I keep an inova microlight with me always but want another solution for around house, car, etc... So looking on suggestions on a "best for your buck" solution. Looking for a fairly small led flashlight, with good battery life, good brightness and waterproof. I'd prefer something that works on standard batteries and frankly not looking for something not alot of $$$ but if worth it I'll pay the price.

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I carry Inova X5s, but really I wish they were brighter and worked with std batteries. I know there are tons out there, but I haven't researched them much. While at the Ford house the other day, they had these little LED flashlights that were pretty cool for about $13. They had two different shades of brightness, but I don;t know what kind of batteries they use....we were in a rush. They were about 3-1/2" long and a little larger in diameter than the X5. Looked like maybe 8 or 9 LEDs, but don;t hold me to that.

Well, I'll tell yeah what i have:

-Surefire L1 (LED)
-Surefire G2
-ARC AAA
-ARC AA
-Peak Solutions LED Rainier
-Several Photon 2 LEDs

The Surefires and probably the ARC lights are most likely out of your price range (although they are all great lights!). Check out the Peak Solutions light, my model is fairly expensive but I think they make some cheaper ones: Peakledsolutions
They have several models of lights that are at least worth a look at. I am curious to see what others say about Peak led lights...

I think the Surefire G2 is more reasonably priced but it doesn't take "normal" batteries like you would like.

You may be looking at some model of an Inova or a Pelican in the end... I have never owned a Pelican but some people swear by them... relatively reasonably priced...

I hope this helps!!

I use a Fenix L1T. It has a 3W white LED and works on a single AA cell. It will work well on rechargeables too. The flashlight will operate on very low battery voltage. I used cells that were detected as empty by my GPS unit with good results. Rechargeables should not be used until the light goes out. That could damage the cell because of the low voltage.
I like the flashlight because it is very compact and lightweight. It produces a pretty bright beam. The switch is protected against accidental operation.

I Carry a Dorcy with me at all times, the one I have is this one
http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=414281
I picked this up at SAMS club in August, runs on 3 AAA batteries. I am still using the batteries that came with the unit, I use it every night for a mile long walk I take with my dog.

It is very bright, I would have to say the brightest flashlight I've ever owned. Made out of aluminum so it has a very solid feel to it, has a clip held in by two small screws, very well built

I normally carry 3 lights that might fit your needs. On my keychain is a Skunk Lights Skylight solar rechargeable LED light. Not real bright but good for finding the keyhole in the dark and never needs batteries. On my small tool ring I keep a Streamlight Key Mate. This is about 2" long by 1/2". Very bright and runs on 4 coin cell batteries. Had it for a year or more and haven't changed the batteries yet. The last one goes along in my attache bag. That's Gerber Infinity which uses a single AA and is reasonably bright. It comes with a lanyard hole and pocket clip. All of these can be had for under $30.

While I have a couple of Surefires and Streamlights, the light I have been using the most lately is a Mini-mag 3W LED. Same sized body as a regular Mini-mag, with a slightly longer head. Uses two AA's, I have no idea on battery life, I have had it for almost five months, and still using the originals. MSRP of about $25, got it at Wallyworld for $19.95 or so...

I'd recommend the Inova X1. It runs on a single AA, and it's only about $20 at your local Target. I've taken batteries that don't even work in a remote control and have sucked a few hours of light from them. Real economical and easy to operate. As a caveat, they've made several versions - one with a floodlight and one with a "focus" convex lens that makes a bright "spotlight", which only basically lights up in the direction that you point it in. Perfect if you want to see down a dark alley or hall, but if you don't want that look at the lens and see what you are buying first - the stockboys at Target usually can't tell the difference.

Surefire makes a G2 LED now, 80 lumens, 12 hour life on the 123 lithium batts.

Not to get off topic... But for those of you with a Surefire L1 LumaMax light, I think Surefire just released a MORE POWERFUL smaller L1 that is called the same thing (L1 Digital LumaMax).

Compare the pictures:

A Pic of mine: My "Old" L1

The "New" L1:

New L1 on Surefire's website

The older model looks just about the same but is smaller around the middle where the text is. And the output and battery life numbers for the new one are different than my L1.

This kinda makes me sad since I just bought an "old" L1...


Anyway...sorry to get off topic...

Before I toss out suggestions, let me ask:

- what's your favourite standard battery?
- when you say waterproof, do you mean "dunk proof" or fully immersible for long periods of time?
- how much light would be the minimum acceptable
- on balance, would you prefer more light or longer battery life?

You might find what you like here. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/search/search.asp?r=Page%3A+%2FDefault.asp+KW+Box&s=SEARCH&a=search&k=flashlights

The cost of some of the lights are not that steap.

I tend to like plastic-bodied lights - mostly so they won't be so cold to handle in cold weather, but also because they can be brighter and easier to find if dropped.

