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Need a great flashlight on a budget.

jeepyj

jeepyj

Middlesex NY
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
57
Messages
442
Loc
Middlesex NY
I was over cleaning out the woods for hunting season. I lost a deer last year in the dark so my hunting buddy / landowner says he has a new rule. You need a good flashlight. I don't care about tacticool shit on my belt and it doesn't have to fit in my pocket. Big is fine. It'll sit on the Kubota until we need it. If it fits in my pocket by accident, that's fine, but the main criteria is 'bright as fuck'. Let's say I want it to be less than $100 and turn night into day. What have you got?
 
Costco usually has a pack or so of 700-2000 lumen lights for cheap. I've got several iterations kicking around and they are all still functional
 
Fenix lights. I have had many and every one of kick ass. Carry a UC35 in my flight bag and it turns night into day for sub 100$. /end thread

Www.fenixlighting.com
 
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I have a couple Fenix flashlights. Nothing too fancy, decent light for a smaller light (AA battery)

The “Perimeter checker” is a Harbor Freight rechargeable spot light someone at work gave me, the thing can throw some light out across the property :grinpimp:
 
jeepyj said:
Does it get hot on 'Turbo'?
Click to expand...

Yes, but not untouchable. I use it for walk around inspections on the airplanes, so it is not on for extended periods of time.
 
streamlight protac 2AA
set it to low/high mode and it has a reasonable brightness to start, tap then on and it goes bright enough to destroy your night vision for a few minutes
they're like 40 bucks, I usually get about a year from them until I break the glass trying to use them as a hammer, but they lifetime warranty them
 
Bite the bullet and buy a streamlight stinger hl and be done. Love mine and should have got it sooner.
 
Streamlight Stinger is my go-to flashlight. Use one every day for the last 10 years or so at work, have a spare that I keep/use at home along with a Strion. I have run them over, dropped them from great heights and used them as a hammer more times than I can count and they just take it and keep working.
 
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Another Fenix fan here, have one that was $80 like 6 years ago has an on off on the end plus a mode button, 5 levels and hold for strobe. Fuck those cheap flashlights that make you cycle through 3 modes and strobe every time you turn it on.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Another Fenix fan here, have one that was $80 like 6 years ago has an on off on the end plus a mode button, 5 levels and hold for strobe. Fuck those cheap flashlights that make you cycle through 3 modes and strobe every time you turn it on.
Click to expand...

The ones I posted don't do that.
 
jeepyj said:
I was over cleaning out the woods for hunting season. I lost a deer last year in the dark so my hunting buddy / landowner says he has a new rule. You need a good flashlight. I don't care about tacticool shit on my belt and it doesn't have to fit in my pocket. Big is fine. It'll sit on the Kubota until we need it. If it fits in my pocket by accident, that's fine, but the main criteria is 'bright as fuck'. Let's say I want it to be less than $100 and turn night into day. What have you got?
Click to expand...
A better solution might be better shot placement. Any decent $20 LED flashlight should be fine for following a blood trail. If you wound a deer, best advice is to find the blood trail and let it alone for a few hours to bleed out. Yeah, your buddies will flame you waiting for being a shitty shot, but you earned it.

We typically mark it and go back to camp, eat, have a beer and go back later. We usually find the dead deer nearby. If not, you made a really bad shot.
 
Another vote for Fenix. Like a PD 35, which might be an old model by now.
 
Fenix...I have a PD35 and PD36R...they just came out with a PD40R which is what I'd buy today. 3000 lumens, crazy bright, but rechargeable and easy
 
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Anyone have one of those giant LED lights like the Imalents I see on youtube? They have different modes for lower power, seems like it would be nice to have a sun for the middle of the night out in the woods on occasion, then have the lower powers for regular use.
 
Weasel said:
this https://www.amazon.com/CREE-1600LM-4...91812054244-20

or here

https://usa.banggood.com/BLF-A6-XPL-..._warehouse=USA

I have a pile of these and they are great. Dumped our expensive Surefire's for the guys at work and hand these out instead.
Click to expand...

I came here to post this. These are about impossible to beat for the price. I've bought several and have them stashed all over. I have salvaged most of the batteries from "bad" laptop batteries. I am also a streamlight stinger convert. Mine just sit on the charger and never get used now.

Bonus that the li-on batteries seem to hold a charge almost indefinitely which is really nice for flashlights you stash everywhere.

Typically bad laptop batteries will still have several cells that are good, and can be repurposed for use in these lights.
 
I have a few Ozark Trail flashlights from the wally world and love them. Right around $20
They will do anything you want it to do. They come in different sizes too.
 
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