Maccabeus Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Moeman said: ...I’d say just stop in a Costco or Walmart and buy. I have experience that the really expensive ones I bought years ago are no better. … ^ There's so much truth to this statement. Unless someone is really a flashlight junkie or you need a really niche product for a particular purpose, $20 will buy you a 2 or 3 light blister pack, often with batteries provided, that produces really good light. The super cheap ones like the $1 light in limeylad's post aren't too sturdy. My kids tear those up in a couple months. But I bought a two pack of lights at Sams club 7 or 8 years ago for less than $20 bucks and threw them in my cars. These: They still work great and put out good light at a couple different intensities. The ones for sale today are brighter and have more features. Most of the lights now for sale in the $8-15 range are better than the incandescent MagLites & Surefires that were considered quite good in the '90s which commanded a MUCH bigger price. Edited August 8, 2018 by Maccabeus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 (edited) 18-19 year old Surefire, 120 lumens, with NRA logo on the side. I understand these are very outdated. I need to buy a more modern light. Edited August 8, 2018 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vito Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Yes you should buy a new one. It must be embarrassing to have to rely upon a 19 year old flashlight! I feel the same way about a wrench I keep handy and often use. My Dad gave it to me 50 years ago, a double sided adjustable crescent wrench that was already old when it gave it to me. But it still does the job and probably will for at least another 50 years. I have a couple of older Maglites that still work, but in fairness, they don't put out the kind of light the newer flashlights do so I never use the old Maglites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moeman Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Vito said: Yes you should buy a new one. It must be embarrassing to have to rely upon a 19 year old flashlight! I feel the same way about a wrench I keep handy and often use. My Dad gave it to me 50 years ago, a double sided adjustable crescent wrench that was already old when it gave it to me. But it still does the job and probably will for at least another 50 years. I have a couple of older Maglites that still work, but in fairness, they don't put out the kind of light the newer flashlights do so I never use the old Maglites. There are maglight led conversion bulbs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSIV4S Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 15 hours ago, Maccabeus said: ^ There's so much truth to this statement. Unless someone is really a flashlight junkie or you need a really niche product for a particular purpose, $20 will buy you a 2 or 3 light blister pack, often with batteries provided, that produces really good light. The super cheap ones like the $1 light in limeylad's post aren't too sturdy. My kids tear those up in a couple months. But I bought a two pack of lights at Sams club 7 or 8 years ago for less than $20 bucks and threw them in my cars. These: They still work great and put out good light at a couple different intensities. The ones for sale today are brighter and have more features. Most of the lights now for sale in the $8-15 range are better than the incandescent MagLites & Surefires that were considered quite good in the '90s which commanded a MUCH bigger price. I remember an auction purchase I made a couple years back that included a couple hundred small 9 LED lights and several cases of Bluepoint (Snap On) headlights-a single bright light strapped onto your head to keep your hands free. Like many of my purchases, I broke this into smaller lots and sold them at live auctions, but kept a few of each. The small light looked and worked great and the headlight was a name brand and seemed to work well under vehicles. How, within a few months I had burned through everyone of them, between cheap switches and cheap threading on the battery caps, every single one had failed. Do to the nature of when I might need a flashlight, I decided then that I will never rely on or risk my life with a cheap light. From my past light purchases (some pretty expensive) I am pretty happy with my newest light from Olight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinspeed Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 (edited) 15 hours ago, Brad said: 18-19 year old Surefire, 120 lumens, with NRA logo on the side. I understand these are very outdated. I need to buy a more modern light. Pick up one of these for your Surefire and you will have a super tough light that is plenty bright enough. https://malkoff-devices.myshopify.com/collections/surefire-drop-ins-for-6p-g2-c2-etc-6-9-volts/products/m61-mod-to-fit-surefire-and-malkoff Edited August 8, 2018 by Rinspeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 2 hours ago, Rinspeed said: Pick up one of these for your Surefire and you will have a super tough light that is plenty bright enough. https://malkoff-devices.myshopify.com/collections/surefire-drop-ins-for-6p-g2-c2-etc-6-9-volts/products/m61-mod-to-fit-surefire-and-malkoff Cool. Thanks! I probably will get one of those. I have a second Surefire that stopped working a few years ago. I assume it was the bulb, so I might buy two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneshotonepill Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Quote This dropin was designed to operate at maximum output for extended times in metal lights. Operating the unit for more than 15 continuous minutes on high in plastic lights may damage the dropin. This is not an issue in metal lights or plastic lights with a metal head. I think those NRA Surefires were all plastic. But, you should definitely look at Malkoff. I went through all the super-mega-lumen lights before going back to Malkoff. The md2 with high/ low switch is my favorite light. It will take cr123s or 18650 rechargeables. You can sell that old surefire to one of the collectors on the flashlight forums to fund the purchase if need be. https://malkoff-devices.myshopify.com/collections/malkoff-mid-sized-led-flashlights/products/turnkey-md2-with-high-low-switch?variant=6893022531 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCop71 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Laugh