Hi guys,
I've started doing night explorations at abandoned buildings and cemeteries... Thing is, I've been using my made in china 2AA Inova clone as my only light source. Not much throw with that. The other guys I explore with use mini mags.
I don't mind buying a big light that uses 4 "C" or "D" cell batteries, but which should I buy? Are the "D" cell mags any good?

Ken, you should really pay CPF a visit: www.candlepowerforums.com

There are a lot better lights out there than Maglites. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

That sounds like an intriguing hobby. Have you ever found anything interesting? One advantage to a big 5 D-cell Maglite is that you can use it for defense. Holy water might be better though! <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Regards, Vince

Lol! They're multi purpose! Probably can be used as an anchor for a small boat!

Candlepower forums is wonderful. Lots of info there.

You should consider carrying more than 1 light and extra batteries. Chem lights can be dropped to help you find the bottom of the stairs when your flashlight beam won't reach far enough to see the bottom.
Dave

What is the difference between exploring at night and during the day? It seems you might miss a lot at night.

Sue

I just ordered a SureFire A2 Aviator yesterday. Even thought the price is a bit steep, I've read that it is well worth the money. If you are going to consider one, when it arrives, I'll be sure to post a comparison to a 2 D mag light. The aviator throws 50 lumens of light for 60 minutes, compared to a 2 D mag light which is about 18 lumens. The aviator also has a 3 lumen LED mode.

Frank

Norad45:

Best defensive light I ever owned, and still have is a reusable photoflash.

Used to work for the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority which required me to go into dark questionable places day or night. Before entering, I would flip the on switch so that the photoflash would charge up and go on in. If the need arose, a shot of high intensity light would definitly blind someone long enough for me to decide wheather to run or ??????????.

Knives, hammers, were stock and could be justified, but they once considered outlawing possession of Mag lites except for mini mags.

Made up a copy of of a right angle police baton out of 1/2" pipe and kept it with me all the time. It was the same shape as moisture trap piping setup on gas furnaces so no one ever questioned it.

Bountyhunter

Ken_Nerve:

GM vehicles are best suited for use as anchors.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

X-Ray Dave:

I hope you are talking about a really weak photon, because if I can't see the bottom of the stairs with a (2) "D" cell Mag light, it probably is my last set of stairs and "I'M GOING DOWN! INSTEAD OF UP".

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Sue:

About 12 hours! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

"Best defensive light I ever owned, and still have is a reusable photoflash."

Knowing you, I would have thought you would say that the best defensive light you ever owned was the muzzle flash from your 1911! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Regards, Vince

A maglight is nice because (as mentioned) it can be used as a baton, but in general, I'd suggest a Surefire, and depending on your price range...
$30 G2
$50 6P
$80-100+ E2E, L4, and so on.

Now, if you really don't want to pay these prices for a flashlight, a Brinkmann Maxfire offers essentially the same powerful, focus free beam as the G2, 6P, and E2E for $19.99. It's not as ruggid, but still one of the best buys for the dollar; these can be found online, at walmart (if there's one where you live), etc.

Now, from the serious to the ridiculous...
If you want the biggest, baddest light out there, you can shell out $2,900 for a 2,000 lumen (!) Surefire Beast.
It's fun to make jokes about this thing.... the first flashlight with recoil, the first crew served flashlight, the first flashlight you start with a pullchain, the first flashlight requiring a rifle sling, man portable 747 landing light, etc etc etc <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bad boy uses 20 CR123's.



Nope, girl doesn't come with it, even at that price! But I'm sure you can impress them with the size of your flashlight <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Oh, that reminds me of my college days, which were only a couple of years ago! Just watch your butt for the cops and vagrants, and don't do anything incredibly destructive or stupid.

I don't have much to say on the flashlights, but if you have a digital camera with flash, bring that, too! The flash of light amidst almost complete darkness made looking at the pictures later really interesting - like revealing a surprise.

You might also want to bring some rope and your work gloves. I say that from experience.

There's the searchlight I'm looking for and the mini mags or inova clones we carry. Dont like them photon lights. 5 LEDs are better than 1. Unless of course its a Luxeon star.



I recce and explore in the day for scenery and stuff. Going at night is different. There's a different "feel". Especially when one is exploring underground bunkers left over from WW2 and cemeteries.

>> Are the "D" cell mags any good? <<

Kenneth,

Here we go again... I'm again going to offer a different answer on the question. Yes, D cell [email]M@gs[/email] are OK. Sure, there are better torches available in terms of light output, quality of beam, etc - whatever one's criteria for "better" may be. Back to that in a moment... and before I forget: I despise how that company allegedly bullied another company a couple of years ago. Peer inside most large companies and there is some sort of unsavory mess. Pity.

