Lights you keep coming back too....

Most of us here have one or two, or maybe 40+ lights at our disposal :smiley:

But do you have any lights you keep going back to, either as an EDC or that it just suits your needs?

Despite buying newer lights and more powerful ones. I find I have a small selection that I keep returning too that get used far more than my other lights.

1. Klarus NT20. For the size, shape and UI.
2. POPlite T33. It’s just so versatile and fits the pocket well.
3. POPlite T22. Long runtimes and brilliantly suited by the bed with a brilliant flood mode.
4. Solarfoce Z1. Size and UI.

All lights have flaws, but I find these 4 seem to work best for my general flashlight use and ones I keep going back too, time and time again.

How about you guys?

I still use the very first “high powered” light I got. My Trustfire TR-801. It’s so old it’s got an EZ-900 XR-E emitter. And the beam is surprisingly Cree ring free. Even with it’s cylindrical profile it throws very well. It may not have the tons of lumens of the newer more efficient leds but it still has plenty for most uses being driven at 1 amp. I did put a NanJG 3 mode driver in it to make it a little more useful and give it some serious run time on low. It’ll go about 60 hours on low on a single 2600 mah cell.

Romisen RC-C6

I would buy 2 more if they would upgrade the emitter!

The ZY-T08 was the second “real” flashlight I bought. Although I have modded it it’s still my go to light for all kinds of outdoor stuff.

For me it’s the Olight S-10. Great clip for use as a headlamp with a ballcap, good runtimes, magnet, light and small, doesn’t get hot, good UI, bright enough, floody enough, useful for SO many things!

Trustfire X9. Was the first light I bought upon getting into the hobby, first mod, replete with teething troubles. But it fits in my jeans pocket just right, looks good, and even with an old XM-L on a relatively poor pill structure its more than bright enough for anything I have to do. Nice throw too. _

Nitecore ex10. I just love the styling of it and the ramping feature. I have lights that are easily 5 times brighter but I still have it hanging around my neck every time I go anywhere at night.

So old it’s got an EZ-900! Son, thems fighting words. All kidding aside that is one of my favorites in my collection. It throws all day long even if ain’t all Buck Rogers and stuff. (Course mine is a bit over-driven)

zebralight h51w because it’s a headlamp with nice tint and impressive runtimes for single AA battery

Ultrafire 501B, I use them every night.

Basically, everything in the sig at the bottom of my posts, especially the first line or two.

I should mention, though, that I’ve been surprisingly impressed with the 4-mode L3 L10-219. I got it due to people on BLF recommending it, but I didn’t really expect much. It soon became my most-used light though (despite not having a good clip), and made it difficult to be happy with anything under 90 CRI. It makes the vast majority of other torches look bad, and it accomplishes this feat for only $25.

Zebralight H50

Ultrafire C3 stainless steel (The 93mm one)

Aurora SH-034

All of these are XR-E lights.

My Mag Solitaire!

I modded it to an xpe with a wide angle Tir and driven by a tiny Joule Thief ic.

Really fiddly to solder, but well worth the hastle :slight_smile:

Recently put a magnet in the tail, great for ‘sticking’ it to pipes/plant at work.

After a brief affair with a modified Tank007 Pt10 (6*7135 Nanjg) I have gone back to my Convoy S5 (3*7135).

I’m gonna have to go with the same as Dengoh, Ultrafire 501b 1 mode. So simple and so beautiful :face_with_monocle:

Used to be the bigger lights in my collection, mostly for the WOW factor… but got tired of that. And the bulk.

Been leaning towards the little SF L2M w the 18350 battery. Have two of those near me practically 24 hrs a day, work, play, home. And play and recycle any/all P60 emitters I have ever bought. (and its getting better in the near future ((thanks DBCstm!))

And when I need real light I screw on the adaptor, add another 18350 and I have the K-3 MT-G2 sweetness!

- solarforce L2m old style, black shiny ano. Stock head ground smooth to get rid of the hexagonal profile. Ground off the crenelations as well (“Foybezel”™), forward-clicky internals and a generic Cree 7090 XR-E dropin. Runs on one 16340. Acquired and mutilat- … err, “modded” in 2011. Carried loosely in coat pocket.

- solarforce L2r, discontinued old style, tan/sand/gold colour. Generic Solarforce XP-G low voltage dropin; flat stainless bezel, GITD lens seal/O-ring, orange switch boot; modded with a Romisen forward clicky switch (either B3 or N3, I never can tell them apart!) and spongy protectors made from high density foam. Shortened springs on both the switch and the dropin. When I choose this one, it’s been carried in its custom “slip-it-in-and-forget-it’s-there” holster.

- solarforce L2 - the old one, with the two-piece battery tube. Stainless head, bezel crenelations ground off by 50% and smoothed with a dremel tool, the rest of the light’s been bead-blasted. Oh, and additional grooves for additional O-rings turned in. Until I get a note from Vinz, it’ll keep it’s generig Solarforce XM-L three-mode dropin. Usually clipped to me trousers or loosely in coat pocket.

- Mini M@glite LED pro plus, 2012 vintage. One of the best torches I ever bought. Well, maybe not the best, but it suits my needs. Always carried in the original holster!

- Nitecore EZ AA. I had to get me another one after my first one was stolen. It still works flawlessly, it’s still HA III, there are still no parts to break on it. Amazing little light - far more reliable than any of my DQG AAA and DQG AA. No holster needed, but I keep it in one I bought from Solarforce… and leashed it to a gearkeeper. I won’t let them snatch it off me a second time!

- Fenix LD20. I’ll admit it… a Fenix LD20. No forward clicky, and the reflector points in the wrong direction when clipped to a pocket, and the velcro pouch is rather cumbersome. Still, I like it and keep coming back to it.

This thread touches on something I’ve been wondering for a while…

Many of the lights we buy are long-term purchases. I mean, most products these days only last a few years but many lights could easily last a lifetime.

If the emitter doesn’t overheat, it can get 50,000 hours, which works out to about 2 hours per day for an entire average lifetime. The solid metal body of many lights may get scratched or dented over time, but not enough to make it stop working. The electrical contacts could get too dirty to work, but cleaning fixes that… at least until there’s no copper left to clean. The switch could break eventually, if there’s a button (but replacements are usually cheap and some items come with an extra by default). Tin whiskers could grow to the point where something critical gets shorted. Or the lens can get broken on a light with no means of replacing it. Or the light could get dropped far enough to break some of the electronics inside. But… if we take reasonably good care of these lights, and get new batteries every decade or so, they could literally last a lifetime.

And there are lights we just keep coming back to, even if they’re not the latest and greatest.

So, what I’m wondering is… sort of what people have already been answering, actually, but taken a step further. With these lights you keep coming back to, are there any you think could potentially last your entire life? What is it about a light which makes it worth using for such a long time?

After lots of new lights, I still come back to nitecore EC25W from time to time. Very good EDC for the smaller size, powerful at 850 lumens, excellent UI, and beautiful tint and beam…

Hmm, it may be embarrassing, but for me it is the Ultrafire C303. I simply extremely like it’s outer finish and form factor and the XP-G R5 still lives up to date and i like it’s more throwy layout of the reflector. The only thing i don’t like is it’s 5 mode driver with disco modes. The three high, mid, low modes are really well spaced, but the strobe and (btw faulty) SOS-mode is annoying to step thru every time.