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[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevesurf Hey Ed, glad to see you are now into yet another hobby Overdriving LED-based lights with rechargeables can shorten the LED's life, in some cases, so I generally do not recommend this. However, a few folks have tried AW's MP700 cells and batteryspace.com's Powerizer RCR123a cells. The A2's a great light; kkwarth's recommendation of the Executive Defender is also great. And those are for the wife. Reserve a Kroma MILSPEC for you; it will light up just about anything and fit in your pocket. Here is the A2 Rechargeable thread.

Well, if my flashlight choices are going to be like my headphone amp choices, I'll be prefering LED's.

The A2's incandescent light throw was impressive. I want an LED based torch that can match or exceed that one.

-Ed

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver Some CR123 flashlights are two stage, so you can get a hour or two of full power, or 8 hours of lower power. Most people find the lower power setting to be the one most commonly used. Look at the Surefire L2 graphs as an example of this. Some lights, like the HDS ones have programmable levels...and you will likely use a low or medium setting with high as a burst mode. Also, some of the lights can take rechargeables, and heavy users will buy a light that can take special CR123 rechargeables. Again, look at flashlightreviews.com

The HDS EDC Ultimate 60 XR GT is actually the light I carry every day with me. Great flexibility and performance!

 

[kwkarth]

Actually, the O2 of the flashlight world is called "The Beast," by Surefire.

Check this out: 2000 Lumens light output, runs on 20 CR123 batteries for 90 minutes, then it's time to battery up again! Light output is equivalent to 130 2D cell flashlights.

Yours for only $4800 smackaroons.

http://www.opticshq.com/page/Optics/...ire-HID/B1R-BK

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Well, if my flashlight choices are going to be like my headphone amp choices, I'll be prefering LED's. The A2's incandescent light throw was impressive. I want an LED based torch that can match or exceed that one. -Ed

That being the case, the L4 is the Surefire to get, but keep in mind, that the high power LED lights get really hot as you run them. The A2 really is a pretty remarkable light and has the best of both worlds. LEDs for low level light and the regulated high power incandescent. BTW, Surefire ramps the voltage up slowly to the bulb when you turn the light on so there's no high inrush current as there is in a conventional flashlight. This makes the bulb life incredibly long.

Nothing beats the warmth, bloom, freedom from grain, and color fidelity that you get from a top notch Xenon beam as opposed to the cold, clinical, grainy reproduction from an LED job.

 

[Edwood]

I'm starting off slowly.

Just ordered a Fenix L1T.

I'll work my way to the Beast, eventually.

I was checking out those Orb RAW Ti. $285, but a funky little torch indeed.

The Fenix L1T will most undoubtedly become my wife's, so I'll have another flashlight purchase to look foward to in the near future.

-Ed

 

[ken36]

Great! Maybe I will start collecting flash lights.

 

[Edwood]

I have a bunch of half dead Mini Mag Lites lying around. Argh! I hate those things. Fricken bulbs keep burning out or getting busted from getting dropped. A big reason why I want a solid state LED based torch this time around. I also have a 3D Mag Lite that must have had the batteries leak, as the end cap is fused on. I can't remove it. It's completely glued shut. I'll have to try soaking the end in WD40, but It wouldn't budge at all with using clamps and a friend to help to remove it. Oh well.

I had wanted to get a sandwich kit or other LED retrofit for the Mini Mags, but they were pretty pricey. LOL, but now I noticed there are LED Mini Mags out for sale now, and they are cheaper than the mod kits.

I'll have to check one out.

 

[Edwood]

My new Fenix L1T arrived in the mail today.

Very solidly built. Much brighter and wider flood than my old crappy MiniMag AA.

The wife is very pleased with the throw and flood beam of this light. Makes walking the dog at night much easier.
Also good for shining ahead and spotting spider webs hanging down.

My wife hates hates hates spiders. If there was a light that could illuminate spider webs better, she'd have me buy it. I guess I could lie and tell her that InfraRed does and order a MilSpec KROMA.

I'm guessing a more powerful flashlight will light up the spider webs better. Hmmmm.
What to get next? I prefer the size of single cell units, so hmmmm.,,, how much is one of these going to cost?

