I have owned every single model of LED LENSER flashlights and EVERY SINGLE one is stuffed! NEVER EVER has a Maglite 3D cell,I own two, let me down. I have even used my Maglites to deliver the coup de grace on MANY springhare and have even thrown one at a Hadeda Ibis that decided to land on my roof in the middle of the night and make noise!!! It was either that or the 12ga, my 22 was in for repair. The neighbour was not very happy as the Maglite landed on his roof and he told me I am a crazy lunatic. Can you believe that?! Anyway Maglites and SUREFIRE or nothing for me. How about you, what do you think is the best flashlight? P.S. I had all the models of LED LENSER and they all lasted no more than 7 months!

Never had a problem with any of my LED lights. I have about a dozen of them. I really like the 3 fenix flashlights I have, even better than my surefire.

I have 3 maglite 3d's and I don't even keep batteries in them anymore. I do have a mini mag light here in my desk drawer though.

filmit both my Maglites have the LED upgrade module installed. Fenix is excellent but if I buy another flashlight it will be a Surefire.

I use Petzel's for head lights, and SureFires for everything else.

I still have the first 2 SureFires I bought when they first came out.

I used to be a fan of Surefire, but, after having had a number of them conk out, I am now using the FENIX as high power torches.

For long life LED, I have some of unknown make, and they are incredible.

The larger type, which uses 3 D cell batteries, lasted over a month on 24 hours a day!!?

They also have smaller ones that use 2 AA battries, and whoever I gave one too, has been asking where they can get more.

Trouble is I have no idea.

I got them from a local discount shop. And he got no more.

For a small 'drop in the pocket' I use Fenix .For larger ones Pelican makes a good selection. All LED as I've been an LED fan since they first came out.

I got a 2 AA LED maglite and it was my first LED flashlight...I was prudish about standard ones versus LED. That thing blows my mind how bright it is. The ONLY thing I am still skeptical about is the 4 light options (full on, reduced, SOS and blink). I prefer simple to anything resembling a circuit board in a flashlight but it has help up very well so far.

I have a couple Surefires, but really think they are overpriced for what you get...at least for the civilian market ones.

I have several Maglights, but compared to the newer lights, they just don't measure up.

A few months ago I picked up a Fenix TK41. Runs on eight rechargable AA batteries and is rated at 800 lumens. It's one bright SOB! Has held up to being dropped, kicked and stepped on, been left in the truck when it got down below freezing every night for weeks and when it was up over 100 degrees in the daytime.

I'm going to pick up another before they discontinue 'em. (Story of my life!)

i owned several Surefires( including the big Centurion M 6 combat light). tried a small Fenix, loved it, bought a bigger Fenix, and sold all the Surefires- overpriced battery eaters. Fenix will do anything a Surefire will do- for 1/4 the cost and longer battery life. i think the main reason the US military uses them is because someone else( the US taxpayer) is paying for them and they are a US company. i have taken all my Fenix lights, climbed a step ladder and dropped them on a concrete floor, then submerged them in a sink- no problem. enough said.

Fenixs are GREAT!Never dropped from a ladder.But far superior than Surefires as stated.

Surefires SUCK. Tried to give one to Fairgame and he said no thanks as the batts are $20usd in Zambia. So to followup a critter, you dump batts and place fresh and may need another set before you you are done. A little pricey. I have 3 Streamlight rechageables that have been bulletproof. Also surefires filaments are fragile.

The Fenix intrigues me.

Jeff

I have pretty much gone totally LED. My favorite outdoor lights are 3D maglights, I have 2 of them with the LED bulbs and they throw a useable beam 140+ yards (actually a bit more, but you can see things quite clearly 140 yds away) and I am serious, similar to Saeeds experience I have a set of batteries last over a year. I try to change them annually as one time a set started to finally get dim and I took them out and they had leaked all over the inside of the light. No biggie, I was able to just wash everything out but a set a year I can afford to replace them whether or not they need it. And this is with nightly usage most every night.

