I've answered this question a thousand times and it's pretty much as you guys suggest. For me it has to be the new version L2 with the above described drop-in. (SKU 5720)
Brightest, highest quality light $30 ever bought and like troop, there are a few lights I would have passed on had I discovered this drop-in sooner. I don't mean to evangelize this drop-in; it's not perfect (direct drive on high must be respected) but like E said in another post somewhere, the lumens-per-money-spent is hard to beat.
IMO it’s not the best looking host around, but it will get the job done. And the good news is that at manafont, you will probably be getting a genuine Ultrafire, not a knock-off. I own one and it has never failed me. Just wrap the drop-in well with copper or aluminum foil to wick the heat away to the host.
The same or some other ready-made 18650 light.
I would recommend getting P60 as the SECOND light for not a total noobie, since they need wrapping. Bad wrap can make a shortcut.
Non problematic, with great driver, waterproof and with excellent heatsinking. I migt be biased as this was mine first high power led flashlight but even today I can't find a weak point for it...
Solarforce has excellent quality and reputation. For your first light, I recommend buying a light that will result in a positive experience. There are lots of cheap lights out there and some of them are poor quality or are hit or miss with quality. You can buy a cheaper light, but the Solarforce is well worth the money. It takes a lot of reading here at BLF to find the gems.
For ease of use and being thermally superior to any P60 host... I would recommend the new XinTD C8 3-mode in neutral (3C). I just have a better feeling of not going over 3A for a beginners light. The need of wrapping a dropin with foil would not have made the best impression on me several years ago. A beginners light should work out of the box under all circumstances. Checking the flashlight every 30 sec for overheating isn't exactly user friendly. Also i think there is a difference between beginners on high power flashlights and beginners on BLF. Beginners on BLF will become pros in no time. ;-)
Agree with the OP, but for almost the same $$ you can get a Shiningbeam S-mini and not have to spend any time combining parts and waiting on shipping. Plus, Bryan stands behind what he sells, so after-sale service would be far better than MF/ etc. Admittedly, they aren't as bright, but also not prone to overheating, which might be a plus for a noob.
This is the first time I have seen this light and I definitely agree it would be a perfect beginner light. Just drop a battery in and you are good. The pill is huge so even at 2.8 amps it should not overheat.
It gets even better ... the alu reflector is screwing in the brass pill. Best thermal design I have ever seen on a budget screw-in/drop-in light. And the pill should accommodate even 20mm stars for future LED updates. I ordered a similar brass pill alone at DD (without reflector threads)... hopefully it is the same body-threads diameter. I am doing the same thing with a warm white XM-L to my UF C8 XR-E.
Who said anything about NEED? We all know the difference between need and want. NEED is simply a word we use to convince our wives that we can't survive without the light we are lusting after. Actual need could have been fulfilled by the time I bought my first light. Not really perfect for any situation but usable for most situations.
ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS and Rikr are the two people that come to mind that actually need all the lights they have. Otherwise they wouldn't have anything to put in their curios.
- overall IMO a generally good form of body, not huge, pocketable
- has by default a 105-driver AND did you notice an upgrade also there: positive contact spring has been changed to longer - an issue if used with short battery and dropped a time or two (original is short and has a tendency to compress, at least I had this issue...)
- Get your preferred mode setting, No blinkies if you wish. Also good PWM!
- I was amazed when I took a look to pill, it screws down, but very amazed when noticed that the reflector ALSO screws down to pill. Huge thermal cap, lube with thermal paste (when you´re a pro ;) ) and you could drive this about as much as you wish.
I agree about the quality and value of the XIN TD C8...also about he S-mini, you guys know how much I love that light
But...
Something about having your first 18650 flashlight, it should be a P60-style light. It's just the best all around form factor if you only have one; not a thrower like a C8, but still has great throw, easy to pocket, really good spill/flood. I think it is the "standard" for 18650 lights. Just a question of which host you use for it.
You just can't begin your journey as a flashaholic without a P60 light. IF for no other reason than to silence friends that are so proud of their Surefire~