Newbie needs help with choosing flashlight

they are. BUT, they wont have the life that a properly heat sinked LED will.

I USE my XM-Ls on HIGH for hours at a time.

try that with most p60s (without adding stupid things like aluminum foil to help with heat) and see if they last at the same 3 amp draw.....

XM-Ls are tough leds, but any led is susceptible to heat. ive blown 2 already, one with aluminum foil, one without

dont take the risk.

also, skyray is an acquired taste to begin with. gotta like star trek to like that flashlight lol

at least get a nice solarforce L series lol

What exactly are P60s?

Easiest way to describe it is that a P60 is a kind of cartridge that includes the reflector, emitter and controlling circuit board all together as a single module.

Many lights take these modules and so are described as P60 hosts.

Naturally you can buy them as a complete flashlight (i.e. both P60 drop-in and the host).

Hope that helps.

The drawback of P60 drop-ins is that the drop-in design is not ideal for conducting the heat away from the emitter to the body of the light. So folks often wrap aluminum foil around the drop-in or strips cut from a drinks can to improve the contact (i.e. heatsinking) I'll try to find a link to a thread on how to do this and post it here later.

EDIT - Here you go the foil approach.

Ah! Thanks VFMaddict. That clears things up. So lights like the one I listed above (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-a9-t60-cree-xm-l-t6-5-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-black-1-x-18650-90602?r=4303328) aren't P60, right?

I like my KD C8 XM-L T6 with OP reflector. Here's the post by E1320 that sealed the deal:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2784#comment-50018

Quite correct, Getemer, that is not a P60 host. Its probably a good light from the specs but with no reviews I cannot guarantee that. Personally in that class (i.e. lights with a 44-to-46mm head) I think that in the absence of a review I'd be inclined to go instead for this light. As JohnnyMac says most folks around here have one of these in either the Smooth reflector that he linked to or the OP (orange peel) reflector that I just linked to.

that A9 looks pretty nice, but i dont have one so i cant say anything.

the C8 has plenty of reviews, and ive had two FandyFire C10s, very good flashlights for the money.

BTW i sold both c10s to friends for more than i payed for them, and have more on order.... so i can sell more!

Im sure the A9 isnt bad either, but who knows. It is China lol

VFMaddict, what is the difference between the smooth versus OP reflectors?

I have over 40 Trustfire flames 18650s from DX I have only had 3 that were bad out of 40 and it was the protection circuit only that needed to be removed they all push over 3 amps all 40 of them the unprotected ones push 4.5 amps. I don't know how long ago you got the bad ones but they are safe to order now.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-protected-18650-3-7v-true-2400mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-2-pack-20392?r=43033281

I have the Hobbyking Imax 6 charger to it is awesome love it but it is overkill if you are just starting out.

I have the TR-001 from DX almost a year old I still use it if i am in a rush I don't leave it unattended and I check the batteries with a DMM every time because I don't trust it but it works fine for 8 bucks it's a great deal and a good way to get started into Lions there is a thread on this charger and a lot of people on here use it as well as the Trustfire batteries a very cheap, successful and well tested combination.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-tr-001-multi-purpose-lithium-battery-charger-12594?r=43033281

I really don't think its good advice to tell someone to avoid P-60 hosts that is 90 percent of the lights people on this forum use day in and day out.

Seriously dude you melted two P-60 hosts I will assume they were direct drive and the Hi Max batteries delivering over 4 amps dedomed the LEDS that is the only way that could happen.

I have dozens of P-60 light they are the majority of my collection most of them are XML and I run them on high until they are to hot to touch not a single dedomed LED. I like the P-60s so much I started making my own p-60 drop in regulated at 2.8-3.5 amps so they won't dedome the LED no longer how long you leave them on.

I really think if there was a problem with P-60s dedoming you would see it here on this forum people love to complain far more than they like to compliment products especially cheap stuff.

You apparently got a couple bad products you did not say were you got them but this sounds like a CPF post.

I would not recommend avoiding P-60 hosts in fact I would recommend starting out with one same goes for the Trusfire flames and the TR-001 charger. I don't want to contradict you for the sake of it but it just seams like you are giving this guy some bad advice. He can go over to CPF and get really bad advice if he wants but I stand behind my advice on the products I trust and use everyday.

You poor, poor normal person, You may not know it but your life is about to change.

I wont tell you what to get as i feel others here are more qualified to do so, No ill give you some tips on how to survive.

