Please educate me on Flashlights

[cbrstar]

My friend showed me his little Olight i1r 2 and I was blown away. I couldn't believe something so small could be so bright, run for so long, and was rechargeable! Not only that it was cheap to buy. I had to have one.

Well I ended up buying a Olight S2r Baton 2 instead as Amazon was having a flash sale for $60 cdn and I love it. Perfect size, and the moonlight mode runs for a insanely long 60 days. It's so awesome that I ended up also buying the St Patrick's day limited M2R Pro and i1r2 pack. ($110 cdn)

But here is the kicker. I was was in my local Canadian Tire, and they had a Tzumi Alpha "rechargeable/cell phone charger" 200 lumens on clearance for only $12 cdn. I bought it with the idea to give to my Dad so that he at least has a rechargeable flashlight.

I tested out the Alpha against my M2R Pro tonight. Now don't get me wrong the fit and finish of the Alpha is poor, the run time isn't nearly as good etc. But it was actually lighting up my yard really good! And it was throwing the light just about as far as the MR2 that has the 1800 lumens!. I was really shocked.

Tl:Dr. I read not to get caught up in lumens, so what are other qualities that you should look for in the quality of brightness etc. Does the type of bulb matter?

Thanks guys!

[Sharp Guy]

I have a i1R2 on my key chain and one on our kitchen counter. i3E EOS is in my pocket and a couple more at home. Also have S2R Baton II, (2) S1R Baton, S1R Baton II in my car. They're great little lights

If you do a search in this section there a few flashlight threads with a lot of good information

[cbrstar]

I have a i1R2 on my key chain and one on our kitchen counter. i3E EOS is in my pocket and a couple more at home. Also have S2R Baton II, (2) S1R Baton, S1R Baton II in my car. They're great little lights

If you do a search in this section there a few flashlight threads with a lot of good information

Is Olight the spyderco of flashlights?

[shunsui]

All the education you'll want.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forum.php

[cbrstar]

All the education you'll want.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forum.php

Thank you, I will check them out.

[abbazaba]

The user interface is what it's all about for me, and a continuously ramping UI. Check out flashlights that run Anduril, especially Emisar. Not only are they intuitive (IMO), they now have fun modes like candle mode that I enjoy bounced off the ceiling.

The D4v2 with an 18350 battery tube is my favorite go to right now. It's on the left in the below pic...



If you like built-in USB charging and an impressive key chain light, check out the very affordable 10180 battery lights, like the one on my keys in the picture above. Two modes via a continuous twist, rather than off-on-again like most twisties.

I've found budgetlightforum.com to be very useful.

[Nate]

Budgetlightforum.com is an impressive flashlight forum. They've put out a bunch of community-driven "BLF" lights developed in partnership with various manufacturers. Really amazing how much led and battery technology have transformed what is possible (and very affordable) in such a short time.

^^Nice Emisar AZ. Just got an SP36 with Anduril last week.

[ugaarguy]

My friend showed me his little Olight i1r 2 and I was blown away. I couldn't believe something so small could be so bright, run for so long, and was rechargeable! Not only that it was cheap to buy. I had to have one.

Well I ended up buying a Olight S2r Baton 2 instead as Amazon was having a flash sale for $60 cdn and I love it. Perfect size, and the moonlight mode runs for a insanely long 60 days. It's so awesome that I ended up also buying the St Patrick's day limited M2R Pro and i1r2 pack. ($110 cdn)

But here is the kicker. I was was in my local Canadian Tire, and they had a Tzumi Alpha "rechargeable/cell phone charger" 200 lumens on clearance for only $12 cdn. I bought it with the idea to give to my Dad so that he at least has a rechargeable flashlight.

I tested out the Alpha against my M2R Pro tonight. Now don't get me wrong the fit and finish of the Alpha is poor, the run time isn't nearly as good etc. But it was actually lighting up my yard really good! And it was throwing the light just about as far as the MR2 that has the 1800 lumens!. I was really shocked.

Tl:Dr. I read not to get caught up in lumens, so what are other qualities that you should look for in the quality of brightness etc. Does the type of bulb matter?

Thanks guys!

