My new torch

[300bhp/ton]

V8RX7 said:

Without reading through the last 71 pages...

I bought an LED Lenser a couple of years ago for £25ish but I then found the cheap torches on Ebay from China and bought a couple of £3 ones and I have to say that they are only slightly inferior (great to leave in the car).

I'm now looking for torch that will give me better range and illumination, I used to use the type you plug into a car with a 7" reflector. I don't care if it only lasts 5 mins I just want to search the garden (200m) from the bedroom window if I hear a noise.

Will a £15 3x Cree LED do the job:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271986845734

or is there something better that isn't more than 3x the price ?

Depends what you want from the beam. For distance a large reflector and single LED will throw better. Multi LED setups tend to have smaller reflectors, so are more flooders.

The torch you linked too will likely throw out a load of light, but it'll be more flood than throw. As for the torch itself it's using out dated emitters. And be warned the Chinese often lie about lumen outputs.

A single XM-L T6 at max output is probably about 900 lumens or so. And I'd bet a lot that it won't be driving them that hard. 500-600 lumens per LED is far more likely (maybe less). So chances are it'll be 1000-1500 lumens max. Still bright, but a far cry from what it claims.


Personally if you want a bit of throw, take a look at this:

http://intl-outdoor.com/xintd-c8-v5-xpg2-s4-multio...

Pretty much the same money, but you'll get a quality torch in return. And one small enough to pocket should you want too.

Make sure you use a quality 18650 and not a cheap nasty one.


The XinTD XP-G2 won't put out as much light, but it'll focus it into a tight beam and out throw the one you linked too. So light up a smaller area, but at a greater distance.


The next step up would be to go for something like this:
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10008281/17425...

It's slightly more money and a bigger torch, much bigger reflector. Note you'll want a 26650 rather than an 18650 with this though.

[300bhp/ton]

DDg said:

And a question from me...

I've a 7 year old Surefire 6P (120 lumens iirc) and a 2 year old P2X Fury (500 lumens). Question is, where do I go from here when I need to upgrade? I like the quality of Surefire and feel a brand loyalty (so maybe the P3X Fury?), but the need for CR123A batteries bugs me.

What other brands / model will give me the quality, more light and maybe rechargeable batteries, without being much bigger and can be carried in my case at work? SPEND MY MONEY!

I'm sure Surefire are fine things, but I honestly don't understand the pricing or the fornicating they get at CPF over them. You can get way more performance for hugely less money.

If you like the form factor, take a look at Solorforce:
http://solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product.php?...

However unless you want to run 2xCR123a don't go for Solarforce p60 drop ins.

Buy these drop in's instead:
http://intl-outdoor.com/p60-c-143.html

As good quality as anyone and great price.


As for other good lights, loads. In the premium market check out:

-Eagletac
-Olight
-Fenix
-Zebralight

And many others.

And a high hitting budget brand, check out Convoy:
http://www.banggood.com/buy/convoy.html

You'll be gob-smacked at how good they are.

[tenohfive]

300bhp/ton said:

The next step up would be to go for something like this:
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10008281/17425...

It's slightly more money and a bigger torch, much bigger reflector. Note you'll want a 26650 rather than an 18650 with this though.

That would be where my money went, although I'd manage fine with my £11 Jacob A60 if it's a 200m garden. Actually, that's a lie - if I had a 200m garden I'd use it as an excuse to get an Olight M3XS-UT Javelot. (Well out of budget.)

defblade said:

tenohfive said:

I came on here looking for one, low output torch (around 120 lumens.) I've ended up with 3900 lumens:

That can happen...

EEeerk.

Another 1900 lumens on order.

I solemnly swear I will stop after this...until the next bargain comes along.

[300bhp/ton]

tenohfive said:

[

That would be where my money went, although I'd manage fine with my £11 Jacob A60 if it's a 200m garden. Actually, that's a lie - if I had a 200m garden I'd use it as an excuse to get an Olight M3XS-UT Javelot. (Well out of budget.)

.

I think sadly the A60 is out of stock everywhere now. I have one and it's awesome. But very much single use only and a very cool white tint.

However I do have the MX3S and it is the friggin muts nuts!!!

[V8RX7]

300bhp/ton said:

V8RX7 said:

I'm now looking for torch that will give me better range and illumination, I used to use the type you plug into a car with a 7" reflector. I don't care if it only lasts 5 mins I just want to search the garden (200m) from the bedroom window if I hear a noise.

