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Posted: 4/11/2011 7:31:02 AM EDT
| So Surefire is probably considered #1 and has the widest brand recognition but what are some of the brands that are just as good? What brands are pretty good and could be considered in the 2nd tier? LA Police Gear has Fenix lights on closeout, where do they rate? |
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obviously get what ever you want.
i was just looking up fenix and 4sevens on you tube, they seem to be overly complicated with too many settings. i.e. you turn the bezel for high then back for low, you click 4 times for sos then etc. they also seem too cheap i.e. made in china. just my thoughts. i have surefire and a couple of streamlights. |
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I realize that you what you pay for, and I am going to get a Surefire or two to have in my go bag and as weapon lights. But it would be nice to have a good light in the kitchen, one in my wife's nightstand, one in my desk drawer, etc, etc. And I don't want to spent $100 to $200 on every single back-up light that I want to have so that's where the info that I get from this thread is headed. Thanks.
And I hate things that are made too complicated for no good reason. 17+ different flashlight models just doesn't make any sense to me and is confusing. On-off, maybe 2 brightness settings, and that's really all I need for most of these lights. |
| I don't believe in the "tier" system and think most of that is hype. I have owned surefire, streamlight, coast, and a variety of generic brands form walmart and home depot. My flavor of the month that I use for work everyday is the streamlight pt2l. It's smaller and brighter than a surefire 6p led (which I carried on duty for five years) and has a low and strobe setting. The best part is they can be had for under $50 (great feature as I have already lost one). Surefire is nice but you are mostly paying for a name. Find one that has the features you want and give it a try. |
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my 2 flash lights i carry more often then not are;
sure fire backup, here i'm running the surefire now because it's brighter and i let some one at work borrow the streamlight. (you can do that with a $20 light.) streamlight microstream the stream light runs 20 bucks is super small and really bright. the stream light has a new pocket clip now here |
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Streamlight PolyTacs (the LED version) are nice lights for around $40..
Speaking of Streamlights, I also like their Stylus Pro and Microstream for compact, well-made, EDC/around-the-house beater lights. Both can be had for under 20 clams apiece. I can't wait until they release their updated 48 lumen version of the Stylus Pro... |
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I started with one Surefire and now have six different models. With the new G2X series throwing out 200 lumens at $55-$65 (retail), I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't buy these Made in the USA top quality lights. Wait on a LApolicegear coupon code for 10-15% off, if needed, for bigger savings.
YMMV. |
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Check out the Olight M20S Warrior. You can find them on Ebay for about $70. Outstanding battery life, very well constructed, multiple battery options (only a couple flashlights offer this feature), extremely durable.
http://cgi.ebay.com/OLIGHT-M20S-TACTICAL-LED-FLASHLIGHT-340-LUMENS-XP-G-S2-/350454539065?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item5198b7e339 Let me know what you think. |
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Also the best place for this question would be over at candlepower forums.
Surefire UI sucks ass. As of late Im not very fond at all of surefires. The only two lights I would recommend would be the scout and the x200/x300. Both would only be recommended for a dedicated weapon light. For all other uses there are much better choices. O-light & 4se7ens comes to mind. Better UI, Better battery stats, comparable warranty, great construction at a fraction of surefire pricing with all of the durability. |
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candlepowerforums.com
More than you ever wanted to know. 4Sevens and Fenix are decent quality. Good price/quality ratio. You can get some models w/o having 5 brightness levels. They're good daily lights in the states, but I didn't bring them overseas with me. Pelican M6 is comparable to Streamlight and the SF G2 light. All also good quality, but halogen bulb, so they burn out. For the same price (about $40-50) get a LED from above. Smaller, brighter, lasts longer. If it's gotta be tactical, SF is number one. Even Streamlight, pelican or pentagon aren't that good in comparison :) |
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For tactical flashlights, check the Fenix TK11 and TK12. Very simple, durable LED lights with plenty of lumens and good battery economics. 12 is the new model with bit more options.
