The Q8 and the Olight l1r were no brainers. I’m really happy with both choices, the usability of the Olight and wow of the Q8.
My next need was “emergency light” which because of car heat, has to be aa. I’ll put that one on the side for now pending if anything happens with the “emergency light” idea.
Next up and it’s been a bit of a hunt as to which EDC (or 3) to buy.
What I like to have……
1….USB recharging. I need to make sure my beloved muggle wife can recharge the light when I’m away. Without worrying or losing my hair trying to make sure she is using the general charger properly.
2….mostly floody….this is “take out the garbage” light. A general purpose light that is the first one reaches to check if the raccoons are hiding in the trash or some relative got lost under the house. (She can’t/won’t use the Q8 because she’s afraid of screwing up the programming and she complains it’s too big/heavy).
3……18650. I got a bunch of hand me downs, 14 actually, that are running 1700-1900 on the charger. Good enough for now.
4……heat……I need an opinion on how hot a tube light gets versus a light with a larger head. If there is almost no difference, then go with the smaller/thinner.
5….1000 plus lumens. Although the 200-300 range will be the go too.
6….budget……as in budget light forum…lol
I also have one other problem in that amazon.ca does not carry all the flashlights Amazon.com carries, generally far more expensive AND, I have a trust issue with Chinese companies in shipping and card security. I had an issue with Paypal too (massive phissing).
It’s a zoomie, so full flood will be buttery-smooth and even. I carried one for quite a while, and I generally hate zoomies, at least when zoomed. And they’re really easy to mod. Plus, it’s more compact than those silly tulip-head zoomies.
If she’s really… error-prone… then for good or ill one of those 18650s with built-in charger and protection-circuit would fit the bill. Folomov sells one, and Nitefox sells one, too.
The ’98 you can probably get in one fomr or another on Amazon, ’though quality might be a crap-shoot (emphasis on “crap”). Fasttech usually carries good clones, and/or “genuine” Ultrafire (even though the ’98 is a Sipik clone).
Be forewarned, though, that on Amazon, they have zero clue what’s the difference from a SK98 (18650) and SK68 (14500), and often conflate the reviews, too. How many “reviews” are “What the Hell is this? My AAs don’t fit in this light!”, so they probably mix’n’match what’s being sold, too.
Failing that, what about an AA Tool with diffuser cap? Feed it alkaleaks, carry it like an area-light?
Or for taking out the garbage, etc., a headlamp lets you go hands-free. Something like a Boruit RJ02 (or revamp) lets you toss in a wider-angle TIR lens in like 30sec.
Wow…. I had no idea the prices were so much higher in Canada!! . . :person_facepalming:
The prices below are for the same Sofirn SC31 kit(battery included) .
Amazon Canada = $59.35 CDN$ / $44.83 USD
. Amazon USA = $17.99 USD
. Ali Express = $16.78 USD
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What other charges do you guys get hit with if you order from China?
I’d order it from overseas but that’s up to you. Don’t know how import duties or anything work in Canada. Know anyone in the US that can bring ya a few over the border on vacation or something?
Edit: Sorry forgot about the floody part. Put a piece of DCFix over the lens. Super cheap way to spread out a beam.
Sofirn offered for me to buy from Amazon.ca and they would ship from China. I declined because it would be hit and miss. if they stopped the goods at the border and to clear it, I would pay import taxes, which is a few bucks and more important, custom clearance service. That could add another 30 bucks.
UPS makes a huge profit through custom clearance. They could charge 50 bucks for a 60 dollar item. The actual taxes are peanuts. This is deliberately set up to protect two bit vendors that can’t compete on the open market.
Trump was right to challenge that in NAFTA. Stupid Canadian sided with the statue quo. In other words, pay through the nose. Displaced stupidity cloaked under nationalism.
Right now, Sofirn has not restocked Amazon.ca and their flashlights are ridiculously priced by third parties. They are into their new year so I have to wait.
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Guys, thanks again for the recommendations. I keep reading this review and that review, but it’s not as clear as it was for my two current purchases. Olight and Q8 were clear choices.
If you lived in the states you could probably get away with not buy from overseas and act like cpf snotty boys who loved to slide into BLF try buying from china ,,,and then three days later try to track their order ... Go postal and rant for weeks about how they will never do business with liars and thieves ...
What about mountain elect. or illum. ? Andrew and Amanda .
How about the Canadian armytek gang ...(cough cough)
You could move to Alabama...
Or just do a debit card paypal account ..pre=pay credit card ?
I don’t want to focus on the buying end….but here if is in a nutshell.
I never thought that Sofirn would rip me off. Not for a second. But as I wrote above, it may or may not make it through customs. A bargain can turn into mildly expensive real quick.
With PayPal, I got three months worth of solid phishing and it lasted almost two years. Zippo, nada with anyone else. Apparently they shared my email with the vendor.
I’ll look into a “one shot” payment with PP. Or move to Alabama.
…. Georgia is very nice too. Especially the mountains in the North part & the Southern part is great too. A “HUGE Chunk” would be fantastic too… endless possibilities from timber to agricultural and right on to a Hunting Lodge for clients with an endless supply of money.
. :person_facepalming:
…. Georgia is very nice too. Especially the mountains in the North part & the Southern part is great too. A “HUGE Chunk” would be fantastic too… endless possibilities from timber to agricultural and right on to a Hunting Lodge for clients with an endless supply of money.