looking to buy 1-2 dozen of the same light need help choosing

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

i’m looking to 1-2 dozen of the same light, preferrably a single 18650 that is more of a floody light than a thrower because these are going to be lights that I will be put in every vehicle, I need a good dependable light, I have my nice fancy lights that I take care of, then there is this case where I want to buy a dozen of the same light for work purposes, these are going to get banged around, dropped, etc… I have a few work trucks, a dump truck, various tool bags where I want to throw 1-2 lights in each of the work trucks, dump truck, toss one in the tool bags, so if I go to a job site where they don’t have running lights, i always carry my tool bag and it would be nice to always have a light to work with already in each tool bag so I’m never without a light.

Also around home I want to put one in my personal car, one in the wifes car, one in the family room, one in the basement, one in the outside shed, one in the barn, etc…

I’m looking for a rock solid dependable light, i’m looking for something inexpensive but not ‘cheap’, a good value light.

I have about 10-15 different lights and out of the lights I have and know of, the closest match to the type of light I’m looking for would be the sipik sk68. I had bought a few 2 packs of the sipik sk68 clones by ultrafire, they are an incredible value, you can get 2 for $9.99 with free shipping on eBay, $5 a light is very affordable and I’ve been very rough on them, like accidentally dropping them straight onto concrete and besides nicking the aluminum body, they just keep going, they hold up very well, but the only drawback is the 14500 battery is just on the edge of not being a long enough run time light, where iif I would step up to a light that runs a single 18650 that would give me a little longer run time that i’m looking for.

Although not 100% mandatory, i do like the simple on/off (no brightness levels to deal with, no strobe, etc…) of the sipik sk68, nothing is more annoying than a light that doesn’t have memory or doesn’t auto reset back to high setting after being shut off for 5 or more seconds.

Remember when maglites ruled the world, simple, on/off, durable, that is what i’m looking for, but obviously not the huge size, just a simple light for stashing in the glovebox of every car, work truck, tool bag, etc… so we have a light to grab if we need one.

I’ve seen sipik sk98 which runs a single 18650 but i haven’t bought one yet. They are running around $11-12 a piece and although that isn’t above what I could afford, i’m always seeking the best value. if there is a light in the $5-9 range that would be a good contender, every dollar saved adds up.

I have a hd2010 it is a great light, very durable, but entirely way too big and higher than what I would want to spend when looking to buy 1-2 dozen lights.

I have a UltraFire G4-MCU with a Q5 cree, i paid around $15 for it, it is a very strudy light but it has a really tight hot spot and is much more of a thrower, if I use it up close, it blinds me, but it does have the brightness settings, and if I turn it to the 3rd setting (low) i can use it without blinding me but there is the nuisance of it not having memory so if i shut it off and turn it back on it defaults to high so I have to go back thru the settings to get to setting 3 to ‘calm down’ the light, and if i accidentally go past setting 3, then i’m into the annoying blinking settings.

honestly, if there was a inexpensive c8 that had a simple high & low setting, that would probably be the best light to suit my needs, because the c8 can be one intense thrower for a small light, but to be able to simply choose between just 2 settings, high & low, would be easy to use. And in a case where i need to shine out a far distance, i can just choose high and if i’m working in close quarters, i can choose low setting. That would be perfect for my needs, but I did what searching I can do and couldn’t find a two setting c8.

I did some searching and ran across this light on eBay,
$5.75 with free shipping
7W 400lm CREE Q5 LED ZOOMABLE Focus Flashlight Torch Lamp 18650/AAA SA9 Zoom
Three working mode: Strong - Low - Strobe
Battery type: 18650
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7W-400lm-CREE-Q5-LED-ZOOMABLE-Focus-Flashlight-Torch-Lamp-18650-AAA-SA9-Zoom-/190931154261?

This looks like it has some features i’m looking for in a light, not sure what the quality is like, i’ll probably order one just to test it out.

Well anyway… If anyone wants to toss in a few suggestions to other lights that you’ve used and think would fit the bill for what i’m looking for in a light, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

2

Missed out on the aliexpress spring deal. :frowning:

$8.50 for xml2 sk98.

They’re now at $10, free shipping, might be lower since you’re buying 12-24.

http://m.aliexpress.com/item/1389655076.html?tracelog=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail

3

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002773/1206301-cree-xm-l-t6-3-mode-975-lumen-zooming-led

http://m.ebay.com/itm/131133565663?nav=SEARCH

just get 5 or more of the fasttech lights and they come out to about $7.50 when viewed in the cart. The ebay lights are roughly $4.20 per light.

4

Phsinvent that 2nd link is to a group of sk68 (AA/14500).

5

Honestly for a throw around GP light…and the ability to fix em if they get busted

Rock out with a Ultrafire 502B w/ P-60 dropin

Decent flood, moderate throw…some chucklehead busts it…unscrew the head, yank the busted P60 dropin out…plunk it a new one…send him on his way…later on…fix the dropin as a spare

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10000986/1580802-ultrafire-wf-502b-1-cree-xm-l-t6-5-mode-800lm

Then a roll of reynolds aluminum foil and a real quick aluminum foil wrap to help with the heat…and voila…the PERFECT GP light.

Above is the 5 mode with Hi > Mid > Lo > Strobe > SOS

This is the simple every day, on/off
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10000986/1134202-ultrafire-wf-502b-cree-xm-l-t6-2-mode-700-lumen

Spare P-60 module
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1605/10002212/1159800-cree-xm-l-t6-10w-led-drop-in-module-265mm

6

Well im not exactly sure what op really wants. But for general use. The sk68 on aa is a very usable light. $4.20 per light is cheap. He could place back up lights everywhere imagineable.

