Complicated? The Infinity Ultra is the simplest light I own. It doesn't even have a switch.

Hi Grant,

Out of the Fenix line up, I would get the *Special Edition Q5* Fenix Digital P1D CE Black Finish

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info...2c6608e8b79c80e

If your going to spend sometime in the bush you could also get a 3.0V protected CR123 charger and a couple of 3.0V CR123R cells (very compact) and a 6 Watt Folding Sunlinq Solar panel.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenmar-KITCR123-60...8179&sr=8-1

http://www.21st-century-goods.com/page/21st/PROD/GSE65

If your looking for Tactical Performance Fenix have also introduced the new Fenix T1.



225 Lumen

First post, hope I can be of help. My wife and I pretty much collect flashlights. We get frequent power outages and over the years we've tried nearly everything to see what works best. However, what works in one scenario doesn't mean it works across the board. The Infinity Ultra Task light is okay in the house, but in the yard (we live in the country; very dark at night), or when camping, it's not the best thing to have. The earth/foliage soaks up the light and I would not want this as my only light if I was in a mountainous area -- it simply doesn't cast the beam far enough. The Fenix goes an hour and a half if I remember correctly and I no longer think that adequate when out and about. An aquaintance of mine, a physician and avid big game hunter, had a harrowing experience near cliffs in Alaska when his SureFire light went out after an hour. I think 3-4 hours is the minimum for taking abroad or when backpacking/hunting, etc. Until recently I used SureFires for tactical applications and an Underwater Kinetics 4AA or 2/DL123 light for everything else, but a recent arrival on the market has forced a further change.

Try the new SureFire G2L. It's a LED light with about 12 hours of usable light. It throws about 75 lumens for a couple of minutes and then drops back to 65 lumens for a number of hours. LED's throw a very white light, unlike the yellow tint of incandescents, so it takes some getting used to, and I don't think they work nearly as well in smoke/fog, but these new G2L's have overcome that somewhat. They still aren't as good as a 9P, M4, etc, in the Surefire line, when distance/smoke/fog are involved, but the lumens are very impressive and work WAY OUT THERE (as in 50-60 yards) when compared to the Infinity or similar lights. Add the superior battery life, no need for $20 replacements bulbs like the incandescents, and the reasonable price, and you have a pretty good solution. I think we paid about $50. It was well worth it. I intend to get a couple of more to put in each car. I've tried them outdoors and they are light years ahead of the smaller lights mentioned, yet still small and light enough for travel.

If that is too big, look at the Princeton Tek Impulse. In the last couple of days I compared it to the aforementioned Infinity light I had next to the bed. It clearly outperformed the Task Light. It has low/medium/high settings, plus two flashing modes. I was so impressed with it, I put the Infinity away. I think we paid about $13 for these at REI. They have a 12 hour battery life on high, 24 hours on lmedium and 36 hours on low beam. Now I haven't tested this yet, it's what the factory printed on the box, but even half that time, considering the amount of light on high mode, would be adequate for travel. The neat feature about this little light is that it attaches to your shirt/pants and also comes when a mount to put on a hat.

Welcome rly45acp and thanks for the information, I will check out both the Surefire G2L and Princeton Tek Impulse you mentioned.

Mike

I have both the Fenix CREE LED in the single AA version and the Gerber .mil version.

The Fenix does what the Gerber does and more, but the Gerber is more robust.

Take both.

If only one, take the Gerber.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Rly45acp, I'll check out the Surefire G2L. I carry a Surefire G2 Nitrolon and have liked it, but it sounds like the G2L may throw the light further, something I'm looking for. A friend showed me a Uzi xenon light--about 4.8 inches long and using two 3v lithium batteries. It really lights up the night, but he says they are hard to come by. Does anyone use this Uzi light?

I don't know if you have your heart set on one of those, but the brightest lights for the size that I know of are scuba diving lights. I would want one of those if I were trying to see what I was defending myself against in Kenya.

I picked up a Fenix P3D Cree version today. I was awestruck by the amount of light. I have another 3w led that is supposed to put out about 50 lumens or a bit brighter and better quality light than my old d-cell Maglite.

The Fenix clocks in at 12/53/120/215 lumens or about 4x the output in a form factor that can only be described as pocket fitting (114x21 mm). I can't speak to the durability just yet but judging from it's manufacturing quality, it looks like a winner. The light is very white, not blueish and not yellowish either. I opted for the CR123 version rather than the AA which is about 33 mm longer and 84% the brightness. Comes with a belt carry pouch and lanyard.

The original had the keyring hole machined in the main body. The switch and battery access was by turning the head end. Note the conclusions at the end. There's also reviews for the original Infinity and the original Ultra Ultra.