-Ed

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood My new Fenix L1T arrived in the mail today. Very solidly built. Much brighter and wider flood than my old crappy MiniMag AA. The wife is very pleased with the throw and flood beam of this light. Makes walking the dog at night much easier. Also good for shining ahead and spotting spider webs hanging down. My wife hates hates hates spiders. If there was a light that could illuminate spider webs better, she'd have me buy it. I guess I could lie and tell her that InfraRed does and order a MilSpec KROMA. I'm guessing a more powerful flashlight will light up the spider webs better. Hmmmm. What to get next? I prefer the size of single cell units, so hmmmm.,,, how much is one of these going to cost? -Ed

Ed,
I'm guessin' that we'll see an EDC Ultimate 120XRGT coming out pretty soon and it will be lower priced than it's predecessors.

Glad you like your L1T, BTW... Good torch!

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood My wife hates hates hates spiders. If there was a light that could illuminate spider webs better, she'd have me buy it. I guess I could lie and tell her that InfraRed does and order a MilSpec KROMA. -Ed

Ed - maybe. Spiderwebs seem to reflect more UV light than regular light perhaps because spiders are sensitive and attracted to UV. The yellow-green LEDs are prob. around 500nm whereas UV LEDs are typ. around 350nm.

Solution: get a small UV flashlight and try it out.

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood I have a bunch of half dead Mini Mag Lites lying around. Argh! I hate those things. Fricken bulbs keep burning out or getting busted from getting dropped. ............. I had wanted to get a sandwich kit or other LED retrofit for the Mini Mags, but they were pretty pricey. LOL, but now I noticed there are LED Mini Mags out for sale now, and they are cheaper than the mod kits. I'll have to check one out.

I haven't seen the mini mag LED lights yet. Other than the aftermarket ones.
I just got the mag brand LED bulb for two of my D cell mag lights. One for a 3 cell and one for my 4 cell. I'm impressed. They seem brighter than the bulbs that came in the lights.

I have an LED unit on the tail end of a mini (AA) mag. I had it sent over from Germany. It replaces the tail cap, has a white LED and a red LED. No lense just recessed LEDs.

Edit, I should have looked at this thread a long time ago. I was ineterested in torchs a few years ago. I wandered away from them after I cam here. I use a CMG Infinity light most often. It's a blue green color LED in a single AA configuration. I wear it on a neck strap that I got from Photon (this strap was way too heavy for a Photon). I replace the battery about once a year using the light a lot at work. CMG sold out, and the new company doesn't make the LED colors that CMG did.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevesurf Ed - maybe. Spiderwebs seem to reflect more UV light than regular light perhaps because spiders are sensitive and attracted to UV. The yellow-green LEDs are prob. around 500nm whereas UV LEDs are typ. around 350nm. Solution: get a small UV flashlight and try it out.

Any recommendations for a cheap UV flashlight?

If it works well, I might be able to convince the wife that buying a $300 KROMA is a great idea.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth Ed, I'm guessin' that we'll see an EDC Ultimate 120XRGT coming out pretty soon and it will be lower priced than it's predecessors. Glad you like your L1T, BTW... Good torch!

Yeah, I'm not quite ready to drop $300 on a flashlight.

I noticed that the HDS EDC Ultimate 60GT is $135 now. I guess they are discontinued. Pretty tempting.

How much do you guesstimate that the Ultimate 120, 120XR, and 120XRGT will cost?

LOL, the Fenix L1T is nothing but a gateway drug.

-Ed

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Any recommendations for a cheap UV flashlight? If it works well, I might be able to convince the wife that buying a $300 KROMA is a great idea. -Ed

Well, Ed, at $49 it's not exactly cheap, but the Inova is a quality light. Maybe Aaron can loan you his to see if it works

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Yeah, I'm not quite ready to drop $300 on a flashlight. I noticed that the HDS EDC Ultimate 60GT is $135 now. I guess they are discontinued. Pretty tempting.

Yeah, that was a deal too much to resist. This flashlight sold for $230 when it first came out, so a few clicks later.....

Warpdriver is now the proud owner of HDS EDC Ultimate 60 GT #2908

I'm so glad that I got it, because they are sold out now, and I would have kicked myself (the same way I lost out on the BH DT990s)

I never realized how useful it is to have multiple levels of light. And the U60 is the PERFECT size for EDC but still easy to hold. It's got the power of a full sized flashlight, and the multiple levels makes it useful for almost everything. From reading something without disturbing people around you, to looking for what's lurking in your yard.

My Surefire L4, my previous favorite light, is going to be used and carried much less often.