Flashlight strength

[FishyFolk]

Been looking at a small flashlight (hand light, not head light) on e-bay.
I want a fairly strong light from it...i.e distance, as well as the ability to splash light over a wider near area for walking.
Light strength is given in lumen. But how strong should I look for?
As budget is limited, I can save a few dollars if I go down in Lumen.

Any advice given apreciated as this sis something i know nothing abaout

[JonnyP]

The more lumens the better.. I have a little 2aa torch that goes on my air rifle. Its rated at 120 lumens and the light goes out to about 90 meters max.

[FishyFolk]

The more lumens the better.. I have a little 2aa torch that goes on my air rifle. Its rated at 120 lumens and the light goes out to about 90 meters max.

Eh....I am looking at lights from 1000 -1800 lumen...lol

They all seem to be priced the same...looking at a 1800 lumen now. But I guess at that strength I have to research battery life as well...
One claims 180 miutes on full blast. But that will go down fast with use I guess...

[CanadianMike]

Looking to cook with it I see. ;)

[FishyFolk]

Looking to cook with it I see. ;)

Now that is a bushcraft challenge if I ever saw one! lol

[JonnyP]

Eh....I am looking at lights from 1000 -1800 lumen...lol

They all seem to be priced the same...looking at a 1800 lumen now. But I guess at that strength I have to research battery life as well...
One claims 180 miutes on full blast. But that will go down fast with use I guess...

Crikey.. Why do you need that much light..? I thought 100 lumens was a lot.

[FishyFolk]

Crikey.. Why do you need that much light..? I thought 100 lumens was a lot.

Nice to have. I do have a reasonable cheap headlight that is enough for camp. But I want something that will throw a lot of light when needed too.
Besides, on the 2nd of December, when the sun set some time around noon, after being above the horizon for a few minutes, we won't see it again
until the 10th of January. It's nice to have some light. Specially with a todler in the house, who opens doors and go walkabout if somone forgets the door security chain...

[JEEP]

Turning on a 1000+ lumens light at night in the wild, will cause major disturbance to the wildlife over a significant area.

My torch has a max of 200 lumens - but I usually find the100 lumens setting to be plenty of light for most situations.

[FishyFolk]

Turning on a 1000+ lumens light at night in the wild, will cause major disturbance to the wildlife over a significant area.

My torch has a max of 200 lumens - but I usually find the100 lumens setting to be plenty of light for most situations.

If I am out looking for my 2 year old, who wandered off wearing a pyjamas and diapers in November, I don't care if I disturb the wild life.
Besides, these lights have variable power settings. And I am grown up enough to know that just because I can, does not mean I have to do...but I wan't the ability.

Car headlights are around 1000+ lumens. So wildlife is constantly disturbed by artificial lights in this area anyway. It's not a remote wilderness.

[paulthefish2009]

Mate got to say if your looking for that sort of power then small and cheap wont come into it,as johnny and jakob said 1-200 is plenty.if the little one is a bit of a escape artist can i suggest you move your door handles up? good old maglites for me,tough,cheap and plenty of battery life. Paul

[FishyFolk]

Mate got to say if your looking for that sort of power then small and cheap wont come into it,as johnny and jakob said 1-200 is plenty.if the little one is a bit of a escape artist can i suggest you move your door handles up? good old maglites for me,tough,cheap and plenty of battery life. Paul

I have those. They are not even close to enough when it's wet and dark...
I want a search and rescue rated light. And I have found some reasonable priced ones, that get good reviews...and as I said, having the capabillity does not mean you have to use it that way. These lights have variable power settings for everyday use.

[FishyFolk]

This video illustrates perfectly why I want this strength light:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm5HumpYA80

[Silverback]

LED Lenser P14.......used by SAR teams all across the UK. I use a P7 for search work although when looking for people I use a dog.... much better than us looking. In fact just come back in from a moorland job where the missing person was found by one of our dogs

[happybonzo]

What I wonder is what is the "burn" time of the torch that is in the video? There seem to be a lot of these small high power torches all over ebay, usually with some form of rechargable battery. How good they are is anyone's guess. I bought one and to say that it was a bit of a disappointment for "burn" time would be an understatement.

