Flashlight Brand Recommendation

Good choices in this thread.

I also have a 15 year old Surefire G2. I am going to replace it at some point with an LED G2X. $49 and free shipping on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Surefire G2X Pro Dual Output LED Flashlight, Yellow: Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31MPMXe1SVL.@@AMEPARAM@@31MPMXe1SVL

I've had this little one AAA light on my work lanyard for a couple years, about $20 shipped:

LED Lenser 880046 P2 LED Flashlight, Black - Basic Handheld Flashlights - Amazon.com@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41J-EJfIhAL.@@AMEPARAM@@41J-EJfIhAL

Lastly, I use Pelican lights Scuba diving almost exclusively. Mine are at least 18 years old and still work fine. As a brand, I've never found an issue with Pelican products.

Oh, and plus 1 on giveing up on the D cell Maglites for carry. I have one 3D in the kitchen hanging around by the microwave. I did a LED conversion on it, but it must be 20 years old. For sure though, it does get used sometimes, if only because it is so darn big, it's hard to miss it. :D
 
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Malkoff devices make LED replacement light modules for Surefire and other flashlights as well as complete flashlights. I have several Surefire and Maglight modules and find them to be excellent quality and very bright. They make batteries last a very long time, run times in hours instead of minutes. The warmer color modules are very close to natural daylight. Check them out.

Malkoff Devices. Super bright, powerful LED modifications for flashlights, LED light pucks, Super bright, powerful LED modifications for flashlights

Brian

I am not connected in any way to Malkoff, just a very satisfied customer.
 
I have many....

I have many humorous and god-awful stories about flashlights. I try to keep telling my wife NOT to buy cheap flashlights, but she does anyway. A flashlight will stay on until I point it at what I want the light to shine on, then it goes out. I point it away and it lights up. I point it at the work I'm doing and it goes out..........

A couple of good flashlights are better than a dozen cheap ones. I've always like Maglights and Surefire, but they may have something more advanced now.
 
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I have a Fenix P2D that I have carried in my pocket since 2008. It uses a single CR123 battery and puts out 180 Lumens. It has been dropped several times on concrete and still works. The CR123 battery costs a bit more but lasts a lot longer.

I also have a LD41 that puts out 520 Lumens. Here is a review.

Fenix LD41 Review - 4 AA - XM-L

This site is a good place to evaluate any flashlight that you are considering.
 
I have a little Fenix, about the size of an AA battery. I like it a lot. VERY bright, two levels of brillance. It's round and will roll off anything, so I epoxied a dime to the barrel of it to provide something flat. I could have used a penny but thought that would be cheap. I keep it in my suitcase for travel; very handy in a motel room.
 
Surefire flashlights are the best there are, but they are very expensive for their features, and run on CR123 batteries.

I like the Jetbeam line of flashlights. They are very well made, and you get WAY more for your money. Some run on AA batteries, too.
 
Streamlight and surefire are my favorites.
6u7y5u3u.jpg


Streamlight Stinger LED HP & my surefire EB2 BACKUP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
And the sleeper here that no one has mentioned is Terra Lux. I like them better than Fenix. We have a house full and in the cars as well. IMHO, best bang for the buck out there. Find them at Amazon, etc.
 
I guess if you gotta have a "name" to go along with a good flash you need either Streamlight or Surfire, but I have different buying criteria. I'm looking for function, period.

I use that tired old brand Maglite. They aren't as tired as one would think.

For a full sized flash that can double as a baton (just like 35 years ago when my department wouldn't allow batons) Maglite makes a great D cell sized LED flash that provides 120 lumens...not a lot, but fine for a general purpose flash. It sells for less than $30.00.

For a higher powered tac lite style flash (that is also weapon mountable with its 1" diameter) I like (and have 4) the Magtac. It comes in two styles (both LED):

Standard bezel - 3 settings...high, low, and temp on by holding the rear cap switch. 310 lumens. Machined aluiminum. etc, etc. Can be had for mid-$60 range.

Tactical bezel (stupid "selling" naame for tyhe tacticool crowd) = 3 settings...temp on by holding the same rear cap switch, on, and strobe. 320 lumens, the rest is the same. Can be had for mid $80 raange. My best source for flashlights and batteries is zbattery.com. The URL for the MagTac 310 lumen lights I have is:
Maglite MAG-TAC® LED Lithium Powered Flashlight, Black Plain Bezel
 
We use Steamlight where I work partially because we have some Class 1 Div 1 areas. They've been dropped, submerged and frozen but I've yet to have one break.
 
Kanewpadle said:
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.
Click to expand...

The CR123A batteries are usually around $12 for 2 but Bass Pro sells a pack of 2, the Streamlight brand for about $6 I have a 200 lumen Streamlight Scorpion and outside in total darkness it is all the light I will ever need.
 
You can't go wrong with most of the name brands. I have surefire on my M&P, eagletac on my gun belt, a scorpion in my car and an SL-20x just for nostalgia. I recently held a cool Fenix that had a 3 level light adjustment on the barrel. I like that feature better than the twisty stye on my Eagletac. Check out candlepower forum for some cool reviews. I have found lights to be as personal a choice as guns. One will speak to you.
 
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Kid44 said:
The CR123A batteries are usually around $12 for 2 but Bass Pro sells a pack of 2, the Streamlight brand for about $6 I have a 200 lumen Streamlight Scorpion and outside in total darkness it is all the light I will ever need.
Click to expand...

The only way to buy these is on line. You can get a 12 pack of surefires for around 20 bucks. I've been told to stay away from unknown brands as they could leak and ruin your light, besides giving you less run time.
 
I have used Streamlight for years. Recently Stinger. They have a great service dept. which is a good thing because I have had problems with the switches on every Streamlight I have ever owned. And that is about 8 ? of their larger models . Also a Pro tac 1L for pocket carry. And problems with the switch. Recently bought a Fenix PD22 for pocket carry and so far so good.
The best pocket light I've had was a Coleman LED but is a little long so I switched to the shorter Streamlight and now Fenix.
 
Before buying a light its a good idea to look for actual runtime/light output graphs on various sites on the Net. You will often find that the claims from manufacturers don't hold up to reality or what you might think they mean. A claim of a 100 lumens and 8hrs.... might actually translate to a runtime graph that shows output is 50% in just a few minutes and 10% in less than an hour... then runs at 10 lumens for 7 hours.
 
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