What was the last LED light you purchased and why?

[HarryN]

I bought one of these dewalt led area lights a few years ago. DCL050.

I already had the dewalt tool battery from another tool and needed an area type light.

What I like:
- Easy to charge up
- Lots of light
- Not super even lighting, but good enough for many uses
- Easy to aim and sits on a shelf
- 2 brightness levels that are activated with a "trigger", just like running a drill vs complicated menus

What could be better
- You don't see it with your eyes, but there is a pwm nature to it that can be seen in some situations, such as having two different types of lighting aimed at a subject
- It would be nice if the beam was a bit more uniform at short ranges ( like a foot or two away )
- I would kind of like to swap out the led assembly for something else to get other CCTs for photo use

It is harder than I expected to buy just spare batteries at the local hardware stores. Often more expensive than buying another tool.

This link takes you to the dewalt product page.

20V MAX* Led Hand Held Area Light (Tool Only)

Illuminate dark jobsite work areas with the DCL050 20V MAX* LED hand held area light. Battery and charger sold separately.

www.dewalt.com

Personally I mostly use plug in 120 vac tools because I am too cheap to buy all of those in battery versions, and I have a small solar setup on my suv.

Here it is on my work bench while playing with some 24 volt led strips. The dewalt light is off, I turn it on when the strip light is off to make changes. I cannot remember if there was another light on in the garage at the moment.

 

[AMD64Brunette]

Acebeam H17 2.0 MAO (4000K LED) from GoingGear.

I don't have any 18350 headlights. Thought I'd try this one out.

 

[vicv]

Didn’t purchase exactly. But a warranty replacement for my a2 aviator

 

[scalpel_ninja]

Didn’t purchase exactly. But a warranty replacement for my a2 aviator View attachment 94729

Nice light! Does it flicker/waver slightly on low?

 

[Schuey2002]

My last flashlight purchase was a black Aleph 17500 body from the Sandwich Shoppe. I am using this body with a Malkoff MDC AA Head and a Surefire Z57 clickie for the tailcap.

I went with this combo simply because of the ability to use that Z57 on this Aleph body. I found that having a tailswitch that sticks up proud of the body is what I prefer most in a flashlight. Having to always jam my fat fingers into the tailswitch on my bone stock MDC AA got annoying.

I do plan on picking up another LED Head to put back on my Malkoff MDC AA body.

PS - I emailed Gene and asked him if he ever plans on selling a version of his AA Bodies, but without a preinstalled tailcap, and he said that he didn't. I also sent an email to Lumens Factory and asked them them essentially the same thing. And they replied that they had no plans to make a single AA Body at this time. But, that he may consider making some in the future..

 

[trl]

And my first ELF arrived recently, embossed too.
I've had lots of Primes, but no ELFs, so that would be my first one. I like the idea of having a big power bank and an ELF that can keep the light on like forever.

 

[vicv]

Nice light! Does it flicker/waver slightly on low?

Thank you. Not at all. It’s steady. Good beam too

 

[Schuey2002]

I purchased a Streamlight Polytac 1x.
It is a polymer light which can run on AA, CR123a, or Streamlight SLB9 (16340). batteries.
I have only had it for a few days, but I am really liking it so far.
It is very light and has nice stippling for a secure grip.
I will try to get some pics in the next few days.

Now that you've had this light for awhile. Do you have any thoughts on it? Pics??

 

[Rstype]

Just got this is today,
Dawson machine craft divot slim and I gotta say pictures don’t do it justice.
Really cool light. Got it since I really
Liked their divot slimmer thought I had to try the next size up

Really been a big fan lately. Still gonna be looking for a hoku, and maybe order a strata version too.

 

[iacchus]

Just got this is today,
Dawson machine craft divot slim and I gotta say pictures don’t do it justice.
Really cool light. Got it since I really
Liked their divot slimmer thought I had to try the next size up

Really been a big fan lately. Still gonna be looking for a hoku, and maybe order a strata version too.

Great lights, great company.
Congrats on the new member of your growing family!

 

[jon_slider]

I bought this McBob mod AA Zebra because I wanted to see how rosy a DeDomed 519a 5700K looks:

it is not very rosy at all.. to my eyes its just a clean neutral white
with a noticeably more intense hotspot than the stock AA Zebra that has a Domed 519a:

 

[jon_slider]

I found a horseshoe, so I bought a horse! LOL

actually, while organizing some boxes in my closet, I found a couple of 18650 batteries I forgot I had... I figured I needed a light that could use an 18650 ... ;-)

So... I bought this mcbob mod Zebra:

There is a madness to my method.

 

[PaladinNO]

A Fenix LR35R Pro. Outlet unit at 50 % off, ~165 USD (~180 USD delivered, shipping cost including some other small accessories).
I was looking at another LR35R, but for some reason the outlet Pro version was cheaper. And the store also has another one available...(...)...so maybe... Well, we'll see.

LR35R Pro beside a LR35R.

UI is taking some getting used to, as mentioned in the review from 1Lumen, especially with the secondary modes, but already knowing the regular LR35R, it's not so bad.

All 3 modes - White primary mode (Spot, Flood or both), and Red and UV secondary mode - got smooth dimming through the wheel. The UV (365 nm) does not have a filter.

