Flashlight Madness

[ront]

I credit several of you guys in getting me started down this road :eek: :) . My collection is pretty small compared to some of you, but I like it. I just received the HDS today. All I can say is WOW. What a nice little light. The U2 is only a week old and I really do like it alot. The L4 has an after market 2 stage switch on it. That adds alot of versitility to the light! The Inova XO3 is good if you want to reach out and touch someone.

Ron

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Misc/DSCN5624_edited-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Misc/DSCN5625_edited-1.jpg

[Kn00b]

This forum has got me branching off and I'm thinking about picking up one of these. How do you like the EDC?

[ront]

The EDC is an awesome light! Very useable and a great carry size.

Ron

[zenheretic]

The EDC is an awesome light! Very useable and a great carry size.

Ron
Don't know much about the flashlights...what are the specs on the EDC? What is the maker's name or is it EDC? :confused:

[spyderknut]

Zen:
http://www.hdssystems.com/

I need an EDC. Waiting for the 85 to become available again.

[TheKnifeCollector]

You are a lucky guy getting an HDS!! That is MY Holy Grail of flashlights!! That is a sweet flashlight collection.

[zenheretic]

Zen:
http://www.hdssystems.com/

I need an EDC. Waiting for the 85 to become available again.
Wow makes me wonder why anyone would bother with other lights once they had that little beauty. :)

[ront]

The U60XR was my last purchase. If it had been my first, I probably would not have all of the others. It is not the brightest light I have, but it is amazing what it is capable of. Although, the L4 and the U2 are also pretty sweet!
The U85 does sound very nice, but not available right now, as you said spyderknut. It was a fair amount more also.

Ron

[zenheretic]

Yeah this growing flashlight madness is rather fun. So much new technology out there. The main features I like are the units that run the longest on the same battery and those that are the brightest on the same battery...now if we could only get both in one package. Some of the four cell Leds can run for like a month on 4 D batteries! Then of course there are the 300lumen retina burners! WEeeeeee!

[ghostrider]

Congrats on the EDC Ron, as well as the budding collection.

I seem to be accumulating torches myself although not as nice as yours. That EDC does look pretty sweet.

[ront]

I think I will stop with the lights now. The little EDC is a pretty impressive light! It is amazing what it will do. It is not the brightest light I have (although it is no slouch aeither) but for it's size, it does very well!!

Ron

[Ted]

I think I will stop with the lights now. The little EDC is a pretty impressive light! It is amazing what it will do. It is not the brightest light I have (although it is no slouch aeither) but for it's size, it does very well!!

Ron

Nice collection. The HDS EDC rocks! I have the Basic 42 which is enough for me. I carry it daily. Only downside is the horrible clip and even more horrible lanyard attachment.

[TheKnifeCollector]

I am just a weeeee bit envious of you guys that have an HDS torches!

[Echo63]

flashlights and spydies seem to go together,
ive got a U2 and an L4, and i love both of them, have you tried running them on pila rechargeable lion batteries ? the L4 especially runs great on them and they work out cheaper in the long run

[ront]

I do need to check into the other battery options. I do have a 2 stage tail switch on the L4 which helps alot. I don't need it full brightness all of the time.

Ron

[ghostrider]

Well Ron,
You inspired me to take a group shot of my modest collection. This excludes my Mag-Lite 3D, and my Energizer 3D, as they are sort of tied up right now.

Hope I'm not breaking any ediqutte here.

[zenheretic]

Cool picture ghostrider! A little to distinguish what is what though.

How do you like the kinetic flashlight? Does it have usable light?

[zenheretic]

Hey Ront, I finally noticed the digital Ultra 2 (U2), how does it compare to the EDC?

After I get one or the other I'm going to stop buying lights.....(yeah riiiiiight).

[ghostrider]

Cool picture ghostrider! A little to distinguish what is what though.

