Flashlight Suggestions

[advdave]

I'm late to the party on this thread. The Surefire Stiletto (Amazon $116) has been my daily carry for over a year. Size and ergos are outstanding, it's rock solid, easy to use. Somehow I find a use for it every day.
It has a clip or belt, pocket, or hat visor. 3 levels of intensity plus an obnoxious strobe, just because. Rechargeable via USB, sealed unit.
I have other fairly expensive lights, and a drawer full of less expensive ones. Headlamp for specific duty, but the Surefire is the standard.

[Iowa Dave]

Hey Mike
That’s stretching it a ways but I have left stuff in the woods over night, including knives and knife sheaths. Clothing hung on a screw in hook above my deer stand and black powder components including round projectiles in a small red Ruger scope rings bag, I never minded going back the next day and have in fact walked about a mile to get my sack with balls in it.
Iowa Dave

[Allan Bornestig]

Yeah, Dave.
I have a boat load of knifes.This hunting season I picked up an orange Mora kniv, thinking if I should drop it at least it should stand out and be easy to find.
Retired butcher and moose hunter.

[SWCO]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

I have this Fenix in my Amazon wish list.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082BJNP9P...v_ov_lig_dp_it

It has a variety of colors and modes and levels. Including nearly a bazillion lumens for those monsters you are trying to avoid.

I was in the market for a rechargeable headlight and perused this thread for suggestions. It looks like the Fenix headlight on your wish list is on sale at REI ("quantities limited") for $20 less than the Amazon price. https://www.rei.com/product/204685/f...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[daniel108]

I commute by bike in the dark a lot so I pay attention to what works for being visible. One thing I have noticed is that a steady headlamp beam is not great for being spotted by vehicles...it looks too much like any other light along the side of the road and it is very hard it the dark to identify it as a person or to judge distance to it. I strongly recommend wearing some sort of reflective clothing, vest, or straps in addition to carrying a light if you will be walking on roads at all. Reflectors on your shoes or legs are the best as the motion is very noticeable. The best bicycle lights are made by Dinotte if anyone was wondering.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by daniel108

I commute by bike in the dark a lot so I pay attention to what works for being visible. One thing I have noticed is that a steady headlamp beam is not great for being spotted by vehicles...it looks too much like any other light along the side of the road and it is very hard it the dark to identify it as a person or to judge distance to it. I strongly recommend wearing some sort of reflective clothing, vest, or straps in addition to carrying a light if you will be walking on roads at all. Reflectors on your shoes or legs are the best as the motion is very noticeable. The best bicycle lights are made by Dinotte if anyone was wondering.

That Dinotte taillight has an impressive output, 200 red lumens, definitely not cheap but there isn't anything else out there with that much red output for the same money.


I have a FiTorch MR35, 90 lumens on red and it has flashing mode. I have used it for dusk biking and foot travel. It also will do an alternating flashing red/flashing blue, and when cars see it they slow wayyy down!!!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Mike G

It also will do an alternating flashing red/flashing blue, and when cars see it they slow wayyy down!!!

That could put you in the back seat of a patrol car.
I have a bunch of cheap flashlights, and batteries. Currently, with threats of power outages, I have flashlights strewn around the house and a Maglite on my belt ( so I can find a flashlight, if I need one ).

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I have a FiTorch MR35, 90 lumens on red and it has flashing mode. I have used it for dusk biking and foot travel. It also will do an alternating flashing red/flashing blue, and when cars see it they slow wayyy down!!!

The manufacturer's European description shows a "Red & Blue Flickering" mode, but while they explain why all of the other colour modes are valuable, they don't mention any legitimate use of red-blue flashing. They say it cannot be shipped to the U.S. A Canadian supplier doesn't even list that mode, presumably because they know that it would get the product banned or restricted.

The only justifications that I can think of for this stupid mode is that it appears to be from a Chinese manufacturer and a European distributor (outside of North America red & blue flashing does not have the same meaning that it does here), and that they target the law enforcement market, so may have intended this feature only for legitimate users.

If someone used a red & blue flashing light to stop me, and it was just some idiot misusing a flashlight, I would have no problem tossing the flashlight in the deepest hole I could find. I assume that Mike's remark about using it was a joke, not a true story.

[Mike G]

Well, I really did try the red-blue flashing feature briefly a couple of times on one evening's walk on the city street just around the corner from my house, but after seeing the oncoming drivers' reactions and thinking better of it, I've never done it again and have no intention of using that feature. It seemed apparent that the oncoming cars' drivers (just one car in each of two instances) thought they were approaching a police vehicle and they responded by exercising great caution.



That said, my state prohibits use of such flashers on any non-official motor vehicle, but AFAIK the statutes are silent about red-blue flashing handheld devices used by pedestrians (I was a pedestrian at the time).

