Recommend me a flashlight

[Nightwing]

OK so here is the lights purpose - My girlfriend will very shortly here be inspecting vacant HUD homes, with the purpose to catalog any damage or report any vandalism. She has her concealed permit and will be carrying a Sig P5. A weapon light is out of the question for her needs. This is what I want for her -

- 4-8 inches long - no mag lights because it has to fit in a decent size purse
- doesn't have to have a strobe, if the best fit does I wont complain, however it is not a must have feature.
- don't really care about brand name so long as it's bright as can be. I'm hoping for 275+ lumens

I wanted to ask you all here first before looking myself because I know I'll get a good recommendation.

Thanks

Edited* because I really don't care about battery type

[111t]

Well I don't know about that many lumens, I currently like the fenix e21 but it's only 150 lumens. IMHO it's a pretty nice basic light. I realize you don't have a battery preference, but AAs are cheap for everyday use.

The ld20 is the next model up I can't personally recommend it but it gets good reviews.

[Hermit]

I have and recommend Surefire lights. Have a look.

[WhoShotJR]

I use a Jetbeam BC40 for looking at HUD houses. 8.75" long, it's nice to light up the entire crawlspace or attic for inspection, and the great throw helps when looking at roof condition.

[nyarlotep]

Mag XL50, 100, or 200. I just got a 100 and love it. Compact but powerful (83 lumens), and runs on 3 AAA batteries. I can light up trees 2 blocks away and was able to use it to see the roof of my house at night easily.
Here's a review of the XL100 http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... ght-Review
The 50 is the same power but with fewer features, and the 200 is twice the brightness (172 lum). You can get the XL50 or XL100 for about $25 on Amazon, and the XL200 for about $35.

[CipherNameRaVeN]

SureFire G2. Very bight, very durable, awesome quality, compact.

[strm_trpr]

P2X Fury
http://www.surefire.com/P2X-B-BK
500Lumins and small in my opinion at only 5.4" in lenght. Easily a good EDC light and has 2 modes of light so a lower light at 15 lumins can be used for administrative/chore functuion. I have a 6p that was issued to me 5 years ago and I love it even though it is metal and incandesant. I want a new SureFire for off duty cary and I am looking at this one. I wish it had a strike bezel however.

[Frosty709]

SureFire G2. Very bight, very durable, awesome quality, compact.

This.

[Shroud]

I love my 4sevens Quark X AA(2)
http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php ... ts_id=2689" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Max setting is 280 lumens at 48 min total run time on 2 AA batteries. There are several lower settings that last much longer. It comes with an alright holster with a belt loop. It does include a strobe and the UI is easy to use.

Check out the rest of the site for other configurations. If she wants to be able to "program" only two settings, and/or wants "momentary" activation she might prefer the Quark Tactical series.

[Charlie_Kilo]

I use a Jetbeam BC40 for looking at HUD houses. 8.75" long, it's nice to light up the entire crawlspace or attic for inspection, and the great throw helps when looking at roof condition.

The Jetbeam BC series of light's really are awesome. I have a BC40 and love it! I think it's a bit bigger than you're looking for, so check out the smaller BC/BA jetbeam lights for around $40

BA10: http://goinggear.com/flashlights/flashl ... light.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
One AA battery
High 160 Lumens
Low 12 Lumens

BC10: http://goinggear.com/flashlights/flashl ... light.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
One CR123A battery
High 270 Lumens
Low 30 Lumens

BA20: http://goinggear.com/flashlights/flashl ... light.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Two AA batteries
High 270 Lumens
Low 30 Lumens

BC20: http://goinggear.com/flashlights/flashl ... light.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Two CR123A Batteries
High 305 Lumens
Low 20 Lumens

[CipherNameRaVeN]

P2X Fury
http://www.surefire.com/P2X-B-BK
500Lumins and small in my opinion at only 5.4" in lenght. Easily a good EDC light and has 2 modes of light so a lower light at 15 lumins can be used for administrative/chore functuion. I have a 6p that was issued to me 5 years ago and I love it even though it is metal and incandesant. I want a new SureFire for off duty cary and I am looking at this one. I wish it had a strike bezel however.

I had bad experience with strike bezel. I eventually turned it into my dedicated weapon light. Unless, you carry that thing in a good holster on your belt, it will destroy every piece of clothing you have. It cuts through pockets, bags, catches on sleeves, pants, etc.