At this point my favorites are:

Headlamp: Princeton Tec EOS (3 AAA, 2/9/44 hrs, $34)
Handheld tiny/bright: Fenix P1 Cree LED (1 CR123A)
Handheld flood: Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLED (5.5 hrs, $35)
Handheld spot: Streamlight ProPolymer 4AAA Luxeon LED (2 hrs, $30)

The only comment that I have is a negative one. The Brinkman LED version of a mini-maglite has been a disapointment to me.

It would not "lock" into an "off" position such as the mini-maglite does. It would work itself into an "on" position from my moving around in the Captain's chair during my 6 hour watches. This wasted battery power and bulb life.

The scabbard (or holster) was cheap (as in thin) nylon sewn together in an unreliable fashion. It started coming apart after about 10 days of use. The scabbard was too short for the length of the flashlight making it top-heavy as it rested in it's scabbard. It didn't take much for the top heavy flashlight to fall out of the scabbard.

Early during the 2nd month that I was using the light, the lens retaining edge of the cap, which is one molded piece of aluminum, split off and left me with a light that no longer worked at a time that I very much require a working light. I used "super glue" to fix the problem.

The bottom line, in my experience: I have gotten another mini-maglite to use because I can depend on it. BTW: My last mini-maglite endured 2 years of abuse before it succumbed to some leaking batteries that caused life ending corrosion.

Target carries a Brinkmann 3w LED which should fit the bill. It uses 3AAs and is very satisfyingly bright. It's light, rugged, and for around $30, I think it's a great light.

For truck work like changing a tire at night, I'm a really big fan of the Energizer 6 LED headlamp you can get at any WalMart/Target for around 15 bucks. The only thing I really wish they would change is to put a strap over the top of the head and not just around. Even so, it's a great light to have.

I carry both and the nice part is having the same batteries for both.

Streamlight has a 2AA Propolymer LED light with an 18 hr. runtime. I love mine. Not blazing bright but tough, waterproof, and good enough for anything I can think of. $18.


http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_2AA_LED_ProPolymer_Flashlight.php

Hi,

For about 8 years I have used the Streamlight 2AA Propolymer light in the old incandescent version. It has been a tough light and worked well, although I would gladly upgrade it to the LED version for the increased run time and bulb life.

Mike

Inova X1 - Was part of my EDC until it stopped working for some reason(should be able to get it replaced under the warranty). Runs on a single AA battery. Came with nylon belt pouch. $30 USD.

wow, didn't really expect such a response. I appreciate the suggestions.. I'm gonna have to come back to look at the info...Time for work

Don't tease us too long. Don't you know that flashlight addicts even get a vicarious thrill when someone else buys a new light and there's the prospect of pictures and a review?

+1 on the SureFire G2 LED

I played around with the G2-LED with lanyard kit this weekend camping. It was awesome. My son was using my G2-Xenon which gave out the first night. The G2-LED was used heavily setting camp in the dark Friday night, plus loaned to someone to look for a lost ring, and other other various nighttime uses. It's still very bright and gives a fairly white light.

The lanyard was useful to hang the light around my neck. I could shorten it some to leave my hands free to do things like tie knots, pound stakes, etc. It was nice not having to search pockets to find the light or worry about losing it in the tall grass.

It's a very bright, rock solid light. One power usage graph on CandlePower Forums shows the G2-LED starting at 80 lumens, dropping to about 65 lumens after 20 minutes, holding at 65 lumens to about 4 hours or so, and then dropping to around 15-20 lumens for the rest of the 12 hours of burn time.

It's pricey at $65 MSRP, but I've seen at least one online vendor selling them for $55.

Cheers,

Tom A.

I'm a big headlamp guy now. Lanyards are all well and fine, but man a headlamp is great if the car breaks down and you want to take a look at the engine.

I've got a Petzl Tikka XP. Not waterproof per se, but fine in rain. Has a boost feature if you want to see farther on a temporary basis.

I hike a lot, and on a couple outings, I've done some extensive night hiking. Great light for such things.

Here's a site with multiple independent reviews: Bacpacker Gear Test

I use a regular Mini-Mag that I converted to a 3 LED light for $4.95. It runs on 2 AA batteries. I was a camp this weekend during a big storm and it worked fine when I was outside during the night.

I picked up a small aluminum Husky led light the other day is as bright as any single led light I have ever used. When I first bought it I thought it was a AAA but it turned out to have 4 watch batteries instead. The really good part is it only cost $1.99. Cheap enough and bright enough I'm gonna put one in all of my packs.

I like the X1, I like the X5, I like the DR Freedom Photon. Depends on what you use it for most. I've taken to having X5s around the house for daily use. I used an Inova micro light for a long time. I even washed and dried the thing, and though the rubber grip melted just a bit, the thing still works! Turns itself on unexpectedly though...the different levels are nice when checking on the kiddos at night.

That Dorcy mentioned earlier...I had one at my bedside for a long time...not sure where that went...