Help me to choose a new flashlight. Definitely with two 18650 batteries.

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Hello BLF members!
Currently my daily use flashlight is Nitecore P25 Smilodon link
It is good flashlight, but I’m tired of brightness decrease during the battery discharge. In the first minutes flashlight is bright, but vhen the battery voltage drops below 3.9V, brightness starts to decrease. And I’m not talking about automatic brightness reduction. I’m talking about the ineffectiveness of the driver - It’s not boost driver. After ~ 3.6V brightness remains very weak…

Ok, it’s not the main reason for this topic.
The main reason is that I want a new flashlight! 8)
I want something with two 18650 batteries in series. I want that brightness remains constant throughout the all discharge cycle of the battery. But the flashlight should be quite compact.

At the moment my favorite is the good old Fenix TK35 - it has everything I want! It is compact, with a good battery life, is quite bright and quite easily upgradable to the XM-L2…

Maybe someone can suggest something better than TK35? (Under $100)
And where I can buy cheaper this Fenix flashlight?

2

The TK35 will be a good choice, but I don´t believe it is easily upgradable to XM-L2 (or did i miss something…?)
Did you notice the SWM TC45: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/21070

3
  1. It looks easy here

2) Looks Cool! But I am afraid of a brightness decrease when the batteries voltage drops, because the batteries is in paralel.

4

Supbeam K40

It is a very good light from what I read in this forum. Not sure if you still be able to get it under $100, but should be around there.

Not to mention you can buy one and send to Vinh or Tom E for modding: 390kcd, 1600 lumens.

5

might be worth a look

6

Yes, it looks like great flashlight - good thrower. But this is bit too big for daily use.
But thanks for suggestion anyway :slight_smile:

7

Not bad, but the price difference is not so high when compared to the TK35. Fenix ​​will certainly be of better quality.

8

Oh, whom I’m trying to fool here… I want Fenix ​​TK35, therefore in other offerings I will always find a cons.
I think that I will stick to Fenix!

Maybe someone can recommend - where I can get it at a lower price?

9

Dont forget check out the OLIGHT SR51, a little more bulk than a Tk 35 but have much more throw, more output and much better runtime. The price is aprox $100.

http://www.lightmalls.com/olight-sr51-intimidator-1-cree-xm-l-led-2-modes-900-lumens-led-flashlight-6-cr123a-2-18650-battery

Direct comparision:
http://www.forolinternas.com/viewtopic.php?p=37957

10

I like this one http://www.armytek.com/products/flashlights/search-and-rescue/armytek-barracuda-xm-l2-variable-bezel-colors.html

11

It is worth noting that the TK35 steps down in brightness after a few minutes on turbo.

12

Wait, TK35 handle the maximum brightness for 25 minutes, right? And it is a timer-based option… so that after the restart, again is the maximum brightness.This graph (of the FULL REVIEW ) confirms it.