NEWB ALERT: HALP PLZ???

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

OK, I’ve been on this site looking at info for probably about 6 hours now, and it seems as though every time I come to a definitive conclusion on something to buy, I find something else that one-ups it…

So, this is my first post because I’m looking for THE BEST all-around light and battery+charger for under $50, without too much serious modding. I’m happy to do a drop in and was looking at the Solarforce L2P with a Monofont SKU:5720 drop-in (which seems to be a reference light around here) and was looking for a battery when I found this probably crappy one on Monafont I was looking at. Total cost ~$46, which is about what I’d ideally like to spend.

That was, until I saw that drop-in didn’t have strobe and that so many of the other posts about so many other things that have beat the living hell out of that light… and that not all batteries are the same…

So… Here’s what I’m looking for:
~Quality. Quality. Quality - I’m happier spending a few more bones on something that won’t fail me or give me trouble.
~A decent battery + charger of any size (ideally two, but I’m not that picky)
~Bang for the buck
~Somewhat of a balance of throw/flood, but err on the side of flood. Definitely don’t want anything that’s ALL throw…
~Very bright, with some balance of battery savings, but not necessarily over-the-top bright.
~Ideally I’d like the option of a strobe as well.

And a few things I don’t want:
~Extra large heads - I plan on using this for all sorts of stuff, but my MO is as an off-hand pistol light (unmounted) that needs to be somewhat balanced and catch-free. The more straight cylinder the better, but I’m not opposed to some flare. However things like the Trustfire J12 are out for that reason.
~Cheap feel.

I’m comfortable with pretty much any size however that will fit in one hand (which I think covers just about everything).

Thanks in advance for the help. You guys have definitely put some time into making this place an incredible information powerhouse. Respect, yo. :smiley:

2

Ok, I’m going to throw in the default post, which I think will show up on this thread any time soon anyway :wink:

P60 host:
http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product_detail.php?t=FB&s=1&id=247

Dropin:
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/xml-u2-p60-dropin-module-p-336.html
If budget is strict, cheaper ones are available. For example your own suggestion.

Battery:
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/protected-trustfire-18650-37v-2400mah-rechargeable-batteries-flame-2pcsset-p-5560
Or Xtar 2600mAh, if you can add a 2$.
Discount China Wholesale XTAR 18700 2600mAh Protected Sanyo cell Li-ion Battery( 1PC) [1737]- US$4.33 - bestvaping.net (shipping adds to this price)

Charger…
Well, I could say to get a cheap 10$ charger but I’m prone to suggest getting one proper straight away.
It is a matter of opinion and budget.

Xtar WP2 II is good IMO but it adds a 20$ to your budget.
Generic 2-bay chargers can be obtained from ’bay for mere 5$ or so.

3

First, welcome. Kick your feet up, relax.

Me…I’d suggest the PA40 or similar (LD40, 41, E40). I have the PA 40 and it has a good throw/flood mix IMO (I have the SMO version). I shoot pistol and I like using it w/ the pistol as the grip is comfortable (I feel the non-round grip is more comfortable), head isn’t too big, and I can operate it w/out breaking my grip/stance at all. I’m also practical in that I like having many battery options. I’m running eneloops in it, but it’s good knowing I can get AAs anywhere and throw them in my PA40 if needs be (or don’t have time to wait for a recharge, etc.)

Doesn’t have the strobe, however, you can lightly pressure click it on an off fairly fast.

Chargers…I’m using old charger I’ve had around for long time on the eneloops. It may not be as efficient w/ them as an intellicharger type (which would be nice to have btw), but you can buy a lot of batteries for the cost of an intellicharger.

BTW, you can get the PA40 for ~$55 right now. Search on here as there’s be a number of posts about recent good deals on it. Hope this helps.

4

5

Welcome aboard.

Only advice i would give is read the review of the one you decide on.

Have fun

DON…

6

Welcome to BLF! You'll love being here! :)

Oh my. How stupid have I been.. That's where I have gone wrong. Usually I have first bought a light and then written a review. ;)

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Welcome to BLF.

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Exactly how bright do you want it to be? An xml is more floody, and can put out roughly 800-900 OTF lumens. An xre is more throwy, but puts out around 3-400 i think.

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I'd buy a thrunite t-10 and a green Ti w/3 lumen low , Then 'd buy the Xiware L20C from dino directs clearance section for 21$ and a trustfire tr-001 charger from best vaping and 2 of the the suggested sanyo protected 2600mah cells .. I'd even buty a few 14500's while I was at it and leave it at that .About 75$ for a charger 4 batteries and 3 lights an 18650 .AA and a AAA keychain light

http://www.bestvaping.net/trustfire-tr001-liion-rechargeable-battery-charger-p-343.html

http://www.bestvaping.net/efest-imr-14500-700mah-limn-battery-with-nipple-2pcs-p-737.html

http://www.bestvaping.net/xtar-18700-2600mah-protected-sanyo-cell-liion-battery-1pc-p-654.html

http://us.dinodirect.com/led-flashlightcree-xre-white-led-240lm-4mode-waterproof.html

I wish someone had told me buy these as my first lights >> I'd probably be over on cpf acting like a jerk over there instead of here :P

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At some point people have to bite the bullet on 18650's and a charger ..take that out of the equation and ..lights are cheap ..same with eneloops and a charger .. it's just part of the deal ..If you want light you have to feed the machine .

11

Welcome to the monkey house, Theox!

