which flashlight is better?

which one should i get? (they are in the same order as the poll) i am leaning towards the 2nd or 3rd ones because i do not like the twist type, the 3rd one is in the same host as my green laser so it would be kinda neat as a matching set.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12849

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3607

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3386

[highlight]nevermind: i'have decided which flashlight to get, after reading this
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=199062
and looking at the pictures i am going to get the Romisen RC-F4 modded with a Q5 emitter from this web site
http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-54/Romisen-RC-dsh-F4-CREE-Q5/Detail
[/highlight]

if your wondering what the bright colored thing is in the third picture, its a piece of cardboard i painted with different colors of glow in the dark paint for my blu-ray laser

I don't know about those, but if you are looking for a serious LED light for $40 you want one of these: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15692

You know how I sometimes come out with a big post with lots of info? This is one of them.

I wouldn't recommend any of these in this thread, not even the Aurora. Aurora is a hit and miss brand... and the P7 likes two 18650's.

Here's some I say you give a try, listed in ascending order in terms of size/output:

Aurora R2 Buckle: There is criticism for this, but I have one, I took it camping and it was great. Good output, good runtime, yes, it is throwy but the hotspot isn't as bad as the reviews make it out to be. I find the clip useful for attaching to your pants, or hanging from somewhere such as the inside of a tent. It lights up a four-man tent.

Romisen RC-G2: Neat 1xAA. Popular. Good reviews. Heaps better than Maglite. Q5 version here.

Shiningbeam L-Mini: Lots of bang for your buck... Erns did a review on version 1.

Handy Cree Q5: This is about the same size as your 9-LED. Runs on the same batteries. Good reviews. Cheapest Q5 on DX, I believe. Comes with holster.

UltraFire WF-606A Q5: Good reviews. Easily obtained batteries. Will absolutely pwn the MagLite LED 2xAA.

Fenix L2D Q5: If you're looking to spend more coin than the 606A, this is a good pick.

Fenix TK10: Very popular. Not cheap, but great build and beam quality.

Spiderfire C-R8 R2: I have one of these and they're great. If you buy one and have any problems with it I can help you out. Throws nice and far, you can see the beam at night... good price too.

MTE M4-2 P7: I wouldn't trust the TrustFire 2x18650 (funny eh) Razako can testament that TrustFire fails. This would be a good option for a medium size photon cannon.

SolarForce T700: Probably brighter than the above... and runs at 9W, 3W more efficient than the P7. Razako has one, ask him about it.

MicroFire Samurai-III K3500R 35W HID: Total beast. How can you be disappointed with 3500lm? Rechargeable too, no messing with batteries. Morepower has one.

For those who don't know, the P4 and P7 are emitters from Seoul Semiconductors (SSC). A P7 is just four P4's wired in parallel. CREE also has a P4 bin, which is relatively weak. The Cree emitters are as follows:

P4 80-87 lm @ 350mA
Q2 87-94 lm @ 350mA
Q3 94-100 lm @ 350mA
Q4 100-107 lm @ 350mA
Q5 107-114 lm @ 350mA
R2 114-121 lm @ 350mA

These are all 3W LEDs. The P7 is 12W of course.

Flashlights are usually driven at a higher current than this (~1A) so we have more performance. Other emitters include Luxeon (maker of the Rebel, a tiny high power LED, among other things), Phillips Lumileds (ala MXDL)

Here are some things you want to look for in a flashlight.

-Cost compared to other flashlights with similar features

-Output in lumens
-How tight the hotspot is (generally measured in lux at the centre of the beam) This depends on what you want to use it for. If you want to use it at close range or wandering around indoors you want flood. If you want to disorientate potential threats, spot targets at long distances or up trees etc you want throw. Even throwy flashlights have a weaker, less focused area surrounding the hotspot. This is called spill.

-Beam quality and tint (People don't like ringy beams or too warm or cool tint. Colour temperature is measured in Kelvin.



Rings in your beam are common in Cree emitters especially. Textured / orange peel reflectors smoothen a beam out, but reduce your throw a little.)

-Runtime and battery type. The longer and more common the batteries the better, of course. If it runs on its own rechargable battery pack, kewl.

