Flashlights????

[Bud]

In the December Owners News, on page 116, Kit Vercella reviews a tactical LED flashlight that sells for $70.

 

I just bought a Mag-Lite XL50 that does all the same things for less than 1/2 the price.

 

What flashlight do you carry on your bike?

[MT Wallet]

I bought a very bright cheapie at Tractor Supply (TSC) about $9.00.

[johnlt]

I carry a Maglite in the tank bag and an LED head lamp in the tool pouch.

[dirtrider]

Morning Bud

 

Years ago just a simple small AA flashlight. Last few years I carry something that makes some serious light--

Streamlight, Compact Polymer Tactical Flashlight --makes 120 Lumens & has a battery half life of nuclear waste.

 

[Shaman97]

I got a cheapie 9 LED three pack on Black Friday at Home Depot for $7. Keep one of those in the tank bag.

[BerndM]

I have a 2/AA Maglite that I converted to LED a while ago with a $6 drop in lamp module that I picked up from WalMart.

Works like a champ and the AA Alkalines seem to last FOREVER compared to the original bulb that was in there.

 

Here's an example of what I found today

 

http://www.basspro.com/Nite-Ize-L-E-D-Upgrade-for-Mini-Maglite/product/67510/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Locally, LED lamp picked up, maybe for free at Harbor Freight. Any distance traveling gets a small LED and my trusty old Surefire 6P, LED strobe road flare thingy plus a LED headlamp.

[Guest Kakugo]

A small, very bright LED torchlight I bought locally. It fits in the small loop inside the radio compartment perfectly.

[WestyLancs]

Maglite AA fits nicely in the clip in my RT 'glovebox'.

Coicidentally almost the same colour as the bike

[Selden]

I update them every few years, because LED light output/efficiency keeps improving. The difference between a 3-year old single LED light and a new one is amazing. The one I currently have allows me to slip a translucent cover (a cap from some sort of spray bottle), over the light end, which protects the lens from dust and scratching, yet still casts a good enough beam for most purposes; if I need more focus, I just snap off the cap..

[moshe_levy]

Maglite. But in truth, the LED flashlight on my Iphone is every bit as good.

 

-MKL

[lkraus]

Working telephone repair for 25 years, I carried a Mini-Maglite. It was used daily (and many nights) in all weathers, dropped frequently, and still works great. I went through a set of AA's every 2-3 weeks and a bulb ($2.50) every third set of batteries. I found a Niteize LED conversion at WalMart for about $8. That gave a much brighter light and extended battery life to about 3 months. I retired about 8 years later and it (and the same LED) now travel in the glove compartment clip of my RT at all times.

 

I seldom get very far away from a small $9 LED flashlight from Meritline.com that was recommended on one of the BMW forums. Using a single AA battery, it can throw a very bright focused beam over 600 feet. It also sees a lot of use in the shop for parts inspection or for finding those parts that get away from me. If you can't find something with this light, maybe your seeing-eye dog can! Meritline distributes these from China so delivery takes 2-3 weeks, but shipping is free. I'll probably be ordering more of these as my wife keeps "borrowing" mine. If this light has a fault, it is that is too bright for some uses.

 

I also get a lot of shop use from a Streamlight Septor headlamp that I received as a gift. It gives me light exactly where I need it, keeps my hands free and has three different brightness levels. I'll probably take it camping with me next year. If I were buying a replacement I'd shop a bit - I suspect there are equivalent headlamps for half the cost, or brighter ones for the same cost.

 

Look around, there are entire forums just for flashlight fanatics. Discussions there make our oil threads look pretty tame.

 

 

 

 

 

[elkroeger]

I have an old AA maglite that I upgraded to an LED. That lives in my tool bag.

 

I park in a dark (pitch black, actually) location at work, so I also have a little light like this velcro-ed to my helmet, just about on the chin bar, so it works like a headlamp. I forget exactly which one it is, but it works beautifully.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I update them every few years, because LED light output/efficiency keeps improving. The difference between a 3-year old single LED light and a new one is amazing.

 

I have an LED flashlight that I've had for 10+ years, and yes, it's a piece-o-crap compared to what's now available. Been meaning to upgrade, probably will do so this winter. Like my current one, the upgrade will be the dorky-looking kind that you can strap to your head. This is an immensely valuable feature if you need both hands free to work on something, e.g. fixing your bike by the side of the road after dark. Princeton Tec makes some good stuff; you can find theirs (and other brands) on display at REI stores.

