I need to pick up an LED light. Anyone have any opinions on a really bright, durable LED for $30 or less?

Thanks.

If you have a old mini-Mag Lite, you could get a Night-Ize LED upgrade and IQ switch for around $15... Night-Ize new 1 Watt LED upgrade is rather impressive.

Personally I really like the Princeton Tech Impact II. I have also done the maglite LED conversion, it works well and I like it, but i still prefer my Impact II.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...vcat=REI_SEARCH

This is a bit hard as these lights tyipcally vary a lot in how focused they are and how bright they are. More detail about the intended use would be helpful.

I'd take a look at:

- PT Impact series of lights as mentioned above.
- Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA LED lights
- Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLED lights
- Inova X5

-john

I suggest the Civictor or Fenix L1S, either available from www.fenix-store.com . These use one AA so are easily pocketable, easy to find batteries for, and quite bright. Using an NiMH rechargeable battery for economy or a lithium for performance both work extremely well. Alkalines work less well because of their lower current capacity, but are fine in a pinch.

I've got many LED lights and the one I use the most these days is the cheap "River Rock 1/2 watt 2-AAA" from Target. $9.95 normally, I found one on sale for $7.95 once.

It depends on what you mean by "really bright". A 1/2 watt is easily bright enough for all the normal household chores I do. You can get 3 watters and 5 watters, but probably not for your under $30 price point. The new MagLites that come with LED's are 3 watts I think (I don't have one). They're reportedly pretty good, and I think they're just a bit over $30 ($35 maybe?) That's for the MagLite branded LED. There are many other conversion LED manufacturers. Some good, some not so good.

I would get a combination myself. Maybe that River Rock 1/2 watter for the everyday needs, and a Princton Tec TEC40 4AA incandescant for when you want something brighter with throw. Those TEC40's are cheap and very bright. Small. Pretty durable for a non-LED light too. If you shop around for sales you can probably pick up BOTH of these lights for a grand total of $20.

The authorative website for anything flashlight related is http://www.candlepowerforums.com

MiniMag has 2 LED lights, one with 2AA batteries for about $24 and one with 3AA for about $26 both at Wal-Mart. I don't have one yet because recently I converted my old MiniMag with the Nite-Ize conversion, that doesn't have the switch ,for less than $5 at Wal-Mart. With the conversion you cannot adjust the beam like with the new flashlight. Does anyone has any of the new LED Minimags?. How are they?

Define really bright. I have two LED lights that I go to. One is a 1xAA Gerber Ultra Infinity and the other is an Underwater Kinetics 4xAA eLED. Both are regulated and both have excellent battery life.
Go to FlashlightReviews.com and see if anything looks good.

I bought the 3AAA for $19.99 instead of paying WalMart's high price and really like it, its quite bright for its size. I wish they would make their own AAA versions.

And define durable. The UK Mini Q40 eLED is ultra reliable and nearly bombproof for example. Some of the others listed here I think are fine for around the house kind of duties, but I wouldn't trust in a it's-absolutely-gotta-work situation. The Maglite for example; too many moving parts. I've had too many not work reliably.

-john

You can pick up this Freeplay Sherpa LED at Target for just under $30. It has 7 LED's and 2 power settings, the high power seems plenty bright to me, but YRMV. I like that you can plug in the provided DC adapter and charge it's built in batteries or just crank the handle and power it via internal generator. On a full charge, I left it on set to low power and it was still providing usable light over 24 hours later! It's a little on the big/bulky side but it's great to be able to throw it in your BOB and not have to worry about changing batteries.







The other gadget in the picture is a Sony emergency radio/lLED. Also available at Target for about $40 but the LED is not all that bright.

I would recommend the Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA Luxeon. Great value for the money, and a very good thrower. I'm very pleased with mine and have used it in a couple of hikes and it has deliver more light than what was actually needed.
Foxintl still has it at a very competitive price, check their web page.
Regards

I Second the streamlight propolymer luxeon. Great light, excellent beam quality, throw, and spread, uses AA batteries, and truly fully regulated. Definitely great bang for the buck.

I actually own both SL 4AA ProPoly LEDs and UK 4AA LEDs and find the two both be great but have very different characteristics that lend them well to different uses.

The SL ProPoly has fantastic throw due to the relatively narrow beam, but is not the best for closeup lighting, such as walking a path at night. I carry a SL 4AA ProPoly in my truck and use it when Scoutmastering in case I need to search for Scouts off in the distance (it happens), but I much prefer using the UK 4AA when walking trails, working at the campsite, or inside a tent.

OK, the truth is that the UK 4AA LED is getting less use these days because more and more I'm using my Princeton Tec EOS headlamp when walking trails, working at the campsite, or inside the tent.

Though it is more than $30 ($34) I would STRONGLY recommend the Princeton Tec EOS headlamp. It is powerful, tiny, and somehow (magic?) it is always pointed at the direction I'm look at. Look Ma, no hands! What a great light.

If you HAVE to stay under $30, I'll second the vote for the Rock River 2AAA from Target. Nice little lights that I have scattered around my home.

Ken K.

Actually, I think you can get it for under $30. I believe that LL Bean's Trailblazer headlamp is a rebranded PT EOS. Only $24.95.

Though the Trailblazer II's case does look a bit like the EOS, I don't think it is an EOS - rather, I think it is a Princeton Tec Quad.

If you check http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_index_headlamps.htm the Quad is a very nice light, but not nearly as bright as the EOS. Brightguys.com sells it for about $28.95 - about the same price as the $29.50 at llbean.com.

The description says the Trailblazer II has "four LED bulbs", but the EOS only has one - though a very powerful one. It says the Trailblazer's low level lasts 150 hours, but the EOS low level is listed as lasting 60 hours. The Trailblazer says it has a red low-battery indicator, but the EOS doesn't have that.

