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Old March 8, 2012, 06:12 AM   #51
insomni
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As with scopes, holsters and just about any other tactical gear, you get what you pay for. If you.re buying cheap gear, be prepared to buy another one. Ifyou.re gonna pay for quality look into
Surefire (there is definitely a reason... actually many reasons... the army uses them)
Inova

If you're looking for something less expensive than a surefire look into Pelican. Theyre polymer, not aluminum, but they work decently. Streamlight too. I have a streamlight taclight for my pistol that ive owned for about 7years now. Maglite too: not sexy at all, but a total beast of a flashlight
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Old March 9, 2012, 09:13 PM   #52
PITT5150
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I've got a Surefire and Streamlight flashlight. They do not perform as some of the other lights out there. fenix, FourSeven, Olight, Sunwayman, Jetbeam, Thrunite, and Klarus produce better flashlights for much less. I recently bought a Klarus ST20 for $42.00 shipped. It's the size of a Maglite 2AA. It produces 240 lumens on high mode running on 2AA batteries for 1.7 hours. It also has medium, low, super low(200 hours at 2 lumens), SOS, strobe, and beacon modes. This flashlight is brighter than my Maglite 3 D cell LED light which is only rated at 134 lumens. It's also waterproof to IPX-8 standard which is over 1 meter for more than 30 minutes underwater. This light performs way better than my Surefire G2Z or my Streamlight Stinger.
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Old March 9, 2012, 10:19 PM   #53
jason75979
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In case you all haven't tried them, check out Coast and their LED Lensers. Going on 3 years with 3 of my T5s.
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Old March 10, 2012, 02:54 AM   #54
Pietro Beretta
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I have had good results with Fenix & Olight. Yes they are Chinese products, I can't bring myself to buy Surefire.

Yes, Surefire's are made in the U.S.A I get that, but so are Ruger/S&W firearms, but they aren't more expensive than glocks or XD's.
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Old March 10, 2012, 02:26 PM   #55
PITT5150
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Another good flashlight is Zebralight. But the most bang for your buck are the Chinese brands like SkyRay, TrustFire, UltraFire, UniqueFire, Crelant, Small Sun, MarsFire, and a bunch of others that slip my mind.
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Old March 11, 2012, 01:07 PM   #56
FJ4ZROX
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Maglite or Surefire....depends on how deep your pockets are
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Old March 11, 2012, 10:19 PM   #57
Clark
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Quote:
Rj1972

Ok I'm a little late to the party perhaps, but you can see some pretty decent reviews (and others opinions) on candlepower forums: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/content.php

It's where I found reviews on my fenix pd20 (which I love).
I followed a post about lathes over there, and that is how I chose my 4th gunsmithing lathe.

That web site has caused me to look beyond my maglite and surefire and Chinese (3) AAA (9) LED el cheapo, to Fenix and others.

It has also caused me to start carrying a better flashlight, along with my gun and knife.
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Old March 11, 2012, 10:20 PM   #58
iamdb
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nobody suggested Maratac.
http://countycomm.com/aatactical.html1 AA battery 120 lumens for 2 hours. heavy duty construction. Walls are twice as thick as comparable lights. Plus the output color is beautiful. looks just like daylight. Purest color light I've seen under $200
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Old March 11, 2012, 11:10 PM   #59
kynwatch
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I have two Surefires, but prefer my Fenix TK15. I work nights and like the throw on the Fenix better. It also seems to have a better battery life.
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Old March 12, 2012, 12:44 AM   #60
WarWolf
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I've been really happy with my little TLR3 if you don't mind having strobe. always has turned on and off with no problem. and for being all plastic and the cheapest Streamlight it's very bright and seems pretty tough. But if you need it on a rifle or shotgun it doesn't have the option for a switch and wire.
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Old March 12, 2012, 02:33 AM   #61
NWPilgrim
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After I had two SureFire tail cap switches lock up on me (the rubber/nylon 2x CR123 version) I gave up on Surefire. Yes its their cheapest light but more still more expensive than most others. The tail switch ought to last more than a few months. One I can understand but two in a row?!

I looked around and tried 4Seven and really like the Quark 123 series. I've bought about four of these and they all work every time, INCLUDING THE FREAKIN TAIL CAP SWITCH THANK YOU, put out a lot of light and are durable.

I don't baby my lights. I use them for home repairs in the crawlspace and attic (blown insulation very fine dust), hiking, at the sea shore, etc.

I like the single AA Energizer headlamp for utility use when working on stuff, the Photon keychain LED for general getting around in the dark and reading in the car, and the 4Sevens for when I want a lot of light in a pocket size.

Rayovac has a pretty decent 2x AA LED at Home Depot that is rubberized and is fairly bright. Not going to compete with output of a Streamlight but it is only like $15. I've been trying this out in my handyman projects and it is holding up well.
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Old March 12, 2012, 09:22 AM   #62
Mike Irwin
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Last year a friend gave me a Spiderfire light.

I've been VERY happy with it. Extremely bright and so far very durable.
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