I been looken for some cheap LED flashlights to throw around and stock up on and it turns out its a pretty difficult task. Finding them cheap is no issue but finding any WORTH anything at all is damn tough.

So far I only snagged 3 lights. The first is a Life+Gear minimax.

http://www.lifegear.com/flashlights/mini-max-aluminum-flashlight-flasher.html

I hate it. Walmart had um for 3.88$ and I couldnt resist such a bargain. First off the Switch is a full on digital button, no clicky switch, Which is odd for such a cost. That part I like its pretty darn neat. The red LED on the back is a gimmick and actually can be used as a low light alternative to close up needs. The blinking is useless and the SOS it totes around is actually the RED BUTTON not the flashlight and blinks so stupid fast with no pauses you cant tell if its SOS or strobe. The lights barely bright enough and has no reatch typical of multi LED lights but emites a bizzare snow flake patter right after the hotspot that is to dirty and distracting.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the ALL FUNCTIONS TURN OFF AFTER ONE HOUR feature this thing has.....I cant say if that includes the light portion but it states ALL FUNCTIIOOONS...Sooo I can just picture that crucial moment of going down stairs and CLICK the flashlight decides hey one hour is all you need bub....

Next is the Defiant single AA light.

http://www.lifegear.com/flashlights/mini-max-aluminum-flashlight-flasher.html

I like it. The Body is of cheap plastic the clip is cheap metal and the tailcap feels cheap. BUT it has a lovely clean hotspot with a lovely clean spill light that clean and lovely like ends with no overspill. For 7$ Id say meh kinda would maybe buy more but if it was say 4-5 id be all over it. The money seems to have gone all into the LED and reflector. It throws a hell of a distance for a tiny light too not fantastic but WAY WAY more usable then any muli LED light Ive used.

And the Defiant 2AAA Penlight.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-...51#.UHpZB4bLFlM

Cheap Awful dirty Blueish hued off center 5 foot distance useless light.....sigh.... All the money has gone into the Aluminum body and not a penny was spent on the switch LED or reflector. Very tough to click in the switch and cheap smooth vinylish rubber ta boot. Heavy body for its size and just not reasonable for its price.



So yeah only 3 tickled me for the price at common stores. I keep going back and forth to these flashlight sections to see what a normal everyday joe would snag if they needed a few lights for powerouts and such and nothing seems to cut it. Alot of these lights now are going towards the 3-4 cheap LEDs with no proper reflectors and strange magnified focusing sections on the lens ontopa the LEDs. My Eton Radio has this and it creates a Hollow dim artifact riddled circle with no hotspot just a dim circle of glowing.

Anywho just thought Id rant abit after not being around so much! Would love to hear some similar thoughts and Projects on finding cheap stuff for the average person to prep with.

Nice! I'm an admitted flashlight junkie so I'm always on the lookout for good cheap ones. I know I've posted the link to the Black Cat ones I like from DX- a few days ago I "kicked them up a notch"! It might seem silly, but I dropped $5 on a 2-pack of AAA Lithiums for my cheap lights. Very cool! They run slightly brighter but the thing I really like is that the battery won't likely leak and ruin the light when I most need it. Plus, I think Lithium is good at cold temps; I plan to put them in the lights I leave in my truck (SD can reach -35 F in the winter, probably too cold for any battery but better than regular alkaline, I suppose).

The best cheap flashlight I've seen in a while is the ThruNite Ti. At $16 it's a bit spendy compared to the lights you've been looking at, but I think you'd be pleased.

Fenix E01 13 lumens for 21 hours according to their website. I don't have any of the E01's but their L/LD and P series lights are well built. My current EDC is an LD20.

Big +1 for fenix E01, they're pretty much indestructable. Google "fenix e01 torture test" if you want some internet quality time. Really though + 10 hours of stable plenty good enough working light plus 11 hours of slowly decaying ligth. You can put dead AAAs in there and most of the time the E01 will ligth up and drain whatever electrons that may still be in there... (battery wampire) Pretty much like the perfect backup emerency light in my book.


I've bought maybe three lights or so from this guy: http://www.shiningbeam.com
No worries so far. Only reason I don't buy more lights from Shiningbeam is that I've found I'm more comfortable slightly higher up on the price/quality scale.

Ok, $55 might not be cheap flashlight, but 3000 Lumen (probably nearer 2000 Lumen @18-20W ) might just be required at some point in time.