Fenix is a chinese manufacture, but extremely good quality. Not even for the price, but good quality period. I have two (both TK11 and TK12) and my mates have them also, so we have had plenty of experience with them in military and other use. I have used my TK11 ase a weaponlight on my AK, and it holds up great. Infact they are so durable that when I had one going out as a present the goldsmith failed to engrave it with a diamond bit. He ended up just polishing the surface instead of really engraving the name. |
| Hope i dont offend anybody with this but Pentagon lights are pretty good you can find them on the EE very cheap on the down side they are no longer made ( due to surefire lawsuit) so buy at your own risk also metgear is decent i carried one for work roughly 1yr even mounted on the AR never had any issues with it i currently have a couple of surefire 6p reliable cheap and personaly i think they are on their way to becoming the M4 of flashlights due to their upgrades |
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I use a brand called wolf eyes. They are high quality lights (made in china though) and are very durable. I would put them up against comparable surefires (same price range/size/category) any day.
I have a defender and a sniper. The defender I added the extra option which gave me a strobe and high setting. The Sniper just has a high setting. Both have tailcap switches and tape switches can be bought for both (in different lengths). They can be found at http://www.pts-flashlights.com/ in the Cree R5 section. I would definitely give them a try. |
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I like SFs. Almost every light I have is SF. I have G2s, an X300, an M952v, and a few helmet lights. I would love to try one of their higher end handheld ligts, but I don't use a hand light enough to justify it.
I use my headlamp the most out of any of my lights, and I use a Petzl Tacticca. Carried that all through infantry school, and it still is in great condition. Looking into getting a Prinecton tech to mount on a NOD mount. I just bought a Inova Inforce with all the parts to make it a weapon light (not planning on it though). I haven't gotten to use it however. I'm hoping to try it out tonight. There's a lot of good lights out there, I just keep cominng back to SF. They're the most proven light brand out there, and the standard. Simple, rugged, without a ton of excess. |
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I say stick with the high end brands. I love Surefire and my 870 and my AR wear their lights and have plenty of their handheld lights also. But my duty gun wears a TRL1s just couldn't drop the cash for a X300 for it. Maybe one day I will happen upon a deal for one and snag it. FYI, anyone looking for an upgrade for their handhelp 6P series lights, the malkoff device is suprising the hell out of me for the second year. I love that bulb. |
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I own a couple of Surefire G2's and they work well, need to convert to LED on both though.
Recently I became a Streamlight and Insight convert and use a Sidewinder for everyday use and a WX150 on my pistol. Love them both. 
ETA I forgot about my Pentagon X2, great light, no longer made but it works flawlessly on my AR. |
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I have a Surefire M962XM07 light, and I'll gladly sell it to you so I can replace it with either an Olight, Jetbeam, 4Sevens, or Eagletac.
The M962 is HEAVY. Its battery life sucks. It can't use rechargeables. With the 220 lumen lamp upgrade, its really bright, but it uses incandescent bulbs, so don't except long life from the bulb. Surefire does have an excellent warranty though, but they haven't truly innovated with a lot of their weapon lights, and when they do innovate, the price is outrageous. Case in point, the RAID. Awesome, but wow is that expensive. I have an Eagletac T100C2 MkII mounted on a gun, and its an excellent light. Two modes (which is nice for house clearing - 200 lumens is too much inside a house). For less than $100 shipped, it came with a mount, and a tape switch. I have an Olight M20S as a nightstand light. Again, excellent light, and I wouldn't hesitate to put that on a gun either. I have a 4Sevens Quark as an EDC. Its "moonlight" mode is excellent, and extremely useful for not destroying your night vision. And who could argue with 30 DAYS of runtime on its low low mode? I've owned many Fenix lights over the years - unless they've changed something, they didn't use to work well with RCR123s because they had too much voltage after a fresh charge. I wouldn't use a rechargeable battery in a weapon light unless I was explicitly training with it at night. For readiness, always keep primaries in the gun. H. |
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If you're looking for a nice little EDC flashlight that's very compact, but has some serious output check out the Nitecore Flashlights.
