I would like a real bright light that I I don't have to build. Battery type isn't important. Aa and aaa are easier for me to get

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I do not understand what you’re trying to say

I want a light brighter that the ones wall may sells. I have about 50 bit they are all the same. Claim to be 500 lumens bit aren’t. Can you recommend one for me to buy?

nitecore ea41

I like that… any cheaper ones?

Most important question: What is your budget? Does your budget include the cost of batteries and charger?

Next most important question: What type of beam pattern are you interested in? Floody for area illumination? Tight beam for illuminating distant targets? Moderately floody with good hotspot for mixed use?

Related question: How are you planning on using the flashlight? General, around-the-house or around-the-office use? EDC (EveryDay Carry - on your person, all the time)? Specialized use, such as hunting or law enforcement?

Do you have any preferences for User Interface? (Number of modes _ H, M, L, etc. Types of modes _ Beacon, SOS, strobe. Switch type _ Forward clicky, reverse clicky, rotating head, side-switch.)

Where are you located? (Your flashlight choices may be limited by your location.)

How fast do you expect delivery? (Again, your choices may be limited by time constraints.)

I like C8’s, and you can probably get a good one for about $20 from ShenZhen Convoy on Alibaba. There’s also a nice BLF light that is starting now.

But both use 18650 batteries, which are a bit touchy. You’ll need a good charger and a multimeter, which may not be that expensive, but which you’ll have to buy unless you already have one.

Lithium ion are more work. Nothing real hard, but you need to test the batteries with a multimeter on a regular basis, for one thing. And you can’t really just put them on the charger and walk off like AA’s. Well, maybe with a better charger I would, but its maybe not the best idea

It should be easy for 18650 flashlight. Convoy C8 or S2+ are good ones and not too expensive. They should be easily gets to 500lm. For S2+ I would suggest to get 6x7135. It can get to 500lm with no problem and can lost longer time, i.e. it won’t get too hot.
Flashlight with 14500 should be able to get to 500 lm also. However, I don’t know which one to suggest. It will be really hard for AA flashlight to get to 500 lm. Think about this. To get to 500 lm, you need to supply the LED with about 1.5A at 3.x volts. This means the driver will draw 4.5 A from an AA with 100% efficiency. Usually, these AA drivers with voltage booster usually have less efficiency. So we are talking about to draw at about 6A from one AA or 3A from 2AA. It could be done I guess but I am not sure anything like that would be available. I hope more experienced people can let me know what I said make sense or not.

1 dash 1 is spot-on regards identifying and fitting your exact needs- there’s a lot of choices. Lithium does take extra care but once you see what they can do you’ll never go back to normal batteries. Never use cheap cells or chargers with LIon.

For a general-purpose light I like the Convoy C8. With the smooth reflector it has great throw and good spill close-in. 3 well-spaced modes, superb build quality. Many tint choices but not comfortably pocketable. 1x18650 LIon cell required, get online or at your local vaping store.

Phil

Get the BLF Manker A6 since you want a real bright light.

Nitecore EA8W or Sunwayman D80A, if you want AA's but they're not exactly pocketable in the EDC sense.

(Post count 0?)

:~

I just want a bright around the house light. Bright bright. Common batteries preferably.

Posts in polls don't count towards your post count. ;)

Maybe Sunwayman D40A or Nitecore Explorer EA41 will work for you if you are willing to pay over $60-$70.

880 lumens, 4AA batteries. Less than $30USD

Available at various vendors:
http://www.illumn.com/starry-light-sa-22-880-lumens-4-x-aa.html

http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1980

Here’s bright: http://www.batteryjunction.com/fenix-tk70.html

I think you are over stating the issues. get good cells get a good ($25 ish doller) for example liitokala lii-500 charger that has all the info you need and you can sip the DMM and you can put them in and walk away.

If you are using a Chinese (in the cheap no name sense) and again Chinese (in the cheap no name sense) then you need to off set your savings with a DMM and time. not the smart way to go, but to each there own.

Nitecore EA81 8xAA flashlight

problem solved.

On one hand I am, on the other hand I don’t know that I really said anything about 18650s isn’t true.

I don’t want the op to just go out and buy a cheap charger and battery and go by whether the light is green or not. A guy I know has done that, and I can’t seem to get him to even check his cells voltage with the DMM he has for work! Rather have the op knowing what is needed somewhat. Li

I figured some put their cells in a charger and walked off, but it’s recommended to keep an eye on li-ion during charging.

Even with a better charger, I’d want and need DMM, both to check the battery, and I’d want to check the charger the first time, at least. You need a DMM for checking A, too. I just got 2-3 cheap ones, and they give the same reading, pretty much, so they should be good, I think.

Maybe, depends.

I find plenty of uses for NiMH (both AAA and AA size for stock flashlights, and 4/3AF “18560” size for flashlights that I’ve modified)
I read up on how to keep from ruining NiMH cells with cheap chargers and treat them well.

Nothing beats Energizer Lithium primary (use once and recycle) AA and AAA batteries for long term storage and cold weather viability.

Anything but alkalines, basically, is worth considering.

The “Starry Light” mentioned above is one I don’t have but from what I’ve read here, I would recommend it to many people looking for a good stock flashlight.
4xAA