For smaller lights, I have to say I have a bunch of the cheap aluminum ones that take 3 AAA batteries. You can get them on sale for a dollar or so apiece, then replace the batteries with decent ones, and they work fine for short distances or walking outside where you are just looking around closely. One reason for that is I have kids, and probably in between $100 and $200 worth of quality flashlights I cannot find anywhere so I gave up there. Oh, one other type of light are the 3 AAA lights that use a 1 or 3 watt LED, those rock too. Good proportion between size, beam distance, and battery life.

About 3 years ago I found out that Army Aviation Fixed Wind pilots were using TeraLux flashlights. I purchased several and they are great. They put out over 300 lumens and work on two double A batteries. Price (about $30) was less than half of what many of the other brands cost. Use them at home and when hunting an never have had a problem.

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They also have smaller ones that use 2 AA battries, and whoever I gave one too, has been asking where they can get more.

Amazon has them. I have one and now leave the Shurefires at home.

http://www.fasttech.com/category/1601/led-flashlights

Check these guys out - I've received a half dozen orders from them already, and everything has been straight up. Fast (free) shipping, and some very good quality. Some of it is obviously crap, but I've found everything "Convoy" brand has been outstanding value.
I've taken to building my own flashlights lately, from components I buy here. That way I can eliminate the 'blinky' modes etc. I've also decided that rechargeable 18650 lithium batteries are the only way to go, with three times the 'juice' of an AA and very low self discharge rates. With a couple of them in your pocket you can have literally weeks of useable light from a flashlight the size of your thumb.

pelican

Fenix pd20 and Tk41 are my go to. I have a dozen of the "battery eating" Surefires. I do like them, but they will break a fellow in short order the way the incandescent bulbed ones go thru the L123s.

quote:

Originally posted by Tumbleweed:
http://www.fasttech.com/category/1601/led-flashlights

Check these guys out - I've received a half dozen orders from them already, and everything has been straight up. Fast (free) shipping, and some very good quality. Some of it is obviously crap, but I've found everything "Convoy" brand has been outstanding value.
I've taken to building my own flashlights lately, from components I buy here. That way I can eliminate the 'blinky' modes etc. I've also decided that rechargeable 18650 lithium batteries are the only way to go, with three times the 'juice' of an AA and very low self discharge rates. With a couple of them in your pocket you can have literally weeks of useable light from a flashlight the size of your thumb.

That is an interesting looking website, thanks for posting it!

I have the LED Lenser headlamp that I took to Namibia two years ago, and it's going back in a week. I liked it so much, I just bought the hand held T7. Both use AAA batteries, and are quite bright. The T7 is rated at 200 lumens, I think the headlamp I have is 170.
The headlamp was $25 and the T7 was $35.

I have switched to using LEDs flashlights like so many here. Fenix has been my go to "torches". I have the LD10's, a TK11, and TK12. They worked so well while in RSA that we left the lights with our PH's. We were told that they liked the TK11 so much that my PH and his wife argued over who was going to get to keep it. Since then we bought them some more.

We got to try out how well they worked when a buddy shot a huge eland in the rain at dusk. My PH and I had to go get the trailer to put the critter in. In this wide open soupy area we had to drive through we had no idea where they were at with the critter. My buddy fired up the TK11 and shined it our way. It was like a bright blue star pointing our direction a couple of hundred yards away.

Personally, I think the Maglights are the most overrated POS ever made. They have that retarded variable spotlight which does nothing but cast holes in your light beam. Plus they're completely round and will roll off whatever you set them on and hit the ground with the force if a brick of lead. I haven't owned one in years and I can't bring myself to spending another cent on one, if they weren't shaped like a billy club no one would have a reason to buy one. the pocket, AA maglights are worse than those old aluminum ones that my great grandmother kept on top of the phone book and you'd have to shake it and bang it against your other hand to get it to work.


I use flashlights on a daily basis and I think Pelican makes a great product. I think Surefire lights have their place, but yes they burn through batteries in a hurry.

