It's 2020..... if you had to pick TWO flashlights from your collection to make your gear bag... which ones would you chose?

LED Flashlights – General Info
21

Olight S2R II and Olight M2R.
Or if I need a very floody light, Olight Baton Pro instead of the S2R II.

22

I’m thinking your answer would be my answer. It would be nice to have 2 headlamps, but having the AA or Lion option would be nice. So a SP10S and something like a Sofirn SP40 or Sofirn D25S both of which are 18650 headlamps with USB charging capability.

23

Well, kinda missed the year, but.. I'd take the Manker U22 III for throwing (I know, it's already 2021, U22 III was not yet available - it would've been the U22 II in 2020, thus maybe, just maybe.. the Thrunite Catapult V6 instead) and the Wurkkos WK30 for flooding in various situations with 3 types/colors of light, white/red/UV.. (just in case.. )

Reasons for going with these:

  1. Efficient buck drivers with very low parasitic drain (decent run-times and of course, they can also be mechanically locked for transport if needed be)
  2. High capacity cells (21700/26650 - 18650 looking at the overall package would really not be much of a space saver to take it into account.. )
  3. Compact enough (I probably would've gone for a 2D Mag - ML300L for ex. otherwise.. But those D's.. kinda heavy bastards.. and that's only talking about two of them.. Spares.. ? You must be joking.. )
  4. Good UI (it's not Anduril, but still.. And as far as the UI on the WK30.. well, it could've been better, but for 3 types of light.. it's quite ok as it is. U22 III and Catapult V6 have some of the best basic UI's)
  5. They should be more idiot proof (just in case again.. ) compared to an Anduril based hot-rod

I guess that should be it (of course I won't count the AA Tool in my pocket.. that would make 3 lights total.. and we can't have that.. )

24

I actually made that choice last summer when I headed off into the boonies for several days on a solo boat trip.

I took a Convoy L1, for its bulletproof ruggedness and two-cell runtime, and a Manker E03H (with an 8 pack of lithium primaries) in case I needed to fix something in the dark.

I love my rechargeable lights, but the light weight and availability of AA’s dictates that I always keep one handy.

(O.K., so I cheated on the “2” limit with an IYP365 in my shirt pocket, but I won’t tell if you don’t.)

25

Many have mentioned the availability of AA/AAA being a deciding factor to their choice of flashlights. But I feel that the importance of battery availability is diminishing, as built-in USB charging is becoming a trend for flashlights, getting a portable solar charger will guarantee infinite power supply for all your USB compatible gadgets. Powering your lights with light, how neat is that.

26

Nitecore MH20/MH20GT, ’cause it’s small, has a great UI, has built-in charging, and hasn’t yet been dethroned as my EDC since I got any of ’em.

Airpro DC7, basically a Q8 but with built-in charging, too. The UI is basically a lobotomised Narsim, even most of the shortcuts. Assloads of capacity with the 4 cells.

27

My two most used lights are what I would choose:

Lumintop FW3A and Lumintop HL3A.

28

I guess the MH23 replaced it. My short list keeps getting longer—)

29

FW3A
2. ?

30

My Lumintop EDC18, XPL-HI, 5000K and my Convoy C8+, SST40, 6500K.

31

1. ZL H600w (headlamp)

and

2. depending on the quest:

  • ZL SC64w HI if I am regularly walking around without a jacket or backpack and occasionally and intermittently need light (my actual everyday scenario IRL)
  • otherwise, ZL SC700d

since i don't have a good enough imagination, i just chose the lights that i have used and continue to use in "quests" since they're useful to me. i do not own any lights that are specifically for SHTF.