One of the few electronic things I use for bowhunting is a flashlight for going in and out when it gets dark. I was given a Surefire. (I think that was the name). That darn thing was amazing. I can't go backward in flashlight technology now! What brands are equal or better than that? Do any cost less?
Tedd
None, those are the bomb. I have the E2L
Best torch I ever used for blood trailing
I have a surefire and a streamlight. The streamlight is much better and brighter. You can find them affordably on amazon.
Eagle tac, jetbeam, 4sevens quark, nitcore, zebralight. everyone of these lights have better technology, longer runtimes, better output settings that surfire. Prices range from 50-100 bucks depending on model. all are waterproof, shockproof and made out of aluminum with scratchproof crystals. Awesome lights! my favorite is the eagletac d25c and d25c2.
I am releasing a podcast on flashlights, headlamps and lanters on wednesday and a video about showing the differences on thursday.
Nothing against surefire. i have owned 4 of them. but in my opinion you money is better spent on one of these others as they are beeter in many ways, just as reliable, and cost upto 4 times less.
I have a surefire that i was issued by good ole uncle sam. I am not much of a fan of it. The batteries are expensive and the battery life is horrible. I got me on of the led mag light from walmart for about $30. It seems brighter and battery life is alot better. Also like txag said the stream lights are not priced to bad and are really bright.
Fenix has lights from small to large. Check their homepage.
I have two rayovac head lamps, they take one AA, and last several trips, they are on there site. its the one that has flip up lens to break up the led, I may buy three and store them away, like I should have done with the cv17 herters.
I get by with a 2-AA LED min LED mag light. Lots of light with high low settings and emergency strobe and SOS. $20 something.
Just bought a $14.88 Rayovac from wally world and it is supposed to be rated for 30' impact drop. So far it's holding up well and has a dual beam steeing for bright and lower for longer battery life. I have a Stinger and yes, they are expensive, and the recharge life on the batteries are OK, but not great.
There are loads of less expensive alternatives out there for $30 or less.
I am a big fan of the Fenix light. I always carry two. PD30 is the model, check out brothersofthebow, best light out there IMO
chris <><
QuoteOriginally posted by Onions:
I am a big fan of the Fenix light. I always carry two. PD30 is the model, check out brothersofthebow, best light out there IMO
chris <><
I believe this is the model I carry, as well. I really like it but got it late last year, so don't have much time with it to comment on battery life, etc.
The key is to make sure whatever you get is LED!!!! LED does not have the short run time of Xenon (standard white light).....your batteries will last longer. LED is a not a bulb, so it will not break if you drop it...its a diode and will not need to be replaced. There are many fairly bright LED flashlights out there now that will run on regular alkaline batteries....so you are not limited to 123 lithiums ($$$) Too many pros to LED....I would never buy a flashlight that wasnt!
Oh, and just an observation I have made....shine a xenon surefire or whatever on a animal....see how they react....then shine an LED on them and notice the LED does not seem to spook them anywhere as bad. Fox and coyote will just continue along without even looking your direction , when you have that LED in their face. Not so with regular white light. Just something Ive noticed.
I have a 4sevens AA Quark that I might be convinced to let go of for the right price.
homebru
Fenix with 2-AA batteries.
I second "Onions" comment! Fenix PD30 is the bomb. Brothersofthebow.com
Absolutely amazing and lasts hours. It will light up the night if you want
QuoteOriginally posted by Onions:
I am a big fan of the Fenix light. I always carry two. PD30 is the model, check out brothersofthebow, best light out there IMO
chris <><
Times 3 plus I use rechargeable batteries.
the pd30 is no longer made. if you want a fenix the pd35 is the one to get. its very similar stats to the eagletac d25c2 that i mentioned.
Like i said flashlight technogy moves so fast! As an exampe the pd30 was a 240lumen light and the pd35 is a 850 turbo/450 high, lumen light. I should of mentioned fenix in my first post but forgot about them. If you are looking at fenix, i also give them a thumbs up as a great light. My favorite is still the eagletac d25lc2. and the d25c (single cell) is a wicked light that is small enought to fit on a key ring but more powerful than most lights out there.
I carry a Fenix everywhere I.go. cant tell you if its better than what you've had but I cant break it and it has never let me down.
