Flashlights?

[Fifty150]

Flashlights, specifically led lights, are one of the few consumer goods that technology has clearly improved.

Funny how we think of LED as "new".

There are people who modify vintage flashlights with the latest LED

This is something that I had around the house for a very long time. It's stuck to the back of a refrigerator where it won't get in the way. It sucked. Very poor light. Not focus-able. Drained batteries.

Not wanting to waste anything in this world, I never threw it away. Recently, I replaced the lamp unit with an LED, and the batteries with lithium cells. A little lighter, more efficient, and slightly brighter. The last ditch, power outage flashlight. Surely not for tactical use.

a 4-D-cell Maglite on my ***belt

I preferred the Stream light SL20.

I used to carry mini Maglites but for some reason I've had batteries go bad and leak inside so they are no longer reparable.

The Wolf: If the batteries that leaked were from a leading name brand like Energizer or Duracell, there is a good chance they will reimburse you for the cost of the damaged light.

I did that once. Sent a Maglite with leaking batteries that burst inside of the flashlight, to the battery company. They sent me a new flashlight. As I recall, for what it cost to ship a flashlight, I didn't think that it was worth it.

I have a mini Maglite

I should look into getting a new flashlight.

Flashlights have become very inexpensive. You can easily buy a new light with better technology. Some of us like to keep what we have, and continue to use it. There are kits available for Mini-Maglites.

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I prefer Surefire flashlights.

I wasn't so crazy about the expensive batteries, or how hot they got.

if a flashlight needs more than one normal AA battery, I'm not interested

I like small cheap lights. Especially rechargeable or at least ones that use AA batteries.

In the old days, I liked the Streamlights for how bright they were, and the fact that they were rechargeable. Of course, technology has changed. Now you can get a cheap LED which is USB rechargeable. There are lithium batteries to go with LED lights that make them brighter, and lasts longer.

 

[Fifty150]

Men of a certain age grew up with Mag-Lite. As a child, it was one of the best things in the world. Almost every kid that I knew, drooled over a Swiss Army Knife and a Mag-Lite. Mag-Lite actually packaged those items together in gift sets.​

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This thread reminded me that I still had one of those sets sitting around. When I found it, the batteries were sulfated and corroded. So I decided to buy one of those LED upgrade kits.


The original Mag-Lite AA Mini-Mag was rated for 14 lumen. Just enough to see inside of a tent, or read a comic book after the lights went out. Yes. They still make them. $8.99. A real bargain. An LED upgrade kit costs more than the light itself.​

The "upgrade" is 30 lumen.​

Whoop-Dee-Doo! Absolutely nothing compared to the the 100's and 1000's of lumen that modern flashlights claim to have.

Even the modern version of the Mini Mag-Lite has 332 lumen.

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I'm not fighting terrorism with this. But I am surprised that it works, and works well. Because it's a white LED, it appears much brighter than the dim, yellow halogen. This is not for tactical applications. Good for a power outage. Decent for lighting up camp, for when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Okay if you walk your dog on dark paths. Photos never "see" like the naked eye in real life. A spot on the wall is meaningless. Only way to know if it's okay, is to test it yourself in your own environment. I think it's good enough to walk to your car at night.​

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[Fifty150]

For general work, I have been using a headlamp. Nothing special. Just an inexpensive, generic brand off Amazon. It allows me to have both hands free. It's rechargeable via USB. Small and light so that it's not awkward on my head. Not tactical. The enemy will have something to aim at.......your head

 

[Fifty150]

This thread is costing me money!


About 20 years ago. Mag-Lite introduced a LED Mini Mag-Lite. They were inexpensive. I bought one. I didn't really use it Then forgot about it. Until I read this thread.


For the most part, Mini Mag-Lite has been affordable. Priced low enough that you would rather buy a Mini Mag-Lite, than something cheap. It's still affordable today. @$8.99, the basic model cost about what it sold for 20 or 30 years ago.

Knowing that technology has improved, I had to see for myself. Prices are low enough that I bought both LED models. The silver is 20 years old. The grey is the new LED. The black is the new LED PRO.


Externally, the heads are identical, but the tail caps are not. Internally, there are different LED chips.

 

[大馬伕]

Like a Craftsman wrench, a leather jacket, and Iron Ranger boots. A MagLite could last a lifetime.

 

[Peacoat]

I have always used Maglights and Surefire lights. Got an email from my local FOP about a new (to me) tactical light called the Fenix. Didn't look into the price, but it appears to be a decent tactical light. Link below:

https://www.fenixlighting.com/pages...um=FOP&utm_campaign=Email&utm_content=JulyTac

 

[Fifty150]

Maglights and Surefire lights

As a kid, I had Mag-Lite. At the time, it was the best thing that you can buy over the counter. This was the time before inexpensive LED on Amazon. The internet did not exist yet. Homes did not have computers. We bought whatever was in the stores. Mag-Lite was better than the other products in hardware and sporting goods stores. I favored the 2 AA and 3 D sizes.



