I believe he will be ordering their top dollar power ray soon for over 179.00$ for that price I believe he could have got something like a Thrunite TN30 on sale he insists on a tru lumen rating of 3500 well we all tried thanks
For that price, tell him to order a Fenix TK75 instead. Or a Blackshadow Terminator, and another light as a bonus.
Unfortunately there is no cure for stupidity.
you can’t fix stupid… :bigsmile:
Is that pretty accurate the black shadow terminator? Its price is pretty reasonable Ill mention that and Thrunite TN30 any one have any experience withe TN30?
Thank god finally some people with some real knowledge about these lights. I’m a night watchman and bought a void hawk flashlight and I’m not at all happy with it. Cheaply made, low distance ect. I have a very large open area and I need to see at least 100 yards with a concentrated beam. I’ve been researching for hours and honestly I’m sick of it. I am new to the site but I am looking for a single or double cell light I can have in a holster on my belt. The flood is not as important to me as the distance of the beam. I’m hovering around the price range of under 150. I was about to buy off the mf site until I read this thread. So please if you guys who clearly know a lot about this give me a decent option of what I should be looking into. Also I am surrounded by water so that’s something to consider
100 yards is a very easy target for many lights. A great high quality flashlight, charger, and battery will run you around $60, unless you just really want to move up to the next level which would be a much more expensive Fenix/Nitecore/etc product.
There’s a few options with your tint selection (cool white or neutral white) and some options on your mode selection.
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=80&product_id=109
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=79&product_id=231
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=55
This would be my pick for a great quality ‘bundle’ that will reach 100 yards without any trouble. Very compact for the amount of light you get while still maintaining good thermal management and a runtime around an hour on max.
Here is a foy-review on it. Review: XinTD C8 SC-82/V4 (3C neutral white)
Hi.
In all honesty, your best bet is to read up and learn a bit about torches, how they work and why.
Just like you would with a car. e.g. if you need to crawl your way up an unpaved mountain pass, a Corvette isn’t the answer.
Flashlights and torches are similar, as in they are designed to offer different things for different purposes and understanding the basics will help you make an informed purchase and actually end up with you getting what you need and want.
In the flashlight world one big decision to make is whether you want to use Li-ion rechargeable batteries or not. These batteries are the best portable power source for flashlights offering compact sizes and the highest power/runtime.
The downside is they need a little more care and respect (a bit like petrol/gas). And they might cost a little more. Many people are fine with this, but some don’t like the faffing involved.
If you don’t want to use Li-ion, then NiMh (normal rechargeable AA’s) will likely be your best option.
Things to watch for, most mass market off the shelf torches in the US, UK and Europe are often poor performing (some exceptions) and often very expensive.
Top quality items retailed can have eye watering prices.
Budget options from China can actually still be good products. But be aware there are many retailers who will buy a cheap $10 light from China and simply rebrand it and then sell it for $50-80 in the US. You need to learn to spot these or you’ll get ripped off.
Anyhow my suggestion:
Li-ion option.
http://intl-outdoor.com/xintd-c8-v5-xml2-t6u2-multioption-18650-flashlight-p-308.html
Xin TD C8
The C8 form factor is very nice, very compact but has a largish reflector, which means it will have good throw. the Xin is probably the best quality C8 you’ll buy, yet it’s still only $30.
You’ll need some 18650’s Li-ion cells for this. It runs on 1x18650 but a spare would be sensible. You’ll also need a quality charger for Li-ion.
Don’t scrimp on batteries, anything Ultrafire branded or similar in battery terms is junk. Get yourself some quality Sanyo or Panasonic cells and a good quality charger.
If you don’t fancy Li-ion batteries then take a look at this:
http://intl-outdoor.com/xintd-x3-xml2-3aa-flashlight-p-739.html
Xin TD X3
Essentially it’ll offer the same performance as the C8 above, but it runs on 3xAA batteries instead. It’s slightly more money and it’s a bit chunkier and heavier. 3xAA’s will also offer slightly less runtime than an 18650.