if you will, but I have bought several various lights from DealExtreme in AA and 18650 and all have been good home/car lights. My 24/7 duty belt light is a Surefire. We live in the flashlight Age of Aquarius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moeman Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 (edited) I bought a Ryobi (Home Depot) toool set and big batteries. Converted the flashlight to LED, converted my Mag lights to LED, but hey what was amazing 10years ago is nothing now. LED lights that have multiple lights Are not my thing. One, strong bulb with power settings is the key. Just reloaded my mom from. Costco Duracell buy since the fancy one with rechargeable batteries is now missing the recharger. Don’t overthink or overpay. Edited August 8, 2018 by Moeman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jade Falcon Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 For those of you who need a Maglite upgrade: I really like the look of that Firefly unit. Gonna have to look into that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeG36 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Surefire Fury Defender bedside, Streamlight ProTac 2L-X EDC in my pocket. These are dual fuel 2 CR123 or one 18650. They freakin rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeG36 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 On 7/20/2018 at 9:28 AM, janice6 said: I have a gaggle of pocket 3 Watt with Lithium power scattered around the house. My favorite is a 3900 Lumen 3 lithium cell. You can feel the heat in the beam a foot out from the light. running "unprotected" 18650's, used every night, they last for months. Holy crap...3900 Lumen.... That's a light! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeG36 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 On 7/20/2018 at 1:13 PM, Dragline said: Thanks. Are you buying direct from Surefire? Amazon has a box of 12 for cheaper with FS and no tax, but some of the reviews make them sound a bit sketchy even though the 'Surefire' box looks the same. I bought a box of eight two packs of Duracell CR2032 batteries from Amazon. FAKE chicom Knockoff Garbage. You really have to be careful even when buying directly from Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 56 minutes ago, MikeG36 said: Holy crap...3900 Lumen.... That's a light! Better yet! With Lithium Ion unprotected batteries, it last a hell of a long time. I use it every night to take the dog out at 12:30 AM and again at 2:30 AM. My son has the same combination and the same results as mine. The batteries (I have two sets) are 5 years old now and still going strong. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 11 hours ago, Moeman said: There are maglight led conversion bulbs. I used those in two mini-mags and they are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinspeed Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 5 hours ago, Oneshotonepill said: I think those NRA Surefires were all plastic. https://malkoff-devices.myshopify.com/collections/malkoff-mid-sized-led-flashlights/products/turnkey-md2-with-high-low-switch?variant=6893022531 I don't even think Surefire made plastic lights 18 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneshotonepill Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 7 hours ago, Rinspeed said: I don't even think Surefire made plastic lights 18 years ago. Yeah. You're probably right. I don't know much about Surefire's timeline. I just remember seeing the plastic NRA g2 in someone else's picture somewhere. They most likely had other models as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minderasr Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 22 hours ago, janice6 said: I used those in two mini-mags and they are great. Compared to regular mag-lites yes. Compared to Surefire/Fenix/etc.? Not so much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 2 hours ago, minderasr said: Compared to regular mag-lites yes. Compared to Surefire/Fenix/etc.? Not so much. That was my intent. Improvement is over original incandescent. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneshotonepill Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 https://malkoff-devices.myshopify.com/ Malkoff is running a 25% off sale right now. it ends @ 8pm. Discount code is FLASH25. Do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maccabeus Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 So, that Olight sale the other week inspired me to try and upgrade from the Streamlight MicroStream I carry. I looked at the slightly shorter i3E EOS, but since I wanted a push button tail cap, I went with the slightly longer i3T EOS. Here's the i3T compared to the MicroStream and to the gold standard of small AAA lights, the ARC Light. (Now discontinued). The i3T and the MicroStream are essentially the exact same size. The Olight saves a couple mm in length, but picks up just a bit more than that in absolute width at the clip. I bought the i3T because it has noticeably more lumens (180 vs. the MicroStream's 45). Even with a high and low setting on the i3T, it remains to be seen if it is functionally better. The high setting is seriously battery draining. The low setting is very dim, only good for reading or just avoiding tripping in a dark room. Usually, if I need a very bright, I don't reach for my pocket light. The MicroStream is a very nice balance of size, output, and battery life for daily use. For now, I'll carry the new Olight for a few months to see how it handles over time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWARREN123 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 A Rayovac Tactical (old one), NEBO-NEBO Redline and a couple of more cheaper ones. They all use 2 or 3 AA batteries. All work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston_Convert Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 My current go-to is a Streamlight 88085 ProTac HL-X USB rechargable programable 1000 lumens flashlight. Compact and amazingly bright at good distance on highest setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith10 Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) On 7/19/2018 at 3:13 PM, BMyers said: Olight M2R Warrior. Just got an Olight m2t warrior, love it so far. Edited August 24, 2018 by Smith10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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