Flashlights are a new thing for me. I have been around Solar for a while, so batteries and charging I’m familiar with .
I’m just a retired Old Teacher who wants to learn new hobbies. I guess I need some recommendations on a few lights to get started
Welcome to BLF!
I recommend you start off with a few flashlights. I recommend that you categorize by size. Let's be conservative, and start off with one big, one medium and one small size.
Small: There are so, so, so many, many to choose from. You can't go wrong with Emisar D4V2. You can select from various emitters. You can select normal mode for normal run time and normal heat generation. You can select brief turbo blast, so as to muchly illuminate a lot briefly.
Next, medium size. I recommend Astrolux EC03 or Astrolux FT02S. Again, there are many others to choose from.
Next, big. I recommend BLF GT94. Everything you want in a flashlight, but much more, and better for you! Killer diller combination of power and throw!
In the huge size/performance lights category, there are not so huge a selection to choose from. But there is still a wide selection of big, huge performance offerings for you to choose from. There are MS18 for max power flood, and X70, and also MT90Plus/MS05 for max throw. There is also, besides led, lep and hid, etc.
Best bet is to cruise through this forum to what's what.
It's nice to see you, BadTeacher!
WOW , Thanks for the recommendations. Maybe I can start off slow with something in the $40 range for me to see around my buildings and yard. Thank You
Wowwzer , Racoon City what beautiful eyes you have. This place is getting very interesting, very fast. Thanks for the WARM welcome
“…some recommendations on a few lights to get started…”
1. Fenix E01.
2. Olight Perun 2 headlamp.
3. Rayovac The Beast.
welcome.
I’m sure others will have many recommendations for you. I’ve just started down this path. The best value for me so far is the Sofirn Sp31 V2.0.
It is cheaper than your price point and has some decent features without being overly complicated.
Here’s a link to it. It’s even on sale right now (mine wasn’t 
)
.
For what it’s worth. the Wurkkos FC11 is a nice light with both a ramping and M-L-M-H U/I. 26-30 dollars on Amazon. Great as a starter and quality enough that it finds frequent use despite my having lights that cost 10 times as much. Welcome to the forum.
Thank You to every one. You’ll now how to make a person feel welcomed.
I’m going to check out several of the lights mentioned and maybe splurge on two of them.
Welcome. There are many suggestions I could make but great for starters would be a combo of a headlamp and pocket sized light. I might recommend looking at the Skilhunt H04RC and M200.
Other lights worth really taking a look at.
Manker E02
Skilhunt E3A
Sofirn SP10 Pro
Lumintop FWAA
Lumintop FW1A
Emisar D4V2
Convoy M2 with CSLNM1.TG
Convoy L21B with SFT40
* toys or otherwise impractical or expensive *
Emisar D18 with Nichia 219B
Sofirn Q8 Pro
Wildtrail WT90
Lumintop X9L
Emisar D4SV2 with PM1
Welcome to BLF BadTeacher!
I suggest looking for some flashlights here: Convoy flashlight Store
Simon, the owner of the Convoy flashlight store is a member here and has some great flashlights at very reasonable prices. Shipping to the US is pretty fast, he stands behind his products, and is constantly adding new flashlight options.
In this recent thread, BLF members listed their 5 favorite flashlights:
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/67578
That thread might give you some ideas on what to get.
Just get the Convoy 4x18a sbt90 and youre done for the decade
While i don’t have this light persoanlly, based on the reviews and RFD recommendations i would second it as a good choice for starting out with.
Welcome…
Could I suggest a different approach?
Instead of just entering the tunnel of flashlight doom with random purchases… start with a basic respected platform or two and learn what emitter and tints you like! Convoy on Aliexpress is a super respected source of lights that just work, not always the brightest or hotest but fantastic choices of emitters that will not break the bank!
You will want to try from 3000k to 6500k, likely with hi CRI values.
Nichia 219B - sw-30, sw-40, sw-45k - lower output as they are now a generation old, but they have set the standards. Floody
Michia 219C - comes in a full range of tints with good CRI. Floody
SST-20 - Very high output, great CRI although some of the bins are a bit green as they are above the BBL. Tighter beam
LH351D - Another very good emitter, their below the BBL bins are my favorite for normal use. Not as floody as 219’s
GT FC40 - An amazing 12 volt very hi CRI led. Comes in 4000-4500k and 5000-5500k. Pure flood and wonderful tint. The S11 in 4000-4500k is amazing, do not worry about the 26650 cells as an 18650 adapter tube works fine.
There are many more that one could go into and in time you may well do so.
The Convoy Store on Aliexpress has a wonderful selection. The S series are all tube lights and the M series are also very will designed lights as well. If you are an AA/14500 fan the latest T2 is also an awesome choice and it can be had with the LH351D, Nichia 219B and various SST-20’s. For the most part, the Convoy lights are very mod friendly, should you decide to grab a soldering iron.
Again, welcome!
Thanks again guys
I really appreciate all the support you’ll are showing me. Like I mentioned before I came here from the solar forum with recommendation of a fellow member. I have steered him to products for Solar/Inverter setup. I messaged him yesterday that I had joined BLF and was getting suggestions on several lights.
He sent me me a picture of these 3 lights with their descriptions. He assured me these lights are all I need and would cover most anything I will do with flashlights. He also said be careful though. It’s very addictive and I could end up like him with hundreds of lights. I said no way, what do you do with that many lights. He said most of them collect dust.
1) Acebeam K50 vn dedomed 600k Thrower (whatever that means)
2) Convoy S2+ triple sst20 4k with a solid copper pill
3) Lumintop Tool AA with a Samsung 4k led
He said as a favor to me, he would send these to me for $75 What do you guys think, should I buy them or look around some more
Likely it is 6000K. Refers to the colour of the tint. More of a blue/green range of “white” light. Lower numbers are in the reddish range. Neutral is generally 4500 to 5000K. Higher values also tend to give more range to the light, while oversaturating the colours. Neutral to lower numbers usually give more accurate colour rendition but less range.
Lights are a mixture of how wide (flood) and long (throw) the beam are. Some lights are designed more for flood to see the maximum up close, some are designed for maximum viewing distance, or throw.
Dedomed refers to modifying the LED by shaving off a domed portion, some are domed and some are not.
If you want to light up a room inside you want a flooder, want to see what is making a noise a distance away you want a thrower.
Welcome to the rabbit-hole…. 
BadTeacher, I am completely new to these complicated flashlights so I cannot answer any of your questions. I am reading as much as I can here and trying to learn. All this information is daunting to me.
I did buy several Convoy Flashlights from a gentleman and plan to give most to my brothers & nephews. I will have a couple left over.
If you would like one of those to try out just let me know.
I do have a question about the first light you asked about above, this one… (1. Acebeam K50 vn )
What does the “vn” mean?
I cannot find an explanation to this anywhere in my reading.
VN is the signature of SkyLumen, who is a great member/resource here and has a storefront for flashlight mod projects he works on. SkyLumen.com