[strm_trpr]

I could see how that could happen, I keep my lights in a belt pouch with my ccw mag because my phone is always in my left pocket and my keys are always in my right. So, I never have room for a flashlight in my pocket unless I have some cargo pockets not being used. If you are putting it in a pocket then yeah, strike bezels will kill your cloths.

[connecticut_yankee]

OK so here is the lights purpose - My girlfriend will very shortly here be inspecting vacant HUD homes, with the purpose to catalog any damage or report any vandalism. She has her concealed permit and will be carrying a Sig P5. A weapon light is out of the question for her needs. This is what I want for her -

- 4-8 inches long - no mag lights because it has to fit in a decent size purse
- doesn't have to have a strobe, if the best fit does I wont complain, however it is not a must have feature.
- don't really care about brand name so long as it's bright as can be. I'm hoping for 275+ lumens

I wanted to ask you all here first before looking myself because I know I'll get a good recommendation.

Thanks

Edited* because I really don't care about battery type

There are a -lot- of options for you given your few requirements. Almost any new 2xcr123 light from a reputable light manufacturer will meet your specifications.

My experience in purchasing flashlights for people who have never bought a "real" flashlight before is that size is, bar none, the most significant factor since they usually think of big Maglites. You may wish to consider a Quark MiNiX 123. It has 210 Out-the-Front lumens (1.2 hours), goes to as low as 1.2 lumens (100 hours), and is 2.3 inches in length. It also has a hole to fit on a keychain. Also comes with a ridiculously large lanyard considering the light's small size.

There is one drawback - the light can get very warm when running on high for several minutes. It's not so hot that it burns (me), but it may become uncomfortable for some people. Larger flashlights will have better heatsinking capabilities.

I realize that the Quark does not fulfill your lumens or size specifications, but I think your girlfriend might take to it.

[scaru]

With what your looking for I would recommend the Klarus Xt11. It has four modes: 600 lumens (more about this later), 150 lumens, 10 lumens, and a strobe mode. The 600 lumen mode is programmed to step down to 420 lumens after 3 minutes to prevent the flashlight from overheating. It can run off of 2 cr123a primaries or 2 rechargeable rcr123's or 1 18650. I personally run all of my cr123a lights off of some rcr123's I have. It is fairly inexpensive compared to purchasing a surefire yet it is brighter and can out throw a surefire.

[phractal]

Another vote for the Mag XL series.


I have the XL100 and Love the shit outta that light. The originals were 80 something lumens but the newer ones use the same led as the XL50s. I think something like 104 lumens. It's way too damned bright for most situations and I'm often blinded by it when it reflects off something light colored. The price is also right and you can get the XL50 for a song.

If I had to buy another light tomarrow, it would be an XL50. It's the cheapest of the lot and it's easier to use. More than bright enough and bombproof. But to be fair, I do wish maglight used a glass lense. While it doesn't effect the beam any, I do have some scratches in mine.

[Seakers]

http://www.lncurtis.com/onlineshop-flas ... flashlight" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

May be this will be helpful, it is a firefighter light so it is nice and bright and small and compact, inexpensive, waterproof up to 30 meters. If you have not gotten her one as of yet.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Fenix E21. Makes my surefire G2 jealous in terms of "OUCH" factor, light enough to keep in my pocket, 2 AA batteries, and a headlamp attachment (sold separately.) I'm in love. Best amazon purchase ever.

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

I have it bad for this thing at the moment...

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/OLM21X ... ctical-led

http://www.gunnersecurity.com/products- ... h-cree-led

http://www.m2distributing.com/M21-X

^600 lumens + strobe in "gunfighter size".

I have it bad for this too...



^1950 lumens.

-

[sdg]

The Surefire Fury is a great recommendation. 500 (real, not advertised) lumens is a lot of light. She'll need a lot since she'll be using it during the day....

Another good choice would be an E2DL or LX2 (same output and beam, different user interface). The very focused and tight beam is good for daytime use since you lose less in spill. If it's carried in a purse, clothing wear is a non-issue. If it's carried in the pocket, a bezel-down clip will prevent wear.

I carried and used an E2DL for a few years until retiring it for modified U2 that puts out about 500 (real) lumens.

P.S. Don't get caught up in the #of lumens on the package. They are often HIGHLY exaggerated.