I recently bought a pair of Nitecore NL2160HP cells, hoping against hope, they would fit in the regular LR35R. Sadly they didn't fit (don't fit in the Fenix HP30R v2 headlamp either), but they do fit in the LR35R Pro and my Coast PM310R lanterns (the Coast ZX955 21700 is even longer than the Fenix and Nitecore 21700 cells. Same thickness).

 

[jon_slider]

Fenix LR35R Pro

wow, what a fantastic light! Congratulations ;-)

 

[PaladinNO]

wow, what a fantastic light! Congratulations ;-)

Thank you. Do you have any experience with it?

After reading some reviews, I really just bought it because it was for some reason cheaper than the regular LR35R. 165 USD equivalent (1645 NOK) for the Pro, and the same store now wants 190 USD for the regular one, up from 130 USD. A brand new LR35R goes for 190 USD.

And I am so pleased with the LR35R, I have bought 3 of them. All from the same store, all discounted outlet or display units, and up until recently, ~130 USD each. Both the LR35R and LR35R Pro are 10000 Lumen, twin 21700 lights. The additional features (and complexity) of the Pro were of little interest to me, other than nice to haves (like the Red light) for the price. I didn't even know both the Red and UV-light were dimmable.

 

[jon_slider]

No experience, but Im a big fan of dimmable rotary wheel, and I also like to use Red light at times. I looked at a video and the white throw beam also looks very impressive.

Congrats on finding good prices.. considerably lower than retail..

btw, I have been meaning to mention that you may find Red Light useful to shine at your face (with eyes closed), in the morning. You may find it helpful for your winter sunlight adaptation. I recall you have posted about using LED light in the morning to help imitate the visible color of sunlight.

Sunlight also contains Red Light of various frequencies (some are not in the visible range), that are very good for waking up the mitochondria in the retina. Sunlight also contains 850nm red, which is associated with many health effects (because our mitochondria use it). There are inexpensive Red Light panels available that include 850nm LEDs.. here is one example.

Im not talking about using Red Light to generate Heat, that is not necessary for the benefits to our mitochondria.

 

[Monocrom]

Last one just a few minutes ago.... Peak El Capitan.
Black Aluminum, Cool White LED, keychain attachment on top.

Why? All my previous Peaks are either S.S. or Brass.
My Logan is Neutral White, with a pressure switch from Peak on top of it.
My N-Cell brass Peak has the pocket carry top on it.
Love my Brass Eiger with the pressure switch and Prometheus clip on it.
So yeah, this rounds out my Peak collection. One of every model name.
(At least in their standard catalog.)
No interest in their 17500 Logan. Apparently batteries that fit are hard to find.
Assuming you can even find good-quality 17500s at all! I have a Logan, I'm good.

 

[PaladinNO]

No experience, but Im a big fan of dimmable rotary wheel, and I also like to use Red light at times. I looked at a video and the white throw beam also looks very impressive.

Congrats on finding good prices.. considerably lower than retail..

btw, I have been meaning to mention that you may find Red Light useful to shine at your face (with eyes closed), in the morning. You may find it helpful for your winter sunlight adaptation. I recall you have posted about using LED light in the morning to help imitate the visible color of sunlight.

I prefer separate switches for operation - tail switch for On / Off, plus sideswitch for dimming. Fenix's SOS and Strobe is nothing I need, so that just adds clutter to me. And I honestly prefer not so many different LEDs in the same light - I buy separate lights for different purposes.

I see the upsides of all-in-ones (less weight to carry, for one), but, eh, I prefer no-brainer interfaces. Because when you really need something from a light, you may not have time thinking about it. And when nothing happens when you press the button in panic, you're just as liable to throw the light at a perceived threat, thinking it doesn't work anyway. I need Turbo on double-click, that's just the way my brain is wired now. Will likely be differerent for others.

Best rotary control knob I have come across has been Acebeam H15 v.1. Rotating the whole wheel at the end of the light gives great physical feedback, even when wearing gloves and using the headlamp outside in the winter. You need to don't think - you just grab the wheel and rotate your whole hand. No hard-to-feel tiny wheel you use with just your thumb. I shall have to put on my big winter mitts and give the LR35R Pro a try.

I have been trying to find a proper Red light flashlight for some time now, precisely for the usecase you described. But I need dimming. I bought a Convoy S21A, thinking it had different modes, but it was just On or Off. And it was way too bright. The same with the S12 IR (850 nm) I bought. Also just On or Off. Which I don't see mentioned anywhere on the Convoy product page. In comparison, the S12 UV does have different modes.

So right now, I am looking at an Emisar D4K and DT8K. More LEDs than the S21A, but with dimming and the additional LEDs offers a better spread.
As for the "Morning Sun" light (you are indeed correct), I have an update here.

 

[jon_slider]

I have been trying to find a proper Red light light for some time now

Red Light options tend to fall into two colors, the more orange but higher output 620nm lights, and the more Ruby Red 660nm lights, also called Deep Red and Photo Red.

Convoy, Emisar, and some Sofirn and Wurkkos (the Wurkkos H25LR is particularly inexpensive), use my preferred 660nm. The Wurkkos HD12 otoh uses 620nm..

Skilhunt uses 620nm, Im not sure about your Fenix, although my guess is also 620nm.

For therapeutic uses the 850nm is particularly good at penetrating deeply, but is not useful for flashlights as it is not in the visible range, it tends to be combined w 660nm Red in panels used for Red Light body treatment..

 

[Bogie]

Surefire Aviators are marked 633nm