Please stop buying overpriced flashlights

Goofyfoot2001

Goofyfoot2001

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This is good advice. Most of my lights are $30 or less light. On amazon prime day awhile back there was a stream light on sale from $60 down to about $25. I thought “what the hell, I’ve never had a surefire”

I hate it. It’s not any brighter than my cheaper AA powered lights and sucks on battery life.
 
Revtronic makes great flashlights for the money, for those of us who do not kick doors in and clear rooms for a living. Mine are so much lighter and brighter than my surefire M961 and others.
 
WARNING! - Our wives are channeling through @Goofyfoot2001.

Goofyfoot, do those voices in your head have a familiar nagging tone? I highly recommend a Faraday hat. They work. They worked pretty good with earplugs. They work even better now that I just pretend I'm losing my hearing. I learned that from my father.
 
Howland said:
WARNING! - Our wives are channeling through @Goofyfoot2001.

Goofyfoot, do those voices in your head have a familiar nagging tone? I highly recommend a Faraday hat. They work. They worked pretty good with earplugs. They work even better now that I just pretend I'm losing my hearing. I learned that from my father.
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I'm just cheap. I bet you're a glock guy :p
 
jimmyjames8 said:
Not betting my life on a $18 light from Jeff Bezos. I been thru most of the legit brands. Most are just toys. I depend on Surefire in my go bag, in my night stand and in my vehicles.
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Damn straight. Surefire all the way. I accidentally dropped my 6PX Pro from about 20 feet onto the concrete while it was on & it didn't even blink. Barely put a scratch on it.
 
rdinatal said:
I would like to find a two cell (C or D) LED light that's reasonable $.
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Pay attention to the Thanksgiving sale at Lowes. For several years they had the Maglite C and D size LED's on sale for about $10-15 for a 2-3 day period. I stocked up a few years back and haven't bought any since. I carry the 2C LED in the truck door and it has been pretty good but I wish it was push button vs twist on.
 
Teacher said:
Damn straight. Surefire all the way. I accidentally dropped my 6PX Pro from about 20 feet onto the concrete while it was on & it didn't even blink. Barely put a scratch on it.
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I've dropped my Fury more times that I can count and just has very minor finish blemishes. I carry a SF titan on my keys and it still looks new after a few drops and rubbing on keys all day.

They're not cheap, but they can take a beating. I keep the M3LT at home for use around the house. That one is like a personal spot light.
 
I've got a bunch of surefires and streamlights. One of my streamlights has been run over in my driveway at least once and still works. Just a little scratched up. They've all been through the washing machine multiple times. Even the USB rechargeable one. It just got washed yesterday in fact. Still going strong.
 
BatteryOaksBilly said:
Clint Smithism….STOP buying those high powered flashlights before you set yourself on FIRE!
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Kind of agree. Inside a house those super bright ones are too much. I've got a couple that won't blind me indoors. But outside I like the one that can spot something 50 yards away in the woods. Time and place for every tool.
 
For around the house and glovebox, hard to beat the Harbor Freight light at $10 on sale.
 
I have 2 Surefire 6P's that no longer work. Could possibly be fakes since I bough them at pawn shops. Wife has 2 cheap flashlights from Amazon around the house that she likes. And those things are as bright as my Fenix. The quality of the low end lights has certainly gone up. When I started carrying one it was a $20 Coleman that started to come apart in my pocket. That's when I switched to the Fenix and it was well worth the money I spent. The thing is a tank.
 
tod0987 said:
Pay attention to the Thanksgiving sale at Lowes. For several years they had the Maglite C and D size LED's on sale for about $10-15 for a 2-3 day period. I stocked up a few years back and haven't bought any since. I carry the 2C LED in the truck door and it has been pretty good but I wish it was push button vs twist on.
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I can overlook the twist on. I'll keep my eyes open.
 
BBD280 said:
Unfortunately a single AA flashlight in one pocket is all it takes to balance things out.
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Just realized why I like carrying this. :eek:

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Cheapies, bought in a five pack, about $20?IMG_20181029_154036.jpg
Also have a bigger kootec with a knife in the handle, ooh.
 
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i got a 1000 lumen flashlight made by duracell with 4 c batteries for under $20 has spotlight and floodlight a little big but the best light i have ever had dropped it hard several times hasnt hurt it i use it every nite around 20 minutes i replace batteries once a month . they also carry 300 and 5oo lumen in a 3 pack with batteries when avaible and i saw they have a 1300 lumen light Costco is where i got them got a 500 in all cars they take 4 AAA batteries in a holder keeping it short but bright
 
chiefjason said:
I have 2 Surefire 6P's that no longer work. Could possibly be fakes since I bough them at pawn shops. Wife has 2 cheap flashlights from Amazon around the house that she likes. And those things are as bright as my Fenix. The quality of the low end lights has certainly gone up. When I started carrying one it was a $20 Coleman that started to come apart in my pocket. That's when I switched to the Fenix and it was well worth the money I spent. The thing is a tank.
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Guess it is a crap shoot cause my Fenix is DEAD. :mad:
 
