Flashlights

[lowell holmes]

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a thing for flashlights. I am an old dog and still do.
I recently went to Home Depot and came home with a nice three c-cell light. I can throw a beam up to 300 feet with it. A nice adder is a pocket size light that uses three penlight batteries that does as well.
So you old dogs that are in your second childhood, go get one.

I also have Digisnap HDSA500. Go check it out.

https://troutunderground.com/Clamp-M...isnap-Digital/

[Bruce King]

I’m a torchaholic too, check out the candlepower forum. If you want really bright LED flashlights you have to buy online. Local stores might have 500 lumens but most are less. I use 1500 lumen lights that are same size as one that uses AA batteries. The good ones use 18650 batteries. A special $15 charger is needed.
In reality though the lumens ratings are rounded up, probably subtract 10 percent to get the true value and that ramps down with battery usage.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I just got this Milwaukee and I can spotlight the Coast Guard dock that is around 1/2 mile away and their reflective stripes light up.
2C34A693-C5DD-4EF9-ACBD-667634DE590B.jpg

I don’t see why it has to be so big, but it works well.

[Kev Williams]

A customer brought me a bunch of these Duracell 2500's to laser etch his logo on for promo xmas gifts. Never seen a flashlight put out so much light! Not cheap and it takes 12 AA batteries, but it works--

2500.jpg

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Before I retired in 2011, I bought a 13 LED flashlight for my tool pouch at work. I was amazed how bright it was and still is. It resides in the adjoining room which was my old home office.

[Doug Dawson]

I just got this Milwaukee and I can spotlight the Coast Guard dock that is around 1/2 mile away and their reflective stripes light up.
2C34A693-C5DD-4EF9-ACBD-667634DE590B.jpg

I don’t see why it has to be so big, but it works well.

Lately Milwaukee is going gangbusters with good lighting products. But I tend to prefer their lights that don’t require you to tie up a hand.

[John Ziebron]

I'm a bit of a flashlight junkie too. And, as Bruce mentioned, the best flashlights are only available online. With the technology of LEDs now the better flashlights only use a single one; cheaper flashlights are basically the only ones that use multiple LEDs. And the lumens ratings that you see on the cheap Chinese flashlights in stores and places like Amazon are all bogus. There are probably only a half dozen reputable flashlight manufacturers. A little research will bring them up. Most of mine are the Olight brand. You can buy some of them on Amazon but usually get better deals right from the manufacturer.

[Mike Henderson]

I have some powerful flashlights and, initially, had some problems with a couple of them. With regular C-size batteries the light would dim over time (fairly quickly) so I went to rechargeable batteries. With a couple of them, the LED blew out the first time I turned the light on. Luckily, the manufacturer replaced them with ones that would work with rechargeable batteries.

With the rechargeable batteries the light tends to stay bright for a long time. When the light dims, the batteries are fairly discharged.

Mike

[Bruce Wrenn]

Flash light junkie also Have some of the original HD LED's. The ones that are the size of the free ones from HF, only a lot better. Warranty requires copy of original receipt, and packaging, both of which I have. The 9.99 HF Quantum does a great job as long as it doesn't get wet. Two cell (D) Luxpro from Lowes will light up the night. Walmart sold around Christmas, an Energizer, that uses three AAA cells. It's amazingly bright for $2.50.

[Bruce King]

I have some powerful flashlights and, initially, had some problems with a couple of them. With regular C-size batteries the light would dim over time (fairly quickly) so I went to rechargeable batteries. With a couple of them, the LED blew out the first time I turned the light on. Luckily, the manufacturer replaced them with ones that would work with rechargeable batteries.
With the rechargeable batteries the light tends to stay bright for a long time. When the light dims, the batteries are fairly discharged.
Mike

That’s very unusual because rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage when fully charged than regular batteries.

[David Bassett]

That’s very unusual because rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage when fully charged than regular batteries.

Some of the cheaper, (not necessarily less expensive,) lights back in the day used internal resistance of the batteries as the current limiting circuit. Switching from AAA's to AA's or from Alkaline to NiMh would lower that resistance and sometimes burn the LED(s) out.

I think control electronics have gotten cheap enough that is uncommon these days, though I'm still suspicious of anything taking 3 alkaline batteries, especially AAAs.

[John K Jordan]

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a thing for flashlights. I am an old dog and still do.
I recently went to Home Depot and came home with a nice three c-cell light. I can throw a beam up to 300 feet with it. A nice adder is a pocket size light that uses three penlight batteries that does as well.
So you old dogs that are in your second childhood, go get one.

Thanks, I'll got look at what HD cells now. I have some of their 3 c-cell lights from long ago but haven't liked their more recent designs.

The biggest question I have when looking at flashlight is the operating system. Does it simply turn on and off with a button or do you have to cycle through some insane flashing and strobe modes some add just because they can?

The second thing, for around the farm, is can you momentarily turn it on with a partial button press for when you need just a quick flash at night when in the woods or trying to identify something. I like lights that don't require a full press to turn the light on an another press to turn it off.

The 3rd requirement for me is does it use standard batteries. I won't have rechareable batteries that put the light out of service until you charge the batteries. And LiON are the worst since they go down very quickly.

Years ago I bought some LED flashlight from HD that had the simple operating system but backwards light. They are still great for carrying around at night along with a shotgun and for looking out of the upstairs window to see what's going on in the field. The 3 D cell batteries have lasted for years now and the lights are brighter than the big spotlights I used to buy.

Buy my all time favorite is the Fenix LD-22. Uses two standard AA batteries, small enough to carry comfortably in the pocket, lightweight and comfortable in the hand and they designed the switch the intelligent way It does have multiple brightness levels and different modes but they are changed with a separate switch near the front and you can't get to the stupid strobe and SOS modes without a long press on the mode button. Bright enough to see the critters 800 ft across the field and dim enough to light just the path when walking in the woods at night without destroying the night vision. Great for working in tight spaces. According to Amazon I've bought 11 so far, several in the house, the cars, shop, and some for gifts.

JKJ

[Stan Calow]

There's nothing like having a big heavy metal MagLite with 4 D cells, when you're out in the field and there are aggressive dogs about.

[Mike Henderson]

That’s very unusual because rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage when fully charged than regular batteries.

As David said, the problem is current limiting, not voltage level. The standard batteries have more resistance than rechargeable and the LED would fail from excess current. Failure was very quick - like a flash bulb.

Mike

[Kev Williams]

That’s very unusual because rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage when fully charged than regular batteries.

The new lithium rechargeables put out a solid 1.5v -
laa.jpg
and they work well. I bought 3 battery powered snow globes for Xmas, they have a single LED light and a motor to stir glitter in the water. I know the LED doesn't suck much juice but the motor does. They would run well over 24 hours before needing a recharge. And yes, when they go dead, it's sudden