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Thanks for all the welcoming remarks, everyone! Sorry I’ve been away from the computer for a few days, my fiance and I were celebrating her birthday out of town!

In any case, to reply to all of your excellent suggestions, here are my thoughts:

To Cheap Thrills, what exactly made you pick the dropin you picked over mine Is there a good dropin out there that has a strobe by any chance?

To ntg, the PA40 looks indeed rather awesome and has some great reviews, but it did seem ever so slightly bulky as compared to some other suggestions. Are there some real advantages to having a light this big? Does battery life extend with the larger sizes that significantly? Of course, I love that it’s multi-battery capable!

To Slewflash, If XT’s are so much brighter, I’d definitely prefer that. Especially in the case of pistol shooting, if you have it out, you’re not looking to hit anything past 25yds, especially at night, and most of the time you might want to have a light in a situation with a pistol you’ll be dealing with smaller spaces of 5-15yds or less, so throwy is not really what I’m in the market for.

To Boaz, All of the lights you mention seem to be somewhat on sale of some sort, but none of them seem to be especially bright, which is ideally what I would optimize in my situation. Not to put them down in any way, I just don’t think they fit exactly what I’m looking for…

To RecycledElectrons, I think perhaps yours might most hit the mark here apart from the “default post” by cheap thrills, but a few questions remain: why go with the 502B 1-mode instead of the 5? Why go with the 502B instead of the P60? Should I switch out the emitter? I take it that some emitters are better than others, but what’s the advantage of the balder, if any? Finally, the HD-1 does look pretty decent, but I think I’d rather go all-in and get some good 18650s or otherwise above-average batteries.

To everyone else who’s already posted: thanks for the warm welcome!

…and to everyone that hasn’t: any more ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks again guys! And sorry for taking so long to reply!

13

The Nitecore intellicharger V2 will charge multiple batteries at a time, both 18650’s and AA Nimh batteries. If you pm Summer you may be able to get one for $19 at dd
Instead of paying $25.
A Solarforce L2M is my favorite p60 host, and there are plenty of choices for dropins. There’s also a member here that makes p60 dropins, so you could get the modes you like. An XML is a great led, but for the distance you want, a 300lumen XPG would do quite nicely. And has a good balance of throw and flood with an OP reflector.

Sanyo or Panasonic 18650’s are affordable and best bang for your buck batteries

14

As a fellow newB, take my suggestion with a grain of salt. Here is a light (without a big head), battery, and charger all in one package for less than $50.

It is a “straight cylinder” like you are looking for. Without a big head, I don’t imagine that it would be all-throw either. I cannot comment about whether or not it has a cheap-feel to it. But it does have the strobe mode that you want.

I do not own this, but it appears that some other members have ordered it recently.

15

It sounds like you are on the right track with the examples from your original post. A solarforce or P60 type host with a hot drop-in is a light anyone would love. I have a 5-mode XML drop-in mated with a Beamteach FX-8 shorty P60 16340 host. It’s one of my favorite pocket lights!

http://www.tmart.com/Beam-Tech-FX8-CREE-Q5-5W-1200LM-Flashlight-Electric-Torch_p119226.html

The drop in included with this light is weak, I am only suggesting this as a host. Run-time suffers pretty bad with the 16340, so your full size option might be better depending on your needs.

For the battery and charger, it’s hard to beat a regular ole TR-001 charger. The Xtar batteries in the 2nd post are top notch, and I reserve them only for my most used, highest powered lights. Check out Tmart and their US warehouse for quick shipping for most of this stuff if you are impatient like me! Manafont has been my favorite vendor so far, but be ready to hang tight for few weeks!

16

ZW99GT, appreciate all your info. I’m narrowing things down now and I think I’ve decided on my whole setup.

Here’s what I’ve put together and why:
Solarforce L2 Forward Clicky, Other options don’t have the right options. If I encounter a misfire and perp charges me, I’d like to think I have one last line of defense. I don’t intend on carrying it in my pocket all the time either, so the defensive head seems like a good idea. Also I like forward clickys and the non-tailstand switch. Bonus: its pretty cheap. Perfect. MY ONE CONCERN: will it be able to handle 2 18650’s???

Extension Tube So I can use both batteries at once. Should result in longer battery life, I’m hoping (right?) Another concern: will this be too long and unbalanced, do you think?

Xtar Batteries and TR-001 Charger, as per your recommendation.

And finally, I think I’m going to try and get a custom drop-in from E1320. I know I’m breaking the budget here a bit, but you pay for quality, amirite?

Anyhow, if that looks like a go, someone give me the yay-yo and I’ll push the big red buy buttons on all the respective sites :smiley:

And once again, seriously thanks for all the help!

17

So it looks like I’m not going to be adding an extension tube after a talk with E1320. Apparently it is not a good idea to run 2 18650’s on a XML in a setup like this because it draws too many volts and can fry things…

Any other comments or critiques on this setup are more than welcome!

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G’day and welcome to BLF Theox :slight_smile:

Either of these meets your spec requirements. They are a bit larger than a P60 host, but as a last line of defence that may be an advantage. Both are very good quality lights. Batteries and chargers are not top shelf, but are decent serviceable ones.

Keygos M10

TrustFire A8

edit I just noticed stuart beat me to the punch with the A8.

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If you’re going to spend almost $30 on a 18650 light anyway, just get this: http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-151/ShiningBeam-Blaze-XM-dsh-L-T6/Detail

It’s a “premium” quality light that used to a decent deal at 60, for almost budget price.