[Dave Walter]

I run outdoors year around and in the winter months I will often be running after dark in conditions where a headlamp is required. I have several different types of headlamps ranging from a super lightweight (30gram) rechargeable (mentioned in a previous post on this same thread) to a pretty bulky headlamp with two rechargeable 18650 batteries at the rear of the headband, and a couple of in between sized headlamps. Although it is the heaviest of the lot, the headlamp with the 18650 batteries is the absolute brightest of the bunch. It has several intensity settings, the ability to focus the light to a larger or smaller area, and has a strobe light feature that will light up street signs for several blocks away (I am not joking)! I always use this headlamp (and reflective clothing) when there is any chance that I may be running in the vicinity of traffic. This headlamp was also one of the cheapest lights that I have, I ordered it about 5 years ago from Aliexpress for about $20. I have used it extensively over the past 5 years and it has continued to work very well. The original batteries do not hold a charge as long as they used to so I have bought a new set of batteries to use with the light.

[kavm]

Thanks for posting this, Dave! Until your post, I was wondering what's wrong with me. We have no flashlights, only headlamps. Two of those are old, and the latest one I use is:

https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/AC...mps/ACTIK-CORE

I did find out that you need lithium batteries in real cold (below 0F for extended periods).

[HABBERDABBER]

Originally Posted by kavm

I did find out that you need lithium batteries in real cold (below 0F for extended periods).

Lithium batteries are "non-aqueous" meaning NO WATER in them. Lead acid, alkaline batteries, Leclanché (carbon-zinc) aka Heavy Duty, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel-Cadmium & other conventional batteries HAVE WATER as a component of the electrolyte.

Water freezes, at different temperatures when under pressure. A used alkaline battery is under pressure. A reaction product of use is hydrogen gas, thus pressurizing the battery container.

So yes, Lithium batteries are not as affected by cold temperatures. But ALL chemical reactions slow down when cooled. Physics! Mere thermodynamics!

[kavm]

Thank you, Tom! That makes it easier to understand and remember.

[John in Santa Cruz]

my current everyday carry flashlight is this rechargable one, https://www.fenixlighting.com/produc...se-flashlight/

its always in my left pants pocket, along with my knife and the keys to whichever vehicle I'm driving that day.

things I like about it include... whatever brightness mode you used last is what it turns on and off in. its very natural white, not blue-white and not yellowish, it has a nice even beam, in its brightnest modes it shines for 100s of feet, in its dim mode its suitable for up close work in the dark. the battery lasts for many hours in all but the brightest modes (and even those are an hour or so). you don't have to take the battery out to charge it, it has a USB charging cable with a magnetic adapter that holds onto the light's charging port. its kind of expensive. the lens is tempered glass, not plastic, so it doesn't get scratched up.

[WillyB]

After reading all of your responses I ended up ordering a Fenix LD42.
https://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-ld...t-1000-lumens/

It holds 4 AA batteries but the biggest reason I decided on this is:
** AA's are easy to get and last something like 10 years'ish just sitting around
** It's right sized for me
** It's lowest setting is only 5 lumens which is great for most everything
** It has a maximum 1000 lumens when you need to upset your camping neighbors
** You simply twist the top section to turn on and dial to you favorite brightness
** It's waterproof
** It was under $50

Maybe a good choice or maybe bad but I hear good things about Fenix.

Thanks for the feedback!

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by WillyB

After reading all of your responses I ended up ordering a Fenix LD42.
https://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-ld...t-1000-lumens/

It holds 4 AA batteries but the biggest reason I decided on this is:
** AA's are easy to get and last something like 10 years'ish just sitting around
** It's right sized for me
** It's lowest setting is only 5 lumens which is great for most everything
** It has a maximum 1000 lumens when you need to upset your camping neighbors
** You simply twist the top section to turn on and dial to you favorite brightness
** It's waterproof
** It was under $50

Maybe a good choice or maybe bad but I hear good things about Fenix.

Thanks for the feedback!

that will probably work better with NiMH Sanyo Eneloops than with disposable Alkalines. Recharge the Eneloops annually even if you don't use it for maximum 'on' time.

Looks kinda large to be pocket sized.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by WillyB

...
** It has a maximum 1000 lumens when you need to upset your camping neighbors
...
Thanks for the feedback!

If you're campground hosting, you need a minimum of 2000 lumens to let everyone know who is boss.

[HABBERDABBER]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

If you're campground hosting, you need a minimum of 2000 lumens to let everyone know who is boss.

Blinded by the light! Oh, cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night.

[WillyB]

"Looks kinda large to be pocket sized."

I like a flashlight for my walks that I can hold. Not a fan on these tiny button on the end tactical lights. I try to stay away from putting myself if full tactical situations on my morning walks.

Still love my old 3 D-Cell incandescent Maglight for spelunking.

[HABBERDABBER]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

that will probably work better with NiMH Sanyo Eneloops than with disposable Alkalines. Recharge the Eneloops annually even if you don't use it for maximum 'on' time.

I've had very good luck with TENAVOLTS Lithium AA's. Rechargeable.'
Nickel Metal Hydride (Eneloops and others) seem to have a high rate of self-disharge, and haven't worked as well as I'd expected.

YMMV