LED Flash Light

[VAjetlag]

Looking for any suggestion on LED flash lights. I am looking to get something for my kit bag for walk arounds lighter than a 2 D. I hear the LED's ahve longer battery life and are brighter.

Thanks

 

[propjob27]

There's a bunch of them for sale here. Good stuff, but really expesive.

http://www.surefire.com

I haven't tried one yet, but you are correct in that they have much longer battery life.

Hope the link helps.

 

[rdy4to]

I love my surefire. It's my boss' and I keep it in the plane so I didn't have to pay for it, but that's the flashlight I'm going to buy when I need my own again. It works great. Only negative is when the battery goes, there's not much warning. I keep extra batteries on the plane.

 

[ackattacker]

Check out

www.flashlightreviews.com

I have the "Fenix L0P". It's a keychain 1 AAA light which is brighter than most 2D's. Only drawback is the battery doesn't last long. I just use rechargeables and replace the battery frequently.

 

[OpenClimb]

You might not want an LED flashlight. My experience with them is that they're fairly bright, but the beam can't be focused. I ordered several of them and ended up returning them.

What you're looking for is a Xenon light. A bunch of places sell them, but Surefire and Streamlight seem to be most popular. They are VERY bright, but as others have said, they tend to go through batteries fairly quickly. They're also fairly expensive... as in >$100.

I found a Brinkman brand light at Wal-Mart. It's the same guts as the Surefire or Streamlight flashlights, but it's only $20. It's a composite flashlight so it won't be as useful in hand-to-hand combat, but what's the chance of that anyway?

Most of these high intensity lights use two CR123 batteries. If you buy them at Wal-Mart, they're around $5 each. It doesn't take long before you're spending some real money on batteries. I found a source online where they're about $1.50 each including shipping. I ordered a dozen of them to spread out the shipping cost. I'm sure there are plenty of battery outlets, but I ordered through batteryjunction.com. Total bill including shipping was $18.99.

Hope this helps!

 

[acaTerry]

Go to Target and look in the flashlight section (sometimes the camping section) and look for the Brinkmann 3 watt LED flashlight. It uses 3 AAA batteries and it is very, very bright. It will illuminate any airplane. You can see the tail of a 747 easily. I never thought a "small" flashlight could be so intense on the illumination. Its beam is well focused to keep about 12" of central focus at 75-100 feet, with plenty of light. It is about 6" long and costs about 40 bucks.
On the flip side, if you are really picky about focus, they also make a high intensity LED for MagLites. You can find this at WalMart for about 14 bucks. But I have found the one at Target to be better.

 

[EMB170Pilot]

OR...

You can just flip 1 of your batteries around so they are not discharging while your flashlight is not in use.

I've had my flashlight for almost 3 years now and using the same batteries.

 

[flyNICKair]

This is a cheaper alternative for your existing AA, C, and D cell flashlights
http://www.niteize.com/category.php?category_id=28

 

[jercdevil]

Surefire A2 Aviator

 

[jercdevil]

Lots of info here http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=66

 

[FNG320]

At Wal-Mart and at some Lowes you can get a little adapter/conversion kit to convert a 2 AA mini-mag flashlight to LED for 5 bucks. So if you already have the flashlight you can get an LED one for $5, or buy a new mini-mag and conversion kit for $15. Still cheaper than most of the LED flash lights out there.

It is true, you lose the ability to focus the beam. Just save the old pieces in you ever need that option. But the increased brightness (and it is bright) makes up for most of that. Plus, the batteries now last 10 times longer. I put in the conversion kit in a flashlight that that had batteries that were ready for the trash, but with the LEDs it is still going strong after 6 months. The LEDs don't dim. They are either full on or off.

Good luck on what ever you decide.

FNG

 

[AppBrookie]

Try Harbor Freight Tools online or In-store. I got a 3C LED on sale for $13, It has 2 LED modes and plus a traditional bulb mode, I am very pleased with it. The high-end lights are nice, but not paying $50 plus for a flashlight!!

 

[HalinTexas]

You guys have too much money to blow.

It's just a flash light. You use it maybe 10 minutes a day, maybe.

 

[SiuDude]

I bought Surefire's G2. It is their cheapest model at about $35. It works great and you can fit a flip on/flip off red filter over it if desired (that's another $20 or so).

 

[ExpWayVis31]

I went with spytorch.com

Nice and compact, I have one on my boat, house and flight bag.

 

[johnnyV]

Twin Task from streamlight. Awesome light. Reaches to tail of the 737. Has 3 leds surrounding 1 super bright xenon bulb. Uses sub c batteries. Had mine for a year, still going strong on the same batteries. Small, light, powerful & lasts a long time. Got mine on amazon.com $25 delivered.

JV

 

[AK737FO]

Good Stuff

Take a look at www.elektrolumens.com
This guy makes some good stuff.
He makes a small 3 Watt LED that uses two AA batterys. It has a push button on/off on the tail and a side clip (like the Surefire Defender). It is not currently listed for sale on his web sight, but if you call him I bet he will build one for you. It puts out about 70 lumen and is just as good at those fancy $urefires that eat $5 batterys. I paid him $38 for it and it will last the rest of my life and it uses AA's - What could be better?
AK737FO

 

[VAjetlag]

Thanks looks like I have several options to run down.

