Best flashlight you’ve ever owned.

I LOVE these flashlights, sold everywhere including Walmart, HomeDepot, Amazon ect.
Come in multiple standard battery sizes from AA to AAA
I have the 4 battery AAA model, actually also bought another and have two now. I have had them for years and come to think of it, I think I will get the slightly larger AA model for fun.
Best part is the batteries last like, forever, if you diligently choose the proper power tightness for the job you are doing. This was big for me.
I have this thing where I dont feel like throwing away money on batteries for no reason and/or charging.
Big bonus is they are tough as nails too.

Coast Polysteel 400 Heavy Duty LED with Twist Focus. (also comes in other models such as 600 ect ... and more. I have the 400 that holds 4 AAA batteries.

 

I bought these off of Amazon. Very bright and a focusing beam. Batteries that I have last a long time. And since it uses 18650 batteries your long term cost is much lower than if you are using disposables.

Don
 
Best flashlight is any one I haven’t forgot in, on or under a **** f’n car. Grrr. Lost two in the past couple months. Now I keep spares. Glad they are only $12 on sale.

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I have an Olight Seeker 2. Working on aircraft demands good lighting, and this thing rocks! I'll probably purchase the newer version of it. It is a professional grade flashlight. On "turbo" it compares well with my truck's high beams. I stick it out-the-window and am amazed at just how well it illuminates the road ahead.



Thanks, i'm going to try one of these. Looks great! Thanks for posting the link.
 
Last few years I've been buying the C8 flashlights. There seems to be a new LED every few years. I already have a bunch of 18650 batteries so prefer to keep that type, I have some good ones that are in the 3000-3400mah range and I got a battery charger that tells you the mah rating of the battery by discharging it and then charging it. Latest brightest LED seems to be the XPH50.2, there are a few brighter ones, but they're different batteries or require multiple ones so they're not longer easily hand held. I've also upgraded my C8 flashlights by just getting a new LED which you can just drop in for around $10 instead of $20+ for an entirely new flashlight. For the one below, I prefer the 7135x12 with 3 modes. The reflector depends on what you want, the smooth one gives you more distance and the orange peel (OP) gives more dispersed light.

 
I have a few old flashlights that I like with the old style bulbs.. Do they make a replacement LED bulb that would fit the old style flashlight with a traditional bulb??? Have not seen any at big box stores..

Yeah - but I'm not sure they're all that great since the reflector would be designed for a glass bulb with a filament. There are a lot of different ones out there, but the only brand name I've seen is from Nite Ize.


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I certainly remember when the standard was the plastic Eveready flashlight. Those things were simple and worked without fail, even if they weren't the most sophisticated.

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It's not super bright or anything, but the one that I've used for years that hasn't let me down is a Cateye HL-EL010, also called the Uno. It's designed as a bike light for Cateye's previous click in bike mount, but I used to wear it on my helmet for visibility. Over the years the bezel cracked off and all of the label has scratched off, but ithe light function still works well. It uses a single AA, and I have multiple Eneloops that I use for single AA devices - mostly wireless computer mice, but batteries get rotated in and out of all my single AA devices.

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I like the single AA because I don't have to worry about matching capacity with rechargeable batteries and the easy swap in or those rotated batteries. I just keep it in my pocket or nightstand and use it if I need to get around at night without fumbling for the hallway light, where the switches are in weird locations.
 
I LOVE these flashlights, sold everywhere including Walmart, HomeDepot, Amazon ect.
Come in multiple standard battery sizes from AA to AAA
I have the 4 battery AAA model, actually also bought another and have two now. I have had them for years and come to think of it, I think I will get the slightly larger AA model for fun.
Best part is the batteries last like, forever, if you diligently choose the proper power tightness for the job you are doing. This was big for me.
I have this thing where I dont feel like throwing away money on batteries for no reason and/or charging.
Big bonus is they are tough as nails too.

Coast Polysteel 400 Heavy Duty LED with Twist Focus. (also comes in other models such as 600 ect ... and more. I have the 400 that holds 4 AAA batteries.

They’re OK (Ive had a few) until you drop them on concrete, which breaks the mechanism the allows for adjusting the beam from spot to flood, rendering the light pattern very diffuse.

I wish they’d just leave that mechanism out. The spot setting has enough side spillover that the flood setting is not needed.
 
Little Larry, cheap, bright, small, long lasting.
I have one of those!! Not bad. Think it cost me $25 bucks or so. I did get a year out of it before all the little rubber buttons broke off, but it does still turn on and work. Not a bad light at all.
 
Mini Maglite or Mini Streamlight for me. I’ve also got a little Coast pen light I bought too really nice. Was going to buy one of those Streamlight last week on the Snap-on truck but $98 for a little light 😳 better be made out of gold. The rechargeable ones were that price. I think the battery powered ones were like $55 or something but either way I almost fell over when I heard that price lol. I’m sure they can be found online cheaper. I’ve also got a little Milwaukee light I keep in my pocket I got for $19.99 at Rural King in the summertime and it’s lasted people always come up and grab it out of my pocket with oily or greasy hands and it just wipes right off I’ve also dropped it a few times. I also like that the mini Maglite come with a belt holster unlike the other ones.

