Been reading the forum for sometime and decided to register an account today. I have been looking for a flashlight and is little overwhelmed by the wide variety of flashlights available and the terms used.
Would like seek advice which light should I consider. Here is my criteria.
-Run on 1-2 AA/AAA batteries.
-Long runtime.
-Purpose is for reading in the dark for extended period of time. (read that a suitable lumen is around 3?)
-Below $50(lower the better :bigsmile: )
-Must have 3 modes at least (apart from use it to read in the dark, also for other purposes which need higher lumen)
Personally for reading I like a nice even light rather than one with a hot spot. There are several ways of doing this, but something with an aspheric set to flood works really really well.
Another option is something low powered that you can remove the head on. Either that or you might want to consider some kind of diffuser.
The little sk68 works brilliantly at this, although runtime on 1AA eneloop isn’t as good as some other lights.
Others I’d consider:
-LED MagLite Solitaire because you can take the head off
-LED Mini MagLite AAA, again because you can take the head off
-LED Mini MagLite Pro+ has a low mode and you can either take the head off or get an aspheric lens from somewhere like DX and offer up a nice even light with no hot spot (I run an incan Mini Mag converted to LED with one of these lenses and it’s brilliant for reading or close up work)
Some Led Lensers with thier TIR optic likely offer up a nice even light for such a task also.
Last up you might want to look at the little FourSevens Preon 0, 25 lumens but a real floody, not quite as even light as some of the above but pretty darn good.
I say get the Balder SE-1, but get it at EDC Plus where you can get it in Neutral White (more realistic color rendering). Go ahead and get the extension tube so you can run 2AA if you ever want to. I don't own it (but want one). Nice 3 modes with a low low and no blinkies. Very highly regarded around here.
I don't know for sure, but I'm betting it's the same ratio as the Lighthound version (which is really just a Balder rebranded as far as I know) which is 100% - 30% - 1%. Not much info I'm finding searching BLF, but you could compare with how2's review and currents. Those currents pretty much confirm the same ratio as Lighthound. The low is definitely very low (+/-1 lumen? )
The bezel doesn’t quite screw on all the way but it fits on well enough or you could trim the lens down a little if you wanted to spend the time.
It also won’t let you “zoom” like an sk68 as to focus the LED you have to just unscrew the head off. But in “flood” mode it offers up a lovely huge even lit area with no hot spot. I find this hugely useful for close up work and using round the house.
Sometimes you’re better off with two tools to do two jobs, rather than one multipurpose tool. A reading light like this one would be suitable, then get a torch to do what you’d like.
Oh, man, I was going to recommend the 4sevens from Going Gear because for that price they are hard to beat, but BetweenRides beat me too it! Well, welcome to BLF, Manussa.
The very best advise!
My 1ST wife and 9 yearold granddaughter use the book lights for hours before they fall fast asleep. then what ever else you need!