 

[tallman]

Energizer crank LED

never needs batteries or bulbs

no gotchas

caribiner to clip

 

I've been carrying an early gen LED crank the past 5 years, replaced with this.

[dirtrider]

---- Like my current one, the upgrade will be the dorky-looking kind that you can strap to your head. This is an immensely valuable feature if you need both hands free to work on something, e.

 

Morning Mitch

 

You might look into some of the newer (dual) power head mounted lights.

 

A friend of mine had a Stremlight two stage (head mounted) light at the last camping weekend. I really liked the 2 light outputs it had & am going to get one myself this winter.

 

On high power it had a very powerful extremely bright beam & on low power it was just enough to navigate & do non precision things.

 

The low power has two functions, first it quadruples the battery life (like all summer)

 

The low power also helps preserve night vision so when you turn it off you aren't night blind for 10 minutes.

 

 

[Sidmariner]

Usually, the most disappointing thing about a flashlight is its light output, so we end up spending a fortune on things like Maglights just to get a brighter beam. Once I figured out I could buy Kyrpton bulbs in bulk from any electrical supplier I converted a bunch of my old flashlights into super-bright lights and saved a bundle on replacements. Even Dollar-store flashlight bodies become useful with the conversion.

[SAAB93driver]

There are a lot of LED lights on the market now. On the bike I like compact. I carry this one, you can't beat it for being compact and it puts out a lot more light than you might think and is made in the USA and like most LED lights, the batteries last a very long time. You can even make a headlamp out of it with their headband.

 

http://www.9voltlight.com/home

 

 

[tallman]

All of which are cool.

 

But, if you have the flashlight and dead batteries, well...

that seems to happen a lot.

 

For me LED w/crank, small and always works.

 

For home use one with a weather radio is great for severe weather.

 

Raise your hand if you've never tried a flashilight and found it had dead batteries.

 

Thought so...

[johnlt]

I agree on my home flashlights. I oftern have weak (rarely dead) batteries but not on my bike. Don't use it much at all on the bike and the shelf life of even regular dry cell batteries is years, not months. On a long trip, checking the batteries on my bike lights is part of getting ready.

[dirtrider]

 

 

--- but not on my bike. Don't use it much at all on the bike and the shelf life of even regular dry cell batteries is years, not months. ----

 

Afternoon John

 

A agree with you on that-- My bike (flash) lights have CR123A LITHIUM BATTERIES in then & those last years & years without going dead. (much better than AA or other regular flashlight batteries)

 

If fact I haven't ever reached for one of my lithium battery flashlights & found it dead.

 

[Bill_Walker]

I carry a Petzl LED headlamp and a cheap multi-LED mini light, but like Moshe, in the limited usage I've actually needed, it's usually been handier to use my iPhone with a flashlight utility, since it's always handy. But then, I don't camp. If I camped, I think the Petzl headlamp would get a lot of use.

[markgoodrich]

Morning Bud

 

Years ago just a simple small AA flashlight. Last few years I carry something that makes some serious light--

Streamlight, Compact Polymer Tactical Flashlight --makes 120 Lumens & has a battery half life of nuclear waste.

 

Which one? They have millions of different models.

[Codeman]

I've been carrying a foursevens model the last year or two. Mine is the Quark tactical. Some of their lights are amazing including the $2300 15000 lumen Maelstrom 18. Most are much more affordable and put out hundreds of lumens. Mine has held up well. Find them here... www.foursevens.com They constantly are having sales.

[Camhead in STL]

I use the Fenix LD20, incredible brightness, really long battery life, fits the clamp in the RT glove box. http://j.mp/FenixF20

[dirtrider]

Morning Bud

 

Years ago just a simple small AA flashlight. Last few years I carry something that makes some serious light--

Streamlight, Compact Polymer Tactical Flashlight --makes 120 Lumens & has a battery half life of nuclear waste.

 

Which one? They have millions of different models.

 

Morning Mark

 

That's a good question. I will have to look in the bike to see what the exact model is. (it's a few years old so probably slightly different models now)

 

I took a quick look at the Streamlight web site & you are correct they have MANY.

 

[outpost22]

All of which are cool.