I use the Led Lenser L7 because they are affordable and also use them as a gun light on the .243 I have a few of them and would have to say that they haven't failed me yet.

I should imagine that the big LED Lenser is a pretty gucci bit of kit. It's just rather a lot for a torch at £280 / 2600kr - This bad boy (http://www.zweibrueder.com/ENG/produkte/html_highperformance/html_Xserie/x21r.php?id=x21r)

[FishyFolk]

What I wonder is what is the "burn" time of the torch that is in the video? There seem to be a lot of these small high power torches all over ebay, usually with some form of rechargable battery. How good they are is anyone's guess. I bought one and to say that it was a bit of a disappointment for "burn" time would be an understatement.

I use the Led Lenser L7 because they are affordable and also use them as a gun light on the .243 I have a few of them and would have to say that they haven't failed me yet.

I should imagine that the big LED Lenser is a pretty gucci bit of kit. It's just rather a lot for a torch at £280 / 2600kr - This bad boy (http://www.zweibrueder.com/ENG/produkte/html_highperformance/html_Xserie/x21r.php?id=x21r)

The sellers/producers brag abaout 180 minutes of burn time on full power for the one I ended up purchasing for a lot less than 280£....I am paying 20$ including battery+charger.
What the reviews say is 30 minutes.

I won't actually use this light much. My main light will be a 5£, 5 led cheap head light that lasts forever. Also I will probaly only use it on the lowest of the 3 power settings 99% of the time I do use it.
But it's nice to have the ability. The light I've ordered is this one:

Cree XM-L T6 LED 1300LM UltraFire C8 5-Mode Flashlight

Cree is a well known brand, and they actually make the business end of the led lenser flashlights0, and reviews have been okay...
But I'll be sure to review it several times trough the life span of this flashlight...

[Silverback]

I have a led lenser p7 which has a burn time of about 8 hours on full power. I have a Cree x5 which manages about 4 hours. We have 4 led lenser x221 in the team for scene lighting and searches. They are heavy and unweildy and last less than 3hours on full burn

[happybonzo]

Thanks FishyFolk and Sapper4083. These are the sort of figures that potential purchasers want, the results from people's own experience. This one of the greatest strengths of this forum in that the people who do contribute with posts know what they're talking about.

The manufacturers can quote what ever results they like and I'm sure that they are, generally, to be trusted. There is always the temptation to put the best result down though.

[FishyFolk]

Thanks FishyFolk and Sapper4083. These are the sort of figures that potential purchasers want, the results from people's own experience. This one of the greatest strengths of this forum in that the people who do contribute with posts know what they're talking about.

The manufacturers can quote what ever results they like and I'm sure that they are, generally, to be trusted. There is always the temptation to put the best result down though.

I treat all battery life times like that. Just look at the battery on your smart phone, or your laptop computer. The producers say one thing, but experience is often quite another...
Fortunately rechareable batteries are one of the things you find really cheap on Ebay. I bought 4 of them to go with this flashlight.

Anyway, i will review this light, probably a written one here plus a video review, and follow up when it has seen some use, to tell you how
the quallity actually proves to be...

[FishyFolk]

I have a led lenser p7 which has a burn time of about 8 hours on full power. I have a Cree x5 which manages about 4 hours. We have 4 led lenser x221 in the team for scene lighting and searches. They are heavy and unweildy and last less than 3hours on full burn

Burn time is also affected by what capacity battery you put in them...i. Ampere pr hour...the Led Lenser p7 also has a Cree led in it.

[Silverback]

Burn time is also affected by what capacity battery you put in them...i. Ampere pr hour...the Led Lenser p7 also has a Cree led in it.

Also limited by temperature

The Cree X5 uses I have 4 CR123 batteries, the P7 takes 4 AAA. the burn time on the P7 on economy is over 100 hours which i can confirm as I use it all the time, used it last night. I use the P7 because I wanted to limit battery types I have to carry, and try to make them all the same size which thankfully I have.

