Zanflare F1? Hits all the boxes I think.
I’d order it from overseas but that’s up to you. Don’t know how import duties or anything work in Canada. Know anyone in the US that can bring ya a few over the border on vacation or something?
Edit: Sorry forgot about the floody part. Put a piece of DCFix over the lens. Super cheap way to spread out a beam.
Hit and miss.
Sofirn offered for me to buy from Amazon.ca and they would ship from China. I declined because it would be hit and miss. if they stopped the goods at the border and to clear it, I would pay import taxes, which is a few bucks and more important, custom clearance service. That could add another 30 bucks.
UPS makes a huge profit through custom clearance. They could charge 50 bucks for a 60 dollar item. The actual taxes are peanuts. This is deliberately set up to protect two bit vendors that can’t compete on the open market.
Trump was right to challenge that in NAFTA. Stupid Canadian sided with the statue quo. In other words, pay through the nose. Displaced stupidity cloaked under nationalism.
Right now, Sofirn has not restocked Amazon.ca and their flashlights are ridiculously priced by third parties. They are into their new year so I have to wait.
.
Guys, thanks again for the recommendations. I keep reading this review and that review, but it’s not as clear as it was for my two current purchases. Olight and Q8 were clear choices.
Thanks for that ‘cost’ info Spartans… as sad as it is. 
Good luck in your search. :+1:
yOU HAVE TO HAVE pAYPAL
Like it or not .
If you lived in the states you could probably get away with not buy from overseas and act like cpf snotty boys who loved to slide into BLF try buying from china ,,,and then three days later try to track their order ... Go postal and rant for weeks about how they will never do business with liars and thieves ...
What about mountain elect. or illum. ? Andrew and Amanda .
How about the Canadian armytek gang ...(cough cough)
You could move to Alabama...
Or just do a debit card paypal account ..pre=pay credit card ?
I don’t want to focus on the buying end….but here if is in a nutshell.
I never thought that Sofirn would rip me off. Not for a second. But as I wrote above, it may or may not make it through customs. A bargain can turn into mildly expensive real quick.
With PayPal, I got three months worth of solid phishing and it lasted almost two years. Zippo, nada with anyone else. Apparently they shared my email with the vendor.
I’ll look into a “one shot” payment with PP. Or move to Alabama.
GO BAMA
Amen to that considering the “extra charges” crap shoot.
Come on down to the Deep South (Alabama) , you’ll be welcome!
And yes…… GO BAMA!! . :+1: . 
Or Georgia. Back in the Jimmy days, my godfather owned, past tense, a pretty huge, repeat, HUGE chunk of southern Georgia.
Way off track…lol
…. Georgia is very nice too. Especially the mountains in the North part & the Southern part is great too. A “HUGE Chunk” would be fantastic too… endless possibilities from timber to agricultural and right on to a Hunting Lodge for clients with an endless supply of money.
Lol…no.
Jimmy era was corruption central.
Amazingly, all his properties where future roads and intersection would pass through. Plazas, mobile home parks, cheap junk home developments, etc.
Not my kind of world…or methodology.
Let’s get this back on track before we get roasted….
/\ Gotcha……
FWIW I’ve ordered many times from Sofirn off Aliexpress and have never incurred any import fees.
With the exception of floody beam, the SC31 definitely meets all your requirements.
The SC31 actually has a very nice reflector that is only slightly OP, for a 18650 tube light it makes a pretty tight hotspot.
Wait, Spartans, you live in Canada?
Well then, just order an SC31 from the Sofirn Aliexpress store.
I’ve never had any problems ordering from Aliexpress, and other than a particularly expensive purchase I did which I prepped in advanced to pay customs/taxes, I’ve never had any problems, especially from Sofirn.
My light suggestion would be the Wuben TO46R, with High CRI XP-G3 5000K Leds.
I don’t know if the member _ the _ is still selling them - as he bought a few after the GB, I guess - , but here’s his profile: http://budgetlightforum.com/user/1282 .