How do you like the kinetic flashlight? Does it have usable light?
Yeah, it's not the best pic, unfortunately it was the best one I took of the group. The detail is terrible. :o

I bought the kinetic flashlight on a whim when I saw it at Wal-Mart. It's beam doesn't seem any better than the $5.00 ones that are just about everywhere, but it does seem of decent construction. It's beam isn't nearly as bright as that of my X1, but then it's mainly for the times when the batteries run out in other lights.

[zenheretic]

I've often wondered if a kinetic would be worth throwing in the car box, as the heat eats normal batteries out here (lucky to get two years out of a car battery in this desert heat. Maybe the quality will improve as sales increase.

[Hillbilly]

one thing to check, we ordered some of those kinetic flashlights in to sell...

the ones we got, wernt actually batteryless. they had two button cells in it.
when the batterys were removed then you get about 5 mins max on the capicitor.

[ront]

ghostrider, you have some very nice lights there! The RR are nice lights for the $$. Is that an Inova X1 and X5? I need to get an X5. What is the light to the left of the G2?
zenheretic, I am not sure how to compare the U2 to the EDC. The U2 is certainly bigger and it is brighter also. It has good throw, but also a pretty good flood. The runtime on the U2 will be longer. On full power it is 60 min vs 30 min on the EDC. Changing the levels of light (6 levels) on the U2 is very straight forward on the U2. It is easy to use and is an outstanding light.
On the other hand the EDC is very small and very easy to carry. For it's size it is also very bright. It has 4 levels of light and the Ultimate series lets you change the brightness of each of those 4 levels. This light does some neat things. You can set it to strobe and send out an SOS signal, as well as just a low level flash of light so if you dropped it at night, it would easier to find. It also is a very outstanding light.
If you went for the U2 and decided to holster it, here are a few pics of a holster I recieved yesterday. It was made by a guy named John Willis. His company is called Special Operations Equipment. His email address is johnwillis@realsoegear.com. He did an outstanding job on this holster for me. I am sure he make many different models for other things.

Ron
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Holster/DSCN5632_edited-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Holster/DSCN5633_edited-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Holster/DSCN5635_edited-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Holster/DSCN5636_edited-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Holster/DSCN5637_edited-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v105/ront1/Surefire/Holster/DSCN5638_edited-1.jpg

[MacTech]

actually, the best kind of "human powered" flashlight is the wind-up dynamo style, turning a crank is more efficient than shaking the light back and forth....

and the Dynamo flashlight *I* have has a handle that doubles as a removable screwdriver, it uses standard size screwdriver bits, so coincidentally, if i want to "cheat" charging the dynamo light, i can simply put a bitdriver in my cordless drill, slide the bitdriver onto the dynamo light's post, and use the drill to quickly spin the dynamo and charge the battery pack....

[ghostrider]

ghostrider, you have some very nice lights there! The RR are nice lights for the $$. Is that an Inova X1 and X5? I need to get an X5. What is the light to the left of the G2?...You should recognize it. It's the same one that is to the right of the G2 in your pic. ;) Brinkman Maxfire LX. The one to the right is the Cyclops Xenon.

[ront]

Ok da, I should have recognized it. Not a bad light at all for $20.

Ron

[ghostrider]

Ok da, I should have recognized it. Not a bad light at all for $20.

Ron
At that price they are just plain fun. :D

Wish I would have bought more Cyclops when I had the chance though. :(

[zenheretic]

ghostrider, you have some very nice lights there! The RR are nice lights for the $$. Is that an Inova X1 and X5? I need to get an X5. What is the light to the left of the G2?
zenheretic, I am not sure how to compare the U2 to the EDC. The U2 is certainly bigger and it is brighter also. It has good throw, but also a pretty good flood. The runtime on the U2 will be longer. On full power it is 60 min vs 30 min on the EDC. Changing the levels of light (6 levels) on the U2 is very straight forward on the U2. It is easy to use and is an outstanding light.
On the other hand the EDC is very small and very easy to carry. For it's size it is also very bright. It has 4 levels of light and the Ultimate series lets you change the brightness of each of those 4 levels. This light does some neat things. You can set it to strobe and send out an SOS signal, as well as just a low level flash of light so if you dropped it at night, it would easier to find. It also is a very outstanding light.
RonT Can you set the EDC to strobe and then hit a push button to activate it? The reason I ask is that Strobing the eyes with a bright light is more effective than a just pushing a blinding white light in their eyes. Would be an awesome feature for those unknowns approaching in a darkened parking garage.

