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Old April 2, 2012, 03:44 PM   #7
CaptainObvious
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Join Date: February 5, 2012
Posts: 73
These are my two current flashlights; the Fenix TK35 and PD32. The Fenix TK35 was invaluable during the storms last year which knocked out the power for several days. Fortunately, we had a good supply of CR123As which did not run out, but I did worry because when I went to the CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, etc. the only batteries left on the shelves were AAs. Everything else was gone. The power outage lasted here for a while in different parts of the town...I think it was about 1-2 weeks in some parts. I know other parts of the state were blacked out longer.

So if you are looking for a good duty light or where the supply of CR123as are of no particular concern then I think these two cannot be beat. The TK35 is slightly larger then the soda can and easily worn on a belt. It takes 4 CR123as and has about 800 lumens. The PD32 is much smaller, lighter and truely pocketable with about 300 lumens. In comparison, the MagCharger is about 225 lumens.

If all out survival and availability is your main concern then I would choose AA based led lights which Fenix sells a few. They are not as bright and so not so good for tactical purposes, but for survival purposes they would be the better pick.

Another consideration is there has been some exceptional issues with CR123as exploding, going on fire and producing noxious gas. You have to buy your CR123as carefully. From what I have read on the internet and observed between the batteries, my belief is the Panasonic, Streamlight, Surefire and Duracell are the same battery. I noticed Surefire on their website suggests only Duracell, Panasonic and Surefire CR123as in their lights. The Streamlight batteries seem the most economical around. The safest choice is to order directly from Surefire or Streamlight because you know they will not send you fake Chinese-made batteries (cross fingers). I know on ebay and Amazon there can be fakes and thats where the accidents happen. You have to keep your CR123as out of the heat and when your led light starts to flicker it means its time to change the batteries. Dont try to use the light any further.

I always carry around a few spare sets of CR123as just in case and we are well supplied in that regard.



I purposely included the other objects in this picture to demonstrate size.
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