OT: 18650 flashlight

[Mowgli]

Decent light can be had for under $10. I've got two these Ultrafire Wf-502b Cree Xm-l T6 Led 5 Mode Focus Flashlight @ Amazon.com

I got a couple of these and they are bright with a decent feature set. For $8.50 each it's a deal!
They get hot within a minute using the highest setting but they're a helluva light for under ten bucks

 

[Aaron1100us]

Bright flashlights are cool, especially when they make the high beams on your car look dull lol.

 

[zapped]

Alot of flashlights that take 3 AA batteries will also accept an 18650.

If you pull it apart and see this plastic cylinder that the 3 AAs are supposed to be fitted into its almost a sure bet. They typically look like this:




I've found them at Harbor Freight for under 5 bucks.

Just be aware that the light will be hotter and brighter with the larger battery and you run the risk of burning out the led with continual use.

 

[bushmaster]

I ordered one of these lights after reading the original post. It came to my PO box quickly but died within five minutes of its first use. Amazon gave me a full refund and it was cool but I kept remembering those first five minutes during which it worked.......sure was bright.
I thought I couldn't be unlucky twice in a row so I ordered another. It's worked great for several months now. Sure is bright.

 

[xxJollyRogerxx]

So i was just wondering if these $8ish flashlights are a waste of money or if they are ok?
I just can't see myself dropping $70 on a flashlight even if it is very high end!

 

[Filthy-Beast]

I've been using two of them for months very bright, as mentioned they can get hot if you run them on the highest setting. Middle setting is still very bright but does not get as hot. No regrets with my purchase.

 

[nerak]

So i was just wondering if these $8ish flashlights are a waste of money or if they are ok?
I just can't see myself dropping $70 on a flashlight even if it is very high end!

I paid a little more than $8 for mine but I love them! The brightness is amazing!

Mine are almost all metal housing. Very good quality for the price. I got both the 18650 and the 14500.

DB POWER Ultrafire 1000 Lm Lumen Cree 501b Xm-l T6 LED Flashlight Torch High Power - Basic Handheld Flashlights - Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=35OHGPZ721G24&C=3T5MUR8F9569O&H=AGHJ25HQAENVDU7LHYOCHH2SDE8A&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB006E0QAFY%2Fref%3Dpe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

 

[six]

And then my favorite is the ThruNite TN12, can tail stand and has a true low light (moon) setting. Amazon.com: ThruNite TN12 2014 Flashlight, Cree XM-L2 U2 LED, Max Output 1050 Lumens: Sports & Outdoors

This is an excellent recommendation. - ~Thirty bucks cheaper than a PD35 and every bit as good.. plus the moonlight/firefly mode (I almost consider that a must have after carrying a maratac AAA for more than a year - I use firefly a lot for all sorts of reasons). There are a few older and new editions of the PD35 in the work trucks at one of my jobs. Just a few weeks ago, I noticed a couple of TN12s in the office. I snagged one for my truck... And a couple of nights ago, I ordered one for myself. I've occasionally considered laying down the more than I want to part with for a flashlight stack of greenbacks for a PD35 of my own... I like the TN12 better and it has a way nicer price tag so I ran out of reasons not to get one for myself.

 

[Filthy-Beast]

This is an excellent recommendation. - ~Thirty bucks cheaper than a PD35 and every bit as good.. plus the moonlight/firefly mode (I almost consider that a must have after carrying a maratac AAA for more than a year - I use firefly a lot for all sorts of reasons). There are a few older and new editions of the PD35 in the work trucks at one of my jobs. Just a few weeks ago, I noticed a couple of TN12s in the office. I snagged one for my truck... And a couple of nights ago, I ordered one for myself. I've occasionally considered laying down the more than I want to part with for a flashlight stack of greenbacks for a PD35 of my own... I like the TN12 better and it has a way nicer price tag so I ran out of reasons not to get one for myself.

I looked long and hard at the PD35 also but in the end I had to have tail stand. I can stand the TN12 up and have it bounce off the ceiling to light up a bigger area. They made the button so big on the PD35 it will not tail stand.

 

[Funk Dracula]

Received my UL-1 a few days ago, it's not a bad tiny little thing to throw in my laptop bag and completely forget about, until it's needed. I can see it being useful to plug into my laptop, or SP1 charger and pointing it at the ceiling with it's included gooseneck for a bit of ambient light duties when the power goes out, leaving a handheld flashlight free to walk around with. If you point it at the ceiling with the gooseneck, it does well with a nice super floody/diffused beam. It's no bigger than a flash drive. Definitely recommend for those of us who travel and tote around laptops.

I've been using an 18650 Convoy I ordered off of fastech last fall on a whim, and it's been great, but bumping this thread sort of peaked my interest and attention span towards flashlights lately. The Convoy I have has been the bees knees for hiking and such, but yeah it's kind of a one trick pony, as in it goes from damn bright, to holy crap, to OMG HOLY CRAP. After seeing the UL-1, I'm realizing it would be really useful to have a handheld with more even spaced modes, especially a nice lower range mode.

