I’ve had a ton of flashlights I’ve never been happy with. I want something reliable. I want something that runs on 18650’s so it’s easily recharged and I can find good replacement batteries cheap. I’ve read a ton of reviews, and THINK I have it narrowed down to 4 candidates. Basically I want the best (good battery life, bright, durable, wateproof, etc) general use flashlight I can get, given the following constraints:
1) Under $35
2) Sold on Amazon
3) 18650 battery (could be open to 26650 too)
4) Waterproof (at least IPx6, preferably higher)
5) I think I want strobe mode, but not totally necessary
6) Prefer charging in flashlight, but not totally necessary
7) Prefer pocketable, but I’m a big guy who likes fairly lose clothing, so that’s probably not an issue in my budget range anyway
The 4 models I think i have it narrowed down to are:
Thorfire C8S
Wuben LT35
Atactical/Wowtac A1S
Sofirn SP32A
Would y’all mind ranking these 4 from best choice to worst (or rule any out completely), and providing your rationale? If there’s a model I should consider instead, please let me know.
Anker has a zoomy flashlight on Amazon. 18650 included, recharges in the light. under $30 Flashlight
Oh yeah The BLF A6, now this really got me into flashlights. It only ticks one of your boxes though, under $35.
I found this review of the Sofirn SP32A, it is now priced higher than your ideal $32.89 ATM, if you search around this forum you may find a discount code, or you may not.
Convoy S2+ fits all but the embedded charging. If you buy directly from Convoy’s aliexpress store you can get/ask for the new driver where you can set mode groups with or without strobe
I have this light. It’s actually a fairly decent all-purpose light. Not great at anything in particular, but good all around. Kind of a jack of all trades.
Removing the battery (in order to charge externally) is a bit of a PITA, but of course you can just use the built-in charger instead.
I wouldn’t call it “pocketable” though. It’s the size of Convoy C8, slightly longer actually.
If I had to have only one budget 18650 light, it would be the BLF A6. Fantastic light for the price. However, it’s probably not a good light for newbies, as it does get very hot (it will burn paper or clothing). Also, most newbies don’t want to deal with external charging of batteries.
I wouldn’t advise to buy a direct drive light like the A6 as a first decent flashlight.
…but then again, i would hardly ever advise to buy a direct drive flashlight…
In stead of the Convoy S2 or S2+ you might want to look at the new model, the Convoy S9, which has USB charging.
How about the Thorfire TK15S. Meets all, but your point 6 and possibly point 7 ( Its a little long due to it having both a tail switch and a side switch).
I think you will find that most zoomy flashlights are poorer quality and poor beam profile than a fixed light. there are many lights that have a tight spot and plenty of spill to be useful. Under $30, i would highly recommend the Kaidomain KDLitker c8.2 with xhp35 emitter.
Another EXCELLENT quality light is the Lumintop TD15S with can be had for $29 with a coupon code on GearBest.
For around $25 or less, the convoy c8 with 7136*8 driver and xp-l HI emitter.
For $20, the Zanflare F1 with XP-L emitter and on-board charging is excellent.
The sofirn 32a is not 1550 lumens with an xp-l2 emitter. thats an inflated rating. In fact, I doubt it’s even 1100 lumens.
The wuben 35 isnt likely 1200 either and their beam profile is not so great.
Frankly, there are many options but Amazon only limits you…
Huh… Bookmarked both old and new, and both take me to the new (XP-L) light. Checked my orders, followed the link from the old one (XP-G3), and that also bounces to the new one.
Under 35-check (almost half the price)
Sold on Amazon-check
18650 battery-check
Waterproof-check
Strobe-check
Charging in flashlight-check
pocketable-check
I’ve been using it for a while and it works perfect. The user manual says waterproof IPX-6. But actually I dropped in my water bucket yesterday for a few minutes and it still worked fine!