I also use the P7 because its small, robust and light and 200 lumens suffices for what my needs are as I said before when Im looking for someone I use a dog much more agile, intelligent and powerful than the torch and human eye...It was a search dog that found the missing person last night :happy-clapping:

Many of my colleagues use the P14 and have nothing but praise for them and each search section carries a X221, now that the novelty has worn off its not something many would reach for very good at scene/incident lighting though

[FishyFolk]

Also limited by temperature

The Cree X5 uses I have 4 CR123 batteries, the P7 takes 4 AAA. the burn time on the P7 on economy is over 100 hours which i can confirm as I use it all the time, used it last night. I use the P7 because I wanted to limit battery types I have to carry, and try to make them all the same size which thankfully I have.

I also use the P7 because its small, robust and light and 200 lumens suffices for what my needs are as I said before when Im looking for someone I use a dog much more agile, intelligent and powerful than the torch and human eye...It was a search dog that found the missing person last night :happy-clapping:

Many of my colleagues use the P14 and have nothing but praise for them and each search section carries a X221, now that the novelty has worn off its not something many would reach for very good at scene/incident lighting though

The one I ordered uses 1 3,4 V 18650 battery. That reduces the ammount of batteries I have to carry. There was another model that I did not fancy so much, that used either one 18650 battery or thre AAA batteries in an adapter. But I did not fancy the look of it...lol

Anyway, as I said, I will put this thing to the test and see how many hours I get from it on differnet power settings. It got 3 different power settings, plus strobe + SOS blink...
And this will be tested in cold weather conditions...

And yes , always keep your batteries warm.

Got another enactode on that. A friend of mine was on a military excercise in the late 90'ies with the US MArines here in Norway in winter. The Marines had all the bells and whistles, and being young, they also bragged about it...this was night vision gear, GPS etc...

He used to shut them up by asking how long the batteries lasted in minus 30 celcius...lol
And how heavy are the batteries, and remind them that while they where hauling their half dead batteries, he would be carrying ammo....lol

[FishyFolk]

Well, my flashlights have both arrived. I say both because the first one I purchased, the Ultrafire C8 was a tad bulky in the business end. So I got another less bulky looking light to go in the Bushcraft EDC now that evenings are dark again.
But I was caught in the old order online trap. As I only went by the pictures, and forgot to check the actual dimensions of it. So the second light, turned out to be longer than the Ultrafire, and the same widht in the business end. So now that one will have to do the intended job for the Ultrafire, while the ultrafire goes into the EDC bag...until I can afford to go shopping again.

Also A nice bonus...the caps for my deodorant sticks is kind of a cloudy white see trough kind of thing. Like the old fashioned light bulbs. And it fits perfectly over the busibness end of both flashlights, effectively making them into lightbulbs. Get a very nice light, that lights up a whole room. Perfect for a tent, or for cooking light when it's dark...

Else the quality of the lights...the Ultrafire C8 is actually really good. Feels solid, and gets good reviews too. The second one I am not so sure of. Feels more rickety, perhaps due to the zoom ring it has.
But that will be the familly utility flashlight, to hang in the entrance hall, if we lose electricity, or something...so confident it will do that job.

Ultrafire C8

5389

[old dog new tricks]

Hi all, I was interested to read all your comments about torches, I wanted a torch and like everyone else, it had to do everything! I went down the road that the more powerful and brighter it was the better, then how heavy? how big? how long the batteries lasted? how much the batteries were to replace and the cost of the torch, there's a trade off on these things depending on what you want the torch for, I found eventually, one that suits me as far as weight, size, and brightness is concerned so I've added the link below so it might give others some more idea of what they might be looking for in a torch, all the best, Chris. http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix-pd32.html

[Silverback]

I had a Fenix P2D, I lost it on a search, dropped it into a reservoir never to be seen again - fiddlesticks. Not a bad torch but I my prefer Led Lenser

[Johnnyboy1971]

I have a LED Lenser X21 and its rated at 1080 lumens
http://www.maplin.co.uk/led-lenser-x21-torch-228373
To get a smaller handheld torch that produces 1800 lumens is hopefull at best.
All these manufacturers claim there torch gives out so many lumens. How do we know if its correct.
I have seen them on ebay and deal extreme and in the flesh they are no more than average.