FandyFire UV-S5 (Sky Ray King.)

http://dx.com/p/fandyfire-uv-s5-xm-l-t6-...-120679?item=39

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGXXe_p6bRk

somewhere in the middle...I upgraded the SureFire 6P with a Malkoff 240 lumen LED conversion last summer, but was introduced to SolarForce(Hong Kong) LED upgrades for the SureFire incandescents I had picked up off prize tables... the G2 Nitrolons (top example) has a 320 lumen upgrade for about $11... I'm so far impressed with the center light from one of their bodies (only) ... the $11 320 lumen module + a $12 body +$5 worth of CR123's give you a pocket flamethrower for less than $30.. I accidentially flashed myself with it, and was disoriented for at least 3 minutes... the SolarForce upgrades do not have the heat sink of the Malkoff, and are more center weighted.

The Fenix LD15 is about the least expensive for the specs. I have not yet found a high performing 1xAA flashlight this small on DX.com or anywhere else.

3.15 x 0.65 in (80 x 16.6 mm)

Big thumbs up for the Fenix E01, which is about $12 on amazon. I give them as gifts - they are excellent.

alright -can I ask you guys for a little bit of help? i do need to upgrade my kit and get a new flashlight.

considering the lights mentioned above ... which one has the following:
1) A very robust case (metal, or extremely strong polymer)
2) Gives a very bright light that will disorient you in the dark
3) Doesn't cost and arm and a leg. Just a leg, maybe :-)

thanks,
Pete2

Batteries? Form factor? Multiple brightness/runtime modes? Strobe? Interface?

For just a leg, the FourSevens Maelstrom MMS has a max of 350 lumens out the front. It's a dual mode light with the user selecting the two output levels from a minimum of 1 lumen to a max of 350 lumen. By some standards, 350 lumens is fairly illuminating.

Other lights in the Maelstrom tactical series will go up to 1200 lumen, but those would cost you the arm too.

I own a Maelstrom X7 (what they're now calling the MMX). I like it enough and trust it enough that it's mounted on my home-defense shotgun. I have a ridiculous number of FourSevens' lights and all of them have been excellent. No affiliation.

Yep, I have a few FourSeven lights myself. What they now refer to as the Quark Pro QP2A is IMO one of the best all-around lights on the market. 2xAA batteries and light output from moonlight (0.2 lumens) to fairly bright at 205 lumens. The 1xAA version (max of 109 lumens) is clipped inside my EDC backpack. I use lithium primary batteries in these lights. One of their brighter 2x123A tactical versions (Quark Pro QP2L-X) is in my survival vest.

No affiliation.

I'll look into the FourSevens lights. I have not tried that brand before. I don't need a large number of fancy options.
I use the light primarily as a security device - for checking for prowlers. Hence the ability to see into dark spaces in an alley, and to blind an intruder's night vision is good (sounds like 350 lumens should be fine - based on comments here). I also depend upon the flashlight as a back-up baton, which is why I like the case to be rugged.

cheers,
Pete2

My back-up baton is a 3 x D-cell Maglite retro-fitted with a 3 watt LED emitter.

Pete,

Take a look at the HexBright and FlexBright lights at www.hexbright.com

HexBright FLEX
Powerful 500 Lumens!
USA Made
CREE XM-L U2
Rugged Aluminum Construction
USB Rechargeable and Programmable
High Mode - 500 Lumens/1 Hour
Endurance Mode - 150 lm/8 Hours
Blinky Mode
Arduino Compatible and Open Source!
5.7" long by 1.3" diameter, 7.6 ounces (145mm by 34mm, 215 grams)
$99.00

I have two comming for my son and I.

The flex is rechargeable and I think the hex use cr123 batteries.

It will be a few weeks yet but I'll post a review when they come in.

Jim

Jim,when you get that light will you do me a favor? I wonder if its bright enough to shine light thru hand or maybe sideways at oblique angles in arms to see veins?I might be able to use it to help start IV's.

Could you check that for me?

I have two Hexbright Flex lights coming. I'll be glad to post my evaluation.

With regard to ruining an intruder's night vision and other tactical uses, lumens won't tell the whole story. A lumen is the unit with which we measure the total amount of light output. Candela is the unit for measuring the peak luminous intensity.

