Hey Guys! I'm Brand New to This Forum and I want a Major Thrower!

LED Flashlights – General Info
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Hello Again Guys,

I appreciate all of your warm welcomes and great advice. I know whatever I get will destroy what I have, in terms of performance. Currently, I have an enercell light from RadioShack & the Brinmkann Armormax Tactical 3c from Tractor Supply. The Brinkmann does better than the Maglite LED & the RadioShack comes close. This started because I live by a state park with small dogs, I need to search for owls who may eat them, & if a guest or roommate ever accidentally lets one of the dogs out, search lights may help me stop racoons from eating them. Anyway, I went to Home Depot about a week ago & they don’t have the Defiant thrower. Ebay has it for about $50, which makes the 1,000 lumen Coast a better, more conventionally styled, light. Locally, the $50 500 Lumen Coleman from Walmart is about the best. It looks great, but doesn’t throw as far as my Brinkmann. At $50, after tax & some rechargeables, I should be looking online. I’m sort of thinking that the TK75 will make it very hard to be able to go bigger, which I will eventually try to do, knowing myself. Yes, I think this is too much to spend, but doing this instead of ordering two or three lights may be smart. I’ve seen the comparison between the Stl-v2 and K40; the K40 seems quite a bit better. Now, this TK75 will have close to that much throw, but with a massively wide beam. I can’t imagine how much light that will actually be, both long and far in one light. Although all of the lights discussed in this thread are amazing, I’m thinking this price difference might actually be worth it. I don’t mind spending it, as long as it actually is that much better. Given what I’m reading, it seems like the combined depth and width of this beam may actually produce something twice as intense as these other lights. If I’m wrong, please correct me because then it might not be worth the money. If this choice was irreversible, like a tattoo, I think I’d have to get the Olight SR90. However, I think that’s just stupid money for a flashlight. The next best thing without dropping that type of money seems to be this TK75. I’m thinking this TK75 might be the light to get even though its like 3 times too expensive, just because it seems like it will be really really awesome. What do you guys think? Will this produce something that is much more intense and altogether ridiculous, or am I getting carried away? I mean, after seeing this picture, its hard not to order it. http://www.myfenix.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/i/picture7_5_1.jpg

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Just expensive…

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jdecker just get an ebay HID 85watt flashlight. You will sell all those xm-l after u get one. The HID will make those tn31s and high end XMLs look like candles.

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From someone that owns a SR90 - I say don’t get it. It’s an awesome light with great throw and power. And excellent quality. But it’s a little out dated. With lights light the TN31, BTU, and TK75 out, they are far better deals. Between my brother and I we have all of those lights. And while the SR90 has the slight edge on throw, all 3 of them (slight meaning 95k-126k vs 142k), in real life your talking 40-100m difference. And the TK75 and BTU comes that close while spanking the SR90 in actual lumens. Even the TN31 gives you 60-75% of the lumens depending on which versions. And then there is the obvious issue on its monstrosity size.
I actual de-domed my SR90 to give it a noticeable throw margin over the others. And even dedomed it only out throws the TN31 or BTU by 150m. I’m now in the process of getting a SBT-70 installed in it try to widen the gap more and to try to justify the much higher cost of the SR90.
Now don’t get me wrong about the SR90 - it’s still a beast of a light and I don’t regret buying it in the least. And when it came out, nothing but a TK70 even came close to it. But now there are better choices that offer similar performance for 1/2-1/3 the cost.
This is the way I see it -
Best thrower under $50 - A60 or Fandyfire
Best flooder and powerhouse under $50 - SRK
Best combo thrower/flooder under $50 - HD2010
Best throwers $100-$150 - K40, TN31
Best thrower/flooder $100-150 - TK75 & BTU
Other than a TN31mb, DeftX, SR95SUT, Polarion PH50 (&other highend HID’s) no other light on the market, regardless of price, will perform NOTICEABLY better then those lights I mentioned in the $100-150 range.

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Hi jdecker, I’m sure being a school teacher doesn’t like to read long wall of texts and prefer some paragraphing. I find it difficult to read your posts. :party:

Anyway, welcome to BLF!

I would say HD2010… so far (pun intended) mine has been okay despite having some initial problems, with the reflector shorting the LED or something. It’s good for the money, but somehow I’m not very impressed by it.

If you have the money to spare just go for TN31. I have not bought one yet but it’s good given the reviews here.

And for an all-rounder, TK75 is one of the best flooder and thrower combined.

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Thanks for stopping by, jdecker!