And here is the thread with the Group Buy (already closed) for those lights.
It has a “sustainable” output on max for about 5 minutes, reaches almost 1000 lumens, has mini USB recharging, 2 buttons (1 for ON/OFF + direct access to Turbo & 1 for mode change and special modes). And is extremely well made and reliable!
I looked at the SK98 zoomie. I have a bunch of Coasts in various sizes and it’s not a horrible concept other then it’s one or the other. Unfortunately, there are rings and hole in between. I wonder if someone played with dual lenses.
The price is dirt cheap but it looks like it’s going to be an utter cr*pshoot with vendors like “Family Products”. Who?
I guess I’ll have to wait for Sofirn to be back and stock Amazon.ca. Or take a leap of faith and buy from Allie. For 20 bucks, i don’t think I’ll cry if it turns sour.
Going to read the reviews and go with the SC31. Play around with it. Maybe even dip into the customization idea.
…….
Question….the requirement for usb was because i read it’s unsafe to keep li-ion fully charged and stored long term. Is that true? Because i have plenty of li-ions that i can charge and leave for stock. Just like i do with nimh.
Without usb, it then opens lots of choices.
Opninion on safety and storage?
Couldn’t you tell from my accent and dashing good looks? Lol
Where are you? GTA?
The ’31 is nice enough as-is. I even reviewed it. It’s not a screamer, but it’s a nice solid light for the muggle.
Same deal whether the cell’s topped-off in the light or in a box. It’s not “dangerous”, per se, but if done repeatedly will shorten the life of the cell. As a practical matter, it won’t make a noticeable difference. Hell, I still use a handful of ancient laptop pulls (panny-As) in low-stress lights.
When I test new cells, it does the usual charge/discharge/charge cycle, so they’re left fully topped-off anyway, and I just stick ’em in their storage boxes for later use. Probably while I burn down old crap-cells… :person_facepalming:
I don’t really care about losing 10% in 14 cells that cost me….nothing. I care more about my muggle playing around with the charger. Even then, if she destroys a $40 charger, big deal, but i don’t want to get a call from half way around the world that the cells “smoked”.
Funny story…the hot water tank leaked and she had to take cold showers for two weeks. 20 years later, she still hasn’t forgiven me and still suspicious that i didnt set it up. Smoking batteries? I wont live long enough…
Back to flashlights…
So where am i? Is the usb a waste of a parameter? Do i go back to a much broader choice of EDCs? sigh
Then the ’31 with usb charger would likely be the best option. Uhhh, forgot if it has a battery “gas gauge”. All these UIs…
Y’know, what about lights that take alkaleaks, then? No charging involved at all. Charging NiMH or LFP is problematic without a dedicated charger. 4×AA would be likely to leak like Hell when the runt of the litter goes teats-up inside the can, but a 2×AA light would work if you keep an eye on the cells.
Or screw it, get her one of those craptastic 9×5mm LED lights that take a trio of AAA cells. Much as it quite literally pained me to suggest that, it does tick most of the boxes as being floody and not needing an external charger. Hateful little things, but they do work… for a while. Cheap enough to be almost disposable in case one of those hateful little alkaleaks takes a dump inside the carrier, too.
Back to alkaleaks…
And you did set it up, right? Hey, she ain’t ever gonna read this, so… c’mon… ’fess up. :laughing:
Wellp, there’s the LuxPro line, grab a deal offa Vipon. 2×AA light, 4×AAA light, and 2×D light. Rather tight beams, though, so bug Boaz for some DC-Fix.
’Though the 2×D light is pretty hefty, the cells should last hella long.
I’m using both the 2×AA and 4×AAA ones to burn down moribund cells of the appropriate size when I don’t need full power. They’re doing a pretty good job at it. My SF13(?) has a tendency to cut in its LVP rather early, and just blinks off. The LuxPro keeps on milking them.
As a Canadian, I will say that ordering from the Sofirn Aliexpress store has been great. Relatively fast, and everything received has been well(ish) packaged but all worked.