A 90 lumen light with a tightly focused hotspot can be blinding and entirely adequate for tactical use. Four hundred lumens of light where it's mostly spill may not work for that purpose.

I had posted about these flashlights about a year ago - it's not a pocket flashlight, but it's cheap and definitely "good enough" for a junk drawer flashlight, or a loaner you won't cry about if it doesn't make it back to you:

Eveready LED Econoy 1D flashlight

I first saw these in a local grocery store, and since have seen them in Target and elsewhere. Under $6 for a pair, and they're also sold singly, for about $3.50. Uses 1D battery, in a body size of a 2D flashlight. Same cheap body as a 2D incandescent light, but it has a LOOONG spring to take up the space, and the LED gives adequate (not fantastic) brightness. It comes with a sticker over the positive terminal of the D battery, so it won't come on accidentally and is perhaps less likely to leak.

Great value light.

jmcglash ... i am taking a serious look at the hexbright.
aluminum housing ... has two light modes (hi and lo) ... price is reasonable.

chaosmagnet - i will wait for your evaluation of the hexbright before buying. thanks. and i would like to get your opinion about whether these lights have tactical usefulness - shining it in an attackers eyes at distances of about 4-6 feet.

spuds said - "Jim, when you get that light will you do me a favor? I wonder if its bright enough to shine light thru hand or maybe sideways at oblique angles in arms to see veins?I might be able to use it to help start IV's."

I had no idea that was even possible. :-)

Pete2

I'm pretty sure the $100 HexBright flashlight and some other flashlights posted here are far outside of the original poster's ball park, based on the links he posted. Maybe we should start a new thread so this useful discussion isn't buried in this thread.

Nope, we left cheap flashlights way back. A friend bought a Gerber 1xAA LED light for ~$5 as I recall. Very good light for the price.

Once the discussion moves to lights with CREE XM-L and XP-G emitters, we are way past cheap.

Oh I don't know about that!

UltraFire WF-502B XM-LT6 5-Mode 510-Lumen Memory White LED Flashlight with Clip for $13.50

http://dx.com/p/ultrafire-wf-502b-xm-lt6...0-55238?item=44

can somebody explain to me the CREE design concept, and why it is that there are a few bright flashlights in the price range of $10-$30, and then after that the prices seem to jump to $80-$200??

thanks,
Pete2

Thats is about as big of a mystery as the Apple iPhone, which costs around $8-10 to manufacture in China.

One of my Cree equipped lights cost me about 45 bucks, and my latest Cree purchase was $64. I am happy with both of them - light and bright. As the shiny new technology ages, the price tends to come down.

On the subject of lights, it really irks me that they make them so complicated! It seems like most of the Chinese lights are cluttered with multiple modes- some have a dozen or more! Maybe I'm just a cave man but two modes is sometimes pushing it for me. I guess that's why my (admittedly expensive) Surefire E1B is my favorite light. When you turn it on it's automatically at full power; quickly cycling it will get you into low mode (5 lumens IIRC).

I bought a cool inexpensive 1 x CR123a light from DX that was recommended by Am_Fear_Liath_Mor. The light is great but I missed reading that it has 5 modes! It's a real bear to find the mode I want, and invariably it comes on in whatever mode is most inconvenient/disadvantageous for the purpose at hand.

Does anyone make a DEAD SIMPLE led light that takes 1 or 2 CR123a batteries, with just one or two modes, for a "reasonable" price? I put it in quotes because "reasonable" varies from person to person. Say, $20-ish?

so far I'm pretty happy with the DIY build from Solar Force (Hong Kong) products... a LM2 body was $11 (2x cr123) and a 320 lumen LED module about the same.. also a 240 lumen LED module for about $10... has a click tail cap, momentary and on... no multi modes ... I EDC along with a Fenix E01, a Streamlight TacPro 1L that is a single cr123 and 3 modes.. but it was around $35...it took about 2 weeks to get the light from Hong Kong, but shipping was pretty reasonable...at the same time, I purchased several LED module upgrades for a couple of SureFires incandescents I had laying around...

Some flashlights on DX.com are so cheap, it's easier to buy rather than to critique. For example...

http://dx.com/p/new-10b-cree-q5-3-mode-3...0-123406?item=2

Cree manufactures LED emitters, which flashlight manufacturers buy to build flashlights with. Cree doesn't manufacture flashlights.