CZfool68 said:
Guess it is a crap shoot cause my Fenix is DEAD. :mad:
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Yeah, my 2 Surefires are dead as a door nail. Switches stopped working. But I have carried that Fenix for years and I am rough on gear. It's been dropped and submerged more times than I can remember. Only thing I have done is change batteries and take it apart to clean it. Anything mechanical can be a crap shoot. My original Coleman would fall apart into multiple pieces in my pocket. It now lives in a drawer but still works.
 
chiefjason said:
Yeah, my 2 Surefires are dead as a door nail. Switches stopped working. But I have carried that Fenix for years and I am rough on gear. It's been dropped and submerged more times than I can remember. Only thing I have done is change batteries and take it apart to clean it. Anything mechanical can be a crap shoot. My original Coleman would fall apart into multiple pieces in my pocket. It now lives in a drawer but still works.
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Mine basically gets carried in a small bag and used up in the mountains around the fire or on the deck. Weird.
 
As to flashlights ... to me they are like tools and I have different ones for different jobs. My EDC is a Streamlight ProTac-1 that will use 1 CR123 or 1AA battery. I got it on sale from Amazon for around $30 last year. It is bright enough for my personal defense plans at 350 Lumens but not so overpowering it kills my own nightvision. Its switch is a good momentary on/click on and I also have it set for Off and High ... not the fancy 5 different levels of light the new fancy ones have ... Keep It Simple Stupid! I have Streamlight and SureFire weapons mounted lights on several firearm. For what I might have to call on to protect my family and myself ... the cheap route is no my choice. Now I do have other flashlights for other tasks ... a 2 cell Lowe’s brand CR123 that puts out 1000 lumens in the vehicles. I have Streamlight and SureFire weapons mounted lights on several firearms. Around the house and shop I have a bunch of cheap ones in drawers, tool boxes, etc any I will say 80-90% of the time they do work the same as my SureFires and Streamlights but there have been several times when they didn’t ... I cheap out on a lot of stuff but tools for SD/HD ain’t one of them. I don’t cheap out on my EDC knife, my EDC SD or HD firearms, my SD/HD ammo, etc cause if they fail my family or myself can’t be “bought back” to life with the dollars I saved.
 
I currently have a Primary Arms branded 700 lume for a bedside light, Streamlight on the Glock and AR, and a cheap Ozark Trail 200L that I take everyday to work. That thing is beat all to hell, even the front lens is bent a little, but it roll's on. I've had a Streamlight Protac HL break on me, and I've had an Olight that was the biggest pile of crap flashlight I've ever bought. The Olight's coating was peeling off within a month of pocket carrying, and broke the first fall from my front pocket to cement at work. I've dropped that Ozark I don't even know how many times, and I paid I think $12.00 for it. Just goes to show how we all can get a dud of a supposedly great light, and buy a cheap chinese light and it roll like a Timex.
 
I like those little flat keychain LED lights to keep on my badge lanyard for work. We're required to have a flashlight with us whenever we go aboard ship in the shipyard. They're plenty bright enough to use to find your way off the ship if all lighting is lost, and always there whenever I need to look at something inside a piece of equipment/connection box. And they're dirt cheap.

I do, however, like a light with some heft to it for some uses, which is why I just bought a new 3 C-cell LED Maglight. There's something to be said about a light which can also double as a dependable club, if need be.
 
Howland said:
WARNING! - Our wives are channeling through @Goofyfoot2001.

Goofyfoot, do those voices in your head have a familiar nagging tone? I highly recommend a Faraday hat. They work. They worked pretty good with earplugs. They work even better now that I just pretend I'm losing my hearing. I learned that from my father.
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When my wife buys a 10 dollar coach purse, I'll stop buying what I want.
 
CZfool68 said:
Kind of agree. Inside a house those super bright ones are too much. I've got a couple that won't blind me indoors. But outside I like the one that can spot something 50 yards away in the woods. Time and place for every tool.
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My 600 Lumen Protac is great outside. Too much light inside; splash back from a white wall will blind you. My 400 Lumen Inforce/HSP WML is much better but it’s momentary only; no constant on setting but for size and weight my next one will be a 300 lumen Arisaka Scout light from @Will

I have two SureFires, an older M951 and a 6P. The M951 was the cats meow for a tac light; now it’s dim and heavy by comparison. It’s still functional so its low on the list for replacement

My daily carry is a 45 lumen single AAA Streamlight Microstream. I use it so much on a daily basis it’s unreal. I lost my first one and seriously was losing my mind til the replacement arrived
 
Got a Fenix with their coupon last year, works great, use their lithium rechargeable cells.
 
CZfool68 said:
Guess it is a crap shoot cause my Fenix is DEAD. :mad:
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Contact them, had one fail and they first sent me a bunch of parts (its a pretty simple device, but whatever) and then sent a new one. I still have the backup parts.

I like Streamlight, Fenix, and Surefire.
More the first two, based on price and lm etc, but I'd rather spend a little more and KNOW Im buying good CS and quality.
 
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