Flashlights

Kevin B.

Big hippy
Moderator
Location
Vehicular limbo
The battery makes a big difference, and that lamp you linked has crap batteries. Next time we're out at the same time I'll loan you a couple good batteries, I'll bet your kids get three nights out of one.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I designed some pretty great tactical lights and had a friend who owns a large flashlight company (same company that @SAMI now works at) help me get them produced.



View attachment 118523

I’ve got one of the big ones. Great light!!


How about headlamps?

I absolutely love my petzl NAO! https://m.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/PERFORMANCE-headlamps/NAO-PLUSIt has photo sensors that let it regulate its light output according to how much light it “sees”. This not only saves battery but makes it so you don’t blind yourself when you look at something up close.


I would bet I have $2k plus in flashlights laying around the house.

We sound like kindred spirits...


I'm totally converted to 18650, the performance for the size/weight blows AAA out of the water.

Yes!!!

We have got 4 headlamps that have a battery pack on the back with 2 18650 batteries in each.
They are super bright, and do an excellent job. However, they are the reason I only want aaa lamps now.
The car chargers I have don’t seem to charge the lamps well at all, so they have to be plugged in at home before every trip, which means unpack and repack them into the camper each trip. Also, they don’t hold a charge long enough for a kid to play all night for multiple nights... so they run dead by the end of the trip. We also have a few small watch battery lamps. They put out a tiny bit of light, just enough for kids to see around camp... but they have been going for years on the same stupid battery.

Edit: pretty sure these are our 18650 lamps.
View attachment 118536

Sounds like you need to invest in QUALITY batteries and chargers. Keep spares and rotate them.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
On a side note, this is what happens when you buy cheapo chargers and leave the batteries on them after they are fully charged:

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Notice the burnt wall receptacle in the first picture. The second picture is what remains of the charger.
 

jeeper

Currently without Jeep
Location
So Jo, Ut
Now you’ve made me really nervous. That was the last though in my head as I left my house this evening, with my headlamps plugged in.. hopefully the house is there when I get home!
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
I designed some pretty great tactical lights and had a friend who owns a large flashlight company (same company that @SAMI now works at) help me get them produced. They are every bit as nice as the big name tactical lights for half the price. They do take the CR123A batteries but I'm currently working on the next generation that will also take the 18650 batteries. My lights have 3 modes, high, low, strobe, but to change the mode you turn a dial that's around the head of the light. So the tail button is always on/off of whatever mode you leave it in on the dial. I hate having to switch through modes using the button. There are some other cool and unique features as well. You can check them out here:


I'm also working on a AAA battery EDC light right now that will be the best super-compact AAA light on the market, IMO.

If any of you are interested, let me know and I can make a discount code for you.

The big one is 900 lumens. :cool:
View attachment 118523

Yes please! I have flashlights all over my cabin (when it's dark up there, it's REALLY dark) but the only ones that seem to survive (I think it's the cold, not sure) are my Surefire ones. I hate spending $150+ on a light that sits on my nightstand for when I need to take a leak in the middle of the night :D
 

TRD270

Emptying Pockets Again
Supporting Member
Location
SaSaSandy
Yes please! I have flashlights all over my cabin (when it's dark up there, it's REALLY dark) but the only ones that seem to survive (I think it's the cold, not sure) are my Surefire ones. I hate spending $150+ on a light that sits on my nightstand for when I need to take a leak in the middle of the night :D

That's interesting, I've had horrible luck with surefire. I would never give them another dime, guess maybe I've just had bad luck.
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
My biggest complaints with the surefires is battery life is terrible. I don't use them a ton and the batteries have to be replaced every couple weeks. I bet I get an hour of use out of them.
 

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
What the hell Derek. Is that your place? When did this happen?

For my lighting needs I have stuck with black diamond for the last 5 years and have been happy enough. I got a couple $10 headlamps from them at an expo booth and liked them when I could get them to turn on. There wasn't an "on" button, it was a swipe thing. It worked okay at first but then less and less. I ended up buying a bigger headlamp that take 4 AA batteries in a pack at the back of the headband. It works really well but wasn't cheap and I'm not sure if I'd trust my 3 year old with it.

I also have a couple of BD's light globes. This one. I guess its better at lighting up the RTT than outside but its got a couple hooks on top that fold away so it can hang. I liked it enough that when the first one was stolen with my LX I bought another to replace it. Its also dimmable.
 

Corban_White

Well-Known Member
Location
Payson, AZ
Value wise I love everything I've used from Nebo. They work awesome and they are cheap! I don't like any rechargeable lights because it seems they are always dead when I need them. When the alkalines are dead I can "charge" them in 30 seconds or less.
 

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
Value wise I love everything I've used from Nebo. They work awesome and they are cheap! I don't like any rechargeable lights because it seems they are always dead when I need them. When the alkalines are dead I can "charge" them in 30 seconds or less.
I've got a couple big larry flashlights, they are great when I'm working on the car with the magnet in the bottom.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
What the hell Derek. Is that your place? When did this happen?

