LED Flashlights

[mldmkr1960]

Im thinking of buying either a Streamlight or Surefire flashlight, about 5" long. They are a lot on money are they worth it? The ones Im looking at is around $90 bucks. I thought that was alot but there are ones up to $300.00. I wont pay that but would like something other than a Mag light.

[eschoendorff]

Originally Posted by mldmkr1960

Im thinking of buying either a Streamlight or Surefire flashlight, about 5" long. They are a lot on money are they worth it? The ones Im looking at is around $90 bucks. I thought that was alot but there are ones up to $300.00. I wont pay that but would like something other than a Mag light.

I have a couple LED flashlights by Coast. I am not a huge fan of LED light to begin with, but I feel that these flashlights do a good job for what they are.

http://www.quality-items-flashlights...shlight-1.html

[dxdexter]

Originally Posted by mldmkr1960

Im thinking of buying either a Streamlight or Surefire flashlight, about 5" long. They are a lot on money are they worth it? The ones Im looking at is around $90 bucks. I thought that was alot but there are ones up to $300.00. I wont pay that but would like something other than a Mag light.

I have a Streamlight Twin Task http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=44

I think the light is extremely well built. It has three settings: 5 LEDs, 10 LEDs, and Xenon. The light has one switch and you push the button once for each of the three light settings. I usually use the 5 LED setting and pressing the button twice more to turn off the light is a bit of a hassle.

I have had the same batteries in the light for nearly one year and they show no signs of wear. I would definitely buy again.

[Merkava_4]

The regular incandescent light will throw the beam out farther than an LED. I'm not saying it's brighter; I'm just saying it will shine further away; like an arial spot light. You want a nice flashlight? Get you a Streamlight Stinger; I have one and that bad boy is awesome!

[Fedwrench]

I wouldn't want to be without either of my Streamlight Polystinger flashlights. Nothing is better for turning a dark engine compartment bright. Get one with a piggyback battery charger because, you won't want to be without it when it's charging. I use the Polystinger because, I have a bad habit of holding the flashlight in my teeth as I work and don't care for the taste of aluminum. I haven't used the LED version because, I don't care for the way LED light gets washed out by ambient light. Once you use a Streamlight flashlight, you won't want to use anything else.

[Major Ramifications]

The first time I saw a Streamlight flashlight some jackass cop was shining it in my face at night asking me questions. I kept asking him what kind of light he had as I had never seen anything so small and so bright.

[dxdexter]

Originally Posted by Merkava_4

The regular incandescent light will throw the beam out farther than an LED. I'm not saying it's brighter; I'm just saying it will shine further away;

The Xenon portion of my light is way brighter than the LED, but for close in the LED is much easier on batteries.

[SteveU]

For a small flashlight the Streamlight Scorpion is hard to beat. It comes in either LED or Xenon and is a night & day difference over my mini mag light. Runs off 2 3v lithium batteries with a shelf life of 10 yrs. I'm planning on getting a couple more & putting them in the glove box of the cars.

[stuckinohio]

Another Streamlight Stinger user here. I generally do not like LED lights. While they are bright, the light is too focused in one spot. If you"re in a tight spot and can't shine the light directly on what you need to see, it's a lot harder to see than it would be with a regular flashlight.

[Stuey]

If you want cheap, you can pick up an Inova X5 at Target - it's been on clearance for less than $20 for a few weeks now. You might have trouble finding one though.

I think that the Surefure G2Led is the sweet spot - $65 or so. The incandescent version is about $35.

[Danglerb]

I have a small Coast from a sale at Fry's, $14, and half a dozen different NexGen that were $5 each on clearance last year at circuit city. The big Nexgens are the size of an old style flash light and run on 3x AA, throw a large soft beam using several LEDs and I keep one in each car. The smaller NexGen is short fat maglight sized, run on 3x AAA, and throw a tight spot from a single 1W LED, its my main work flash light.

I see no need in spending more than about $25 for a decent light. Besides, every six months or so they get better and brighter.

[eschoendorff]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

I see no need in spending more than about $25 for a decent light. Besides, every six months or so they get better and brighter.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. BTW, i bought my first Coast light because I got the Coast brand confused with the Streamlight brand and thought I got a great deal. Well, it turns out that I didn't get the brands right, but I am not disappointed in the product.

[mldmkr1960]

So it looks like most dont care for the LED's. I will have to check all these out online tonite thanks for all the help!

[Moose-LandTran]

i want to try out an LED flashlight, but there isn't one so far that really takes my fancy.

i have a Princeton Tec Tec40 that's halogen and for a small plastic 4x AA flashlight is insanely bright. it's a diving torch and set me back maybe $40 from Amazon. being waterproof it's great for working on cars, i can drop it in oil and it just washes off fine. it's light, small and can be dropped without problems.

my AA Maglite has held up well too. constant use from me and the other guys when i was at a tyre shop. got two fibre optic things for it too, that are very handy. it's been dropped in oil containers multiple times and i just sprayed it off with brake cleaner and it was fine. moving an engine with a hoist, it served as the handle for the hydraulic pump.

[Hip2u77]

Check out Candle Power Forums. (Wasn't sure if I could direct link to them, but a google search will find them for you quick.) You'll find all you need to know about any light over there.

[russlaferrera]

Home Depot has 3 flashlights 9 LED with batteries $5

[PAToyota]

I swapped the bulb in my MagLite for an LED version and am quite pleased with it. The batteries last forever and the light is very white.

[TNToy]

The Stinger is great. I've owned several.

The LED Stinger is not. Run away. I've killed two.

The Strion is the best rechargeable light I've ever used. The size of a 2x123A powered light, and about as bright as a Stinger. It's just as tough as the Stinger, and small enough to pocket. Unlike the Stinger.

[nissan_crawler]

Streamlight stinger fan here. Mine burned out a bulb, stuck another bulb in, that one blew. I opened it up, found out the switch housing was cracked (mine is fairly old, but was original bulb). The Snap-On lady sent it in to them for me, and when I got it back, they not only replaced the switch assembly, but they replaced the end cap, the SPARE bulb, and the lens/reflector/adjuster assembly. The only thing left was the battery and housing. The cost $6.47 for shipping. Yeah, I was happy.

I've had it 4 years, and other than the two bulbs that blew up when the switch cracked, I have NEVER put a bulb in it. Oh, did I mention I run through an entire battery 4 days of the week?

You can keep your maglites and crap, been there, done that, don't care to wear the shirt. there's no comparison.

[kartracer55]

Originally Posted by russlaferrera

Home Depot has 3 flashlights 9 LED with batteries $5

I just got a set of these bad boys and DAMN without a doubt the best 5$ I have ever spent in my life. I put one in each of the families daily drivers. It is a very intense light. I hate to say it, but I like it better than the AA mag lite I had in the door before it. Over all though, I cant see the switches on a 1.50$ flashlight holding up like a mag light, so I have both in my car.

I was considering updating my D cell maglite with the LED conversion kit, but Im not so sure. Its kind of expensive and Its not like Im a cop where I use the light enough for battery life to matter, or I use it nightly.

Jim