[DaxT1138]

man, all i have is the 3D maglite in my car, a gerber LED thingy on my key chain and a 2AA maglite with the LED upgrade for around the house. what's a good high quality light to try? i don't know anything about xenon bulbs and lithium batteries and all this stuff.

[zenheretic]

man, all i have is the 3D maglite in my car, a gerber LED thingy on my key chain and a 2AA maglite with the LED upgrade for around the house. what's a good high quality light to try? i don't know anything about xenon bulbs and lithium batteries and all this stuff.
This is a good place to start: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html

general rule: xenon bulbs; very bright (to night blind bad guys) and lithium batteries = very bright light that will last an hour or less on $3-$10 worth of batteries :eek:

LED: + lithium= almost as bright, maybe twice as long life same cost in batteries.

LED + old school batteries or some lithium set ups= insane amount of ho hum light (I seen anywhere from 28 hours to 1 month claimed)... ;)

Really Dax your maglights are perfectly fine. Lithium is cool for extra long shelf life (10 years) so if you mix that with LED you get a great emergency light. If you use a flash a lot for mundane things LED bulbs and normal batteries are probably best (rechargeable batteries rock). If you want to blind the bad guy Xenon bulbs and lithium is the way to go...or just for the cool factor. :rolleyes:

[zenheretic]

If you can only afford one light and you want the retina burner this Streamlight has a lot going for it. Insane brightness (100 lumens...most light of this size have maybe 80 if you are lucky), quality manufacture, and a good price.: http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?ttl=Streamlight%20Products&srch=eqCATE%20CODEdatarq%3Dsl%26eqKEYWORDdatarq%3D nightfight

[Plowboy]

Streamlights aren't bad, but I really like Inova flashlights.

They are also affordable.
:)

[ghostrider]

man, all i have is the 3D maglite in my car, a gerber LED thingy on my key chain and a 2AA maglite with the LED upgrade for around the house. what's a good high quality light to try? i don't know anything about xenon bulbs and lithium batteries and all this stuff.
Don't let that 3D go to waste. Take out the D cells and get 4 C cells. You need to turn the spring in the tail cap around, and take out the spare bulb to put the 4 C cells in. Then, go to the hardware store and get a piece of one-inch PVC (7 1/4-inch lonng). Use that as a sleeve inside for the C cells. Run the stock bulb, or go to Radio Shack and get the "XPR103" bulb (it's better). It's for 3 D cells. This will improve the run time, and the output. This is a modification that will show cool results, and only cost the price of the C cells (which you'd pay for the D cells anyway), the PVC (less than $1), and the XPR103 bulb (probably about $3). You'll be glad you did it.

Then get some Krylon, Crystal Clear Acrylic paint, and stipple your reflector. That will clean up that nasty "Mag beam". Clear contact paper on the lense also works, but will cut down on output. Cut a 1/4-inch hole in the center of the contact paper will give a little more throw.

"Good, high quality" is a matter of perspective. How much do you want to spend. For $17 USD, you can get the Brinkman Maxfire LX at Target. They also are reported to have some lights marked down right now. There are A LOT of good inexpensive lights out there. It's just a matter of what is best for you.

