 14, 2010)

Jash said:


> One of these is probably the cheapest/easiest way to do a P7 mag mod.
> 
> It needs a little grinding to get it to fit and you need to modify your switch and do some soldering (all up about an hour of work), but the end result is a 500 lumen light that works every time.
> 
> In a 4D mag with some 10k,mah LSD ni-mh batteries, you will get many hours of runtime.


 
What kind of switch mod/soldering is needed?


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## recDNA (Jul 15, 2010)

I have a very inexpensive Xtar MC-E flashlight the has a very nice beam profile and tint is is very bright. It says Cree MC-E on the side. I bought it from Lighthound but I don't think they carry it any more. Too bad. Great bargain. It even throws pretty well. It's only flaw (and it's a bad one in my opinion) is that you have to cycle through strobe to get from low to high.


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## a1penguin (Jul 15, 2010)

recDNA said:


> I have a very inexpensive Xtar MC-E flashlight the has a very nice beam profile and tint is is very bright. It says Cree MC-E on the side. I bought it from Lighthound but I don't think they carry it any more. Too bad. Great bargain. It even throws pretty well. It's only flaw (and it's a bad one in my opinion) is that you have to cycle through strobe to get from low to high.



$60 for "400+ lumens" seems on the cusp for a budget light. I've not seen this one reviewed so I don't know what the quality is like. XTAR lights don't seem to have a large following here. At least they don't try to claim that light is 9 bazillion lumens. The physical size makes it a reasonable option for mounting on the handlebars of a bike.

I've been using one of those $30 DX MCE-P7 lights on my bike for a year now and it's OK. I combine it with a Jetbeam III on the helmet and have a good balance between flood and throw as well as fixed direction vs any direction. But I keep thinking that P-rocket is nice enough and bright enough to be a fun^H^H^H good upgrade.


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## how2 (Jul 15, 2010)

joe1512 said:


> A Deal Extreme light. But any of the 2x18650 lights cost around 70 bucks anyways, so you mine as well get a more mainstream option with better support.
> 
> Its too bad there are no commercial triple XP-G lights (except for the TK45 which is 150 bucks!). That would be quite efficient, produce good output with less heat concerns.
> 
> Good luck!


The Ultrafire UF-600L is a light that has 3 cree r5 xpg leds and is 1045(high) and 280(low) is around $61.89 wholesale.

I would give you a link but DM51 will delete it.


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## aurum (Jul 15, 2010)

The UF_600-L is 55.39$ @ kaidomain


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## joe1512 (Jul 15, 2010)

how2, Ive had ok luck posting links. I am posting the links as examples to illustrate a point usually.

I think they only want to restrict links when you are 'pushing' a product or vendor unnecessarily.

Regarding the polestar, I think its battery efficiency is decent enough. It is reasonably close to 2x18650, but shorter and fatter vs longer and skinnier.

6 2000mah eneloops at 1.2 volts = ~14.4 watt hours.

2x18650s at 2400maH at 3.7 average volts = ~17.7 watt hours.


I would recommend getting a decent charger that has 6 battery bays, as charging 4 then 2 IS a big pain...


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