Sticking with AA’s isn’t a bad thing but you’ll want quality ones. I’d advise Sanyo Eneloops. These are easily the best rechargeable you can get. And they are known as low self discharge, this means they’ll hold 70% of their charge for 3 years. Normal NiMh AA’s will go flat in about a week.
But seriously, there is no need to spend $150 for a good quality light. In fact you could buy both of my suggestions, batteries and chargers and still have $50 left over.
Great thank you both for your detailed answers. It seems your both suggesting the same light. I definitely want the lithium battery. But now you have raised a couple more questions. Does this throw a straight beam that will go a long distance? Is that what you mean by touch? I believe the one I have now is more flood like. Also what are the the difference in the types of light? Neutral, soft? Also is it worth all the modes?
Torch (might have been a type earlier… 
)
Flashlight - USA
Torch - UK
Same thing. 
Yes a C8 will offer good throw for it’s size. Although they use an XM-L2 LED emitter. This emitter is physically large, so you have a large hot spot and bright spill beam too.
Hot spot is the bright centre part of the beam.
Spill is the less bright outer part of the beam.
The C8 should offer a beam a bit like this:
If you want more of a pencil beam with less spill then there are other options.
Flashlights that use smaller LED’s will have lower output, but a higher surface brightness. This translates into a narrow beam that can throw even further and less bright spill beam.
There are also special optics (aspheric lenses) which have no spill beam at all and can produce a very tightly focused beam of light. Such lights are often called zoomies as they also have a flood mode.
Some pics to help explain.
This is an XP-E which is an old emitter and is making maybe 180 lumens, the light above which is like the C8 makes 700 lumens. So there is a big difference in numbers.
Note the hot spot is much smaller and the spill less bright:
But despite this, due to the LED being physically small it can still throw a beam of light just as (slightly further infact), but it does illuminate a smaller area.
This is a Zoomy. The trick with these is they can offer extremes.
On full throw, note there is no spill at all:
On full flood, lights up a lot, but only very short distances:
The big down side to zoomy lights is they can’t do both at the same time. So it depends what you want to use them for, they either offer the best or the worst depending on your view point.
Honestly I’d be amazed if you were disappointed with the C8 I listed. But if you want more of a pencil beam, then this is a fantastic offering and as cheap as chips:
http://www.dx.com/p/jacob-a60-cree-q5-3-mode-310lm-white-led-flashlight-w-strap-black-1-x-18650-114268#.U2JGgfldVZg
I think you asked about tints (neutral, etc,)
This is the colour of the LED. For the most part most off the shelf torches, premium and budget alike are cool white (CW). This is the ice white colour many associate with modern LED lights (not the blue white of cheap nasty junk).
CW will generally offer the highest output and works well for most things. But it will reduce the colour rendition making things seem a little more grey coloured and less vibrant.
Neutral white (NW) is a warmer tone and will offer more accurate colours. This is much nicer if you are likely to be using the light in wooded or grass areas.
Warm white (WW) is even warmer. I actually quite like this tint as it’s very pleasing and easy going on the eye. But it can make white things look a little yellow/brown.
In terms of modes. Many lights have different output settings. This is because on High they can be too bright to use up close, or get too hot too quickly or will have very short run times.
Having different output levels gives choice to use the light in different situations.
Some lights also have blinky modes such as strobe or SOS. While I can see these being handy, it is a far more specialist use and something most people just don’t need.
The big trick is the UI (user interface). A good UI means the modes you want are easy to get at and modes you don’t need or use often are hidden until you need them. Budget lights tend to have simple UI’s while premium ones often have superior UI’s. Although this isn’t always the case.
2 or 3 modes and no blinky modes at all make a light easy to use IMO. If I have a need for a strobe I’d rather a light is dedicated to accessing it quickly which most aren’t.