And some more durable lights are those PrimeLite from Napa my parents bought me the three pack last year for Christmas one has a flexible neck the other two are traditional work lights I love those and won’t loan them out to anyone. Those are a good option too.
If I’m thinking of the same light (Napa) I have a few of those...they’re blue, swivel, with magnets. Great lights but the price really has gone up on them year after year. They used to be a great bargain...was paying $35 bucks for them but now they’re $84.

I also have a Milwaukee rechargeable 500 lumens light that cost $75 bucks. Great light. Strong magnet.

You have to get yourself a streamlight stinger. It’ll be with you for the rest of your life. Kills to pay $120 bucks for it but believe me, it’ll be the last flashlight you ever buy.
 
It's not super bright or anything, but the one that I've used for years that hasn't let me down is a Cateye HL-EL010, also called the Uno. It's designed as a bike light for Cateye's previous click in bike mount, but I used to wear it on my helmet for visibility. Over the years the bezel cracked off and all of the label has scratched off, but ithe light function still works well. It uses a single AA, and I have multiple Eneloops that I use for single AA devices - mostly wireless computer mice, but batteries get rotated in and out of all my single AA devices.

61WW3-tpnSL._AC_SL1000_.jpg


I like the single AA because I don't have to worry about matching capacity with rechargeable batteries and the easy swap in or those rotated batteries. I just keep it in my pocket or nightstand and use it if I need to get around at night without fumbling for the hallway light, where the switches are in weird locations.
I use two lights for mountain biking. Niterider and Victagen. The Niterider is expensive at $115 bucks, so I went cheap on the Victagen. The Niterider - although less Lumens than the Victagen by at least half - is a better light...wider beam, almost as bright. But the less expensive lights are so much better than they used to be. The Victagen light is only $25 bucks and supposedly has 2,000 lumens (which I highly doubt), but for $25 bucks it’s pretty good. I’ve never heard I’ve the cateye, I’ll check it out.
 
I have an Olight Seeker 2. Working on aircraft demands good lighting, and this thing rocks! I'll probably purchase the newer version of it. It is a professional grade flashlight. On "turbo" it compares well with my truck's high beams. I stick it out-the-window and am amazed at just how well it illuminates the road ahead.



Those are on sale during Black Friday. Looks like a nice light.

In automotive the only thing I’d have a problem with is the magnet recharge area. They tend to collect a lot of metal flakes and make charging difficult. But sounds like these are top of the line lights.
 
I use two lights for mountain biking. Niterider and Victagen. The Niterider is expensive at $115 bucks, so I went cheap on the Victagen. The Niterider - although less Lumens than the Victagen by at least half - is a better light...wider beam, almost as bright. But the less expensive lights are so much better than they used to be. The Victagen light is only $25 bucks and supposedly has 2,000 lumens (which I highly doubt), but for $25 bucks it’s pretty good. I’ve never heard I’ve the cateye, I’ll check it out.

The Uno was discontinued a while ago. As far as I can tell they don't have anything with the old mount any more, but then again I haven't been looking for a replacement for a while.
 
I use two lights for mountain biking. Niterider and Victagen. The Niterider is expensive at $115 bucks, so I went cheap on the Victagen. The Niterider - although less Lumens than the Victagen by at least half - is a better light...wider beam, almost as bright. But the less expensive lights are so much better than they used to be. The Victagen light is only $25 bucks and supposedly has 2,000 lumens (which I highly doubt), but for $25 bucks it’s pretty good. I’ve never heard I’ve the cateye, I’ll check it out.
If you look at the spec sheet on the XHP50.2, it calls for 2320 lumens. The ad for the one mentioned on Aliexpress says 2600 lumens so probably at least 2000+ lumens. Spec sheet also claims it's 18 watts max and at 4.2 amps on a 4.2 volt battery, you're getting close to 18 watts so I think 2000+ is realistic. If you got the XHP70.3, you can go up to 4124 lumens, but that's 6-12 volts and I'm not a fan of two battery flashlights, just too big to be an everyday carry type of light.

 
I like my Streamlight HLX handheld. 1000 lumens, good spill v throw. Cheap. Rechargeable 18650. Decently robust. Programmable. For my weapons, I prefer Cloud Defensive REIN MICRO for the footprint vs. the output. For weapons I'm not putting an illuminator/laser combo on, that will be passive only, the Surefire M600V can't be beat. Excellent footprint, shock mitigation, and IR output. The white light lumens is low, but the LUX is pretty solid at around 20K/1M in my testing.
 
They’re OK (Ive had a few) until you drop them on concrete, which breaks the mechanism the allows for adjusting the beam from spot to flood, rendering the light pattern very diffuse.

I wish they’d just leave that mechanism out. The spot setting has enough side spillover that the flood setting is not needed.
Hmmmm ... clearly a spot to flood beam flashlight is not for you!
I love it, the mechanism is rock solid and firm twisting, not like some other flashlights where its easy to knock the setting. I like being able to adjust, recently came in handy, was replacing our two master bath faucets and painfully under the sinks squished in a cabinet turning the beam to wide on it bright setting made it possible to not have to move the flashlight around which was hard enough to move my arms as it was. *LOL*

When I first saw this thread I just put on my Christmas list for a sticking stuffer the Coast Polysteel 600 which uses 4 AA. I have two of the 400 AAA ones. Not that it matters much, love the 400 but just for fun, one more flashlight!
 
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