Got a maglight XL200-Love the output,will light the tops of pine trees,a little bulky,dont like the 3 AAA setup,for power hrs output they are lacking.Nice build quality.

Fenix E11-Just got it,two power modes,been using at work,very impressed size to power for one AA.I LIKE this light,a LOT.

Fenix EO5- Nice at 27 lumens and tiny well built keychain light BUT....looks like the LD01 with same size but three power modes would have been a better choice.

OK,thats where Im at for now.....AA and AAA,yet to advance to other batteries....yet!

In Maglights I have a 2D with 1 watt LED and a 3D with 3 watt LED -- nice lights, the 3D light has lots of reach and great runtime.

In lights that are easier to carry, I'm very partial to the lights FourSevens has available. I have the 2xAA Quark Pro QP2A and its smaller sibling the 1xAA Quark Pro QPA.

My aviation survival vest has the 2x123A Quark Tactical QT2L-X programmed with the 65 lumen medium output as one mode and the 360 lumen Beacon for the second mode.

IMO FourSevens' quality is as good as Fenix but with a 120 month (10 year) warranty.

For me to post my entire flashlight inventory would be tantamount to asking for an intervention. I'll post a few of my favorites:

Eagletac G25C2 - My "go to" light for easy mode changing, tons of output and decent throw. If I'm checking for skunks before letting the dog out, a great choice.

Hexbright Flex - A recent acquisition, very floody and significantly thicker bodies than my other 18650-celled lights. A floody as it is, it is still bright enough to light up the yard. Awesome for indoors work as well. I've started to develop my own code for it slowly.

Maelstrom X7 - Mounted on my Remington 870 with a tape switch, the G25C2 was purchased to replace it.

 

the FourSevens Maelstrom are great lights. I have the Maelstrom MM-X which I bought to see coyotes in the park. I had been using my 2xAA light which was good for seeing reflections off predator eyes, but with the Maelstrom they don't need to be looking at you. Really bright for a light you can drop in your coat pocket.

I really like my latest, a Zabralight headlamp - one AA and three light levels, the brightest of which is 160 lumens (IIRC). It usefully augments my trusty keychain light, a Fenix LD01. I am constantly impressed at the number and quality of really fine flashlights available these days (conpared to "way back when").

I have a bazillion LED flashlights. My favorite for daily carry is the FourSevens Quark 1xAA. I like if for its bullet-proof build quality and the fact that I can run it off of 14500 rechargeable LiIon, primary Lithium, NiMH, or alkaline. That flexibility in power source is great, although 99% of the time mine is running on the 14500 for maximum brightness.

Second place goes to my Olight T15 1xAA. It has all the same desireable traits as the FourSevens.

The main difference between these two lights is in the user interface. The Olight requires you to twist the head for every mode change, which requires two hands. The FourSevens requires a quick tap on the pushbutton to change modes (a one-handed operation), then you can additionally twist the head (a two-handed operation) to get two more modes that you cycle through with button taps like before (one-handed operation again). I prefer the FourSevens interface.

However, the Olight beats the FourSevens in that it remembers the last mode it was in between uses. The FourSevens has no such memory and always starts up in the default mode. The problem with this is that if you turn off the light and then immediately realize that you need it a little while longer, when you turn it back on quickly the FourSevens takes that as a mode change command. Additionally, when you use the FourSevens and then turn it off for a while and then turn it back on, you have to cycle through the modes to get back to the level you want it to be at.

Also, the FourSevens has a super low mode, much lower than the Olight. 0.2 lumens. This is useless for eyes not adapted to darkness, but is really nice for getting out of bed at night. It is a great super low level output to putz around the house in the dark when you just woke up. The battery would last forever at this low output level.

Fenix makes some nice lights too, but they don't accept the rechargeable LiIon's like the FourSevens and Olights do, so that was a non-starter for me. The rechargeable LiIon's give you higher max brightness and longer runtimes. But their output voltage is higher so lights have to be designed to work at the higher voltage as well as at the lower voltage of alkaline and NiMH batteries. The Fenix's are not designed like that.

nothing exotic and probably overlooked better choices

Maglight 2D LED...SolarForce L2M with 320 lumen module...my go to utility/nightstand flashlights

SureFire.... 6P with 240 lumen Malkoff module, G2 with 320 lumen Solar Force module, Scout Light on the 870 for gun lights

Fenix E01 lithium... keychain ..... Streamlight ProTac 1L... EDC

Fenix E21, and Black Diamond Orion headlamp... attempt at standardization to AAs (Sanyo Eneloops)

the cr123 powered lights are specialty lights and not routinely used

Yeah, someone would probably stage an intervention on me if I listed them all! My EDC is a Fenix EO1 on my keychain. I always have an LED headlamp from Streamlight (loaded with lithium batteries) in the glove box of my truck. I also always have my JETBeam BC10 in my right jacket or fleece pocket, I'm never without it. My JETBeam collection also includes a BC20 and a BC25. My favorite lights are Surefires. I have two E1B Backups and a Tactical light (LED, a Z-something, forget the model...). Lastly I also have a Surefire 300X Ultra weaponlight mounted on my FNP 45 Tactical in case things go bump in the night.

i mostly own and carry 1xAAA. being so small, i can always have a couple on me.

here's a pix of my custom 120-lumen MillerMods Arc, Mako, E05 and DQG Tiny.



i do try new 'lights now and then. lately i've been playing with a tactical clickie light: a JetBeam PA10 with 14500 3.6V rechargeable Li-Ion battery. this little 1xAA puts out 650-lumens.

I read these can hum,has that been an issue for you?

Have a surfire on shotty,cant remember model but a pricy nice light anyhow.

Agreed,just reading threads from a couple years ago LED lights,performance and quality jumps,so many GREAT lights out there now!

Certainly a topic that needed an up to date rollcall.