USB chargeable lights -- recommendations?

hank · 2018-12-02T21:47:06.000Z

A great light for muggles. With many flashlights getting more and more complicated, with modes, modes, and more modes, and sometimes confusing ways to navigate through them, sometimes even turning a light on/off can be an exercise in futility for those people not familiar with user-interfaces. If you’re a flashlight enthusiast, you learn, and adapt, but for people who just want something simple, it can be daunting. The SC31 is nice and simple, perfect for “muggles”. A simple click-on/click-off…

Sofirn SC31 review, hat tip to Lightbringer

Lightbringer · 2018-12-02T22:45:27.000Z

Others already mentioned, but…

Nitefox UT20, nice enough for me to actually EDC for quite a while ’til the MH20 dethroned it.

<25bux from Amazon, so no 2mo wait to get one.

Lightbringer · 2018-12-02T22:47:41.000Z

K, since some reviews are in order…

[REVIEW] Nitefox UT20 18650 Flashlights

CC of the review I put on Amazon. It’s my first Nitefox light, and I quite like it. — Impressive light, which I’ve been EDCing for about 2 weeks to get a good feel for it. It’s hella bright, has good mode spacing in its 3 brightest modes, plus a decent moonlight mode for late-night use when you don’t want to ruin your night-vision. I’ve really come to appreciate the battery-status indicator in the side-switch. In my Thorfire TK4A, when using 4 alkaleaks, it doesn’t indicate battery level too …

Lightbringer · 2018-12-02T22:52:00.000Z

Oh, big big big plus in my book, the ~1buk deep-carry clip for the S2+ fits this light perfectly, as if made for it. Also, the anodisation is a perfect match, too, no gloss vs matte conflict or anything.

https://www.fasttech.com/product/4594500-stainless-steel-flashlight-pocket-clip

I hate clips in general, especially when the light rides high with almost a third of it sticking out of a pocket, but this DC clip lets the UT20 ride nice’n’low, almost nothing sticking out.

Go crazy…

MascaratumB · 2018-12-02T22:52:30.000Z

Wuben TO46R! (Micro USB)
Besides being rechargeable, has great quality! Those from the group buy with real 90 CRI leds are even better IMO!

Agro · 2018-12-04T11:48:33.000Z

For dog walking pretty much every light will do. So I suggest something cheap but not too cheap.
Boruit RJ-02 on a good deal? OK, It will work but for some people that will be too cheap.
If the friend is a quality oriented I suggest Zanflare F1, looks quite like a premium product yet has a budget price.

Lightbringer · 2018-12-04T16:46:44.000Z

I’ve been beating on the same ’02 since I got it, and it’s still going strong. Saw it was “cheap”, ordered a bunch as “disposables”, yet the first one is still chugging away just fine. I wouldn’t dismiss it as low quality or anything. Sure, it doesn’t have a fancy emitter and everything’s on one PCB, but it still… works.

hank · 2018-12-04T18:13:57.000Z

Yeah, where we live “dog walking” and “fleeing outdoors during the earthquake” are both routine uses one has to expect.
So reliability counts. USB charging is a nice convenience.

nvanlaar · 2018-12-04T18:53:51.000Z

Any thoughts on the Convoy BD0x series rechargeables?

hank · 2018-12-04T18:58:58.000Z

DBSAR wrote elsewhere:

so far the best two lights with built-in chargers i tested that would charge from all the different sources i benched them on, is the Klarus G20 and Blitzwolf BW-LT5 lantern/powerbank light. (both these would charge from every source i tested them with.

Agro · 2018-12-05T06:45:34.000Z

Lightbringer:

I’ve been beating on the same ’02 since I got it, and it’s still going strong. Saw it was “cheap”, ordered a bunch as “disposables”, yet the first one is still chugging away just fine. I wouldn’t dismiss it as low quality or anything. Sure, it doesn’t have a fancy emitter and everything’s on one PCB, but it still… works.

Yeah, it’s an OK light. But it has that cheap feeling to it.

wstrachan · 2018-12-05T07:06:16.000Z

I second the Nitefox UT20. A couple other options are below:
Sofirn SP32A
Zanflare F1
Rofis MR30 is awesome at 1600 lumens and can be had on Amazon for $30.
I own all these and can vouch for each one.

PBWilson · 2018-12-05T11:34:42.000Z

nvanlaar:

Any thoughts on the Convoy BD0x series rechargeables?

I’ve had a BD06 for some time and find that it’s a solid, quality light. It may not be the most impressive in output (about 1000 lumens) but with a quality 26650, it’ll run for a looooooong time. Mine had the upgraded driver and I had it set up in a few different ways. It’s a nice feature. The charging system snaps over the switch and works fine. I never measured it, but it’ll do the trick, It will take some time to fully charge a 26650 though. The switch is pretty beefy and takes a bit of force to engage. Overall it’s a nice value.

Phlogiston · 2018-12-05T14:54:46.000Z

I have one each of the Convoy BD01, BD04 and BD06 lights. They’re nice lights, built to Convoy’s usual good quality, all with Biscotti firmware and all available with your choice of LED colour temperature.

The only snag is that USB charging requires a special adaptor that snaps on over the switch - if you lose the adaptor, you can’t charge the light.

Lightbringer · 2018-12-05T15:04:30.000Z

Agro:

Lightbringer:

I’ve been beating on the same ’02 since I got it, and it’s still going strong. Saw it was “cheap”, ordered a bunch as “disposables”, yet the first one is still chugging away just fine. I wouldn’t dismiss it as low quality or anything. Sure, it doesn’t have a fancy emitter and everything’s on one PCB, but it still… works.

Yeah, it’s an OK light. But it has that cheap feeling to it.

Hey, for the 8bux or so that I got mine for, you hear me complaining?

DBSAR · 2018-12-06T05:00:18.000Z

maybe i could to a full test of the lights that i have and charging sources i have. now you have sparked my thoughts in doing a full light charging & charger test comparison review when i can get the time to run some more tests. I have done some as mentioned above by Hank. Some of the lights i have tested were the Klarus G20, Blitzwolf BL-LT5, Zanflare T1, Olight S1R, S2R, Nitecore HC60, DX80, and others. I did charge voltage & amp tests using various wall chargers, car 12 volt chargers, off-grid power banks, portable solar chargers, power banks, and others.

texas_shooter · 2018-12-06T05:21:07.000Z

ASTROLUX FT01 It can survive the drop test Astrolux FT01 VIOLENCE TEST [2215LM 309m 8Modes] SOLID HARD --Banggood Flashlight - YouTube

hank · 2018-12-06T05:27:29.000Z

I asked HKJ about testing USB-chargeable flashlights, but he said he’d have to drill holes in them to do his usual tests.

DBSAR · 2018-12-06T05:46:50.000Z

hank:

I asked HKJ about testing USB-chargeable flashlights, but he said he’d have to drill holes in them to do his usual tests.

drill holes in them? i thought only doctors do that to us when they needed to test our brains!

Agro · 2018-12-06T06:49:20.000Z

Lightbringer:

Agro:

Lightbringer:

I’ve been beating on the same ’02 since I got it, and it’s still going strong. Saw it was “cheap”, ordered a bunch as “disposables”, yet the first one is still chugging away just fine. I wouldn’t dismiss it as low quality or anything. Sure, it doesn’t have a fancy emitter and everything’s on one PCB, but it still… works.

Yeah, it’s an OK light. But it has that cheap feeling to it.

Hey, for the 8bux or so that I got mine for, you hear me complaining?

No. I just say that not everyone would be happy with it. Myself I like it as well. And I use it a lot.