[MacTech]

another nice thing about the Brinkmann Maxfire LX is that you can take the reflector (secured by the black plastic retaining ring) out and drop in a SureFire P60 or P61 lamp assembly, you'll get a SureFire quality beam in an inexpensive beater light....

that's what i plan to do when the Maxfire bulb burns out, drop i one of my spare P60's

[ront]

WOW ghostrider, I have to give your Maglite mod a try one of these days. You have done someresearch there :) cool!!
Zen, I don't think you can program the light to strobe and then just activate it with the push of a button. I could be wrong though. I don't remeber reading anything about that. I don't think it stobes fast enough to be used as a defensive tool, although the brightness will work. I think the strobe is used more as a tool to use if you are lost or something.
MacTech, you are correct in what you say about the Brinkmann. In some ways though, I kinda prefer the beam of my Brinkmann over the Surefire G2. Seems strange to me but true.

Ron

[MacTech]

that *is* strange, i *hate* the beam on the Maxfire, artifacty and full of holes when compared to a P60/61 based SureFire, still better than a maglite though

i actually went so far as to paint the inside of the reflector of the Maxfire with GITD paint, so when i light up the flashlight it charges up the glow paint, i lost a *little* bit of throw, but it has a much smoother beam pattern now, almost SureFire-esque

some other quick n' easy mods i've performed....

for a Mini-Mag, do a google search for the MJLED bulb, it's a small side-emitting LED that replaces the minimag's incandescent bulb, you do have to drill your reflector out to 5-6MM, just take a few drill bits of increasing sizes and slowly and carefully turn them by hand to ream out the opening, once the reflector is drilled out, pop the MJLED in, and you get a brighter bulb that's practically indestructible, and you still retain the ability to focus the minimag

for a 3-C or D cell Maglite (or a 2D with 3 C-cells and spacer), go to Sears and pick up their 3 AAA "Endurable" Luxeon LED worklight, it's usually around $20 or so, unscrew the head and remove the bulb (it's a Luxeon 1 watt LED in a standard PR base), remove the Maglite's bulb and drop in the Sears LED module, you've just created an LED Maglite that's brighter than it's stock form *and* with killer battery life (30+ hours or more), and the best thing about it is the bulb should *never* break when the light is dropped and the bulb will never burn out...

[deeker]

Streamlights aren't bad, but I really like Inova flashlights.

They are also affordable.
:)
I agree - very good for the money spent.

I enjoy reading about the modifications you can perform as well. I will be looking into a couple of them! Any others? Post away! ;)

[zenheretic]

Streamlights aren't bad, but I really like Inova flashlights.

They are also affordable.
:)
I have four Inovas and only one Streamlight at the time of this thread. I like Inovas too.

My point however, is that for the price, and if you want/can only afford one super bright, retina searing light the Streamlight Nightfighter is a great option: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_nightfighter2.htm

I haven't found an Inova that can compete for brightness and price vs the Nightfighter.

The Inova T4 and T5 match the 100 Lumen output. The T4 is rechargable but costs $120-165 from what I've seen. The T5 is $80-120 and takes 3 instead of two Lithium batteries although it claims a longer runtime. Maybe some other brands can compete but from what little I've looked the Nightfighter (100 lumens, $50, two batteries) is a great option for a great price. :)

[ront]

zenheretic, I am looking at that Streamlight Nightfighter. It does look like like a pretty good deal.

Ron

[JD Spydo]

I just love the SUREFIRE rechargables: I have the 9an & the L7 digital. I also have 2 E2d defenders and a 6p. Surefire and Spyderco should do some sort of a collaboration. Great customer support too. SUREFIRE>>> I saw the light!!!!!!!!!!! :cool:

[Plowboy]

My point however, is that for the price, and if you want/can only afford one super bright, retina searing light the Streamlight Nightfighter is a great option: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_nightfighter2.htm

:)

Got you ZH.

The flashlightreview.com site is a good one.

What about the 21 LED light Sia has.

:)

[zenheretic]

Got you ZH.

The flashlightreview.com site is a good one.

What about the 21 LED light Sia has.

:)
Well it has to be quality based on who bought it...

[Plowboy]

Well it has to be quality based on who bought it...


For sure! :)