Worth your time to check out. I have a Nitecore Extreme R2 and it's mounted on my MSAR STG-556 I am fairly happy with it, but I'm probably going to swap it out with a Surefire X300 even at a loss of output just because I'm changing up my layout. |
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Quoted:
For tactical flashlights, check the Fenix TK11 and TK12. Very simple, durable LED lights with plenty of lumens and good battery economics. 12 is the new model with bit more options. Fenix is a chinese manufacture, but extremely good quality. Not even for the price, but good quality period. I have two (both TK11 and TK12) and my mates have them also, so we have had plenty of experience with them in military and other use. I have used my TK11 ase a weaponlight on my AK, and it holds up great. Infact they are so durable that when I had one going out as a present the goldsmith failed to engrave it with a diamond bit. He ended up just polishing the surface instead of really engraving the name. +1 on the TK11 as a weaponlight. |
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http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?311252-Wolf-Eyes-Sniper-6AX-Review-A-Layman-s-Perspective
Still advocating for them... |
The great thing about the internet is that it helps everyone to feel normal. Do I like tactical and survival things too much? Maybe. Have I ever spent too long on line playing a game? Probably. Do I think that anyone that can bench more than they squat is a dork? Yup. But at least I'm not collecting flashlights for fun. I'm normal, , and those guys are geeks. 
Though I did happen onto a EDC Blog that looks good. And what I can figure out about the 4Seven lights sure makes it seem like you can't go wrong with them, especially for the money. |
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Quoted:
The great thing about the internet is that it helps everyone to feel normal. Do I like tactical and survival things too much? Maybe. Have I ever spent too long on line playing a game? Probably. Do I think that anyone that can bench more than they squat is a dork? Yup. But at least I'm not collecting flashlights for fun. I'm normal, , and those guys are geeks.
Though I did happen onto a EDC Blog that looks good. And what I can figure out about the 4Seven lights sure makes it seem like you can't go wrong with them, especially for the money. For carry, yes, the 4Sevens are great lights. What I don't like about the Maelstrom as a weapon light though, is its either a tape switch, or a push button. Surefire, Jetbeam, and Eagletac all make lights that have both, and I personally prefer that to an either/or setup. And flashlight collection doesn't just happen. Its more of a gradual thing, as you keep searching for the best light... Buy a few weapon mounted lights, and you'll see... You'll be selling the lights you don't like as much, and buying more guns, because you have too many cool lights, and need something to mount them on! Next thing you know, you're writing country music because your wife and dog both left you, you're penniless (but you got a lot of guns with lights), and all your friends left you because you keep talking about lumens and throw. 
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| What might tilt me towards a Fenix instead of a 4sevens light is that the 4sevens need to be "programed" for the different brightness settings and the Fenix is preset with a rotating output selector. I know that the programing thing probably isn't hard to do but I like to keep things as simple as possibly and as this is my first real foray into buying a serious flashlight, I'd like to keep it as simple as possible. And without breaking the bank as this will only be the first of several and I'm still learning what I will like and not like. |
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Quoted:
What might tilt me towards a Fenix instead of a 4sevens light is that the 4sevens need to be "programed" for the different brightness settings and the Fenix is preset with a rotating output selector. I know that the programing thing probably isn't hard to do but I like to keep things as simple as possibly and as this is my first real foray into buying a serious flashlight, I'd like to keep it as simple as possible. And without breaking the bank as this will only be the first of several and I'm still learning what I will like and not like. Where are you reading that? The UI for both Fenix and 4Sevens is very similiar. Push the tailcap on, and then momentarily tap the tailcap to change modes. Both work the same. 4Seven's tactical lights differ, and that does require programming. But that is an apples to oranges comparison. Their tactical lights have 2 programmable settings, and a forward clicky. Thats the only difference between them and the normal line. H. |
I was reading that on the 4sevens website about their tactical lights. I will look at the other lights they have, but at the time I was comparing they lights that Fenix and 4seven had in their tactical category so it was an apples to apples comparison as near as I can recall. The whole thing would be easier if both company's had fewer models,  , but thats just how I fell about too many options sometimes. I'll look at the other model later today and compare some of the "non-tactical" models.
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Quoted:
Where are you reading that? The UI for both Fenix and 4Sevens is very similiar. Push the tailcap on, and then momentarily tap the tailcap to change modes. Both work the same. H. Fenix TK12 works as the tail cap only as an on/off switch. It has two operation modes in three sets that can be switched back and forth by twisting the head of the light: Bright - economy bright - strobe camping - low camping Small twist movement of the head switches between the modes, and two twists switches between the sets. Basically I have mine set up so that it is always on the bright setting first and by the twist it'll switch to the strobe function. |
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