I stopped buying [email]M@g[/email] torches for personal use a long time ago, although I will continue to buy replacement 2-3 D cell ones for my folks at work. They are still very useful and a great value for what my folks need to do their jobs.

IMHO there is no reason to go beyond a 2 or 3 D cell [email]M@g[/email] torch. Many folks like the 2 cell C [email]M@g[/email] but it's not as good a club and run time is less.

The throw on a 2-3 cell [email]M@g[/email] is good and it uses commonly available batteries. Overall, they are very rugged torches (disclaimer: they are incandescents, so if you drop on while it's on, the filament will break. Have a small spare torch and carry more than one spare bulb - good advice in an case). The color on the bodies will get scratched up because they are not finished with type III hard anodizing. <shrug> HA type III costs more; I love it on my personal torches that are finished that way. For what a [email]M@g[/email] costs I really don't care about the finish getting scratched from hard use.

BTW, I strongly suggest that your backup torch be an LED, with a Dorcy single AAA as the absolute low end. IMO your back up torch should be especially resistant to going dark from being dropped. The high end depends on your wallet... plenty to choose from.

If you can easily obtain lithium CR123A cells at a low price you have a huge selection of potential torches, LED, incandescant, and combination. Prices run from a little more than a [email]M@g[/email] to a whole lot more than a [email]M@g.[/email] The CPF folks can be a huge help - AND as a group they can also drown you with too much info and too many flaming personal opinions. Sorting all that out takes time and patience - I've found great advice there everytime I've made an effort to find it. Proceed with caution and a good dose of salt... we're all fanatics about something.

A lot depends on how much you're willing and able to spend on both the torch and the batteries. The 2 - 3 D cell [email]M@g[/email] torches are relatively low cost initially and will give you a great benchmark to measure other torches against later. I find myself almost always using LED torches these days - the color, beam quality, and beam type suits my needs and desires extremely well. When I want tight throw, I usually prefer 2 cell CR123A incandescents. All those are pretty small and light compared to D cell [email]M@gs.[/email]

Anything "better" than a D cell [email]M@g[/email] light costs more. As a practical matter - not "gee whiz" - only you can decide if the "better" torches are worth the additional cost to meet your needs. For me, the answers are "Yes!" for personal use and "Not presently" for routine use by my employees. You decide for yourself.

HTH,

Tom

Any Mag-light is top quality, that said, C-cell or D-cell is pretty much a matter of choice as far as wt./size is concerned. Having seen 6-C and 6-D both in a dark room, I think you'd need to use a meter or gauge of some kind to tell the difference... keep in mind, when they first came out, they were purpose built to stand up to a LOT of abuse and to double as a club. They are heavy, but if you keep fresh batteries and a good bulb in them, neither one will let you down.

Troy

I have a number of Maglite's, 3 Dcell, 2 Dcell and 2AA Mini Maglites. Mostly for work I used to carry a 2 AA Mini on my belt, but I found they wasn't lasting, then I went to the Pelican 2AAA and 2AA lights which left the Mini Maglites for dead, both in reliability and brighter more even beam.
Then I found the Surefire E1e and fell in love with it. its smaller than the mini Maglites and Pelican lights, but the light output is slightly brighter than my 3 Dcell Maglites with a better beam. (side by side my 2 3D cell Maglites look pathetic) In Australia the CR123 batteries are a bit expensive so I found rechargable CR123 batteries, BUT they blow globes, so I bought a 2nd E1e with the KL1 Led attachment, and it is Briliant. The rechargables dont last too long, so I carry 1 or 2 spare normal CR123 batteries, just in case, but overal its cheaper with the rechargables. I now use my Mini Maglite belt holster and have room for a spare CR123 in the bottom, or I can fit 2 spare batteries and the light in the pen pocket some of my cargo pants.
The Surefire's might not suit you, but have a good look at them anyway, the E2e, or 6P sounds like it would be better for you than the E1e like mine. The extra expense was woth it for me, and my work. My Maglites and Pelicans dont get much use any more. If they dont suit, or you want something cheaper I can recomend the Pelicans before the Maglites. The Maglites are still a good light, but here they are too expensive for what you get. Others might be able to compare other brands to these 3, but I havent got much of a choice where I live, so I haven't got too many others to compare them with.

Wayne

I, too, have an A2 Aviator... and what a great light. I haven't dropped it yet (taking care not to), but it's a great light -- extremely powerful, light, and definitely tough. I used it to scratch super glue off a multitool... the finish on the A2 is a great.