Wow that was an incredible answer thank you so much. It seems they both use the same battery so why not try both. Especially for the price of the second. Thanks again didn’t know there was so much involved with these lights
Any of these lights would work well for you, ordered based on size from smallest to largest. I'm suggesting modded lights mostly because your budget permits it, and they will be better, but there are lots of stock options that you can find that will work well for you too;
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?375050-WTS-G25C2vn-High-Quality-Tactical-Rife-Light-4-6A-1500-Lumen-%28Beam-Shots%29
WTS: MX25L3vn MT-G2 - The General Purpose light | Candle Power Flashlight Forum (with dedome).
Mostly depends on your size preference, but 150 yards is really not that hard for lights to reach out to. If you don't mind moving up in size, the X40 and K40 will absolutely light things up for you.
If you're going for the nitecore charger, get the I4 version... will save you time down the road when you have more batteries. The C8's an excellent budget option to start off with.
OK I’m definitely sold on the c8. Since the other tone is so cheap and I’m assuming uses the same batteries are there other options for that type of like Jacob with a pencil beam that shoots a very long distance. Also on a side note do you have an opinion on a food headlamp.? I
I’ve also decided on c8 cw for the extra brightness and just 2 modes low and high. The site you posted is sold out and the one the other person says there is a security problem. What’s the best site to order from.
Does ultrafire make knockoffs of all of these I seem to be finding alot of them
My all time favorite headlamp for close up work: http://illuminationsupply.com/zebralight-c-28_56/zebralight-h602w-neutral-white-1020-lm-flashlight-18650-p-670.html#.U2M40floyG8
It's extremely floody, and has practically no hotspot.
The armytek wizard pro is also great, but the UI is worse.
You will find a lot of lights with ultrafire in the name. Ultrafire is just a label that can be slapped on almost anything. Usually factory seconds and things like that. That’s not to say that any flashlight ultrafire is junk some of them are pretty decent for the price. (Stay far, far, far away from ultrafire batteries though!)
Ultrafire C8 can go either way (good/bad); personally I would avoid them and get a guaranteed good/great quality Convoy C8 or XinTD C8.
This is the best place imo to get one. It’s located in the US so you’ll get it quick, and you can grab some 18650 cells and a charger there as well. There are no other US vendors that carry it (afaik). If you buy it from one of the Chinese vendors you’ll get the same product, just in 2-6 weeks.
Thanks. That was the site I was leaning towards. That zebra light looks intense. I think I need something a step down from that. As long as I can use my Panasonic cells in my new headlamp then I’ll be satisfied
I just wanted to say thank you to you guys. I just got my c8 from mountain electronics a couple days and have been using it on my night watch job. It’s incredible and is perfect for what I need it for. Now you guys have got me a little obsessed with flashlights and I’ll probably pick up a couple others Haha. I do still need a headlamp so any suggestions are welcome
you guys are SO bad?
that was like giving him his first hit of CRACK, ha ha
i like how hes all oh wow, this is great !… i think i may get some more !”
(and another one is CONVERTED… to the LIGHT side, BWAH-hah-hah-hahhhhhhh!!!)
==
but seriously? now that you already HAVE a couple 18650 batteries and a charger? yah… a bunch of stuff out there to play with, most reasonably priced, too
whil i dont have a c8 exactly? i have a light thats very similar, and yeah that form factor is cool, i like it.
but… you’ll probably like a 18650 “zoomie”… palm of your hand small, 100 yards no problemo with the right emitter… you already have the battery(s) and charger… and you can go from “laser beam out far” to “flood the back yard up close” and have fun…
i know i just “played” with my first lens-focusing “zoomie” light like a little kid? and most people havent ever seen a zoomie, and “ooh” and “aah” over them when they see one for the first time…
have fun and welcome to the club!
I believe my dad has one. It’s a void hawk? I think. About four inches long has a wide flood and zooms to square beam. I wasn’t impressed with the distance of the zoom though. Do you suggest a good one? Still need that headlamp too.
As far as being addicted already… Haha let’s just say I have an addicted personally and I just got this night job so it’s useful as well