Flashlight Brand Recommendation

[smitty_bs]

OK so I've been bitten by the quality high lumen flashlight bug and am looking for one or two new ones. I have an old Surefire incandescent light with a polymer body. My son has a Surefire Executive ED2 which he loves. But both lights are rather outdated with respect to the current crop of high lumen for size flashlights.

I hear that Olight, Eagletac and Surefires are good. Any others? Streamlight? Fenix? Which brand is tops for longevity and durability?

Surefires seem to be the most expensive brand feature for feature. Are they worth it? They also seem to be the only ones made in America. But if you compare the ED2 Defender to something like the Olight M18 Striker, there's a big difference in price.

Any advice you all could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Grayfox]

I'm quite fond of Steamlight. I've got several different models. One in my nightstand, one in my truck, I keep a Stylus Pro in my shirt pocket and work and have a Micro clipped to my pants pocket right now.
Excellent lights and the prices are reasonable. I highly recommend them.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I have three or four Surefire lights and they work great. But for carry I like this one.
ProTac® Series - ProTac® 2L | Streamlight

Compact size and 260 lumens is all I need. Some complain about the cost of CR123A batteries, but they last a LONG time depending on use of course.

 

[STCM(SW)]

You want a heavy duty with more light?
A Defiant.
And a reasonable price too @ THD.

 

[Farmer17]

I have a Surefire 6P, Streamlight Scorpion, Olight, and a whole bunch of Maglites. For the last several years the most powerful flashlights made use an XM-L LED lamp, and these require the use a single 14500 rechargeable stick battery, but two batteries and a charger are under ten bucks on E Bay. When there is a real emergency I would pick the expensive Surefire but the cheap $12 Ultrafire XM-L lights work just fine and I have bought four or five of them over the years and never had one break and they are darn near as bright as a car headlight.

 

[Faulkner]

I gave up big, heavy Maglites years ago. While on duty I carry a Streamlight Stinger on my duty belt, a Surefire E2e in my BDU cargo pocket, a Streamlight M3 tactical light on my Glock 23, a 5.11 ATAC PLx in my shirt pocket, and a Streamlight Microstream in the breast pocket of my jacket. They are all quality lights.

I was field training a rookie deputy not long ago and was showing him the various lights I always carry on duty. He had a look of amusement on his face and asked, "hey, are you afraid of the dark?"

"Yes," I replied. "When you've seen half as much as I have you will be too."

 

[Hillbilly77]

Streamlight is the only brand you need to know.

You're welcome.

 

[A10]

Surefire, Fenix, and Streamlight all live in my house....I've also got a couple Maglight d cell, but the aint so much for use as a flashlight.....

 

[billwill]

I think that you will find great use and value in Fenix and JetBeam. I have several of each and never had a problem. Compare features/lumens and price. CandlePowerForums will give you tons of info.

 

[JayCeeNC]

I have a couple of SureFires, but prefer the Sunwayman lights.
More options and higher lumens than most SureFire models.

sunwayman - Home

 

[DR505]

Another Fenix user here. Better than Surefire at a fraction of the price. Streamlight is good, but Fenix is better. Sorry Hillbilly.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Surefire G2X 15/320
Surefire P3X 15/1000

I use a flashlight at least 30min every evening. The 15 lumen is perfect for my nightly walks with the dog. We have no street lights around here and the 15 lumen is all I need to see where I'm walking and the dog that is leading the way . When a car comes up the road I click it on high power so we're easily seen. The only thing I don't care for is the G2X is a bit short for the hand. I fixed that with the 1.5" longer 3-CR123 P3X.

Streamlight Stylus Pro 48

What a great little light. Long run times and very practical to have one handy in a few rooms of the house and one tucked away in the Maxpedition Micro that stays in the truck.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have a Streamlight with 4-AA Energizer Lithium in it for a little over 4 1/2 years, riding in the console of my pick-up. At 20 below zero it light up fine. A Surefire LED with CR-123's on my belt and a M-3 on my 870. I'm good to go! Ivan

 

[Doug M.]

Surefire. I just replaced the single power/clicky switch (ordered from BCM, as I believe they are the only source for that spec combo) P2X/500 on my carbine with a P3X/1000 configured the same way. We have at least 2, and I think 3 of the 500 lumen models, and 5 or 6 of the previous generations. I carry at least one P2X just about every second of the day.

I have also ordered the new 200/600 lumen forend (which I will set at 600) for my M590, and if I was going to use a pistol light, the U boat (X300U, at 500 lumens) would be the sole choice. I buy them from other dealers, like BCM and TNVC, since Surefire seems to not want to be a dealer and lets everyone else sell them for less. The batteries I get directly from Surefire, at under $2 each for 1st quality batteries (I think made for them by Duracell) compared to $6-10 each in a typical store. I just bought 4 12 packs, in fact.

The difference in useful light provided at 500+ lumens is amazing, and part of that is the configuration of the beam. See this demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3UDRUNO3bw. It's just about impossible to pick up all the threats until using the full 500 lumen lights, and the 1000 lumen is even better.

 

[erics]

Try Foursevens.com

 

[CoMF]

Count me as the odd man out who's perfectly happy with his MagLite XL50. It's not "tacticool," nor does it have a bajillion lumens, but it's a good solid LED light that fits in my shirt pocket and throws a useful beam a good distance. Best of all, if I break or lose it, I can buy another one for around $30, AND it's powered by three commonly available AAA batteries.

 

[BobC357]

I have lots of MagLites in various sizes and most are at least 10 years old and still going.

 

[O2Guy]

Streamlight for me.

 

[soFlaNative]

Have MiniMags that lasted for years but needed a light for work I could use one handed. LED would refract badly in dust and smoke and incandescent lights in my price range were limited so my best option was the Surefire Nitrolon. More than adequate for my needs and lamp/battery life much longer than advertised.

 

[islamoradamark]

i like my fenix wonderful company