 

[Beaker]

Untested, but cheap option ending 20 Sep

I just ordered mine today and can't rate it, but it's not a big investment - $6.

It's a 9 LED flashlight which comes with 3 AAA batteries.

http://meritline.stores.yahoo.net/9-led-flashlight-battery-included-silver.html

When you checkout, use this coupon code: HW21528612OFF, and the cost goes down to just under $6 (no shipping).

*************

Note: The deal expires TODAY - 20 Sep


*************

 

[StopNTSing]

'nother plug for Surefire

I've been using the E2e for several years now and it's so small I can carry it in my pocket for the whole trip. Uses non-std 3V Surefire batteries, but I get about 6 mos worth of late-night postflights (when I used to do postflights, that is ) out of a set.

 

[XLR8]

I like the Executive Defender from Surefire. It's very similar to other Surefire's except it's got bezeled edges on either side for self-defense. I always bring it to the bathroom when I go, just in case. I've heard a rumor though that you can't bring them through security anymore. I haven't had any problems though.

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/1132/sesent/00

 

[pedropcola]

Like Siudude said the G2 Surefire is cheap ($30) and extremely bright. I have a couple Surefires and the LED version is nice because it is also very bright, the lamp never burns out, and when the batteries start to die it gets dimmer. Most lithium batteries power curve is extremely flat till it dies, it goes from 100% to nothing, no slow dimming to let you know its time to change batteries. As for the "its just a flashlight" crowd, another nice thing is that unlike your standard C or D cells, lithium cells have a 10 year shelf life with minimal power loss. If you haven't used it in a long time, it will still work, while your maglite (or whatever) probably has already self discharged (that doesn't sound right) months earlier. Pay for a good E2L Surefire and write it off your taxes. (Buy the batteries from Surefire also, much cheaper in the long run)

 

[NTS ALL 4]

Or just upgrade to Captain and you won't have to pre-flight anymore. Make the F/O do it when it's cold/raining/night.

 

[Big Duke Six]

I splurged for a Surefire A2 Aviator also. It's got the 3 LED's surrounding 1 xenon bulb. It's got a 2-stage switch so you can use just the LED's or punch on the Xenon if you need it. On my walkarounds, the xenon bulb is lit for maybe 20 seconds total (using it intermittently on/off as necessary) and my batt's have lasted over a year so far. Still have that extra set waiting patiently in the flightbag for their turn.

You can also lock it off for storage in your flightbag so it won't turn on by itself.

They come in different LED colors too. I got white, which I thought I wouldn't like but it's actually more of a bluish-white. I don't know because I haven't seen any others but it seems like anything other than white may not be bright enough on LED-only.

The mini Streamlite sounds similar, so may be just the ticket.

 

[Hooch]

Streamlight Scorpian

I own four different "tactical" flashlights including the high $$ Surefire Aviator. Dollar for dollar the best is this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280001026991&category=16037

I got mine from Bass Pro Shop for around $32. Batteries last 6-8 months easy. Nice rubberized handle. Very bright.

There are several mods you can do to make it even brighter (info on candlepowerforum) but really not required.

Hooch

 

[JettBoii]

I use a Q Beam; very very bright! I have to carry it in a seperate bag though.

 

[Mgmt1Pilot]

I own four different "tactical" flashlights including the high $$ Surefire Aviator. Dollar for dollar the best is this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280001026991&category=16037

I got mine from Bass Pro Shop for around $32. Batteries last 6-8 months easy. Nice rubberized handle. Very bright.

There are several mods you can do to make it even brighter (info on candlepowerforum) but really not required.

Hooch

Whatever you guys do,don't pay these prices you are listing...EBay is the only way to go, as said here by Hooch.

 

[B747FR8DAWG]

SureFire

Spend the money and get a SureFire 9P, the best light I've ever owned! The next choice is the 6P , a little smaller.

 

[jbj]

For the best information about flashlight contact Steve at
http://www.beyondbulbs.com .

Steve is not only the owner of the company but a fellow pilot who understands what we are looking for.

 

[WorldOnTime]

Go to Target and look in the flashlight section (sometimes the camping section) and look for the Brinkmann 3 watt LED flashlight. It uses 3 AAA batteries and it is very, very bright. It will illuminate any airplane. You can see the tail of a 747 easily. I never thought a "small" flashlight could be so intense on the illumination. Its beam is well focused to keep about 12" of central focus at 75-100 feet, with plenty of light. It is about 6" long and costs about 40 bucks.
On the flip side, if you are really picky about focus, they also make a high intensity LED for MagLites. You can find this at WalMart for about 14 bucks. But I have found the one at Target to be better.

Ditto. I've had a similar setup for over a year and haven't had to replace the batteries. It's tiny compared to my maglite and does 100% better job of lighting the airplane.