What lights do I need in my collection?

If a few more lights sell i’ll have some money for upgrading.
Right now i have

  • Convoy M3C (26650) XHP-70
    4000(?) lumens
  • Convoy M1 type light, (18650) XM-L2
    1200(?) lumens
  • Crelant V4A (4AA) XP-L direct drive,
    1300 lumens(?)
  • Cyclone C88 (26650) XM-L
    950 lumens
  • Klarus P1A (1AA) XP-G
    100ish lumens
  • Starry Light (barely usable becasue of thread wear) (4AA) XM-L2
    500ish lumens
  • Crelant V21A (2AA) XM-L2
    200ish lumens
  • Coast Polysteel 600 (4AA) XM-L2
    500ish lumens
  • Nitecore P30 (18650) XP-L
    1000(?) lumens
  • Olight S2 (18650) XM-L
    400(?) lumens
  • Olight I3e (AAA)
    90 lumens
  • XTAR Moon RC2
    200(?) lumens

What else would make for a well rounded collection or needs upgrading?

Endgame light is Maxabeam/Peakbeam. That is the one you might need. Than you can rest.
Mike

So exclusive the price isn’t even available online!
And i notice its Xenon bulbed

Maybe a D18 or MF01S or another soda can type flashlight and a good 16350 light would round out your collection.

Sofirn SP 36 is one of my favorites. D4 is a cool pocket rocket to have.

My EDC, which is my favorite flashlight, is the Lumintop FW3A.

I don't know if you want or need it, but it's very nice.

That looks like an awesome light.
I had forgotten to mention Olight S2. I actually want to upgrade it becasue it has about 400 lumens and i could use more. But similar form factor with magnet in tail seems to cost upwards of $100.

You got a lot of AA-lights, me personaly I like my AA-lights but EDC my AAA-lights, that might be something for you to look at.

I do think you need something outlandish for geek-play, one for pure power like the SP36 mentioned above and one for pure throw just for giggles and show.

I do have a keychain Olight i3e AAA, works well when i need light quickly. And as a true flashaholic i keep finding more lights.

I like AA lights becasue Eneloops take a licking and keep on ticking. Also i can leave them in the car in summer heat unlike lithium.
But i have yet to find a good one, solid lumens and battery holders that don’t strip the wrapping off the batteries.

My other favorite flashlight is the BLF-D80v2.

It used to be dirt cheap, and now it's more expensive.

If you're looking for a pretty compact thrower with a tail switch, it's an excellent choice.

It fits in my pants/shorts pocket really well.

If it were still about $28, and if the brightest emitter were still available cheap, I would recommend it more.

Also, if you're looking for a keychain flashlight, the RovyVon ones are my favorite.

I like the RovyVon Aurora A3 Pro the most, but there are a bunch to choose from.

They're extremely bright for their size, and they have a really convenient lockout function.

I think they're overpriced for what they are, so if you don't care about the excellently implemented lockout function, there are several cheaper clones available.

That is effing bright for a keychain light, rivalling my Convoy M1 (that i just sold) if only for a short time.
At this time i am not looking to upgrade the keychain, i rarely use the keychain light and it is sufficient when i do.
Of course if money were no object i would of course go for that car headlight in a keychain :heart_eyes:

But you say similar brightness is available in keychain for cheap?

Not sure what you consider a collection… but it seems to me you’re just started.

To start with the classics, i’d consider a couple Convoy S2s and C8s. They come in a variety of body colors and emitters, including hight CRI, UV, red, green and blue.

Soda can lights like the BLF Q8, now somewhat deprecated in favor of the Sofirn SP36. Astrolux MF01S, Emisar D18, FF Rot66 Gen 2…

26650 lights like the DQG Tiny 26650 3rd, Astrolux MF01 Mini, Emisar D4SV2…

Pocket rockets like the Emisar D4V2, Lumintop FW3A and variants…

21700 lights…
AAA/10440 keychain lights…

There is quite some room to round up your collection. :wink:

Yep, two of the popular ones that are similar to the smaller RovyVons are the Nitecore TIKI and JETBeam Mini One.

I don't have any experience with them, but they are more reasonably priced.

There's (at least) one more popular one, but I can't remember what it is.

EDIT:

The Seeknite S11 is another clone, but it's not that popular.

Check out the OP of this thread for some good deals on the Tiki and Mini One:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/51147

You might need to do a text search for "Tiki" or "Mini One" to find the deals.

...

EDIT:

Here's a deal for the Seeknite S11:

I like simple, the fewer lights the better, but i want to cover all situations

I have a 800+ meter throwing light (P30) so that covers the C8. I might look at a new more powerful S2, mine is for sale being XM-L. UV would be very interesting.
I never considered colours, but would be interested in a light that has all three and can choose between them.

An interesting list.
In the end i want simple, if i was starting over i would want a thrower, a lumen monster, an all purpose light, a keychain light, a 4AA high lumen regulated light, 1AA and lantern (the Moon RC2 is a very interesting design that i never expected to be my most used light).
That said colours and UV are interesting as well.

I have some of this covered already though if money were not an issue i would start over with a clean slate and buy higher end examples of each category.

A Rotary??

I would suggest adding a Manker E02II to your collection. (4000k high CRI version). In addition to the excellent beam (TIR) and high CRI, the clip is fantastic. It is simply the most useful light I have for dog walking and indoor hands free use. Simple and useful UI. Fantastic moon modes. Can clip to most anything. So small and discrete it is the only light that I have that I will wear as jewelry. Clipped to a hat brim in is an excellent headlamp. A good right angle light is a very excellent part of any collection.

Do you have a decent headlamp?

I like the Lumintop HL3A, which is very similar to the FW3A.

(I'm a sucker for stepless ramping.)

I don’t see any UV lights in there. That’s a whole other rabbit hole to explore :stuck_out_tongue: