The Convoy C8 is a excellent light, a good choice to get your feet wet. It’s well built, and the price is right. I got one for my boss and he loves it. Get some good Panasonic based 18650 batteries and a decent charger and your good to go without putting a major dent in your wallet.
Edit: If you’re ordering from FastTech, get the C8 that has 8 AMC7135. That’s the one that’s driven the hardest and produces the most lumens, I would also recommend the XM-L T6 3C tint.
Does this one have the solid or hollow pill?
I know some UF’s on discount come with a hollow pill
More info would help others narrow down suggestions that are appropriate for you. Some questions come to mind:
Just some things to think about. Oh, and welcome!
im not quite sure. everytime i open up a light, i break something haha.
and i kept this light stock on purpose because its the brightest, furthest throwing c8 i have bought. i tried many c8’s and bought many that other members here say are very bright, but the lightmalls xml2 c8 has yet to be dethrone.
i also have the fast tech convoy c8 .
the convoy is better quality.
but if you want a light with a side switch, i highly recommend a sky ray king. it might be biiig, but i will have one for the rest of my life. one of my top favorites of all time.
or something smaller would be a yezl y3.
maybe go for the hd2010 , or a small sun t08.
these lights mentioned will not disappoint
Best budget light you can possibly get for under $50, taking 18650 batteries is the SupFire M6 that's on sale for $38.95 from Mountain Electronics. Shipping will bring it up to about $44. The looks and quality of that light are amazing.
For under $50 and taking Multiple AA batteries, would have to be the Sunwayman D40A on sale for $49.99 from banggood.com
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For under $25, I would recommend the Convoy L4 on sale for $24.55 also from banggood.com
And for under $15,
I would say an Ultrafire C8 from Fasttech for $13.42 from fasttech.com
or the Solarstorm SC1, SC2, or SC03 for about $14 each with coupon code bgf164 from banggood.com
The convoy c8 will probably fit the bill. So will a lot of other lights, but it’s 3 am and I can’t sleep, so I can’t name any of them.
As with anything you buy, you should read, read, and read some more. The better educated you are, the easier it is to find what you want at a good price.
Anything stickied is almost always useful, and if you can’t find what you are looking for, use that handy little box at the top left of the screen.
the two immediate scenarios using a handgun with a flashlight that come to mind?
(weak arm=non gun hand… strong arm=gun hand)
1) weak hand crossed over gun hand (i have seen crossed under too)
2) flashlight held OUT AND AWAY from the body
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both would seem to call for something on the smaller side, although with adrenaline? you could likely carry a car axle, lol… a smaller light makes more sense for these two things…
the crossed over (#1)? “steadies” th gun hand, and also puts the light more or less where a shot would go With some practice you can almost aim across the room effectively with just the light beam to aim when you have a small hot spot.
the light out and away from the body? is predicated on the idea that most human beings, even those unfamiliar with guns, can usually hit a light at night or surprisingly close to it, on dang near intuition or “point shooting” while barely aiming.
the THIRD scenario? light actually ON THE GUN… if you check “bumps in the night” with a shotgun 12ga pump?? you can put almost any light on it. for mounting on a handgun, again i would want a smaller light…
for any of you guys wondering about “checking out a noise” at night with a gun and a flashlight? The proud state of texas has some of the “best” sel defense laws i the nation. One is that it is considered self defense around the property, for night time vandalism.
this might strike some of you as “extreme”? to be legally allowed to shoot someone on the property just for crimina mischief, but consider this…
1) some teenager mad at you is banging on your windows at 3 in the afternoon… its not THAT scary….
2) some teenager mad at you is banging on your windows at 3 in he MORNING?? its a litle more scary and sinister to the homeowner, and texas law reflect that.
enjoy your 2nd amendment lights, sir ! LMAO… er, i mean “rights”, sorry, lol
Hey all,
Thanks for the info and recommendations.
Lets see if I can add anything to my info for you all.
My budget is that I don’t want to spend over $40 on a light.
I’ve never used these Li ion batteries, but I would be open to trying them especially if they are rechargeable.
My backyard is about 60 yards wide by 35 yards deep with several trees and shrubs and a few cars in the driveway that is also next to the backyard and all is enclosed in a fence. My side yard is even bigger, much bigger.
If I do get up at that time of the night to check the house and yard, YES, I will have a handgun with me. It doesn’t have a light mounted on it. I will also be getting a shogun into service soon.
That’s about all I can think of that you asked me about.
I looked at these links that you posted and they look great. The Convoy and the UltraFire, how are they different and is one better than the other?
Another thing, when I went to the site to look at these lights they have a list of different options that went 1/2 down the page. I couldn’t tell the difference in one from the next. I’m guessing that there are differences in each one of them, but are the differences major enough to make one better than the others or is it more of a matter of personal preference?
What would those 18650 batteries cost, what about the rechargeable ones?
Thanks all.
Nalajr
i never mounted a small light on my handgun(s)… it seemed to half ruin it for daily carry.
if i do a “bump in the night” check? i usually do the arm crossed over the gun hand thing. (the side spill illuminates your sights decent, lol, as well as blinds any critters you see… 2 or 4 legged critters, lol)
65 yards? or a little more? your options are pretty big… most of the “options” on the light you looked at? i would guess those options were “what emitter” you wanted.
18650 batteries? i went thru the thing where i was “put off” by weird unfamiliar batteries and strange chargers i suddenly needed, lol… i stuck to looking at AA lights? i wish i hadnt, lol… 18650 batteries are a coupe/several bucks each, and a “decent” battery charger can be had for 20 bux or under.
remember these batteries are rechargeable, and will mroe than pay for themselves… you wil suddenly not be worried about USING your light(s) any time you FEEL like it, on high instead of low, cause batteries will be free to charge up.
“protected” batteries would usually be reccomended to be more foolproof for someone unfamiliar with charging li-ion batteries for another hobby.
what you describe? in terms of distances? youre not really asking the flashlight to eat an apple and sh!t a fruit salad,a coupe decent 18650 protected, a half decent charger, and a 20 to 40 dollar flashlight will, my crystal ball says, you’ll be pretty happy.
i know when i first went from “maglite” to a small chinese LED flashlight?? it was pretty cool, heh heh… when you have rehargeables? you practically find yourself “playing” with them, cos it doesnt cost you anything to use your flashlight on “high”, lol…
the FUN starts after you already HAVE a couple 18650s and a charger? cause then you can, fro instance… pick up a 10 dollar “zoomie” light?? and you already have the batteries and charger, and you can have fun playing with that… lol…
i know that even at age 45, my first little “zoomie” i got? once i had rechargeables, i was kind of playing with it, like a little kid with his gi-joe action figure, LMAO…
A two or three D maglight and a Malkoff dropin would make a good and simple to use bump in the night light that anybody could instantly figure out how to use, and it’s bright and dependable.
I am going to go in a few different directions here:
a) http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S022116
This is a 900ish lumen light with extremely long runtime and pretty good throw. You can put a laundry cap over it to make a diffuser as needed.
The huge advantages of this light is that you can recharge it with just a Micro USB…just like your phone most likely. Once you buy 3 18650 batteries of the right size and shove them in, you never have to touch them again. I personally bought a 4 pack of protected Trustfire 2600mAh from amazon as they were pretty cheap, had protection, AND were only 66mm long so they actually fit.
This light is also really neat in that it has a battery indicator and can even be used to charge other devices. You can even take the flashlight head off completely, screw on a cap and just use as a device-charger.
I love this light because it is so user-friendly. No worries about buying a new charger, or taking batteries in and out.
b) A TK70 is a really good light, though more expensive. You would buy 4 rechargable D batteries that have at least 8000mAh…the usual brands are cheap rewrapped AAs with 2000mAh. Low Self Discharge preferred. You may need a universal recharger but they are handy anyways.
This light has 2300 lumens and is extremely bright. A Coffee Lid is the perfect size for a diffuser and literally fits perfectly right over it. You can even get different colors. 
It also doubles as a Club due to its large size. It is nice to use the Ds, as they have 4x the power and thus 4 times less battery swapping out. No battery holder…you just slide all 4 out and back in.
did he post a BUDGET, as in how much he wanted to spend?
because while i know Malkoff devices are by reputation wonderful devices…. “Malkoff” is Latin for “really really expensive” (not to mention the added cost of the mag lite on top of that)
and since its a “bump in the night” gun… my first inclination was a small-ish light to grab up with the handgun of the nightstand… not something large enough to be used as a club… he will have his handgun for THAT part of it…
i was thinking more along the lines of a decent C8 type, or similar, single 18650… somethin thats good to 100 yds+ right out of the box for him.
an inexpensive charger and 2 half decent 18650s, and hes good to go…
I like the idea of being able to recharge the light and NEVER having to worry about whether I have the batteries in case they run out. Even though I have never seen these “new” batteries, how hard could it be? They’re batteries for goodness sake. Not to make fun of anyone that’s had problems, I’m just teasing.
