LED fashlights??

[Art Todesco]

[No]

I found one that is best of bother worlds. Durable, high intensity LEDs for low power consumption and Xenon bulb for 'tactical' use. Its made by streamlight.

And other cool flashlights at I'm not affiliated with them bla bla bla

[Craven Morehead]

FOR FUN, Google "flashlight collections". There are hundreds of sites with thousands of flashlights. Have fun.

[Dr. Hardcrab]

What's with the flaslights with 32 bulbs in them? Isn't kind of "overkill" or is it some kind of macho thing like "Mine's bigger than your's"?

Go on eBay and do a search on "LED flashlight".......

BTW, I'm trying to find a small one (about the size of a Maglight) that I can wear on my belt. I have one now that came with a clip, but when I get in and out of the truck it falls off.....

[Joey]

I got mine from Sams Club, came in a package of two. I was surprised over the intensity---very bright, actually hard to stare at.

J

RBM wrote:

[John McGaw]

What constitutes a "mini" LED flashlight? I use an Inova X5 that is as bright as most regular flashlights and brighter than most small conventional lights and it also offers something like 20 hours of continuous use on a single set of batteries with a shelf life of at least a decade. My light is classed as a "flood" but they do make "spot" versions -- a broad beam seemed to more generally useful to me given the uses to which I'll put it.

[Robert L. Haar]

Interesting site. Thanks for the link.

For another brick-and-mortar retail store, try a camping/backing store like REI. They are sometimes a bit pricey but you can often check out a good selection.

I have a couple of Princeton Tec LED flashlights and also a headlamp. They have proved to be quite durable and bright enough for what I want to do. Several of them have multiple light levels so you can trade off intensity vs. battery life.

If you want high light output LED, go with one of the Luxon bulbs. If you really want lots of light in a small package, look at the Streamlight Scorpion.

[Stormin Mormon]

The 32 LED is cause each bulb isn't all that bright. I've got some with 12 LED. A 2D old fashioned flash light with a PR2 bulb is brighter.

If you want brighter with LED, look for "Luxeon". I've got a light with a one watt Luxeon. Much brighter than my 12 LED light, and same blue color. However, it draws about 700 mA, and is sure to suck the life out of AA batteries (takes two).

Ebay has a bunch of LED lights that come with belt cases. In my life, the

2AA minimag fits nicely in my pocket. So, I went with the Opalec conversion. Only 3 LED, but good for most things.

[Erik]

I also have a keychain LED light, and love it! Probably use it twice a day... it's going on 2 years old and is still going strong on it's original batteries. It's a 'Pulsar P-1-BK

I even bought a spare... so I won't be without for long if I ever bust it.

Erik

[Dan]

I've completely stopped using incandescent bult flashlights. I've probably got six LED lights and use them daily. I have one on my belt and a bunch more in my camping gear and car. Great invention, IMHO.

Dan

[Dan_Musicant]

Right, for the little ones. If you want an LED flashlight that works as an everyday all-purpose flashlight try the Luxeon flashlights. There's quite a few of those around. I scored a dozen for under $100 at Costco less than a year ago and I am extremely pleased. They use 2 AA's, are bright enough for 98% of the stuff I need a flashlight for. They seem to get maybe 2 hours of usage from a set of batteries, is my impression although I've yet to have any batteries die in mine. I have them all over the house and in both my cars and I never use any of my other flashlights (almost never). I can even use NiMH in them if I have a special long task and not use up my alkalines. It was a closeout at a nearby Costco. You probably won't be so lucky and will have to pay $20 for them, but who knows? The prices are bound to keep dropping.

[Don Klipstein]

(and I edit for space)

I bought a Luxeon flashlight at Targetfor $30 or $29.whatever, and it is a Dorcy brand "1 watt" one, and it takes 3 D-cells.

I did not find any regulation means in this one, so I expect output to continuously "droop" as the batteries get used - although more slowly than incandescent flashlights usually do. And when incandescent flashlights get badly dim from the batteries being depleted, they tend to do so at an accelerating rate. Unregulated LED flashlights, on the other hand, do most of their major weakening (from batteries getting depleted) at a rate that decellerates, as well as is slower from the start than is the case with incandescents. Most of this effect is from LEDs not losing efficiency the way incandescent bulbs do when underpowered.

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[Tekkie®]

Dr. Hardcrab posted for all of us... I don't top post - see either inline or at bottom.

Get a Streamlight Strion - rechargable & get a holster - worth it!

[Lawrence Glickman]

12,000 candlepower for 70 minutes ( runtime ) and then you need to recharge it.

If you want something to run all night long, go with LED technology. I have and use both.

Lg

[Lawrence Glickman]

Yes, that is why I suggest -both- Xenon/Halogen _and_ LED for illumination. When I'm working on the car, nothing is better than the Strion, for looking into the dark spaces. It is small, powerful, renewable/rechargeable. For that, I sacrifice runtime.

At night, you don't need that blinding light for general lighting, so LEDs of the Luxeon family, in 1 Watt, do nicely ( I have a Streamlite Tasklite 3AA ). I also have a Nachia 1.5 watt LED in a 2-C cell River Rock, but it isn't that much brighter than the luxeon. I can wash out the beam of the Luxeon with it, so, it is more powerful, but I don't have rechargable batteries for it, which I do for the Luxeon, so I don't use it except as an emergency spare.

LED has its limitations = less candlepower Xenon/Halogen incandescent has its limitations = less runtime

To solve both problems, have both technologies. It isn't a case of you chose one or the other. Get _both_.

Lg

[Tekkie®]

Lawrence Glickman posted for all of us... I don't top post - see either inline or at bottom.

Well, it all depends on application doesn't it? Do you want to see or have a long run time? You make your choices.

[Lawrence Glickman]

Yes, you are correct. I have a bunch of miniMags that are going in the trashcan. Not only were the bulbs too expensive, they didn't last very long and as you say, because of the filament vaporizing and covering the inside of the glass, the light output would diminish rapidly.

In fact, in a true Halogen lamp, the halogen molecule attaches to vaporized metal ions and redeposits the vaporized filament atoms on the filament, keeping the glass from *fogging* and the filament lasting longer. That's the way it is supposed to work. Unfortunately for Maglite, they never figured out how to get this working correctly in their mini models.

LEDs typically gives better light distribution; it is more smooth, homogenous. They are certainly more efficient.

Lg

[Art Todesco]

The one think nobody mentioned is the problem which occurs with halogens when the lamp blackens. I have noticed this especially in the miniMags. The lamp will blacken internally and the light output goes way down. The 1 watt Luxeon will usually beat the pants off of the miniMag maybe with the exception of a brand new lamp.

[Stormin Mormon]

If you want ot mail them here, I'll pay the postage. They are OK for tool boxes and camping kits where the get used now and again.