My new torch

[defblade]

5678 said:

As many before me have said already, I now need to buy a new torch!

So, I want two torches, one big for the house and occasional camping trips. Then another smaller one for walks home from the pub and things like that.
Budget? Say £20-30 each. I'd like them to be fairly robust too.

Any suggestions?

You really only need one, but I know what you mean See 2 recent suggestions above.

Try also this one, which will run on lots of different battery types, does flood-to-throw and is a great all-rounder (most of my Scouts have one now!), or if you'd like POWER (and don't mind investing in new battery tech (this one takes 2 batteries, so to save having to keep an eye on balancing issues, make sure to buy protected cells)) this one will light up your life for, really, very little cash You can buy better, but at the price??!

[Timbuk2]

Waspy1 said:

The CREE XM-L T6 is the brightest LED at the moment, something like this:

http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product_...

I just bought one of these and it is awesome!

[Project C]

defblade said:

Project C said:

Pocket or Keychain I would say - not large, just something to keep in the coat for walking the dog.

This is by far the brightest small/tiny light I've got. Simple screw-the-top-down-to-turn-on function, a quick on/off/on flick changes modes.

Just ordered so will review in 21 days or so!

[Mr Pies]

Timbuk2 said:

Waspy1 said:

The CREE XM-L T6 is the brightest LED at the moment, something like this:

http://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/product_...

I just bought one of these and it is awesome!

Are solar force as well built as my Lenser? Or my Fenix?

I can such a purchase on the cards

[Vespid]

Mr Pies said:

Are solar force as well built as my Lenser? Or my Fenix?

I can see a purchase on the cards

Probably not, but I have three Solarforce torches and I can't fault them.

[Fish]

Right you buggers...

This got me looking at my torches all Maglites and OLD.. Decided to give the minimag with terralux to Lisa for the car. My 2D Mag to my car with LED terralux...

Then I checked my 3D weapon maglite but couldn't get the batteries out, ended up destroying the case as they had blown and welded themselves in, just ordered a new 4D maglite and debating a 1000 lumen upgrade.....

It's sole purpose is checking the fields around the house and should a burglar break in blinding then rendering them useless, hence the newer smaller lighter torches are useless.

Is 1000 lumens going to blind me behind the torch if I switch it on inside, I assume this will temporarily blind an assailant if aimed at their eyes.

Lisa prefers this approach to the shotgun.. less messy.

[audi321]

For those that know, can you give me the 'best that money can buy' recommendation for a thin torch (i.e. one that is about the thickness of a AA battery type)?

I need one for a rifle and I already have a mount which is that thickness. But it needs to be able to have a pressure switch add on it and also have a very focused beam for distance.

Edited by audi321 on Sunday 7th October 22:34

[Vespid]

Fish said:

Is 1000 lumens going to blind me behind the torch if I switch it on inside

Not really, not unless you shine it in a mirror or something.

Fish said:

I assume this will temporarily blind an assailant if aimed at their eyes.

I would think so, a bit like a car headlight in your eyes, but I'm sceptical about that as defence, you'd better have something to back it up with. I guess there's not many attackers are going to run away because you shine a light at them. But then again I know squat about shooting burglars etc.

[Vespid]

audi321 said:

For those that know, can you give me the 'best that money can buy' recommendation for a thin torch (i.e. one that is about the thickness of a AA battery type)?

I need one for a rifle and I already have a mount which is that thickness. But it needs to be able to have a pressure switch add on it and also have a very focused beam for distance.

Edited by audi321 on Sunday 7th October 22:34

You can buy the parts in this link separately:

http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/gun-light/olight-i25...

You are limiting yourself with AA though, there's much more available for 18650.

Also for a 'very' focused beam you need to be looking at convex head lens, I can't find any that are AA and have a remote switch.

What kind of rifle? If it's an air rifle then obviously the beam doesn't have to throw nearly so far

Edited by Vespid on Sunday 7th October 23:39

[Vespid]

I love this guy, he has a supply of mint condition with boxes, vintage chrome Ray-O-Vac 2D Sportsman torches made in 1965.

He rips out the internals and converts them to the latest Li-ion 1000 lumen LED.

And you can buy them.

Check out his thread here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php...

[Stinkfoot]

I recently purchased one of these and I am very pleased with it. Not bad at all for £10
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290785552126?ssPageName=...

[rigga]

Need a torch for work,mainly for working in tight spaces eg electrical cupboards or around the engine on a train,again could be outside in the middle of nowhere so as dark as it gets, saw this and wondered if its suitable ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1800-Lumen-Zoomable-CREE...

[audi321]

OMG I HAVE FOUND THE BEST TORCH EVER! (IMO)

I ordered one of these which came yesterday, and I cannot believe it!

I've had a fair few torches in the past (I bit of an obsession of mine) and this is by far the best throwing light I've ever seen. Fully customisable too, with different LEDs available (even an Infra Red one for night viewing). It claims a beam of up to 1km and I would say that's about right!

Here's a comparison against another decent light (Klarus XT11), and it really is that much better. The Lumens isn't great at 600, but the lens focuses it like a little beam of sunshine shining onto the target. I have another 'claimed' 3000 lumen torch and the Night Master knocks it away with the brightness! On the video the beam is focused to it's smallest point, but that can be adjusted with a quick turn of the bezel into a wider one.

I can fully recommend this torch! It might be expensive, but if you want the best, here it is!

ETA - For those who are interested in torches, I find Going Gear on Youtube have a lot of really good review videos click. They have reviewed something like 150 torches and if you have the time, you'll quickly find out which ones to buy or not to buy!

Edited by audi321 on Sunday 14th October 14:15

[Ki3r]

R7YN said:

I use an LED Lenser P7 for work, never let me down

I've got one of these recently. Not had the chance to use it yet, but looking forward to it! Sad isn't it?

[tenohfive]

Ki3r said:

I've got one of these recently. Not had the chance to use it yet, but looking forward to it! Sad isn't it?

I've got the T7 for work (same torch, different body.) It's excellent. With any torch of that size and price it's going to be a compromise between output and functionality. My experience is that the T7/P7 is in the sweet spot where it mixes both very very well.

[Vespid]

rigga said:

Need a torch for work,mainly for working in tight spaces eg electrical cupboards or around the engine on a train,again could be outside in the middle of nowhere so as dark as it gets, saw this and wondered if its suitable ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1800-Lumen-Zoomable-CREE...

Very suitable, flood for close up, zoom for big open spaces, very good value too.

But it's not 1800 lumens, more like 5 or 600 lumens (which is pretty bright).

[Vespid]

audi321 said:

OMG I HAVE FOUND THE BEST TORCH EVER! (IMO)

I ordered one of these which came yesterday, and I cannot believe it!

I've had a fair few torches in the past (I bit of an obsession of mine) and this is by far the best throwing light I've ever seen. Fully customisable too, with different LEDs available (even an Infra Red one for night viewing). It claims a beam of up to 1km and I would say that's about right!

Here's a comparison against another decent light (Klarus XT11), and it really is that much better. The Lumens isn't great at 600, but the lens focuses it like a little beam of sunshine shining onto the target. I have another 'claimed' 3000 lumen torch and the Night Master knocks it away with the brightness! On the video the beam is focused to it's smallest point, but that can be adjusted with a quick turn of the bezel into a wider one.

I can fully recommend this torch! It might be expensive, but if you want the best, here it is!

ETA - For those who are interested in torches, I find Going Gear on Youtube have a lot of really good review videos click. They have reviewed something like 150 torches and if you have the time, you'll quickly find out which ones to buy or not to buy!

Edited by audi321 on Sunday 14th October 14:15

Tad expensive at 120 quid! But a real thrower. Worth considering if you want to throw a bright shaft of beam a long way.

Must resist.

[Digger]

audi321 said:

For those that know, can you give me the 'best that money can buy' recommendation for a thin torch (i.e. one that is about the thickness of a AA battery type)?

I need one for a rifle and I already have a mount which is that thickness. But it needs to be able to have a pressure switch add on it and also have a very focused beam for distance.

Edited by audi321 on Sunday 7th October 22:34

That sounds quite specific to be honest. Ask some of those craaazy americans on cpf would be my suggestion.

[tenohfive]

rigga said:

Need a torch for work,mainly for working in tight spaces eg electrical cupboards or around the engine on a train,again could be outside in the middle of nowhere so as dark as it gets, saw this and wondered if its suitable ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1800-Lumen-Zoomable-CREE...

Have you thought about a head torch instead? Sounds a bit more practical if you're likely to need two hands free.

[5678]

defblade said:

5678 said:

As many before me have said already, I now need to buy a new torch!

So, I want two torches, one big for the house and occasional camping trips. Then another smaller one for walks home from the pub and things like that.
Budget? Say £20-30 each. I'd like them to be fairly robust too.

Any suggestions?

You really only need one, but I know what you mean See 2 recent suggestions above.

Try also this one, which will run on lots of different battery types, does flood-to-throw and is a great all-rounder (most of my Scouts have one now!), or if you'd like POWER (and don't mind investing in new battery tech (this one takes 2 batteries, so to save having to keep an eye on balancing issues, make sure to buy protected cells)) this one will light up your life for, really, very little cash You can buy better, but at the price??!

Thanks for the reply! Totally forgot about this thread!

The Z5 does look to be a good all rounder. I've no problem buying 18650 batteries either.

The bug seems to have bitten though and I can't help but looking at other options! I think I want something that offers good through, but with quite a bit of flood too. I appreciate that this means I'll be having to spend a bit more but I can live with that.

Reading around I found this Skyray 3XT6 850 http://dx.com/p/skyray-3xt6-850-xm-lt6-5-mode-4300... it seems to have a good balance between throw and flood too. Any experience of Skyray as a brand? Thoughts on this torch?

The other one I'd seen is the Trustfire X8 http://dx.com/p/trustfire-x8-xm-lt60-5-mode-1000-l...

I may end up going for a Z5 as well too though

Update: Been reading up on the X8 quite a bit today and I think I want to get one, the wife wants ideas for stocking fillers (fnarr fnarr!) so one of these will be ideal. Shout now if there's any reason I shouldn't?
I still want to get a small pocket torch for now though.

Edited by 5678 on Monday 15th October 08:42

Edited by 5678 on Monday 15th October 15:05