So I kind of splurged on some superfluous flashlight stuff. Ordered a Solarforce L2 P60 drop-in host, and some more affordable drop-ins to try out different LED types: Nichia high CRI, MT-G2, some colors (for gits and shiggles), etc.

I also found that there are a couple nifty flashlights that can fit and handle 18350 batteries, and they gain considerable power when driven with IMRs compared to the CR123s. They look small enough to to throw in your pocket and probably not feel it's even there. I'm really considering one... I've got plenty of AW 18350s that are not seeing much use at all outside of my Hammer mech that gets used for like 1 hour every two weeks or so. The Jetbeam RRT-01 is infinitely adjustable from 0 to something like 600+ lumens on an 18350, and it's around 80mm in length. Very tempting...

I can't believe I actually spent some good hours reading about flashlights, then ordered a P60 host, in order to research what kind of "expensive" bigger flashlight I will no doubt soon purchase. Sigh... I sometimes absolutely hate how my brain can go off on tangents like this at times. I mean... seriously... flashlights??? Sigh...

 

[Filthy-Beast]

LMAO, yeap you can get lost in the flashlight forums for sure

 

[xxJollyRogerxx]

Thanks for the feedback Filthy; it was those Crees I was looking at but it just seemed too cheap, you know what i mean. But then I know diddly about flash lights other than a Duracell

 

[Filthy-Beast]

Thanks for the feedback Filthy; it was those Crees I was looking at but it just seemed too cheap, you know what i mean. But then I know diddly about flash lights other than a Duracell

Yeah I got one just to see what they were like. Now I have 3 of them around the house.

 

[RattlerX]

Will all flashlights that use 2 CR123A batteries accept a 18650?

 

[Funk Dracula]

Will all flashlights that use 2 CR123A batteries accept a 18650?

Most 99% of all newer ones that mention 2 CRA123's go hand in hand with an 18650.

However, keep in mind CR123s are 16mm (aka 16340 ICR/IMR in our neck of the woods), so if it's an older flashlight (more than maybe 5 years old?), it's likely that an 18650 won't fit because it's too fat.

With new models, I've noticed some now come with plastic tubes to insert CR123 batteries in so they don't rattle around, because the tubes are all now milled to 18mm diameter to accommodate an 18650. Not the case with single CR123 flashlights though, they are still mostly 16mm except for two models that an 18350 will squeeze into that I've read about.

When in doubt with a particular model, google.

 

[RattlerX]

Yea I was taking the lazy way out today and thought I would just ask instead of reading.

Thank you for the reply it let me know what I needed....for now anyways

My adult daughters were discussing something a few weeks ago and of course like a good father I was eavesdropping. I heard one say GTS it.....so I had to ask what is GTS...I was quickly informed that it meant "Google That .....". I still think they are laughing at me for not understanding the current lingo.

 

[Filthy-Beast]

Yea I was taking the lazy way out today and thought I would just ask instead of reading.

Thank you for the reply it let me know what I needed....for now anyways

My adult daughters were discussing something a few weeks ago and of course like a good father I was eavesdropping. I heard one say GTS it.....so I had to ask what is GTS...I was quickly informed that it meant "Google That .....". I still think they are laughing at me for not understanding the current lingo.

thanks for sharing now I wont be lost when mine say it.

 

[built4feel]

Im fienden for a flashlight! Im gonna talk to my uncle, who gave me a "streamlight" tactical flashlight a few years back. I've misplaced the light, for now, but I think it takes one of the CR's... I've got three purple efest 18650's that need a torch though

That streamlight is insane though! Ive got to find that thing...

edit:

I just found it! Its a TL-2, and it takes 2 cr123a's... sadly, the tube is a few mm's too small to fit the 18650.. :'(

 

[Funk Dracula]

Another bump to show off my new and improved tactical light: The Eagletac G25C2vn custom upgraded by the infamous Vinh Nguyen.

Vinh ups the amps of the stock driver from 2.8A to ~ 4.8A, re-does the switch, and adds heat sinking tweaks/ability. Now it's nearing 1500 lumens and beam/tint focused. It also has his custom "V54" engraving on it.

In it's category/class (small tactical), Vinh's version of this light has to be the absolute best there possibly is. Having owned the stock version of this light, I can clearly see where his improvements are. This is amazing work. The tint and beam are PERFECT. It's fine tuned and pushed as hard as the Eagletac driver/UI can be, and I can't emphasize enough how awesome I think the Eagletac UI is.


Cheers

 

[thewomenfolk]

LIke everybody else, I've owned a billion flashlights, but this one below is the best small (4in.) flashlight I've ever had. It's so bright my daughter screamed when I turned it on (she's an adult). It's extremely bright in a perfect big circle. After buying the first one, I bought several for gifts. Read the reviews.

I got the Opus charger earlier this past summer, and use it to recharge my flashlight batts. I've never had a recharger for AA, AAA, etc that worked very well, but this one is awesome and the Eneloop batteries last forever after charged. The fellow who made this charger said he's making a charger that will recharge our vape-type batteries. Said it would be done in the Fall and that's now. So I must go back to the page and ask if it's done...or look for it on Amazon. I just never buy batteries any more. (Except vape batts)

Flashlight
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FEGYCO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Opus charger
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JL3XL2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1