What's a good option for under 150?

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
3

Under $150us and 18650 ? Hmm.

I have a few suggestions.

Manker MK36 12,000 lm. Wall of light. If anything it is too bright on turbo. Very well made, solid construction. 3x 18650 lighter, brighter and more compact than a BLF Q8 or other 4 cell “soda can” lights.

Simpler UI with 4 brightness levels + turbo. Easy to use, but I would have prefered something more flexible.

Emisar D18 I don’t have one but worth a look. Brigher than the MK36 and it runs ToyKeeper’s Anduril firmware.

Emisar D4V2

I have a D4S, which is 26650. My D4S is the light I use every day.

4

Welcome to BLF :wink:

I would also say to take a look at Amutorch flashlights.
With that budget you can get yourself some nice and reliable flashlights from different brands ! :+1:

5

To give you an idea of size…
Left to right:

Fireflies PL47 (first run), Emisar D4S, Manker MK36, BLF Q8

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Do you need integrated charging?

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I’d say I don’t need integrated charging

I have a 18650 charger and I prefer to do it that way.

I’d prefer something not super thick…wait let me rephrase that.

Thicc

8

Ideally I’d like something that doesn’t have a angle on the head. Dunno what you’d call that. But the one on the far left isn’t going to work for my needs

How thick are the other three?

9

What’d you look at in the higher end of that price range?

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The other 3 from left to right.

Emisar D4S — Not suggested because it uses a 26650 cell 39mm diameter at the head and 32mm dia at the body.

Manker MK36 is 53mm at the head. Body is about 45mm.

BLF Q8 is 59mm head and 50mm body.

11

Looking for a compact, bright, high quality 18650 light? You should look at an Emisar D4V2.

It uses a single 18650 cell and is about 29mm at the head and 24mm body. I don’t have one but you can search here for reviews.

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rear button, over 1000 lumens, uses 18650

if you want to spend more, you can choose fancy metals for example Titanium

13

I know it has a side button, but I have to mention the Skilhunt M200. It has everything I’ve ever needed - direct access to moonlite, direct access to turbo, very simple electronic lockout, battery self-check every time you turn it on, locator led (if you choose), very good tint in the ‘neutral’ version, magnetic tailcap, magnetic charging, normal (not proprietary) batteries, well balanced beam profile with both decent throw and flood….I simply can’t find any weaknesses.

I have a bunch of ‘brand name’ lights, 30 or 40 I suspect (I’m scared to count them, and even more scared for my wife to count them!) but the Skilhunt M200s are my favourites of the lot. For the past six months everything else has gathered dust. And yes, I bought and paid for both of them; they’re not freebie samples.

14

Debbie has a copper FW3A. Beautiful. The tailswitch requires an unusual amount of force but maybe hers is faulty.

15

Cant go wrong with an Emisar D4S or D4V2.

See these threads:

Both have lots of other options for body colors, aux lights, magnetic tail, etc…

edit: if you don’t run it on high/max, you’ll get your battery life, and you won’t heat up the place :slight_smile:

16

Op asks something with good throw. I would not recommend a D4v2 in that case.

NOCTIGON KR1 seems to fit much better.

17

so tempting

especially the shorty:

if the OP wants more throw, consider the single LED FW1A

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Zebralight SC600w IV Hi

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Missed that somehow. The Manker MK36 is a wall of light flood. That is the opposite of what the OP is looking for.

20

I agree. If OP is willing to spend that kind of money on a single 18650, a ZL would be a solid choice.

21

I agree also, great option.

22

Ack, ok. I’d have to second the Convoy C8 then, or maybe a BLF Q8 (or the Sofirn Q8 flavor), if you’re ok with “soda can” lights…