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This is my opinion:

Best thrower under $15 - A60
Best thrower under $40 - STL-V6
Best thrower under $100 - 7G5cs

Best flooder under $75 - SRK from cnqualitygoods

Best throwers under $175 - K40, TN31
Best thrower/flooder under $175 - TK75 & BTU

Best combo for under $150 - SRK and STL-V6
Best combo for under $350 - TN30 and TK75

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Thanks once again everyone for sharing this plethora of knowledge, and hello to you Alice! If I read correctly, the TK75 can maintain the highest mode for around 20 minutes. If needed, it can also take up to two extension tubes and fit twelve 18650 batteries. While I can’t imagine needing that many 18650s, this sounds like a nice piece of equipment to a guy who comes from a farm! In this particular scenario, it seems like a higher price buys something that doesn’t exist at a lower price. I’m thinking of that plus four of these batteries. Now, I just need to find the TK75 from a reliable seller at a reasonable enough price.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001901/1143804-sanyo-ur18650zt-18650-2800mah-protected-rechargeab

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Oh & great point about the HID light. I don’t see a low mode though, which could be a problem to my neighbors :slight_smile:

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If your looking at a budget, there is also the small sun zy-t13 and zy-t08, depending on what format you like. Both can be found under $25, pretty sure under $25,0 but I’m on my cell and don’t feel like budget hunting right now :stuck_out_tongue:
Welcome to the forum btw. Be careful when you start thinking about modding and custom hosts. It’s a desease :money_mouth_face:

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Yes the TK75 will maintain its turbo mode for 20min. I personally tested one and it went from turbo to high right at about 21min. It did loose about 230L during that the 21 min. period, but that’s very reasonable for a high output light that had no extra cooling during the testing.

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When I first got into this crazy flashlight game, all that mattered to me was throw. I ended up working my way up to a couple of pretty good throw lights costing just over $100.00 each. Fenix TK41 and Olight M3X. Both throw longer than my aging eyes will probably ever need. I ended up liking and using the TK41 more even though it didn’t throw quite as far because it has a much more useable beam with more spill and more modes. As time passes I find that even though I like throw, a good spill light with decent throw is what I use the most.
I picked up a Black Shadow Termonator last week it has become my favorite light. Maybe it’s because it’s new and after the newness wears off or after I buy a TK75, my view may change. However, the masive amount of light it puts out and more throw than I’m likely to ever really need along with it’s handy size has moved the Termonator to the top of my list of around 30 lights that I own.

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The Black Shadow Terminator looks like a really nice light, and it sounds it’s won you over in the midst of some serious competition.

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What would i say ??

I'd say you're insane ....I'd also say it to Match ,Don, foy ,-the-, or anyone else on the forum

If your skin is that thin I'd suggest cpf . I'm sorry but members who joined yesterday shouldn't ever mention that they are thinking about leaving because they aren't feeling the love .. welcome to blf or see ya on cpf :P

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The Termonator is not perfect. A memory would be nice as would a lower low mode. I didn’t think I would like the green light coming from the on/off switch but after putting the light on the night stand I have found that it makes a wonderful night light. The whole light is smaller than I thought it would be and I think the handle will come in very handy for camping. It will make a wonderful hook to hang it in the tent. I had to laugh. My wife suffers from cold hands. She has asked me to turn the light on high a couple of times to heat it up. Makes a great hand warmer. LOL

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I have a ThruNite TN31 XM-L2, Trustfire X6, HD2010, and a Fenix TK70. Honestly, the TK70 poops all over the other ones. The TK70 and the TN31 have the same throw value (130kcd), but the TK70 lights up a much larger area while having the same throw. I just picked up a 2nd used TK70 for $135 shipped from another forum member here. You can get one new off eBay for $190, but I know that’s a lot more than you want to spend.

The Trustfire X6 is a great thrower, but a decent light. I got one off Aliexpress for $78 shipped. It’s definitely a major thrower and it has great heat sinking, however, I have some complaints. The one I got is unbranded, came with a completely borked tail cap rubber gasket (there are 2 so not a huge deal), and it is a reverse clicky switch. My biggest complaint though is that the battery tube is very short. I bought some Panasonic NCR18650B 18650 3400 mAh protected batteries from fasttech.com for it and I couldnt screw down the tail cap. I then tried some Sanyo UR18650FM 18650 2600 mAh protected batteries from fasttech.com and I could screw down the cap, but it caved in the negative contacts on the battery protection circuits. To be fair, the protection circuits that fasttech offers on those batteries are abnormally long, which doesnt help. So if I want to use the light, I generally put in my protected Trustfire flame 18650’s, which I don’t trust to not explode in that light. As Scaru mentioned in another post, this problem could probably be fixed by cutting down the tail cap spring, but it was kind of an off putting problem for me. I’m not sure why Trustfire couldnt add 5mm of extra length to the battery tube…Would it really cost that much? All my complaints aside, the light throws like a mofica, is fairly cheap, is a great candidate for modding to push A LOT more lumens from the stock emitter, and its cool to have a light that has something other than a Cree LED in it (It uses a Luminus SST-90 LED).

