Your "go to" Flashlight

Lumintop ED25 seems like it might fit the bill

The dive light probably had crap batteries, or an HID light with not enough battery, or just a cheap dive light.

An 18650 lithium ion can be charged 400 times if you take care of it, costs 5-10 dollars, and has 4 to 5 times the energy of a AA. You’re looking at about 1100 AA batteries for an equivalent. So which is more expensive?

High beams, you just came to the right place. As with all of which we experience, the bad taste in your mouth is a consecuence of no other thing than your beliefs, thoughts, feelings, … ignorance & bad decisions. So shift into high gear with wisdom.

Li-ion is pretty affordable nowadays. Less than $10 can afford you a quality battery and a cool single bay charger. And that's not to say that there are some good lights with built in battery charging.

However, if you're unwilling to learn at least some tech basics with regards to li-ion handling & care, better stick with Ni-MHs and alkaleaks. Don't freak, though, it's accessible in reality.

There are some 4×AA great quality torches, too, which coupled with good Ni-MHs do very nice. Yet don't even think in alkalines, powerful torches can kill them faster than those digital cameras of the past, they're simply not suitable for anything other than low drain applications.

Cheers ^:)

If you decide you are interested in learning more about the lithium ion powered lights, hang around, ask questions, and you’ll get more information than you dreamed possible in regards to flashlights.

Basically, lithium ion cells are named in numbers. 18650, 18350, 14500, 16340, etc… What this means is, an 18650 is 18mm in diameter and 65mm long. A 14500 is 14mm in diameter and 50mm long (same as a AA), and so on.

Some flashlight examples, from left to right. 18650, 18350, 14500, 16340, and a standard AA. All the lithium ion’s charge to 4.2v

EDC, go for Jetbeam jet 1
150 Lm on AA, 450 on 14500.

Still waiting for my Jetbeam which i ordered 20 days ago from Gearbest…

Jetbeam Jet-1 MK
Or Eagle Eye X2R

The X2R has a build in USB charger and costs you with a 18650B 22-25$

The light can run for almost 2 hours on high level

One 18650 battery equals 4 AA NiMh batteries

Once you go lithium ion, you’ll never go back.
Never.

My go to flashlight is the Olight S1A, with a Sanyo 14500 it reaches 600 lumens, and has the option to use AA’s

I know there are many other AA flashlights but for me this one has the best beam and user interface for daily use

If you are looking for pocket flashlight it is good to: use one AA battery, have tail switch and not longer than 10 - 12 cm.
Neutral white light is also advantage.
Here is two options:
http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-t10-xp-l-252-lumen-flashlight/

http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-archer-1a-v3/

Welcome from a fellow noob. I started coming here a few months ago with a similar question to yours. Now I have two chargers, four 18650s, two 14500s, and a bunch of Eneloops and Ikea Laddas, as well as a BLF A6, Convoy S2+, Crelant V4A, Astrolux A01, BLF 348, Lumintop Tool, Lumintop IYP 365 and Jetbeam Jet I MK to put them in.

If it were me I’d get a Jetbeam Jet I MK ($18-20) and a LiitoKala Lii-100 charger ($5) with a KeepPower 14500 840mAh ($7-8) for everyday carry. Or the Lumintop Tool ($13) which is in my pocket right now. The Lumintop Tool and the Jetbeam Jet I MK are my two favorite torches for EDC.

A note on prices: if you wait for a sale or look for a coupon, you can find all those items for much cheaper than what I listed. I got my Jetbeam Jet I MK for $13 shipped. I got the LiitoKala Lii-100 for $3.90. Etc.

Tomorrow (Nov. 25) is a big sale day; many prices at places like Banggood and GearBest will be low. Several members on this forum also offer coupon or deals threads. Groups buys can be a lot of fun.

Enjoy it.

Thorfire TK4A
A small soda can light running on 4 AA batteries
Using a set of eneloops it is as bright as lotsof 18650/26650 flashlights I have, but safe.
It makes one smile to seethis much output from such a small light.

Oh and welcome to BLF!

Well, that all depends of your opinion of Small i guess.
Personally, i think Soda can size is too big

And a Thorfire TG06 for the pocketable one, same AA batteries as well

I have a few “go-to” lights, the choice is based on the need of the situation, All are LiIon powered lights, though one accepts AAA cells too.

LiIon cells are like race-horses; you must have good ones and treat them properly to win. Not the cheapest initially but they’re well worth it in the long run. Investing say around $35 will get you a couple good cells and a good safe charger which will power your light under normal usage for several years; maybe as much as 10 years. In that time you’d spend more than that for primary cells. There’s also NiMh cells which are less potent but cheaper and safer that can give you equally long service. Incumbent with these is having a way to recharge them but there’s almost always a car or house nearby where you can plug in. Rechargeable makes good sense and good economy where you can use it :sunglasses:

Primary cells have their place and might be a better option for less-used lights and for where powering a charger is problematic. The main problems here are that you’ll have to keep replacing them as needed and that alkaline cells can (and often do) leak, destroying the light. Which is usually discovered only when you need the light the most :frowning:

So rather than recommending any lights, I’d recommend you do a bit of studying on what is available to power them and decide on which cell technology you want to go with before considering which light(s) to get. There are great lights for all technologies but each different one will be different lights recommended.

Phil

a good charger and quality cell is less than 10$ on Banggood, Gearbest or other chinesse store
an original Panasonic 18650B protected cell costs below 5$
http://www.gearbest.com/batteries/pp_187046.html?wid=21
http://www.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_272183.html

Too big for a Nightstand ???

Gearbest and Banggood won’t ship lithium ion cells to the US. The good news is, there is no shortage of places to buy them in the US with the largest selection anywhere. So shipping is only a few days, vs 3 weeks to a month.

Blf a6 would be a good EDC
and the “super bright” flashlight depend on your budget, olight X7 if you have a wide budget

I have read your 1st post and I am getting this from you.

Your looking for 2 lights.
Your budget is around $60 total.
You do not want to use special batteries.

Now I have a few questions.

What lights have you been using?
How do you like the lights you have used?
What are some bright lights to you?
What distance do you plan on using your pocket light?
Comfortable size for a pocket light?
Are these lights , just in case lights, or are they required in daily life ?

In your 2nd post I am getting that you may be open to special cells.

Do you want to impress your friends?
Do you feel this could be a hobby for you?
Do you like taking care of things?

In your 3rd post I am getting you had bad experience with special cells.

Do you like learning new things?
Do you like pushing the limits?
Do you like online communities ?

Answering these will give us all a better chance of recommending lights.

Chad

Nice post Chad!
And TS read li ion safety 101 (link in my sig)