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#237829 - 12/23/11 01:53 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Roarmeister]
UTAlumnus Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/08/03
Posts: 1019
Loc: East Tennessee near Bristol
That was probably the LD01. Its a three mode light (mid-low-high).

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#237830 - 12/23/11 02:20 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: UTAlumnus]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
3 modes is tempting...
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#237831 - 12/23/11 02:35 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: bacpacjac]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
For a great light with more than just 3 modes, check out the Quark AA (as in 1xAA). Common battery and modes from a minimum Moonlight mode of 0.2 lumens to a maximum of 109 lumens OTF (out the front). The Quark AA2 with 2xAA has a higher max of 205 lumens.

From what I can tell, the 4Sevens Quark lights are made to the same standards as Fenix, but with a broader range of output.

IMO, FWIW, $.02, YMMV -- Caveat emptor, yada yada yada
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#237832 - 12/23/11 02:43 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Roarmeister]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3842
Loc: USA
Survival lights should use LED emitters. HID and other emitter technologies have their places, but LED emitters are extremely tough, essentially never wear out, and use less power within their performance envelope than other technologies. If you have incandescent flashlights that you rely on for survival needs, it's past time to start looking for an LED replacement.

The best performing 1xAAA flashlight I ever found was the 4Sevens ReVO. Unfortunately it's been discontinued. There are other excellent 1xAAA lights out there, including those from Fenix. This is the form factor of flashlight that I stash everywhere as being small, light, tough, reliable and being far better for finding extra batteries than button-cell lights. It also feeds my flashaholism, as 1xAAA lights tend to be less expensive than the others in my collection so I buy more of 'em and find more and better places to stash 'em. In this size there's no excuse to not have one with you.

My primary EDC flashlight is in the 1xCR123A form factor, a Quark 123. It's too big for keychain carry, so it's not for everyone, but I typically find that my EDC flashlight is better than the "let me go back and get my flashlight" flashlights that non-flashaholics carry. During my recent ride-along with the local police, they were outright awed when I took out the Quark to help them look for something.

For me, the 2xCR123A form factor works best for most of my non-EDC needs. It's small enough for belt or even pocket carry, but you can get serious performance out of it. The larger ones in this form factor can provide performance that wasn't possible short of carrying a car battery around with you only a few years ago.

As far as brands go, I used to say that MagLites were the best available. They're certainly tough and Mag Instruments has great customer service, but in terms of size, weight and performance they're still working to catch up. Inova makes tough and reliable lights as well, but with the same caveats. SureFire might actually be tougher and more reliable (if that's possible) with what everyone agrees is some of the best customer service in any industry, but their lights are very expensive for the performance. HDS tries to go further than SureFire in reliability, performance and expense and from what I've read does a great job of it. Fenix and (my favorite) 4Sevens are significantly less expensive than SureFire and provide some of the best performing flashlights around. I haven't had any reliability problems with either brand. Note that there are too many competitors in this space for me to try to write even a sentence about each of them -- by the time I tried there'd be three more that I hadn't heard about and one other would probably be out of business.

Without becoming even more long-winded, the point I'm coming around to is that you need to get a flashlight that suits your particular requirements. This doesn't mean to go buy a lame 2xD dimestore incan -- it means that you should figure out what performance you need, what form factor works best for you, and how much of everything you're willing to pay for.

I have no affiliation with any flashlight manufacturer except as a customer.

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#237836 - 12/23/11 03:06 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Russ]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3842
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Russ
From what I can tell, the 4Sevens Quark lights are made to the same standards as Fenix, but with a broader range of output.


Fenix has a 24-month warranty (http://www.fenixlight.com/service.asp?action=tiaokuan). 4Sevens has a 10 year warranty (http://www.4sevens.com/information.php?info_id=5#4Sevens).

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#237841 - 12/23/11 03:38 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Roarmeister]
7point82 Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/24/05
Posts: 478
Loc: Orange Beach, AL
Get a good charger and a couple of pairs of 18650 rechargeable Li-ion batteries for the TK35 to round out the package. Trust me. wink

I try to keep one set of 18650s in the light, a second pair charged and of course you can always fall back to primary batteries in a pinch.
_________________________
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#237842 - 12/23/11 03:46 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: ]
Arney Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/15/05
Posts: 2485
Loc: California
Originally Posted By: IzzyJG99
The Mini123 is a great light I really keep meaning to get.

I just got my Mini123 in the mail late this afternoon. It's very small, smaller than I expected. I like it!

You have the energy density of the CR123 battery in a very compact package with multiple modes. I still have to try it out, but I think I may be able to comfortably pocket EDC this like I do with a 1xAAA Fenix E05 now. We shall see.

I highly recommend the E05, too. It's been recently discontinued but can still be found on sale.

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#237843 - 12/23/11 03:50 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Arney]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Originally Posted By: Arney
Originally Posted By: IzzyJG99
The Mini123 is a great light I really keep meaning to get.

I just got my Mini123 in the mail late this afternoon. It's very small, smaller than I expected. I like it!

You have the energy density of the CR123 battery in a very compact package with multiple modes. I still have to try it out, but I think I may be able to comfortably pocket EDC this like I do with a 1xAAA Fenix E05 now. We shall see. ...
I have tried it and it works. I also have the Mini AA which is a tad smaller in diameter but a little longer. Either will work for pocket carry.
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#237852 - 12/23/11 05:10 AM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Roarmeister]
Mark_M Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 11/19/09
Posts: 295
Loc: New Jersey
As a flashaholic, part of my 12-step program is to admit to owning several of the models discussed above, and more.

Best bang for your buck in small flashlight is either the Countycomm.com Maratac 1xAAA or the ITP EOS A3 Upgrade ("Upgrade" means tri-mode). They are the same light with different tailcap/key-ring attachment. $25 for the Maratac, and around $19 for the ITP if you look around. The Maratac is my standard key-ring light and also fits nicely into the nylon sheath for the Leatherman Surge and Charge.

The Fenix LD01 is also a nice 1xAAA light, roughly same size as above, but more costly at around $40. One of these currently lives in the sheath for my Leatherman Charge AL in my BOB.

I avoid CR123A for the longest time, wanting to stick with more readily-available AA and AAA lights. But I got a Fenix PD30 R4 on sale, and it has become my favorite EDC pocket flashlight. It clips nicely inside my pocket and I hardly notice it until I need it.

I've looked at the 4Sevens Quark "X" 123². They seem to be well made, I like the form factor and extra brightness, but the low ranges and extra modes bother me. I like the 11-lumen low mode on my Fenix PD30, I think the 3-lumen mode on the 4Sevens light would be too dim. Too bad there's no place local to try one out. Then again, given my addiction, maybe that's a good thing.

My "thrower" is an OLight Triton M30 I picked-up on sale last year for $95. Only 700 lumens, but I manage to get by. smile
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#237863 - 12/23/11 12:17 PM Re: Flashlight for Christmas [Re: Roarmeister]
7point82 Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/24/05
Posts: 478
Loc: Orange Beach, AL
What's "normal" today in flashlights is just nuts.

Last time I was out in the woods with my 11 year old twins I took one of my old school flashlights from 25 years ago with us. Those boys looked at me like I was crazy when I handed them that light to use to walk through the woods after dark. You would have thought I'd handed them a salad fork to use as protection against bears.

{/tangent} Sorry, now back to your regularly scheduled program. smile
_________________________
"There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother." -Theodore Roosevelt

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