 

But, if you have the flashlight and dead batteries, well...

that seems to happen a lot.

 

For me LED w/crank, small and always works.

 

For home use one with a weather radio is great for severe weather.

 

Raise your hand if you've never tried a flashilight and found it had dead batteries.

 

Thought so...

 

Bingo.

 

I keep a wind up flashlight in every vehicle, right next to the LED type that takes batteries.

[markgoodrich]

All of which are cool.

 

But, if you have the flashlight and dead batteries, well...

that seems to happen a lot.

 

For me LED w/crank, small and always works.

 

For home use one with a weather radio is great for severe weather.

 

Raise your hand if you've never tried a flashilight and found it had dead batteries.

 

Thought so...

 

Bingo.

 

I keep a wind up flashlight in every vehicle, right next to the LED type that takes batteries.

 

Saw these at Home Depot last night, I think they were two for less than ten bucks.

[barryd]

I use a AAA LED maglight, with a lithium battery installed for better charge retention. (Better cold temp performance too, but that's less of an issue for the bike's light).

 

[Fubar]

A $5, 27 LED light I got at Harbor Freight. It is shaped like a deck of cards and just a bit smaller. Flat back so you can put it on the ground and look up without it rolling away. I think it has a magnet on it as well.

Now if I can only remember to carry my reading glasses so I can see what is so well lit up!

[Rougarou]

Surefire, anything less is just a candle.

 

 

[GRB60]

Four Sevens Quark QP2A-X. $55 on Amazon. AA batteries are everywhere. You get more light from the CR123 lithium battery but may not find them in a pinch.

Surefires look good, but real pricey.

[elkroeger]

When I was a kid, I had one of those radio shack 5 D cell flashlights. Remember them? Flashlight Museum Link. (actually, that flashlight museum is pretty interesting...)

 

That, and the "Free Battery Club" card: One free battery every month! Zinc-Carbon, no less. WOW, what a deal!

[g_frey]

Many "tactical" lights are very bright but check out the hours they run. Quite frankly most are useless for extended roadside repairs or camping. Now I regulate the "tacticals" I am given to my shelf and use something that lasts long enough to be useful. Funny but they seem to cost about 20 % of the tacs price too.

[g_frey]

Whoops almost exactly the same specs as my 'tactical" flashlight 3 hours to 10 percent. Not enough for my multi-day trips and camping out in "rural" Montana is not a place to look for batteries. Enjoy it but back it up on trips maybe. I too remember the old days when D cells lasted an hour maybe??

[dirtrider]

Morning Critical

 

A lot of the newer tactical lights have dual/triple modes with high intensity main bulbs (those do have shorter battery life on full power main bulb) but also have a low power setting(s) or secondary LED bulbs that draw very little power & have very long battery life (like all summer).

 

[Camhead in STL]

How hard is it to pack a couple AAs? The Fenix I use lasts around 6 hours on high and about 2 summers on low... so if I pack 4 AAs, I'm good for 24hours of signally aircraft.

[g_frey]

Yep AAs are the way to go. My bright flashlight uses CR123s? at $17 a pop and lasts about 3 hours and then goes down fast to useless. My chinese cheapie uses AAs and lasts 7 hours or more so far then tapers off to useless. I have a chance of finding AAs on tour and a not so good chance finding the $17 battery.

[dirtrider]

Evening Critical

 

Wow, where are you buying your CR 123a's from? I buy (10) 123a's for less than that $18.00 online including free shipping.

 

The 123a has an exceptional long shelf life so can be bought at a good price & stored until needed. I have some that are over 10 years old that still work great.

 

[flat_twin]

This one is 83 years old and still works pretty good. Takes up a lot of room in the trunk unfortunately.

 

 

[g_frey]

I got mine at Radio Shack but will look elsewhere now.

[g_frey]

Wow after some prodding I checked battery prices on the web. Wow have I been paying too much by a long way. Thanks for the info.

[mig]

I carry 3 LED lights

one in my tool kit with a piece of paper between the battery and the cap to preent accidental usage, A cheap harbor frieght one in the glove box and a Jetbeam Raptor S2 in my suit pocket.

it has variable intensity and can also strobe. Its hella bright and I have been using the same lithion battery for about 2 years. I figure the strobe could come in handy if I got launched from the bike down the side of the road and would be noticed.