1. Start slow, You dont need to buy everything you see as your perception of that item will change as you learn and hang around here.

2. Buy the basics and in the minimum amounts needed. You will have plenty of time to spend cash like a redneck at a "Buck a Pitcher" night.

3. Keep an open mind and learn patience. You can buy good flashlights from within the USA, But it will cost you usually 2x-4x as much as the same item from China.

4. China, The companies you hear about here may have bad reps on the net and there are reasons for that. One is the buyer didnt do his homework. Another is he is very impatient as shipping from China is done by a guy named Chang and he swims the lights strapped to his back into the California ports.

5. Numbers mean nothing, Well ratings that is. Like lumens are ALWAYS exaggerated and battery capacities are never as good as stated. If the numbers are real you can bet you will be paying for that honesty.

6. Safety, Read about Lithium-Ion battery safety and how to not loose a finger or burn your house down.

7. Small cheap lights, batteries, chargers, accessories are all inexpensive from China, But when you make 10 orders in a month its no longer cheap.

8. There are other online flashlight web forums, Most look down on people like us who prefer a good $25 retina burner over a $150 brand name light that is only as good as you value it to be.

9. Asking for a light recommendation thread can last a month if you dont buy something and tell them to stop already, They cant help it as there is possibly a a few million lights made in China. A few in the USA too!

10. Really, two lights are enough and you can stop right there. But you wont.

Good luck and welcome to the insanity.

Now that is some really good advice can't go wrong only thing that could make it better is if you didn't have to wait 3 weeks but there is no way around that.

Id have to say that 50% of my learning came directly from you, And its been a darned expensive 3 weeks at that!

Great advice! Thanks so much for sharing... I can tell that I've already been bitten by the bug.

But those batteries won't work in the KD C8 will they?

19.15mm opening on the newest KDC8

Okay, okay. I'm pretty much narrowed down on the fact that I want the KD C8. But I have two questions about it:

1. Is the orange peel or smooth reflector better?

2. Do I get the XTAR charger/battery deal for $22, or do I get the trustfire charger/flames?

Second, I'm thinking about getting the Sipik sk68 as a small pocketable light. But I'm wondering if there's anything that is better within that size/price range?

Is this a good deal? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250599356817&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_6799wt_1080

Thanks Be-Seen Triker! How much would you say the OP deadens the throw?

just to point out. there are plenty of reviews of chargers. Tr-001 is one of the MEH. but if its one thing ive learned in my time buying flashlights (esp with the help of this site) is that if you cheapen out, you just keep buying

honestly, it has overcharged my batteries, even when watching it (caught it at 4.3V, so im lucky)

I bought the trustfires when they were newer out (tho had been out a while, maybe a few months) and has nothing but bad luck

When were talking high draw flashlights, I would hate to tell a noobie to take off the protection if it isnt working right. While protection doesnt fix all, thats just really BAD advise.

also, i SERIOUSLY abuse flashlights. My p60s are RARELY picked up. And i have some cheapo and nice ones. My leds DID de-dome, at only 2.8 amps. after about .8 hours on high. that was with a TRUSTFIRE lol. so who knows, maybe it started to draw high.

but for a first seriously good flashlight, skip the p60. those are good for later modding.

C-series have all been good from all manufactures ive bought from, so id stick with those. Also for modding, the Aurora V6 is a great host too. even for an XML. you can get the empty host on DX as well

I recommend people interested in modding and such, to get a hobby charger, and a solid flashlight thats moddable with sufficient heat sinking.

26 bux is hardly too much money for an everything charger. Not sure how much the IMAX is, but the accucell is cheap and sufficient. not to mention has stuck to its name.

why waste the money on a tr-001 when for only 16 bux more you can get a 10x better product? were not talking about spending 100s of dollars on CPF crap!

its still uber budget friendly. and super easy to use!

in fact i spent 28 bux each on TWO Soshine multi-chargers... now THATS a waste of money. but hey, thats what were here for.

we share our experiences so the new people can skip some of those steps we screwed up on.

actually, im thinking about converting those soshine chargers into shells to use for my accucell 6.

also, on the OP vs SM reflector. I prefer OP, not much has seemed to be lost in comparable flashlights from OP, and the beam is usually much smoother.

of course thats with P60 lights ;-)

Okay I have just a couple more questions:

1. Is the TF TR001 or TR002 charger better?

2. Do I really need these for my Sipik s68? Or will eneloops do just as well?

Thanks guys, your help is really appreciated!