Ultrafire are one tenth the price and just as good. Check the big auction site.
I just published the podcast about this. its episode 12 flashlights, headlamps and lanterns.
I know its a day earlier than its suppose to publish but figured it might give you some ideas and suggestions on what to look for in a light.
http://tbwpodcast.com/episode-12-flashlights-headlamps-and-lanterns/
Jason...just listened to the podcast. Great stuff!!! You gotta take a drink of water once in a while!!! What was the headlamp you recommended so highly. Guess I should have taken notes!! Thanks again.
Fenix- 1/3rd the cost- just as bright- lighter- and long battery life
And Barry might tell u a joke if you order one
Fenix with 2 AA batteries.
I use the Browning Nitro-Max:
- hi beam white lite good for 50 yds
- lo beam white lite
- green lite
- red lite
I bought a twin pack at Sams
Safari brand?
3 settings
Low
HI
and strobe
uses AAA batteries
very good for the money (30 for 2)
I have a Pelican that is brighter but batteries are higher and last less.
A couple years ago, after a lot of debating, I finally bought the fenix pd30. This past year , I bought the fenix pd 32. After seeing how great of a light they are, three of my buddies bought them as well. Small and bright. Great flashlights.
I use a Surefire for work and have often thought of replacing it with a Fenix due to battery life. Im thinking sooner than later after reading up on them a lot. When Surefires 1st hit the market they were among the best but no longer.
I've got a Surefire Executive Elite E2 that I bought about ten years ago, amazing product. I'm still on the original bulb and for me the batteries give me great life. The only downside is you can't buy the batteries at the hardware store. They keep well though, I bought a few extras and they are still fine after several years in the frig. The Executive Elite also makes a great light to have on the bed stand next to a 1911.
For walking in and out though, and really most any hunting situation, I much prefer a headlamp so I have both hands free. The flashlight usually just rides along in my pack. If I could only have one light source it would be a good quality headlamp...but then I'd never walk into the woods without a backup light.
I did not find your light, but did find your Motorola radio last weekend!.
agree-LED is the light
I use the ones Gene and Barry sell. Unbelievable.
I have the fenex and just picked up a Olight that puts out 300 lumens with two AA akaline batteries.
QuoteOriginally posted by Onions:
I am a big fan of the Fenix light. I always carry two. PD30 is the model, check out brothersofthebow, best light out there IMO
chris <><
X2 :thumbsup:
Fenix has even better models now
PD30 fenix Hands down the best light I have ever bought..
Larry
I ordered the PD 35. Thanks for the help. How long can you use them on the higher settings before they get too hot?
Tedd
you will love the pd35. i dont own one but its very similar to the one i use. the heat factor after about 2 mins of runtime on turbo mode gets warm but not uncomfortable hot. its actually feels good on cold tracking nights. I might be mistaken but i think turbo mode will scale down the output thru out the cycle to maintain a certain heat temp. so even thought it is 850 at first in might drop to say 600 to cool. I dont know this for a fact as i dont have a fenix myself but many other lights use that kind of technology. i can run my very similar light bowfishing and after a straight hour on its not that warm.
Bottom line is you just bought an amazing light that you will love! Congrats.
LOVE my Fenix lights!!!
I too have the Fenix PD30 that I got from Barry Wensel at a show, it is totally great, not hard at all on batteries.
QuoteOriginally posted by TxAg:
I have a surefire and a streamlight. The streamlight is much better and brighter. You can find them affordably on amazon.
X2 the streamlight. Had 2 surefires and had to take both back. Bulbs would burn out. Won't by another.
If the beam shows a center dark spot when shining on the ground I won't buy it and no LED. LED's are the worst for tracking. Best tracking light is a Coleman gas lantern.
My current favorite light is an Olight Warrior, but I tend to favor lights powered by CR123's or 18650 batteries. Just so much more power and battery life than AA or AAA, while staying compact.
Can't really go wrong with Olight, Fenix, Jetbeam, 4Sevens, Streamlight.
The dark spot in the center is often a result of the reflector design more than the bulb.