[old dog new tricks]

Hi, just looked at the lenser, I expect you need it for what you do but I can manage with the fenix, as I said, depends what you need in a torch, all respect for what you do but I'm just an old guy that just needs to be able to see enough not to walk in to anything! lol The senser looks as though it could fry eggs!

[Silverback]

I use a Led Lenser P7 hand torch and a H7R head torch...I couldnt justify having an X21 either.

[sblog]

Been using a Klarus XT11 for about 12months - 600Lumens!!
Also have LED Lenser P7 & T7 but the Klarus is a searchlight in comparison - has 3 modes including a strobe.....

[Silverback]

Been using a Klarus XT11 for about 12months - 600Lumens!!
Also have LED Lenser P7 & T7 but the Klarus is a searchlight in comparison - has 3 modes including a strobe.....

I have a 700 lumen Cree x3 too point is that generally when using a torch i dont need to bathe the whole world in light, just enough to see with. The big lumen jobs only come out when searching and generally in that case I have something thousands of times more powerful than any torch...my dogs nose ;)

[sblog]

The Klarus is too bright to used as a torch around camp and I use my Petzl Tikka headtorch for that - searching and distraction is what the Klarus is good for.....

[Jefferson]

I'm a big led lenser fan. I have a p7 and a m7, both are the same but the m7 has a micro processor in it which allows you to use a number of settings.( the defensive strobe light on it actually blinded me for about a minute. I guess that's where it's name is from.) I also have a p14 which is the same as the p7 but bigger. I also have a h14r head torch which is brilliant! As for timings on how they last i would agree with Sapper on the p7, the p14 that's also the same as the p7. The m7 doesn't quite last as long but still lasts long enough.
Cheers Dave

[Silverback]

The Klarus is too bright to used as a torch around camp and I use my Petzl Tikka headtorch for that - searching and distraction is what the Klarus is good for.....

Dont need to distract and I'll trust my dogs nose over the human eye by torchlight..... white or IR anyday

[Psycho]

I use a EagleTac T20C2 at the moment. But if you are looking for a small and powerfull torch in good quality, the Zebralight SC600 might be the right choice.

You have to be carefull, because the Lumens aren't always the same. What I mean is, if you buy a torch from china, they'll often tell you, that you will get more than 1000 Lumens. But if you compare this torch to another quality-torch (for example from Fenix, EagleTac, Olight, ...) it is not nearly that bright, even if the Lumens from the quality-torches aren't that much on the paper.
Also you have to look, if the Lumens, they tell you are ANSI or LED-Lumens! You can't compare these two. Look for the ANSI-Lumens, because that is a standard method to messure. The LED-Lumen don't say anything about the brightness.

And if you want to see, what a quality torch can stand, then you should watch this video ;)
Olight M20 Warrior - Extreme Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehwhIP0B234)

[Psycho]

And another thing:
If you buy some 18650 batteries, you have to be carefull too. These are Lithium-batteries. You'll need a good recharger for these kind of batterie, because they should not be loaded too much (not more than 4,2V). And they also should not be complete empty, because they will damage (not below 3,5V).

There are some informations on the interenet, where these batteries were exploded, because of the wrong handling!

(I know these things, because torches are another of my hobbies ;) )

[nilo52]

Be careful about the rated lumens . Many are not true,especially the ones from China and Singapore.

[nilo52]

I have three that I bought @ Costco for $20.00 for all of them, 320lumens and their bright as hell !!

[Ryo]

Small hand flashlight looks like EDC one. If you want 1000+ lumens, it is more powerfull light, which is usually big and costs around $150-$200. I mean high quality flashlight.
My neighbor purchased Armytek Barracuda. Yes, impressive thrower. Don't remember exact price of it, but may be it's about $130. You can see your way for some hundred meters, I suppose.

[Tigger004]

I have an ebay cree ultrafire torch which does everything I need, but is a chinese copy, take a look at the ultrafire website for sources of copies, it gives websites, genuine ultrafire torches are expensive. But I have to say my copy is great...time will tell on longevity

[OMark]

For flashlight ratings it's worth reading up on the ANSI FL1 standards, most reliable flashlight brands will have this printed it on the package.