For my lighting needs I have stuck with black diamond for the last 5 years and have been happy enough. I got a couple $10 headlamps from them at an expo booth and liked them when I could get them to turn on. There wasn't an "on" button, it was a swipe thing. It worked okay at first but then less and less. I ended up buying a bigger headlamp that take 4 AA batteries in a pack at the back of the headband. It works really well but wasn't cheap and I'm not sure if I'd trust my 3 year old with it.

I also have a couple of BD's light globes. This one. I guess its better at lighting up the RTT than outside but its got a couple hooks on top that fold away so it can hang. I liked it enough that when the first one was stolen with my LX I bought another to replace it. Its also dimmable.
Yup that’s my place. Lithium battery ignited on the charger while I was In Wyoming for the weekend last summer. We came home to a house filled full of soot, but luckily no fire.
 

4x4_Welder

Well-Known Member
Location
Twin Falls, ID
That's wild. I had a co-worker put a 3v battery on an 8v charger once, when it blew up it cracked the security window it was sitting by. It sounded like someone shot a gun in the shop.
 

thefirstzukman

Finding Utah
Supporting Member
Back in the Early Lipo days in RC I had a buddy running a small Lipo pack for his electronics in a gas buggy. One time he plugged it in and had his charger set for hydrides. Only took about a minute and it was blazing.
 

SAMI

Formerly Beardy McGee
Location
SLC, UT
I've got some bitchin' rechargeable flashlights in the works, as well as an entire line of headlamps that I believe will give the old dogs in the game a run for their money.

We've developed a user interface that all of our newest lights are equipped with that give you a handful of useful modes, but also respects your desire for a light that will simply turn on - and then off with the click of a button. Super stoked on this as it combines the best of both worlds, click on/off, and having other modes to select if the task requires it... including pesky strobe. Though with our lights strobe is never in your way.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments and experiences here. I eat, breathe, and sleep lighting products now so if anyone has lighting needs or questions hit me up.

Who wants to talk flashlights?

I've been using these for a couple years.

Lol, "22x brighter than regular flashlights".... This makes me chuckle, and shake my head.

In regards to the headlamps with poor batteries, the Nebo lights of the world, and this "22x brighter than regular flashlights" light.... I highly recommend buying lights from companies that care enough to hold their products to ANSI standards. This way you know you are comparing apples to apples with other reputable companies performance claims, and you are truly getting what you paid for.

Once we get our showroom set up it'd be great to have any of you come down and chat flashlights. I'll walk you through what makes our brand of lights so great, essentially, with LuxPro you get the best value in terms of lumens/dollars. We've got a ton of awesome new product lined up for 2019/2020.
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I have a Streamlight Strion LED that I got like 10 years ago and love. I'm probably due for a new one but hate to spend the cash. On the flipside I don't want a cheaper one that isn't rechargeable because that's probably my favorite feature.
 

SAMI

Formerly Beardy McGee
Location
SLC, UT
I have a Streamlight Strion LED that I got like 10 years ago and love. I'm probably due for a new one but hate to spend the cash. On the flipside I don't want a cheaper one that isn't rechargeable because that's probably my favorite feature.

I’ll have an 800 lumen, rechargeable (18650), aluminum bodied light on the market very soon for (MSRP) $29.99+/-, and I’ll discount for RME homies. Time to ditch the Streamlight. :)

My favorite one coming out is a dual 18650 design cranked up to 7.2V, CREE XHP50 LED, weighing 10.2oz, and producing 1,600 lumens on High with a very useable runtime of 3hrs on High. Should have a beam distance of 400+ meters, but it’s still in testing for beam distance. Fantastic light. Should be around $50 retail.
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I’ll have an 800 lumen, rechargeable (18650), aluminum bodied light on the market very soon for (MSRP) $29.99+/-, and I’ll discount for RME homies. Time to ditch the Streamlight. :)

My favorite one coming out is a dual 18650 design cranked up to 7.2V, CREE XHP50 LED, weighing 10.2oz, and producing 1,600 lumens on High with a very useable runtime of 3hrs on High. Should have a beam distance of 400+ meters, but it’s still in testing for beam distance. Fantastic light. Should be around $50 retail.

Count me in!
 

Kevin B.

Big hippy
Moderator
Location
Vehicular limbo
I’ll have an 800 lumen, rechargeable (18650), aluminum bodied light on the market very soon for (MSRP) $29.99+/-, and I’ll discount for RME homies. Time to ditch the Streamlight. :)

My favorite one coming out is a dual 18650 design cranked up to 7.2V, CREE XHP50 LED, weighing 10.2oz, and producing 1,600 lumens on High with a very useable runtime of 3hrs on High. Should have a beam distance of 400+ meters, but it’s still in testing for beam distance. Fantastic light. Should be around $50 retail.


I'm in to check out both of these. USB recharging?
 
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