Next flashlight purchase advice

[dks]

yes, I though I posted a link to it but it was in the phone charging thread   

[Steinar]

For those of us living in places where we have winter, a pretty important aspect of preferring Lithium batteries is as simple as... getting any power at all. Lithium batteries are some of the least bad when it gets cold.

[enki_ck]

For those of us living in places where we have winter, a pretty important aspect of preferring Lithium batteries is as simple as... getting any power at all. Lithium batteries are some of the least bad when it gets cold.

True, also Eneloops work good in cold temperatures, down to -20°C as per manufacturer. Anything below that, only Lithiums. I used to exchange Eneloops for Energizer Lithium primaries each winter before I found that out. Now I do it only if it gets REALLY cold.

http://www.eneloop.info/eneloop/whats-eneloop.html

[Landrew]

I guess I should have clarified that my gripe was against rechargeable lithium batteries in an EDC LED light, and I still feel that way. I'm sure that there exists a superbly designed, rechargeable Li-on compact LED flashlight, that will perform dependably for years, but I haven't seen it so far.

I do use the lithium dry cells (such as the Energizer Ultimate Lithium) for long life and cold weather performance in my flashlights.

[dks]

It seems you are worried about the design/reliabilty of the torch, rather than the batteries.
Some torches take both LiIons and regular (AA, AAA) batteries, if you need to have both options and great flexibilty, (Li-ions - Alkalines - Rechargeable NiMh...).

Some people like LiIons, some do not. Try to use better brands, with genuine Panasonic, Sanyo cells for better performance, as shown in enci's post.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I guess I should have clarified that my gripe was against rechargeable lithium batteries in an EDC LED light, and I still feel that way. I'm sure that there exists a superbly designed, rechargeable Li-on compact LED flashlight, that will perform dependably for years, but I haven't seen it so far.

I do use the lithium dry cells (such as the Energizer Ultimate Lithium) for long life and cold weather performance in my flashlights.

As much as I've griped about Quarks in the past, their 1xAA EDC lights are a good value for a quality torch.  They can use any chemistry in the AA format; alkaline, nimh, L91, or RCR, and the ones I have have been durable and performed well.

If you're interested in a torch that does really well that doesn't use RCR's, look at the Zebralights.

[gregozedobe]

I've read recently that Sanyo are going to be (or have just) releasing 3rd generation LSD eneloops that are supposed to work better in cold conditions, so that may save a bit of expenditure on primary lithiums for some people.  Of course it may take a while for these to make their way to retail outlets.

[ICanFixThat]

I may have ordered this one too. .... (Image removed from quote.)

Looks really nice!

[ICanFixThat]

Personally, I think Lithium Ion batteries are a mismatch with an LED flashlight.  They tend to discharge themselves over time (some, not all) as well as loss of capacity (10-20% per year in some cases).  Most LED flashlights have run-times of over several hours, which is sufficient for most applications. 

There is also a minor but significant fire risk, using Lithium cells, especially in harsh environments.

An alkaline cell seems much more suitable, as they tend to hold their power over longer periods of time, and have a longer shelf life, up to 10 years in some cases.  Also, an alkaline cell is much more available when you need one, unlike a way to charge a rechargeable light when you really need it.

Re-edit: I meant to refer only to rechargeable Lithium Ion, batteries, not the Lithium cells which substitute for alkaline cells.  I based my opinions on personal experience and research.

Sorry, but most of what you just said isn't true. More the opposite. And you're mixing up Lithium primaries and Lithium rechargeables. As a rule Lithium primaries are SAFER than any alkaline for flashlight use. They have a much longer shelf life, +15 years, and they don't leak. As for Lithium rechargeables, there's no danger in using them in single battery flashlights, the dangers you speak of are only if you use mismatched (maybe even unprotected) Lithium rechargeables with different power levels, when instaid of powering the flashlight, the the stronger battery starts charging the weaker and BOOM. And those cases are due to user error, not the batteries themselves. As for loss of capacity, good quality protected rechargeables like the AW ones have a very low self discharge rate, almost negligible.

+10 enki

[enki_ck]

The first part, the Zebralight arrived today, I'm still playing with it so I'll post my impressions in a few days. Still waiting on the BLF mini 01.

[enki_ck]

I ended up buying not one but two flashlights.


The Zebralight by popular demand (and you guys say I don't listen to you ) and a BLF Mini 01 (a special run of the TrustFire Mini-01 with more sensible UI).

Here they are next to the 47s Quark 123 tactical and the ITP A2 for size reference.


I like them both.

The Zebralight is nice, well build, Really bright on eneloops for an AA flashlight. The UI takes some time to get used to and it does have some features I don't like. One of those great on paper things. If I could have it my way I'd reverse the UI. Tap for low, long press for high. Makes much more sense. I occasionally blast past the low or I don't press it long enough and it turns on in high. Not so pleasant if you just woke up at 3 am and get blinded with 200 lumens instead of moonlight or low. I never accidently turned it on in low when I wanted high. And it would solve the hot pocket issue some people have been having. Not so big of a deal if your flashlight was accidently turned on in moonlight. It would take days to deplete the battery. On high? Better carry an extra one.  

I added a small neodymium magnet to the tali cap of mine. I used double sided mirror tape, something like the 3M VHB found on Nite Ize products like the eClipse and similar. Easily removable if I decide to not like it anymore. It doesn't add much extra length, maybe 2mm and it can be very useful. The magnet isn't strong enough to interfere with the battery spring and the electronics and switch are on the other side of the flashlight anyways.

[enki_ck]

Now for the tiny pocket rocket.





This thing is BRIGHT and hardly bigger that the battery powering it.





It runs on either Cr123 primaries or RCR123a rechargeables and the UI (=User Interface, I just realized not everyone is familiar with the terms used here) is set to Low/Mid/High ---> 2/30/100% and no strobe. The original TrustFire Mini-01 has a high, low, stroble UI but this makes much more sense to me.


The low is enough for most tasks, I'd say maybe ~10-ish lumens and the high, +350 lumens easily on RCR's. It gets warm fast though on high which is understandable for a flashlight this size. And it's not like I need that much power for extended periods of time.


The beam is very floody thanks to the nice big orange pealed reflector and XML T6 emitter. I like it. The beam colour is nice too.
 


There is a GITD O-ring (= Glow In The Dark) around the lens which glows for a few minutes when you turn off the light. Neat feature but not very useful in my opinion. I did have a bit of a problem with mine as the O-ring wasn't fitted correctly and a part of it was sticking out, but that was soon mended.



It has a centered keyring attachment point and comes with a short chain and split ring but I find CR123 flashlights are too big for keychain carry. This one fits nicely in the watch pocket (small/change/5th pocket ... however you may call it).



All in all not a bad flashlight, especially for the $17.50 shipped.

I think I fed my flashlight hunger for a while now. Well ... maybe that Fenix 1xAAA headlamp.