The design concept for multimode flashlights is that LEDs are very flexible, and some folks seem to really like that. However some flashlight manufacturers seem to have realized that there's a market for simply-operated lights, and have come out with lights that can be programmed to use simple user interfaces (Hexbright, HDS), have simple UIs with programmable levels (Quark Tactical), or have UIs that can be used very simply (Maelstrom, EagleTac).

For myself, my EDC light has a reasonably complex UI (Quark Regular) but I've been really digging the twist-head mode change lights I have (Maelstrom, EagleTac).

Ditto. For everyday carry and use the multimode lights (Quark Pro) are great. It isn't complex, press the button once and the light comes on dim (moonlight mode), touch the button one two three four times and the light gets brighter until it goes back to dim -- fairly straightforward & no programming required.

The Quark Tactical UI in many cases uses the same light output levels as are available with the regular UI, but the user takes two of those modes and programs them in ahead of time. As a for instance, the Quark X123^2 Tactical (now called the (Quark Tactical QT2L-X) I have in my survival vest has the first mode programmed with the medium output of 65 lumens, and the second with the Beacon mode which is a 0-360 lumen pulse, good for 16 hrs. Press the button and the light turns on with a steady 65 lumen output. Twist the bezel and it switches to 360 lumen beacon mode.

Of the two lights above the Quark Pro (regular) is easier to use and has all the modes available, however, getting to the special modes (SOS, beacon, strobe) is not that simple when you’re cold and wet. That’s why I have the tactical version in my vest. YMMV

The Fenix L1T and L2T were similar in that you had two output levels, medium and high. Twist the bezel to switch between the two.

I find myself drooling over plenty flashlights in the $30-80 price range...
(Check out foursevens or fenix for some options in that price range)

But your observation of the price jump is probably correct. The $10-30 range is probably the mass produced "low cost" light. (You find both junk and good bargains in that category). To me it makes sense that reputable brands would have a significant price jump to distinguish themselves from the common "low cost" crowd. But there are exceptions, such as fenix or foursevens, typically starting around $30-35 and up.

Speaking of which - I find myself wanting to try this baby out:
http://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=2421
I can't really stand the cold bluish color of most LED lights, so I'm basically scooping for anything neutral or warm white colored. I really like the super simple 2-mode interface and the no nonsense construction. I've never tested this particular light, but I have good experience with fenix and I see this as a pretty good candidate for a general purpose light you could trust.

The only drawback of E21 would be the lack of a true "low light" mode: 54 lumens absurdely overkill for most close range applications. Somewhere in the 3-10 lumens range is plenty if you're not looking beyond 10 feet anyway, and you get absurdely long run times... (and yes, I know all about headlamps for close range work, but I really appreciate the versality of a multi-mode flashlight that hardly eats batteries at all on the lowest setting).

Is there any way to tell from the specs if a flashlight emits the cold blue? The Fenix LD15 emits the cold blue, but the LD10 emits the warm white, which looks more natural. I don't know which spec tells me the difference.

Saw some nice Rayovac industrial lights ( flashlights and headlamps) today - Looked like solid performers at good prices. Will do a bit of research

Within each batch of emitters some are cooler than others, so depending on the flashlight manufacturer you may get a warmer or cooler light than you expected.

Look at the color temp figures on the emitter spec sheet. Some flashlight manufacturers' "warm white" isn't all that warm. A good manufacturer like Fenix will provide a legit warm white when they say they do. When in doubt look for a review from a reputable reviewer (particularly Selfbuilt) or a retailer that has a good return policy.

The LD20 sequence is 5-30-81-SOS with head out of contact. 180 lumens & strobe in contact. 95% of my use is at 5 lumens. It is $20 higher.

That one does look better than most. Still, I don't really *** need *** three modes. Strobe probably has some tactical application but I can't imagine using it while camping. Maybe it would stand out better if you were attempting to signal with it.

Still, that looks like one to put on my short list. Thanks!

Just one quick update. The HexBright can be ANYTHING you want. The flashlight is programmable just like an Arduino. You want one mode, OK, High only fine, Low for max runtime, Sure, Or how about puch the button and twist your wrist to set the light level. I cant wait to get my lights and kick them around.



Either did I but I know I will try.

Im not sure either,but you can see other structures so........maybe?

Anyhow,that really sounds like a nice light.