Anyway, the other night when I walked outside with my Brinkmann 6P clone and saw how pathetic it was at helping me in a situation like that, I knew something had to be done. I knew I was going to have to do some research and get the best light I could for my budget. In the meantime I went and picked up one of the off the shelf lights at Wally World, it’s the Ozark Trail 150 Lumen that takes 3xAAA. It’s a pretty nice light for $10. It does better than all the other lights I have and that only took me 15 minutes to accomplish.
I posted a similar message asking for help on one of the gun forums I hang out on and got several recommendations and as you can no doubt understand, most of the lights that were suggested were more than $50, sometimes WAY MORE. No doubt they’d be awesome lights, but I’d rather spend the money wisely and get the same performance for less money or be able to get 2 lights for what that single light would cost me, or even 3. One of the guys posted a link to Amazon where they had a CREE light for sale for something like $3.50. It said it had something like 300 lumens and I thought “no way.” Just as a test I went ahead and got it and one other that was priced at $8.50. I don’t know what brand they are or anything. One is coming from Hong Kong. I’m anxious to see how they work and how they hold up.
The lights you guys are telling me about is what I am going to use for my primary light. Those others will be “in case” lights to have in a drawer.
I also would like to ask you guys about another option. I have a Surefire 6P that is darn near BRAND NEW. I never use it. I’d like to look into upgrading it to a useful tool. What can I get to “drop in” and turn it into a REAL light?
Keep that in mind and if you don’t care, let me know what would be a good choice.
Thanks all for the help.
Nalajr
Have you considered upgrading your 6P to led? For around $15 you can get a drop in from solarforce that will upgrade it to around 800 lumens.
Otherwise I’d also agree that a C8 is a great option.
My current setup for when things go bump in the night is a winchester 1300 12ga with a solarforce l2m with a single mode drop in I built pushing 1.4 amps to an XM-L
I think your $40 budget is going to get used up in a couple of decent 18650s and a charger. The p60 drop in is a great idea, but you can get a malkoff drop in for $40 and a maglite is pretty cheap, put lithium primaries in it and it’s there when you need it ready to go.
I’d like to update this 6P I have. Might as well make it useful instead of just sitting in a drawer. What do I have to get that can drop in and make it 800 Lumens for $15?
Thanks
Nalajr
I just now realized that the drop in that you suggested was from Solarforce. I went there and didn’t see any drop in’s that were 880 Lumens, but I might not be looking in the right place. I am new at this stuff and could easily be in the wrong place on their site.
I did have someone recommend a Solarforce light to me. He swears by it and how well it is made and how long it has lasted him. It is 880 Lumens, L2 3 Model U2, XM-L T6 Cree for $24. I don’t even know what most of that stuff even means, but this guy said it’s a great light.
Nalajr
This comes up a lot. I think it would do solarforce good to fix the issue.
I believe this is the light your friend has. I have an L2 as well and love it. Fantastic quality for the price. I built my custom p60 though.
http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product_detail.php?t=LF&s=32&id=498
See the drop down menu under the title “Product / Led Flashlight”
This allows you to select various options depending on the major category you have selected.
http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product.php?sname=&s=32&t=LF
These are whole flashlights with the dropin included.
Edit:
Sorry, just noticed you’re looking for just the p60 dropin.
http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product.php?sname=&s=53&t=RB
Same little drop down box to select other options.
For about $40 max, I would recommend a Nailbender/CustomLites P60 drop-in module that will easily convert your Surefire to LED (simply unscrew the head and replace the old incandescent module with your new one). As far as P60 modules go, the Nailbender ones are quite pricey; however, they are very high quality and durable. Going this route, you can continue to use cr123a and not have to worry about buying a quality charger and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for now (if you do in the future, the P60 module will work with lots of other flashlight hosts that take lithium-ion batteries such as 18650).
If you decide on a Nailbender module, I would suggest an XP-G2 with smooth reflector, one level, and whatever color tint you prefer.