Slightly off topic but here goes. During a recent 8 day power outage (ice storm, SW Missoui), Both my wife & I found great utility in LED head Lamps. Great for reading, cooking, repairs, etc, etc. We have a ton of flash lights but used the headlamps more than all together. I even wore it turned on when I had a brighter flashlight in my hand out doors when feeding the livestock. I could always stick the flashlight in my pocket when I needed both hands. Handy item when in a jam.

Jon

This a Trailblazer, item # TK49775. Not a Trailblazer II.

My cousin and sometimes camping buddy gave me a Petzl Tikka LED headlamp for Christmas. Prior to actually using one I was never impressed with headlamps, but now I am becomming a convert. I EDC it in the pocket of my winter jacket. It is very handy for walking around in the dark and performing close-up tasks. Its great to have the light right where you need it and both hands free.

However, I found there are things that a handheld light does do better, like aiming it at something/someone before you turn it on. Or when there is fog/rain/snow in the air it is better for your line-of-site to be on a different axis than the beam of light - with the light on your head you are forced to look through the illuminated column of light.

... but it is pretty easy to simply hold the headlamp in my hand. Wrapping the headband around my wrist or hand makes it even more secure.

Huh, their web site doesn't list that one on the main page - only the sale page. I wonder if they are dumping the EOS (Trailblazer) in favor of the Quad (Trailblazer II).

Folks should grab the EOS while they can.

Ken K.

I have had the same Ray-o-vac headlamp for a couple of years now. It is cheap and it does work, but the light output is fairly weak. It is OK for close work, but not too good for distance. Better than nothing, though, and affordable at the price.

I also have two Black Diamond Xenix lamps (purchased for $25 each from www.steepandcheap.com), and one Princeton Tec Eos ($40 regular price). Of those, the Eos is my favorite because of the multiple light levels, and the Xenix is a close second.

After owning some "real" head lamps, the Ray-o-vac is something that I will just let the kids use.

princeton aurora one of there first but still durable and bright

Hi, I just came across this post.

There are a lot of good LED lights out there. There's also a fair amount of junk.

What is your intended use? Is brightness more of an issue than battery life? Do you want a focused, long-throw spot or a wide, diffused spill for general illumination? What about compactness and weight? These factors will influence your choices a lot.

I have had excellent luck (brightness and reliability) with both Princeton Tec and Streamlight products.

The Princeton Tec flashlights are quite bright, but not as blindingly bright as others. I believe this is on purpose. PT lights are tuned for wilderness use, giving them impressive battery life. They're also tough, surviving 6-foot drops with barely a scratch (generally accompanied by a booming cuss word on the way down). I agree that the Impact II is probably the best of the bunch, balancing weight, throw, brightness and battery life quite nicely. If I go backpacking and can only take one light, this is it. I also have an Impact XL. Again, a solid and durable light, but it's heavier (4AA) and the reflector tends to give a "doughnut" effect to the beam as power goes down.

The Streamlights also survive 6-foot drops without complaint (also followed down by that cuss word). They tend to be brighter than the Princeton Tecs, though that naturally reduces battery life somewhat. They are extremely popular in industrial settings, which is why safety supply stores carry them as well as sporting goods outlets. The propolymer 7 LED is a good general-purpose choice, though some say they run hot causing some of the LEDs to fail prematurely (I haven't had a problem). I suspect the propolymer luxeon will be even more impressive, though there will be a noticeable reduction in run time. The TaskLight luxeon 3AA is a sturdy powerhouse, but I find it a bit big to be handy for everyday carry, and I'm pretty sure it's more than $30 anyway.

Both the Princeton Tecs and Streamlights thrive on rechargeable batteries. If you're a frequent user, this saves you a lot of money. (And that in turn encourages you to be a frequent user.)

My favourite Streamlight is the 2AA TaskLight. Very tough and sturdy, fits in my pocket, and has a decent, bright beam. I would estimate the output to be somewhere around half a watt or so. Much brighter than the multiple-LED arrangements used in lights of similar size. It also has a high/low mode, so you can really conserve battery power if you need to.

The other 2AA light I use a lot is the MiniMagLED. It's perhaps 25% brighter than the TaskLight 2AA, and has a combination of a "spot" plus a wide "spill" that I find quite satisfying to use.

There is one big issue with the MMLED that everyone needs to be aware of: when the batteries drain to a certain point, it shuts off completely. No warning, no moonglow mode, just sudden darkness. It will give you a momentary flash when you turn it off and on, but that's it. This makes it a dicey choice for any critical situation, since you must carry a backup of some sort. Or, you must have spare batteries that you can get at immediately and change in the dark (without accidentally reversing polarity, which will fry the MMLED). This is a dismal and annoying flaw in an otherwise decent light.

Rather a long post. Sorry about that. Hope this is helpful.

Welcome, Doug. Nice post. Thanks for your thoughts.

I recently bought the 2 AA LED Maglite and have had no problems with it. I put it to good use when I was hunting about a week ago and got my car stuck on a dirt road out in the woods. It gave me plenty of light to work in. I'm glad I decided to take it along! (By the way, Trans Ams aren't really the best vehicles to take out hunting...lol)

Arney, thanks for the welcome. This is a great forum. I'm a new/old/recycled member -- I've been around here since at least 2001, but my username expired. Since then, I've been lurking.

Buckshot13, you're right, the 2AA MagLED has a lot going for it. It's handy and gives lots of light. I'm glad to have it with me, as long as I remember to put in fresh batteries before I go. (The sudden shut-off isn't a flaw with an individual unit; it's inherent to the design of the LED regulation circuit. All the AA MagLEDs act this way.)