My new torch

[45Flipper]

Evening gents

I’m just about to buy myself a Fenix pd35 and I want to get some 18650 batteries. I would like 3500mah if I can get it, but there are so many brands and chargers I don’t know where to start.

Can you recommend a good brand of battery and charger to get me started, I was looking to get a couple of batteries to start and take it from there.

Cheers

Flipper

[foiled]

My Hope R4 headtorch has died after 8 years of heavy use.
I used it for trail running, and couldn’t fault it.
Are they still the one to go for, or is there better out there now?
Quality and high output are more important than price
Thanks

[leglessAlex]

45Flipper said:

Evening gents

I’m just about to buy myself a Fenix pd35 and I want to get some 18650 batteries. I would like 3500mah if I can get it, but there are so many brands and chargers I don’t know where to start.

Can you recommend a good brand of battery and charger to get me started, I was looking to get a couple of batteries to start and take it from there.

Cheers

Flipper

XTAR and Nitecore are the two chargers I have, a VC2 and an i2.

For the cells, I generally use Panasonic NCR18650B in either Protected or Unprotected form. LG, Fenix, Olight and Samsung all do reliable cells, although I'm not sure they all do 3500mah, mine tend to be 3400mah.

The general advice is do not buy anything with 'fire' in the name.

[philv]

[quote=C&C]

S11Steve said:

My first foray into "proper" torches arrived this morning.... A BLF Q8



I've got various AAA and AA T6 LED torches, and an 18650 powered head torch that I use for aquarium sump duties. I had a maglite-alike that took 3x 18650s that died whilst camping last month, so thought I'd spend a bit more on something more robust.

It feels nice and solid, and for the size of it it is stupidly bright. As soon as the 4 dots have disappeared from my field of vision I'll have a proper play with it.

It's a really good torch if a little heavy when fully loaded with 4 x 18650 batteries. I guess if worried about the weight and not worried too much about run-time, one could put less batteries in it - due to the clever design it will work at the same brightness with 1, 2, 3, or 4 x 18650s, not that I ever will though!
As you say, stupidly bright.

I started out with quite a few cheap LED torches a while back, but found the quality unsurprisingly lacking, with several switches failing. I then decided that you have to pay for a quality product so went to more established names.

Since then, I have to say that despite being an Olight fan (really like the tiny S1 baton), and also having several other torches Nitecore HC30 headtorch, Klarus XT12GT (great throw), the BLF torches are a remarkable combination of quality and value for money. I also have the smaller BLF A6 XPL.

.
.
.
I have night blndness.
I need a torch to ger around outside at night.
I don’t need to see 20 meters away.
Inneed to see the 2 to 3 meters in front of my feet about 1 meter wide, as bright as possible.
I need it to last an hiur or so.

Is this torch a good choice?

I currently use a snaller cree.
But becoming less useful with deteriorating eyesight.

Edited by philv on Friday 30th November 20:07

[E65Ross]

RizzoTheRat said:

E65Ross said:

Do Olight, or some other good company, do a powerful (eg 1500 lumens) like suitable for a bike light? Company I traditionally use make this

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/exposure-strada-mk9-road-s...

Which is quite pricey....but they are a very good brand of lights and the build quality is superb. I'd need a light which is no longer (in terms of size) than that, can be mounted to handlebars, has an internal rechargeable battery with a decent run-time.

Thanks!

Cateye Volt 1700 might be worth a look. I've got the 800 and it gives plenty of light for me but doesn't penetrate as far as you might want for fast road cycling.

Thanks. Much cheaper but still seems quite expensive when you can get a decent general torch for half the price with a greater lumen output. I guess the issue with somehow making up your own bracket is having a torch which doesn't have a "road" pattern, and may dazzle other drivers? Not sure....if angled correctly, shouldn't be an issue?

I'm doing a monster bike event in April and I will likely need a 2nd light as my current light will only last 12 hours on dim, and I expect to be in darkness for around that sort of time, and prefer to use a light even in daylight too (for being more visible).....so I could do with another light anyway, and rather than getting a small one, in many ways I'd rather one at least as bright as my current one (1200 lumens).

Any other suggestions? Seems like all of the decent output lights which can be mounted onto a bike are really expensive compared to general torches with similar, or higher, output.

I'm not averse to spending money where needed, but it is annoying when you can get general torches for much less, yet bike lights are much more expensive. I wonder why?!

[45Flipper]

leglessAlex said:

XTAR and Nitecore are the two chargers I have, a VC2 and an i2.

For the cells, I generally use Panasonic NCR18650B in either Protected or Unprotected form. LG, Fenix, Olight and Samsung all do reliable cells, although I'm not sure they all do 3500mah, mine tend to be 3400mah.

The general advice is do not buy anything with 'fire' in the name.

Thanks Legless, I had put an i2 charger in my basket in Amazon before posting in here. What website do you get your batteries from?

Flipper

[leglessAlex]

45Flipper said:

leglessAlex said:

XTAR and Nitecore are the two chargers I have, a VC2 and an i2.

For the cells, I generally use Panasonic NCR18650B in either Protected or Unprotected form. LG, Fenix, Olight and Samsung all do reliable cells, although I'm not sure they all do 3500mah, mine tend to be 3400mah.

The general advice is do not buy anything with 'fire' in the name.

Thanks Legless, I had put an i2 charger in my basket in Amazon before posting in here. What website do you get your batteries from?

Flipper

Well, I often get my cells from Amazon and hope for the best. A bit of careful buying means you should get legit batteries, but it's never guaranteed.

These are the ones I have:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Battery-NCR1865...

Well, I actually have the protected ones, but if you are using decent quality torches and chargers then you shouldn't need protected cells. Indeed, the protection system can often interfere with the high discharge needed for these crazy bright lights apparently.