LB_hntr thanks for the pod cast. Will your video have more on the technical aspects of the lights you listed? That would be great. I don't seem to see as extreme run down of the AA lights in cold weather, but I do see a difference in performance. The info on cost and availability on the CR123 was great. I have been seeing them show up all over and the cost coming down, but still not as interchangeable with my other stuff as you said. Also, I agree with what you said about the standard mini mag. We use a couple the same way, but why not talk about the mini mag LED 70 something lumen multi mode? That is a much better light under $20.
I spent a few hours looking at the lights that LB_hntr had listed. Some need a lot better web sites. I spent way to long on some trying to get details.
The Nitecore could well be my pick if I wanted to push $100 on a light. The ability to set the function, full range variable light level, red and blue light options, and everything else about this light would make a great light. It would be hard to resist if I needed a tactical light that I could set to come on at high or strobe right off. The red and blue light, and ability to adjust to no more or no less light than exactly what you need make it very tempting.
That Eagle Tec D25C mini is a nice light for the price. It would be my pick from what I have seen so far for the most compact light with most features for the lest $, but I like the click option better for function. The click allows you to run on two different modes so you don't have to go through so much to get to some of the functions. The D25C2 is also nice looking for more power and run time.
I have been thinking on and off for quite a while about one of the Fenix PD30 after seeing the brothers with them at the Kzoo expo a while back. I looked at the new models and looks like the PD32 is a nice light for the price in a 2-CR123. The PD22 1-cr123 is also a nice light. I don't see a need to jump to the PD35 unless you want a very high light output. The PD32 has plenty of light for me and more functions for about 1/3 less $.
Right now for what I need, I kind of like the Fenix and Eagle Tec lights the best. Looks very hard to beat the Eagle Tec D25C and C2 mini for price. Once I look at jumping up in cost for the Eagle click, they get very close to the same costs as the Fenix. I kind of lean towards the Fenix because of run times and light levels I would want are the best. The Eagle Tec light levels kind of fall at the extremes of what I think I would want most of the time. The light levels are either kind of low or way more than I need for general utility and navigation use. At the higher outputs I would have to use with the Eagle, I end up with much less run time, but then there is the two mode settings with the Eagle.
I can see why people spend a lot of time messing with these lights and have more than a couple. We sure have come a long way in light technology and quality in a short time.
Like many have said, try a Fenix. Very nice lights, and any size you want.
The best quality flashlights I've had, come from Sniper Hog Lights. The rechargeable batteries have good life & you can use regular batteries in them too.
FENIX all the way, no need to pay Surefire prices.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=66;t=000490
Fenix is the best I've found in my 25 plus years of hunting.
doug77
I just ordered a Fenix HL30 head lamp, 200 lumens.
Should be here any day.Hope I like it.
John
extrema312, I didnt include actual light specs as i didnt want to overwhelm anyone.
I agree some of the sights are hard to navigate to find the specs on different lights. you did it the right way....pick a couple and compare the specs and buy the one thats best for your needs.
I mainly wanted people to know there are some amazing lights out there that blow the doors off of the lights we are used to using. and give some details and info about them and how they work.
Thanks, Jason
I've got two Coleman MAX from Walmart. One uses three AAA and the other two AA. Solid and bright units for under $20. One survived a complete wash/rinse cycle when I forgot to remove it from my fanny pack after last season.
QuoteJust bought a $14.88 Rayovac from wally world and it is supposed to be rated for 30' impact drop. So far it's holding up well and has a dual beam steeing for bright and lower for longer battery life. I have a Stinger and yes, they are expensive, and the recharge life on the batteries are OK, but not great.
I just bought two of these and they are great. They use "AA" batteries. Those "CR123" Batteries are expensive and don't last long. I own Fenix, Streamlight, 511's and surefires. I'm kinda a light junkie. There is for sure better lights out there, but if you are on a budget look at those Rayovacs. They are a great deal and built like a tank, they are bright and have two settings. They have a thumb sensitive button on the back end and use "AA" batteries which is a huge plus. You can get those anywhere and for a great price. The Rayovac's are only like 15 bucks man. Check them out.
two words "REFLECTIVE TAPE"...... makes anything lose-able, find-able..... just use that antique mini-mag thats been in the bottom of your daypack for 15 years to find your "good" flashlight......
Another vote for the 4sevens quark 123 squared. Much better than surefire for less than half the price. I would opt for the non-tactical programming. EagleTec look even better but I've yet to try one.