-Number of modes and type of switch. Modes include Low, Mid, High, Turbo (extra high), SOS strobe, faster strobes, random and police strobes for disorientation. Too many modes are annoying to cycle through. Personally Low and High are plenty. As for type of switch, the classic clicky (the most common type of switch you will see) comes in two flavours: forward and reverse. Forward clickies can turn on before the actual click, making them double as a momentary switch if you press lightly. Reverse clickies activate after the click. Twisties (or cell squashers) just twist together to turn on. People don't like twisties for various reasons. The Maglites are all 'backwards twisties' because you actually unscrew the head to turn them on.  

-Body material. Cheap flashlights such as the 9-LED are thin Al. Most DX flashlights are anodised Al to make them scratch-resistant. HA-III is better than II. You may also prefer a colour, but you won't get a huge variety. There's grey, silver, shiny silver, black, charcoal and olive, but most will come in grey/black or just black.

-Extra features such as a holster or crenellated bezel (aka assault bezel) These look cool and provide a small amount of light when placed head-down on a desk. The sharper ones such as this make for a last resort close quarters weapon.

More as I think of it.

laserlover said:

which one of these is brighter? which one has a longer battery life? which one has a wider throw? which one has a stronger beam? which one looks/ feels better in your hand?

any and all answers are appreciated!

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3405

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4171

[highlight]EDIT:[/highlight] i have a 9 led flashlight that is fairly bright indoors in the dark but how much brighter would either of the flashlights in the links be?

the thing itself:

the light about 7 meters away from wall inside a room:

Click to expand...

This one http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4157 is a bit more powerful than the 2nd link you have there, and I run it on 3.6v recharbles, it is extremely bright  

It might be easier if you tell us what exactly you are looking for, including how much you are willing to spend. Small, big, dosn't matter ? Brightest, battery type ? There are SO many choices out there. I have THIS light, it takes 1 x 18650 battery and the "low" mode is very useful, as the "high" is WAY too bright for close up lighting. Honestly I am very happy with it and use it any time I don't need the power of a HID light. But this is just my experience. The other light I linked to above is on it's way to me now so can't comment yet.

P.S. That's a hell of a post there VillageIdiot with alot of good info on different lights.

Morepower said:

P.S. That's a hell of a post there VillageIdiot with alot of good info on different lights.

Click to expand...

why thank you

VillageIdiot said:

A P7 is just four P4's wired in series.

Click to expand...

He meant parallel. It draws almost 3 amps if I remember correctly.

my price range is less than $20. i want the brightest flashlight possible for my price range with good throw and good spill. what do you suggest? remember: under $20

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4171 is pretty good.Look here http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1194770080

Cyparagon said:

[quote author=VillageIdiot link=1221881404/0#3 date=1221911661]A P7 is just four P4's wired in series.

Click to expand...

He meant parallel. It draws almost 3 amps if I remember correctly.[/quote]

Oh, of course. I get those messed up so much, but if anyone thought about it they should be able to spot my mistake.

IMO these are my top 4 lights. Together they cover just about any situation where you need a flashlight.
Solarforce T700=Great throw with a usable amount of spill. Lots of modes for different situations and great runtime with 3 18650's. I've had mine for about 6 months and it has survived camping trips, fishing, around 50 hours of use and a few hard drops. At power level 4 it puts out around 400 lumens and can run until the batteries die without overheating. At higher levels you get more light, but it burns the batteries faster and the light gets hot if you leave it on for too long.
Wolf-Eyes p7=Great flood, runtime, color temp and it's built like a tank. Can run on high mode putting out 600ish lumens for 15 minutes+ without heat problems.
Fenix TK11=good light in general, but the polarity markings on the light are annoying. I don't need a permanent reminder on the outside of the light telling me which way the battery goes in.
Tiablo A9=Excellent throw.
My other notable lights include a Jetbeam III IBS pro and my Microfire Warrior III 35W HID.

Pics of the MicroFire! It's funny how people who are interested in lasers are usually also interested in other light-emitting products.

VillageIdiot said:

Pics of the MicroFire! It's funny how people who are interested in lasers are usually also interested in other light-emitting products.

Click to expand...

Here's a video of the microfire in action.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ybtVIkyI2Y[/media]
And a picture of my entire collection.

Is that the Aurora Buckle I see there?

VillageIdiot said:

Is that the Aurora Buckle I see there?

Click to expand...

yes.