Maybe some else can chime in that has more experience, they can certainly be had cheaper but it's a minefield out there. 300bhp/ton knows his stuff about batteries and torches as far as I know.

[silverthorn2151]

I generally buy my batteries from Torchy, The Battery Boy. He used to sell via eBay but now has a shop.

http://www.torchy.co.uk

Not studied them but he spends a lot of time on bike lights, for those who were discussing them a while ago here.

His b!og is a study of batteries etc and is worth a look at too.

http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com

[E65Ross]

silverthorn2151 said:

I generally buy my batteries from Torchy, The Battery Boy. He used to sell via eBay but now has a shop.

http://www.torchy.co.uk

Not studied them but he spends a lot of time on bike lights, for those who were discussing them a while ago here.

His b!og is a study of batteries etc and is worth a look at too.

http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com

Thanks for those links. The only thing I don't like is having a separate battery pack. They always rattle a little bit, and just don't look that neat IMO, I'd personally rather one with a rechargeable built-in battery if possible

They also don't seem to actually have any of the brighter lights in stock

Edited by E65Ross on Saturday 1st December 09:09

[silverthorn2151]

fk it. Come to Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights and forget to heing at least one of the 40 torches I have!

fk it.

[tenohfive]

silverthorn2151 said:

fk it. Come to Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights and forget to heing at least one of the 40 torches I have!

fk it.

There's a torch for that:
https://lightsngear.com/jetbeam-jet-ii-pro-flashli...

(Key ring torch)

[defblade]

AlasdairMc said:

Thoughts on the Nitecore TUP? Link: https://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/tup

I have a TIP, and it’s been invaluable for outdoor stuff - much more than just a keyring light. I’ve used it as a backup mountain biking light when my main light failed. The TUP seems a noticeable amount bigger (for a light that will live on my keys) but with better output and battery life. Unsure if I can justify it, but this is PH...

Thoughts? No way I can really justify it, so I might have accidentally asked for one for Christmas
I like the look of it and hope to God I won't find it too bulky on my keys...

[leglessAlex]

silverthorn2151 said:

fk it. Come to Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights and forget to heing at least one of the 40 torches I have!

fk it.

Did you like it?

My girlfriend and I went on Wednesday, I brought a C8 with me but ended up not using it, the lighting was adequate. And I say that as someone wearing prosthetics and having to really be on the lookout for potholes!

[PugwasHDJ80]

Does anyone know of a cheapish but bright 18650 with a remote push button? i'd like to be able to dim the light for night time riding- some of these torces are too bllinding for traffic coming the other way so i'd like a "dip" beam.

[carinatauk]

E65Ross said:

Do Olight, or some other good company, do a powerful (eg 1500 lumens) like suitable for a bike light? Company I traditionally use make this

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/exposure-strada-mk9-road-s...

Which is quite pricey....but they are a very good brand of lights and the build quality is superb. I'd need a light which is no longer (in terms of size) than that, can be mounted to handlebars, has an internal rechargeable battery with a decent run-time.

Thanks!

Might be worth looking at these before spending lots.

https://uk.gearbest.com/bike-lights-c_11508/

Some good, some crap

[silverthorn2151]

leglessAlex said:

silverthorn2151 said:

fk it. Come to Kew Gardens for the Christmas lights and forget to heing at least one of the 40 torches I have!

fk it.

Did you like it?

My girlfriend and I went on Wednesday, I brought a C8 with me but ended up not using it, the lighting was adequate. And I say that as someone wearing prosthetics and having to really be on the lookout for potholes!

Apologies for taking thus slightly OT.

We love it. Been for the last 3 year's now and its a real highlight for us. We drive round and eat locally. We go for a late entry to hopefully let the crowds die down but this year it seemed very busy. Not as good as last year in my view but the laser garden and tree with 10000 lights were breathtaking. Thankfully most of the pushchair pushers just want to watch the display over the lake so we found some real peaceful parts.

I had several small but bright Olights ready to slip into my jacket pocket which would have been useful but the place is well lit where it needs to be.

A yearly highlight for us and it kicks off the festive spirit.

[Squadrone Rosso]

Anyone got experience with the Maglite Mag Tac rechargeable?

Thinking of adding one to my Xmas list / to my collection

[V8RX7]

Squadrone Rosso said:

Anyone got experience with the Maglite Mag Tac rechargeable?

Thinking of adding one to my Xmas list / to my collection

A quick google suggests 500 lumen so it'll be as crap and overpriced as all the other maglites IME

They were good in the 90's compared to the £5 ones in woolworths but things have moved on !

I recently bought the BLF A6 1600 lumen which goes well with my Convoy L6 3800 lumen

[Sardonicus]

V8RX7 said:

A quick google suggests 500 lumen so it'll be as crap and overpriced as all the other maglites IME

They were good in the 90's compared to the £5 ones in woolworths but things have moved on !

I recently bought the BLF A6 1600 lumen which goes well with my Convoy L6 3800 lumen

This ^ its their down fall IMO "Keep up at the back" they chose not to

[nanodex]

I thought getting a new torch would be a simple business, and quickly found myself completely bewildered with the options! I'm after a replacement for a Nightsearcher Trio which I've been using as my dog walking torch (rural Wales) but which is beginning to fail - the batteries drain very quickly these days. Obviously I'm after an upgrade... Ideally I'd get something with a dock where I could leave it charging, and just grab it when I go out. At a minimum it would have a charge level indicator as I'm getting fed up with the current one's habit of just switching off mid walk.

A lot of very small torches these days have a lumen output far in excess of the trio's - would something like the Olight s2r be a good choice? Not that the torch needs to be small, it's just that all the ones I've seen with docks or charging brackets seem to be.

Thanks!