Depends what you want from the beam. For distance a large reflector and single LED will throw better. Multi LED setups tend to have smaller reflectors, so are more flooders.

The torch you linked too will likely throw out a load of light, but it'll be more flood than throw. As for the torch itself it's using out dated emitters. And be warned the Chinese often lie about lumen outputs.

A single XM-L T6 at max output is probably about 900 lumens or so. And I'd bet a lot that it won't be driving them that hard. 500-600 lumens per LED is far more likely (maybe less). So chances are it'll be 1000-1500 lumens max. Still bright, but a far cry from what it claims.

I'd like the effect of those seachlights they use in WW2 - in a smaller package.

I'm aware they all exaggerate, making it hard to make a decision. I'd prefer a larger reflector, it doesn't have to be easily portable.

I have some 18650 batteries I've salvaged from my laptop so would like to use them if possible or 12v - I've loads of them from the kids electric toys.

[markmullen]

My Olight Marauder X6 is great for flood but I wanted something with a little more throw.

I found a Xenonics Nighthunter 2 Covert Package on ebay. These are proper HID, like xenon headlights, and were around $2000 US new. The one I bought has been on patrol in Iraq. I knew I had to have one when I found it came in its own Peli case. It's like this http://home.earthlink.net/~kenshiro2/superlights/n...

I'll report back when it arrives.

[Pesty]

It's been a while since I bought some 18650 batteries seems to be a lot of different names now and a lot of very high claimed mAh written on them.

Anybody suggest a good compromise for price and performance?

Edited by Pesty on Sunday 27th September 23:39

[rhinochopig]

markmullen said:

My Olight Marauder X6 is great for flood but I wanted something with a little more throw.

I found a Xenonics Nighthunter 2 Covert Package on ebay. These are proper HID, like xenon headlights, and were around $2000 US new. The one I bought has been on patrol in Iraq. I knew I had to have one when I found it came in its own Peli case. It's like this http://home.earthlink.net/~kenshiro2/superlights/n...

I'll report back when it arrives.

Be careful with HIDs in torches. Once ignited you are better off leaving them on as it's the stop start that kills the bulbs - and they used to be VERY expensive to replace. I have a very expensive L&M MTB light from back in the day and they're a cracking bit of kit but not as robust as a modern LED.

I used to use mine for SAR as well and was always very careful about not knocking it about.

[markmullen]

rhinochopig said:

Be careful with HIDs in torches. Once ignited you are better off leaving them on as it's the stop start that kills the bulbs - and they used to be VERY expensive to replace. I have a very expensive L&M MTB light from back in the day and they're a cracking bit of kit but not as robust as a modern LED.

I used to use mine for SAR as well and was always very careful about not knocking it about.

Good call thanks.

The Olight is proving invaluable but every now and again we need a really long throw illuminated and it is too floody for that.

[300bhp/ton]

V8RX7 said:

I'd like the effect of those seachlights they use in WW2 - in a smaller package.

I'm aware they all exaggerate, making it hard to make a decision. I'd prefer a larger reflector, it doesn't have to be easily portable.

I have some 18650 batteries I've salvaged from my laptop so would like to use them if possible or 12v - I've loads of them from the kids electric toys.

The Olight MX3S is likely your best bet, but quite a bit more money than the torch you posted.

Budget lights are great, but to get the high performance from them you'll have to mod them. Nothing stock comes close the MX3S in the budget arena and there aren't even many premium ones either.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with either of the torches I posted up however.

As for batteries, salvaged 18650's can be fine. But you really need to know what they are and if they can maybe deliver the amps. A week battery will never deliver the full potential. Batteries are cheap too, under £10 will get you a couple of good ones.

[rhinochopig]

markmullen said:

rhinochopig said:

Be careful with HIDs in torches. Once ignited you are better off leaving them on as it's the stop start that kills the bulbs - and they used to be VERY expensive to replace. I have a very expensive L&M MTB light from back in the day and they're a cracking bit of kit but not as robust as a modern LED.

I used to use mine for SAR as well and was always very careful about not knocking it about.

Good call thanks.

The Olight is proving invaluable but every now and again we need a really long throw illuminated and it is too floody for that.

We used to call in Rescue 137 for that with their FLIR

Are you involved with York's new search boat then Mark?

[300bhp/ton]

Pesty said:

It's been a while since I bought some 18650 batteries seems to be a lot of different names now and a lot of very high claimed mAh written on them.

Anybody suggest a good compromise for price and performance?