It depends on the use. For a casual use light, I tend to look at things like color temp, CRI, and tint, which are all elements that make the light visually pleasing. For a serious use light, I'm concerned with UI and reliability over pleasing light. There's also intensity, which can give you an idea of throw or flood relative to the lumens (total output).

For example, I carry an Olight M2R, Olight M1T, or an upgraded Surefire C2 Centurian in my pocket for EDC. The Surefire is single mode. The M2R is turbo only from the tail cap switch. The M1T defaults to high, and doesn't easily go into low mode. All three of these lights are reliable, and they have momentary / constant tail switches that turn them on in their respective high modes (the only mode on the Surefire).

My favorite casual use light is a first gen Fireflies PL47. The UI is too complicated for a serious use light. However, it's fun, and the quad 4000k SST20 LEDs produce a really pleasing light output. It's not a very reliable light either.

In my glove box, I keep a Rofis R1. That light is similar to your Olight Baton, but the head can twist and turn it into a right angle light. It's a fairly floody light too. I don't know if the Rofis is Surefire rugged, but it's a well built, reliable light. Those features, combined with the magnetic tail cap, make it a good fit for a light to keep in a car.

What role do you want your next light to fill?

[Doc Dan]

My friend showed me his little Olight i1r 2 and I was blown away. I couldn't believe something so small could be so bright, run for so long, and was rechargeable! Not only that it was cheap to buy. I had to have one.

Well I ended up buying a Olight S2r Baton 2 instead as Amazon was having a flash sale for $60 cdn and I love it. Perfect size, and the moonlight mode runs for a insanely long 60 days. It's so awesome that I ended up also buying the St Patrick's day limited M2R Pro and i1r2 pack. ($110 cdn)

But here is the kicker. I was was in my local Canadian Tire, and they had a Tzumi Alpha "rechargeable/cell phone charger" 200 lumens on clearance for only $12 cdn. I bought it with the idea to give to my Dad so that he at least has a rechargeable flashlight.

I tested out the Alpha against my M2R Pro tonight. Now don't get me wrong the fit and finish of the Alpha is poor, the run time isn't nearly as good etc. But it was actually lighting up my yard really good! And it was throwing the light just about as far as the MR2 that has the 1800 lumens!. I was really shocked.

Tl:Dr. I read not to get caught up in lumens, so what are other qualities that you should look for in the quality of brightness etc. Does the type of bulb matter?

Thanks guys!

I think this is what you need to know:
https://www.shineretrofits.com/lighting ... -candelas/

[ChrisinHove]

This is an enormous rabbit hole - good luck!

There is every conceivable variation, plus a load you would never imagine existed.

FWIW my advice would be to start with what physical size you want - like a knife, a flashlight is only any good if you have it on you.

The physical size more or less dictates the battery cell size, which more or less dictates the run-time & intensity performance.

Then you get into the detail ....

[Doc Dan]

I found some very inexpensive very bright flashlights at a discount hardware store using COB LED. They have broad beams but they will light up a room like daylight.

[Ankerson]

Depends on what you are looking for.

Like most things you get what you pay for.

You can go with what the professionals use.... Surefire is the main one.

Surefire and Streamlight are the ones that I have seen MOST professionals use, ones they actually have on their duty belts.

So like I said it depends on what you are looking for, something serious or a toy?

Like most hobbies there are and will be many options and opinions.

Most people tend to buy the toys, they are cheap and they can post about them all over the flashlight forums. Anything cheap tends to get good reviews so be aware of that.

GEEKING out on flashlights is the one of the latest fads... I am not interested in geeking out on flashlights. I did my research and bought what I have, Streamlight and Surefire. And I still have Maglites too.

MOST of the ones you will see them talking about are the toys, well they are cheap so more people buy those.. Same as most things people buy...

Many features so they can set around and play with them, kinda like sitting around flicking open a folder....

You won't see very many talking about Surefire and Streamlight on the flashlight forums. Kind of like anything more expensive like CRK's on the general knife forums. Pretty much for the same reasons from my understanding and the research I have done.

[TomAiello]

Depends on what you are looking for.

Like most things you get what you pay for.

You can go with what the professionals use.... Surefire is the main one.

I honestly think that's because of marketing, government contracts pricing, and "made in USA" requirements.

