First post here. Looking for recommendations for inexpensive but bright light for home and bike use!

Hey all, first post here. Until 3 or so weeks ago I was still under the impression that my old trusty 3 D cell maglite was state of the art! Then someone showed me a Surefire Backup and I was blown away by it. Then I researched it and found out how expensive it was. But in the process I learned about all of the cool lights out there nowadays and how not-so-state-of-the-art my maglite really was. I also fortunately learned that there are a bunch of reasonably priced lights that I could actually afford!

Over the past few weeks I bought a couple of lights that although they don't get great reviews here, they were a decent step up compared to what I had. I bought a Nebo Redline and a 3-pack of the costco tactical 150 lumen lights. I know the Nebo and Costo ones aren't very well liked here but they seem to work just fine for me and are all much brighter and obviously smaller than my maglite. Also upgraded my keychain flashlight and bought a fenix 05 and an ITP A1. Oh, and I also ordered one of those fusion 36 LED upgrades for my maglite. Very happy with that one.

So, that brings me to this post. I'm looking for a small flashlight to give to my girlfriend to keep around her house and also to use on her bike at night. I'm considering buying another Nebo Redline but I was wondering if there's anything else out there that you guys recommend over the Nebo.

My requirements are the following:

Relatively bright - preferably at least 200 lumens. I'm comparing it to the Nebo which claims 220 lumens but I know it may not really put out that much. Either way, I'd like it to be at least as bright, whatever it's putting out.

Flood to throw adjustable.

Should have low/med/high modes. I don't care for strobe or SOS modes but if it comes with it, that's fine. It's not a requirement though. Just need low/med/high. BTW, it doesn't have to be in that order. Can be high/med/low or whatever order. I'd just like 3 modes.

Must run on AAA or AA batteries. The way she is, if she can't walk into a CVS and buy batteries for it, she won't use it and will give me grief for buying her something useless.

Decent battery life. The Nebo claims a battery life of 4hrs on high, 8 on medium, and 15 on low. I'd like something comparable to this.

Price should be under 20 bucks or so. The Nebo is about 22 give or take.

I guess that's about it. I've looked around and haven't found anything other than the Nebo that meets all those requirements but before I order another one I wanted to ask here to see if there are some that I missed during my search.

I'm sure I'll be making a few more "recommend me a light" threads soon since I tend to like gadgets and now that I'm learning about all the cool lights out there I expect I'll be buying a few more in the upcoming weeks. Next thing I want is a super bright and relatively floody light. Was looking at the Romisen RC-T6 and some of the new 3800 and 4300 lumen lights. But that's a topic for another thread...

Thanks!

I do not know enough light to advice you a particular light, but i think the low med hi mode will be the hardest requirement to find a suitable light for as the only light i know of with the modes in that particular order is the DRY 3x XM-L https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/3212 which i ordered, for a great part because of that mode order.

Hey, thanks for the reply. I just edited my post to clarify. The modes don't have to be in that particular order, I just want 3 output modes in whatever order.

this topic handles about some zoomable lights that might be in your interest

Welcome to the forum, miamilight...

The light that fits your specs is the Tank007 737. It takes either 1*18650 or 3*AAA, the latter being ideal.

Its a quality light but under $20 and probably the only quality light that fits your specs at anywhere near your budget.

There is a full review here.

Order an RC-N3 from Shiningbeam . com

Great budget flashlight from a proven vendor .

Yes, the RC-N3 is a good light but it is not a Flood-to-Throw zoomie and that's what the OP is asking for.

Something like this Romisen RC-27? Just high-low though...

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far. What's the general opinion of some of the generic Cree Q5 lights on ebay? There are a bunch of them that come complete with a bike mount for about 12 bucks shipped.

This one for example - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cree-Q5-Led-240-Lumen-Bicycle-Bike-Light-Blue-BD009-/180692535383?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a121d4857

And here's a list of them that come up when I did a search. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=cree+q5+bike&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=15&_odkw=cree+bike&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

I don't recomend all those that looks like the one from the first link. They might even don't have Cree led inside but some generic chinese. Maybe those which clearly shows picture of led like this one, but I'm shure there are better ones like this (this one is a bit overpriced, but proven to be good).

The mount "per se" from first link is OK, but mainly made for 18650 battery type flashlights.

The ebay light is what I was thinking of they are about 6$ ~9$ and the mount is a couple bucks .. they are an OK light Usually q3's..I'm sure you've heard all about the sipik 68 as well. flood to throws are fun little lights.like it or not a few bucks spent extra may always be a good idea ..the tank at 16$ is a very well liked light ..the ability to step up to the 18650 is a nice feature . Tank lights are all pretty well loved ..Rominson is the same way ,,hard to beat a silly 6$ ebay flood to throw , the sipik rominson or tank ..all are fun lights .It'seasier to buy the 6$ light after you've bought the 16$ one ,The nebo's are ok lights ... just a different kind of light ..We all like lights so there are plenty here who would like to have a nebo redline .. me included and i have lots and lots of lights .. but no nebo.There are better choices ..but there are always better choices

I'll toss my vote toward the tank737 +1

Uh, you have some very steep criteria there... especially with that price tag. Are you sure you want a flood-to-throw light? I found the beam profile a lot less useful in practical application on a bike. There is a reason why almost all moving vehicles use reflector based lights. Flood to throw lights are good as an additional light (2nd or 3rd), but not as main headlamp. Also AAA don't have enough energy stored for decent runtimes. 3 AAA have roughly the same total energy as 1 AA. The Solarforce L2R is the closest thing that comes to mind for your requirements. Together with a Fenix bike mount it should be one of the best, cheap and practical solutions for ~ $30 in total. But you are looking more at 1,5 - 2 hours on high and the light is a little long being 2AA. But even the medium is quiet useful for bike riding (~4 hours).

The flat bezel is also mandatory in my opinion, except when your better half wants to poke a burglar to death with that "tactical" bezel. ;-)

BTW I own that mentioned Sipik SK68, C78 and the L2R . I had also a Romisen RC-29. I keep going back to reflector based lights, when using standard cells like AAs. Current setup is the Hugsby P31/P32 (1AA) with that holder, even though it is more like ~100 Lumen out the front on high and the L2R for longer rides, or when more light is needed.

This holder would fit both lights, but I don't trust the longevity of the Velcro too much

Cheap copy of Tank 737 - http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/small-sun-zya28-floodtothrow-zooming-3mode-memory-led-flashlight-3aaa-p-7121

Still haven't decided on the one for my gf but I did end up ordering one of these for myself! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330606574156&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123

Trustfire Z1/Z5 sold as a bike package with 2 batteries, charger, bike mount, and tail light. $38 bucks. I'd been eyeing one of those for myself anyway even without the bike attachments so those were an extra bonus.