As I entered the work world, Streamlight was the popular light. Sold and serviced in uniform stores. It was impressive for it's time. Way brighter than a Mag-Lite. The light went into a charging sleeve. Chargers could operate off a wall adapter or cigarette lighter plug in your car. You could even install the charger in the car. The local uniform shop was able to change out every part of the light. That's when I learned about warranties. It's not that a product has a warranty........but how easy it is to get warranty service. Big difference between being able to bring the item in to a warranty center, and walk out with it refurbished or replaced. Versus having to ship something back to the factory, and waiting 10 - 12 weeks for an answer.

I still have a bunch of Streamlight units, parts, chargers, etc. I still think that they're great lights. I just stopped using them because technology has improved. I can get a smaller, lighter, less expensive, and brighter light...... for much less than the cost of replacing a Streamlight battery.



This was back in the days without the internet, we bought only what we saw in stores, and word of mouth was the best advertising. If you didn't work for an agency which issued a Surefire, you were paying out of pocket. And it was expensive. I found that I couldn't afford to feed the light with those super expensive batteries. The lamps were expensive to replace if you dropped the light. And those lights got really hot. Then there were the primitive "upgrades": like the spacer adapter that would allow you to add an extra battery, and the more powerful lamps. I still have a few Surefire lights in my garage. Paid too much money to simply throw them away. The LED upgrade units are too expensive. The batteries are still too expensive.


Now, decades later, I'm back to Mag-Lite. I really like the LED version of the 2 AA battery Mini Mag. Rechargeable AA batteries work fine, even though they are only 1.2 volt as compared to 1.5 volt. The drop in LED lamps have gone down in price. I can "afford" to put an LED lamp and rechargeable batteries into an old Mag-Lite, and it will work just about as well as some Amazon flashlight.​

 

[Trenchfriend]

My old MagLED 2D Cell has just an enourmous battery life. The reason could be, that the 3 Watt LED is so primitive. Light on, light off, no gadgets.

 

[Trenchfriend]

My Fenix Tk16 v2.0 is a beast of a pocket flashlight. Standard industrial (L-Ion) accu battery, or AA batteries. You don't really need more, these days.

But Fenix is currently just the common brand in the german electronic chainstores.

 

[Trenchfriend]

But as EDC, the TK-series are over the top.

My E01 v2.0 on my keychain does the job very well, with 1 AAA battery.

 

[Thaibacco]

I’m looking for a heritage fleshlight

 

[Trenchfriend]

I’m looking for a heritage fleshlight

Specify?

 

[Thaibacco]

Specify?

Something smooth, Bright, and maybe a vibrating feature if I ever lose it and need to locate it.

 

[rogueclimber]

I've recently become enamored with the Arkfeld Pro (Ultra) by OLight

White light, green laser, and black light modes

 

[Trenchfriend]

@Thaibacco

How much lumens maximum?

EDC?
Tactical?

 

[rogueclimber]

How much lumens maximum?

EDC?
Tactical?

If you're asking me:

https://www.olight.com/store/arkfeld-ultra-3-in-1-edc-flashlight-with-o-aluminum-material-1

ETA: I feel carrying a light is more important than even a knife so yes EDC

As for tactical, I consider my weapon mounted lights my tactical lights, and they need to be less "fancy" ie a simple on off switch, I've found under stress one may accidentally change output on a variable light, which ain't good when you are expecting to see a bad guy...

 

[Fifty150]

MagLED 2D Cell has just an enourmous battery life.

Depending on what you are doing, a longer run time may be more important than the brightest light.

a heritage fleshlight

Check eBay......

weapon mounted lights

I haven't gone that route. I don't want to draw my ****** every time I need a flashlight. A weapon with a light is just more bulky. Fine if you're working in uniform, with special holsters. In street clothes, it's more to conceal.

 

[rogueclimber]

I don't want to draw my ****** every time I need a flashlight

In my book MANDATORY to carry a flashlight in addition to the WML so that scenario does not take place.

*** only comes out when a *** is needed. For years I avoided a mounted light because of the using a *** as a flashlight thing. A malfunction in a shoot house where the dangling flashlight (and bouncing all over crazily) I let go of while performing tap and rack led me to explore new options

 

[Thaibacco]

In my book MANDATORY to carry a flashlight in addition to the WML so that scenario does not take place.

*** only comes out when a *** is needed. For years I avoided a mounted light because of the using a *** as a flashlight thing. A malfunction in a shoot house where the dangling flashlight (and bouncing all over crazily) I let go of while performing tap and rack led me to explore new options

Yeah I hide my *** from my family in addition to my fleshlight.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Focusing is my old MagLED 2DCell's discipline. Still nice cold white, not yellowish!

And of course two longlasting D-Cells. The current are still the 2nd pair.