I recently purchased the Mini Maglite Pro and the tiny Solitaire LED and they are light years(sorry) ahead of the older models. VERY impressed with the Mini Mag Pro! Well done Maglite.

quote:

Originally posted by lal:
I have owned every single model of LED LENSER flashlights and EVERY SINGLE one is stuffed! NEVER EVER has a Maglite 3D cell,I own two, let me down. I have even used my Maglites to deliver the coup de grace on MANY springhare and have even thrown one at a Hadeda Ibis that decided to land on my roof in the middle of the night and make noise!!! It was either that or the 12ga, my 22 was in for repair. The neighbour was not very happy as the Maglite landed on his roof and he told me I am a crazy lunatic. Can you believe that?! Anyway Maglites and SUREFIRE or nothing for me. How about you, what do you think is the best flashlight? P.S. I had all the models of LED LENSER and they all lasted no more than 7 months!

A friend gave me a 2 cell Maglight that was in very rough shape and needed a new switch.
I contacted Maglight to order a new switch and the lady asked if it had any corrosion in it and I answered some,she said you'd better send it in. A couple weeks later here comes a new flash light, NO CHARGE! Guess what i'll buy when I need a new one.

Stepchild

For many years I used regular Maglights...still have 2-battery, 3-battery, 4-battery and 6-battery ones. Never had any complaints with any of them except I bought D batteries by boxes of 100. Now I don't even bother to feed them batteries a ll.

3+years ago I bought a Fenix Mini-LED flashlight which uses 2 AA batteries. I use that a lot, generally for at least a few minutes every night. So far I've never had to change the batteries or anything else on it. I bought mine for just over $30 out-the-door at the local Walmart Super Store. (The clerk didn't even know they carry them, but after rummaging around in the camping equipment area I found a display of them.)

There may be better lights out there, I don't know. But I don't think its worth wasting my time and money trying to find out. This little champ does everything I ask it to, and I have found the "strobe" feature on it quite handy several times.

I first bought the Fenix TK-60. Amazingly powerful.
As my always carry I now added a Fenix PD-35.
One 18650 battery and fantastic for in close lighting.
I'm contemplating upgrading my long throw TK-60 to a TK-61. The 61 is shorter and almost doubles the beam length.

Best and brightest is the laser torch pro. Will burn for days on lowest setting and a few hours on highest setting and is rechargeable.

My go to light that gets used daily/nightly is the tri-tronics night razor. Ive had mine for 5 years with no problems it too is rechargeable. I use this for work in attics and cellars as well as for hunting. It has been beat and knocked around more than any light I own and still functions perfectly.

I have been useing princeton tec aurora lights for 10 years now with no problems. I keep one in each truck and 1 in my day pack.

All of my lights are either mounted on the strap or a hat for hands-free use. I have been a lifelong coon hunter and gave up on mag lights and other handheldsover more than 30 years ago.

I have had good performance from Fenix, Olight and 4Sevens lights, not so much from Jetbeam. Surefires were my first more expensive lights after having Maglights but the lumens available now from Olight and Fenix way outshine Surefires at much less cost.

I'm a big fan of O-light. I particularly like the s model with the dedicated "strobe" switch.

I just purchased a 1,300 lumen LED flashlight from Costco for $13. Aluminum body, adjustable beam, hi/low and strobe settings and uses 4 c batteries. Can't get much better than this. I been using a similar model that uses 3 batteries and rated at 1,000 lumens for over a year without any issues.

I have always had good luck with sure fire .

Streamlight Strion--lost it, great light.
Surefire Micoro--my 5yr old lost it, excellent small light for minor applications.
Have a Petzel head torch which is a good light
Replaced lost flashlights with an Ultrafire--Chinese knock off of Surefire, Fenix, etc. and it is garbage. Bright light but the charge on the batteries lasts maybe 5-10minutes tops.

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I use Petzel's for head lights, and SureFires for everything else.

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