You can see the same thing in knives. Almost every NSW guy I know uses Spyderco knives at work, and 90% of them are Pacific Salts. But almost all the army guys I know carry Benchmades because that's what they get at work (well, except one team that had a budget overrun and the commander ordered everyone Microtechs). I gave one of my instructors (who is an NSW guy) a Benchmade as a gift one time, and he joked that now everyone at work would think he was in the army.

[ugaarguy]

The CRK of flashlights is HDS Systems. Surefire and Streamlight are the Benchmade and Spyderco of flashlights.

[Ankerson]

The CRK of flashlights is HDS Systems. Surefire and Streamlight are the Benchmade and Spyderco of flashlights.

The CRK thing was more about cost than the knives... Over the standard that most people would get.

But yeah the HDS are expensive for sure, more so than the Surefire, and they aren't cheap as you know.

Using knives as an example people aren't even buying say a Spyderco level type flashlight using your example.

They are more in the flea market level of knives or worse.

Using knives as an example of what level of flashlights they are buying.

[ugaarguy]

Most people aren't even buying Benchmade or Spyderco level knives. Go look at the best selling pocket knives on Amazon to see what people are buying. Lots of people are buying Fenix and Olight flashlights, which are kind of the Kizer and WE knives of flashlights. I also know of several cops who carry Olight, so Surefire's near exclusive hold on the professional use market is cracking. My Olights are better made than the Streamlights I've owned, so there's that as well.

[Ankerson]

Most people aren't even buying Benchmade or Spyderco level knives. Go look at the best selling pocket knives on Amazon to see what people are buying. Lots of people are buying Fenix and Olight flashlights, which are kind of the Kizer and WE knives of flashlights. I also know of several cops who carry Olight, so Surefire's near exclusive hold on the professional use market is cracking. My Olights are better made than the Streamlights I've owned, so there's that as well.

Haven't seen one LEO carry anything other than Surefire in memory, not one.

And I have seen a lot of them over the years, a whole lot....

There is a rather big difference in Surefire and Streamlight depending on the exact models. So it does matter what you buy....

Streamlight does have their professional line, more expensive than their standard models.

Most people aren't buying Spyderco knives or better etc, your right, it's a big world outside of the forums etc.

MOST people from what I seen in person over the years buy junk and alwaays have when it comes to knives.

[ChrisinHove]

Aren’t Surefire shock resistant for weapon mounting?

I do like the P60 format. It seems much less popular now, but the Lego-ability of the format giving me the option of top drawer LED drop-ins and batteries in budget but robust bodies has been an absolute winner for me.

Having said that, my latest is a soda can style, 12 LED 4x18650 Eagtac so I can light up whole rooms (and elevations!) for survey photographs. It’s a beast.

[Ankerson]

Aren’t Surefire shock resistant for weapon mounting?

I do like the P60 format. It seems much less popular now, but the Lego-ability of the format giving me the option of top drawer LED drop-ins and batteries in budget but robust bodies has been an absolute winner for me.

Having said that, my latest is a soda can style, 12 LED 4x18650 Eagtac so I can light up whole rooms (and elevations!) for survey photographs. It’s a beast.

YUP....

The better ones are for sure.

You can throw one against a brick wall and it will still work.

[ugaarguy]

Aren’t Surefire shock resistant for weapon mounting?

I do like the P60 format. It seems much less popular now, but the Lego-ability of the format giving me the option of top drawer LED drop-ins and batteries in budget but robust bodies has been an absolute winner for me.

Having said that, my latest is a soda can style, 12 LED 4x18650 Eagtac so I can light up whole rooms (and elevations!) for survey photographs. It’s a beast.

Some of them were shock resistant back in the high pressure incandescent bulb days. With LEDs it's a matter of potting the electronics rather than shock isolating the bulb. I've not seen Surefire advertising potted electronics, but Malkoff and some other more boutique brands do.

I like the P60 Lego capability too, but the design is showing its age. The P60 bodies were designed to isolate heat, and let the high pressure bulbs stay hot, which they like. Those bodies aren't good at carrying heat away from the light module, which LEDs need. I'm still rocking a Surefire C2 with a Malkoff drop-in, and I have an EagleTac SporTac drop-in on the way for it.