The fasttech lights for $7.50 are the exact same as yupard and ultrafire. Made in the same factory. Different logos laser etched.

7

I own one of these…great little zoomies…but I have the 502b in my wifes van and one by my garage door
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001857/1520403-ultrafire-sh98-1-cree-xm-l-t6-3-mode-910lm-cool

8

KPC, this may be out of your price range but have you considered one of the convoy S series lights? Here is an S2 example that can be had for ~$14 in a lot of 10. The nice thing about these is you can program the 2 group driver to just have 3 brightness modes and no blinky modes. You can also get a version with more or less 7135 current regulating chips. Less chips will give you more runtime, more chips for more light. It is not a zoomy, but the orange peel reflector is kind of floody and if you really get picky you can also get them in various emitter tints!

You may want to consider keeping your SK68’s for the tool box and pick up a few convoy S2’s for around the house. They are a bit more expensive, but to me ‘value’ means more than just price.

9

Warhawk avg beat me to it. I’d second the 502b. I used to have one (gifted to a friend) and for the brief time I used it I really liked it. Super cheap, durable, and the p60 format means you can configure it to your needs. Another benefit for the p60 is that even if you beat it to hell and back you can swap the drop in into another body.
You can probably find them somewhere around $10 with drop in from various Chinese sources or pick up just the body for $5 and change from mountain electronics.
For a few bucks more you can get a nicer p60 host from Solarforce. I edc a l2m and keep another one in my suburban.
If you pick the right drop in you can run it on lithium ion rechargeables most of the time and keep primary CR123 cells as a backup in the vehicles where temperature and long periods of time will wear out 18650s.

10

Third vote for 502b. But I don’t recommend Fasttech, no endorsement link to them from me.

If you’re willing to buy from Aliexpress, you can negotiate price and MOQ. Since you’re getting a couple dozens, making a deal is quite easy.

Here’s a link for example:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/50pcs-UltraFire-502B-1300-Lumens-CREE-XM-L-U2-1300-Lumen-5-Mode-LED-Flashlight-Torch/628755149.html

$6.27/piece shipped - good price. As I mentioned, negotiate so you can buy 24pcs at the same price. Aliexpress sellers normally will be willing to do so.

The 5-mode generic driver is easy to pencil-mod, I don’t have this exact one but all of my other generic drivers can be pencil-modded to reset memory. So you have your favourite ON/OFF config, with option to step to low when runtime is needed.

EDIT: The above presume this is next-mode driver. May be good idea to ask if this driver saves your last used mode (mode memory). But gotta be clear, some seller thinks next-mode-memory is also “memory”.

11

have you seen this Thread?

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i just ordered the light in the quote / link above

i also ordered a sipik sk98 on ebay, also for $9

i’ll compare the sipik vs the ultrafire, both are 3 mode

it seems to mention alot about the 14500 which i’m looking for 18650 so i don’t think what they are talking about will work, as I already own several brands of sk68’s all running 14500 and the run time is just a bit short, as mentioned in initial post, i want to bump up to a 18650 to give a little more run time.

I also bought a few really cheap lights on eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231037283636
CREE Q5 LED Torch Flashlight Lamp Light 800lm 3 Modes SilverCREE Q5 LED Torch Flashlight Lamp Light 800lm 3 Modes Silver
$3.08 + $0.99 shipping = $4.08 total

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281173316333
UltraFire CREE LED 400Lum Torch Flashlight Lamp Light 3 Modes 14500 Rechargeable
color: brown
$4.08 w/ free ship

13

This is about as cheap as I've seen for a C8. I don't have one, so can't vouch for it, though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160718367346

14

I don’t like the 502, the quality differs so much, either the dropin or the switch is bad. Ugly tint and next mode memory inclusive.
These cheap zoomlights from eBay are also the same category.
I often find something for 7$ from china and if I check it I see that if they would have made it a bit better and sold it for maybe 10$ it would be perfect. But always the cheapest offers get bought and so the quality gets reduced all the time.

The only company which don’t makes this is convoy.
Superior value for money.
Get the c8 and one of the tubular lights and you will never want Chinese garbage again. These lights cost around 15$ and are really worth the money.
The drivers can be programmed on every modeorder you want with a custom firmware.
Check out fastech
You can see all different versions in the dropdown menu. You can try coupon BLF to get even some extra savings.
Some of the lights are cheaper on other vendors but to get an overview it’s perfect.

15

Shouldnt the question about how often he wants to maintain the 20 or so lights (recharge despite non usage etc) come into it?
I thought that would determine if he should use rechargeable lithium (18650 etc), lithium primaries or alkyleaks.
And that will change the recommendations.

20 odd lights is a lot of lights to be in circulation at any one time. Id hate to rely on them if the one I needed, didnt work when needed, or ran short, due to wrong battery choice.

Am I wrong?

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OP didn't ask for input on battery type, specified 18650.

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No you are not wrong. It is just that I am good at keeping batteries charged, so i’m not too concerned about lights sitting for months without recharge. Plus, most of the lights will be getting used on a fairly regular basis, i’m not sticking a light in the attic crawl space so once a year when the wifey wants to put out chrismas orniments, i’ll expect the light to have sat all year and still work. I’m going to be putting them in the work trucks, tool bags, etc… those will get used, i have a few intellichargers so I recharge using a quality charger too. I’m confident the 18650 battery type will be the best for my purpose.

18

Lights castle has the WF-502B for $6.12 . Not sure how good the drop-in is, but thats the cheapest I’ve ever seen that light with one included.

19

Yep the 502b is a great light for the right price.

20

I’ve had an Ultrafire 502b with an MC-E in my tool bag for three or four (maybe longer) years now. It gets used hard and is super durable.