Edited by Pesty on Sunday 27th September 23:39

The battery world is vast and honestly you are better off doing a little research, and learning some of the basics.

Capacity mAh really isn't the be all. Think of it like a petrol tank in a car. Would having a 20 gallon tank over a 15 gallon tank really make one car better performing than the other?

The same is true with batteries, unless you need the biggest runtimes, don't worry too much about capacity. How they perform is far more important.

Also don't forget many cheap Chinese brands totally lie about mAh.

High capacity 18650's max out at about 3400mAh. Anything higher and you'll really want to look closer to see if it's true or not.

Most 3400mAh 18650's however are moderate to low performance batteries.

High performance 18650's tend to be 2500-3000mAh. High performance is the amount of amps they can handle and offer.

High output lights might pull 3 - 5 amps. For this kind of amp draw you'll want a good battery, even more so if you want to be able to sustain the output. This is where it gets confusing. On high demand applications, a lower mAh battery that can handle high amps may give you longer 'high' output runtime than a high capacity battery.

If however you like to use low output modes on the torch, then a high capacity battery will give the best runtimes.

[markmullen]

rhinochopig said:

We used to call in Rescue 137 for that with their FLIR

Are you involved with York's new search boat then Mark?

Lead Coxswain, Trustee and Procurement Officer (that said I'm better at spending my own money on shiny things like this than the charity money)

We've got thermal imaging on board, it's really handy for searching the river.

[rhinochopig]

markmullen said:

rhinochopig said:

We used to call in Rescue 137 for that with their FLIR

Are you involved with York's new search boat then Mark?

Lead Coxswain, Trustee and Procurement Officer (that said I'm better at spending my own money on shiny things like this than the charity money)

Good effort. Tell me about it. Being in SRMRT used to cost me a fortune in gear.

It's well needed as we used to have call on Swaledale (IIRC) for their boat when doing water searches through York (e.g. Claudia) . Gruesome job though pulling out a body that's been in the river for a period of time, which was typically what we'd be faced with by the time we were called. At least you should get the joy of finding them blue and shivering.

How do you work with Plod / Fire and the MR teams for searches?

[markmullen]

rhinochopig said:

with Plod / Fire and the MR teams for searches?

We've an MOU with FRS on how we work together. Cops are far more relaxed and just give us a shout. We've been stood by to help SRMRT on a couple of searches but been stood down before it all kicked off. We've got level 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician course coming up which should be fun.

[rhinochopig]

markmullen said:

rhinochopig said:

with Plod / Fire and the MR teams for searches?

We've an MOU with FRS on how we work together. Cops are far more relaxed and just give us a shout. We've been stood by to help SRMRT on a couple of searches but been stood down before it all kicked off. We've got level 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician course coming up which should be fun.

Awesome. I really enjoyed the bit I did. It was great fun watching some of the members attempting to accurately lob a throw-line and trying to work out rope vectors in fast flowing water. And yes we did have a couple of throw-lines lobbed without the end being held onto

[HotJambalaya]

are any of these adjustable? something usable and normal for walking the dog, that can then be cranked up to be silly with? not rechargeable, but running on (any form of) disposable batteries.

Also, what were the cheap jobbies that people liked, stuff to just leave in the car etc.

[DannyScene]

HotJambalaya said:

are any of these adjustable? something usable and normal for walking the dog, that can then be cranked up to be silly with? not rechargeable, but running on (any form of) disposable batteries.

Also, what were the cheap jobbies that people liked, stuff to just leave in the car etc.

I use a Cree T6 if I want something with varying light outputs(it has 5 modes iirc) and zoom-able light, I use it with rechargeable 18650 batteries but you can get a AAA converter for them

I keep a Cree Q5 and spare batteries in the car at all times just in case, this uses AA batteries

[Pesty]

300bhp/ton said:

Lower level Led Lenser don't do charging. Normally the models with the suffix 'R' for Rechargeable have some sort of inbuilt charging. But they are often horrendously expensive.

Klarus to some nice lights with inbuilt chargers:
http://www.klaruslight.com/plist.php?id=49&lge...

Right that's another 70 quid up the spout damn this thread


http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_126323....

And one of these

http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_112105....

And 20 quids worth of batteries

fk sake I don't need no more torches

Edited by Pesty on Thursday 15th October 19:35

[Avidfanofstuff]

Pesty said:

fk sake I don't need no more torches

Edited by Pesty on Thursday 15th October 19:35

You can never, ever have enough torches.