I bought my TN31 XM-L2 from another forum member here, JOE, and it is an absolutely fantastic light. He sells them for $145 shipped new and he is a great guy to work with. I really like the user interface of the light. It uses a ring at the top of the body, below the head. You twist the ring to switch between the mode settings. The modes are nicely spaced apart lumen wise and include a standby and strobe feature. The lowest mode is the lowest lumen output of any flashlight I own, which is really nice if you need just enough light to read a map or something where you don’t want to ruin your night vision. The switch on the tail cap is also forward clicky, which I VASTLY prefer to reverse clicky.

The HD2010 from Tmart is a nice light and hard to beat for $30, but I have some reservations about it. It definitely throws nicely for the price, but every time I turn it on, I feel like I am in a James Cameron movie at night. The tint of the emitter is very much on the blue side of the spectrum, or at least mine is. While its really not a concern unless you are shining it at a white wall 10 feet away, the beam is also very non-uniform. Also, there isn’t a very good selection of 26650 batteries out there and not a lot of chargers support them. I would probably spend the extra $7 and get a Fandyfire STL-V6 from fasttech.com so you can use 18650’s. If you go with the HD2010, I would probably get a Protected Trustfire Flame 26650 or King Kong 26650 for it.

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Isn't the TK70 is little weaker than the BTU Shocker? If so you're TN31 should be beating it. Granted I have the NW Shocker, but there is no comparison for throw with mine.

Thanks for the compliant I think the reasoning for forward clicky is the UI. I prefer reverse clicky when you have to cycle through the modes with the tailcap button. For 1-mode and magnetic ring lights I think forward is better. (I am a die-hard reverse clicky guy too)

I would go with the STL-V6 as well. It is a truly great thrower for the price.

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I have three lights that are pretty much throwers. The jacobs A60 it throws a pinpoint of light a country mile for $14. For $25 I have a small sun ZY-T08 it throws a long way too and it isn’t a pinpoint but bigger decent sized beam. For the money it’s a great buy. Then I have a SST-80 Trustfire T8 huge head and out throws the rest. Mine was $47 but it was a sale. If what you are looking for is throw it’s great and can be modded to be a true monster. I’m putting in a de-domed XM-L2 on Monday.

The most impressive light that I own is both a thrower and a flooder. It’s the BTU shocker and it is something else. I paid $120 for mine and got $20 in store credit and an extra DRY driver tossed in. This light competes with the TK70 heads up and uses 18650’s.

Yes it’s big and yes it’s heavy and yes it kicks! You won’t find anything for sale that is significantly better at least not anything that I know of for under $500.

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Hi and welcome jdecker to a place that sometimes has a little stipidity mixed into it.

I cant help you with a major thrower but if you ever need advice on a corporal or private thrower give us a yell.

Sorry, kick me, I'm not worthy.

There is some good advice above.

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The BTU Shocker is more closely compared to the Fenix TK75. The TK75 puts out more lumens than the BTU Shocker and throws further. The TK70 puts out 400 less lumens than the TK75, but it throws further than the TK75 (606 vs 720 meters ANSI rated). My friend and I went to a really big cemetery with my TN31, TN30, TK70, and Trustfire X6. The TK70 was by far the best thrower of the bunch. I think its just due to the reflector design. It has very deep and narrow reflectors so it sends the light downrange in a VERY tight beam, but the 3 LED's make up for the beam tightness by letting it still have excellent flood. Again, the TN31 has the same throw, but the area it lights up at distance is much smaller than the TK70. The TN30 is undoubtedly brighter up close, but it just doesn't have the range of the TK70. The TN30 is a much more versatile light because of the size and modes, but it has it's place. It's definitely not what I would classify as a pure thrower. The only light I have that is brighter than the TN30 is my Ultrafire 9xT6. But that thing is pure flood with very limited throw. I would say the TN30 XM-L2 is definitely the most versatile light I own and one of my favorites.