Help selecting a LED tactical style torch

[carpy1]

Hi everyone

Im after a small tactical led torch for walking, camping ect, something thats got a good strong far throwing spot.

I would love a surefire however i do not have the funds so i have done some research and came up with some cheaper alternatives.

However this has raised some questions i would like answers to.

So far my options

1. Solarforce Surefire L2P - 320lms - Cree Q5 Led - £30
2. ULTRAFIRE 501B XMLT6 - 900lms!!! - £25?
3. UltraFire SSC P7 - 900lms - £28

I did have my mind made up with the Solarforce but after seing a cheaper units with near on 3 times the lumines im stumped.

How can the ultrafire be cheaper but produce some many more Lms?
Is this down to build quality?
Is the whole number of lumens meaningless in real life use?

Any other suggestions are very welcome, thanks.

 

[scottishpinz]

I bought one of these and for the money thought it quite good https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brightest-...6YXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318344830&sr=8-1 My review is here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/memb...=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R100KKZJ90JGN4

 

[carpy1]

Thanks for the swift reply.

That torch you linked looks decent, but hows the build quality would you say comparable to the solarforce and ultrafire?

Can you shed any light (excuse the pun) on my questions regarding Lumens, i mean how come i can purchase a ultrafire with 900lms less than the cost of the solarforce with 320lms?.

Thanks

 

[calibanzwei]

Silly lumens on batteries equals short battery life.
If out in the middle of nowhere, wanting decent light AND life, I'd choose the Surefire over the other two.
Then again I choose a Lenser P7 over the Surefire, but that's because I'm a fan of Lenser

 

[pauljm116]

Ive had a few ultrafire torches over the years and they have all been reliable and pretty bombproof. High lumens output does drain the battery quickly though as calibanzwei said.

 

[carpy1]

So what your saying is the 900 lumens is a waste of time?
Im sure they still have a battery life of 1-2hours of constant use.

I did look at the Lenser P7, but its about £40 and its just a little over what i want to spend to be honest.

 

[ateallthepies]

The stated Lumens of these budget torches should be taken with a large pinch of salt. You basically have three different LEDs from two different companies Cree Q5, Cree XML and a Seoul Semi-conductors P7.

Each type of LED will perform to a certain level with a certain current usually supplied through a driver circuit. Each also has a maximum current rating and if you power the LED over this it can get too hot and will either fry completely or will degrade over time depending on how much it is over-driven.

The quality of these 'Fire' brand lights can range from poor to OK. The LED's themselves are OK but the rest can be poor quality especially the switches which can affect performance.

As for the term Lumens, this is the term for the amount of light produced from the LED. Different LED's like in your choices all have different Die sizes (the bit that lights up) and different brightnesses. It is what you do with these Lumens that counts. Use a wide, deep smooth reflector and you have good throw. Use a narrow, shallow orange peel reflector and you have good flood.

Lux is a term used to describe brightness and usually readings are taken at 1 and 5 metres. Lux will tell you how far a beam will go.

Out of your three choices the XML is the latest LED emitter but how it is driven will determine how bright and far it will reach. Use the shop stated lumen rating as a guide. You can look up what each LED will produce lumens wise at a given current on the Cree and SSC sites.

If your bothered, once you choose a light you can measure the current it draws then check this figure with the LED manufacturer tables and see if you are truly getting what you think you are performance wise. Expect to get considerably less lumens than what you were sold.

Does this matter for a relatively cheap flashlight, probably not as you may not even notice the difference in brightness.

Steve.

 

[TeeDee]

Whatever you end up getting I'd suggest you spend £12.00 and get one of these aswell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcOrQNjxWa0

Slightly different model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMluXQvtjOk&feature=related

Use it when you don't need your high power torch. The 'glow' on mode can be 'on' for two years....

 

[Shewie]

Whatever you end up getting I'd suggest you spend £12.00 and get one of these aswell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcOrQNjxWa0

Use it when you don't need your high power torch. The 'glow' on mode can be 'on' for two years....

Where did you find these TD?

 

[TeeDee]

Where did you find these TD?

Here you go Shewie , I keep one of these by my bed , as I get up early.
Very Impressed with it , very Ugly , but works and is always easy to find.

http://www.trekhireuk.com/PALight.html

< I wouldn't bother with the Extra red Cone , unless they offer to chuck one in for free as they did with me>

 

[wales1]

As has been mentioned, its what you do with the lumens, reflector shape etc. Also the biggest difference being the quality of light/LED. Cheaper brands usually throw out a cold icy blue light and better brands usually a warm bright white light. There's also a trade off between battery life/torch size etc.....I use a maglite XL50 LED. Not huge on the lumens front but battery life good, very happy with the beam and functionality of the torch.....oh and its a maglite, so solid kit. Also, fits snugly on a shotgun/rifle mount for lamping/ratting.

Steve

 

[The Lord Poncho]

I've got an Ultrafire with the Cree LED- it's fantastic, although the LED in the first one i was sent burnt out after the first use (got a free replacement sent). Mine has a slightly older 'Q' LED, but its stupidly bright. It has 5 settings - bright, extremely bright, lighthouse bright, then strobe and SOS. Each selected by a brief press of ther on/off switch. Battery life seems ok, but i don't have it switched on much- just used for short bursts. You can get rechargeables for the 501 so you don't use up lots of expensive camera batteries.

 

[ateallthepies]

Your choices and some thoughts...

1. Solarforce Surefire L2P Can't find any specs so unknown run-time and mode levels. Solarforce are generally better quality and the lower modes would make this my choice.

2. ULTRAFIRE 501B XMLT6 Again can't find any specs so unknown run-time and mode levels, probably similar to no. 3.

3. UltraFire SSC P7 Will be bright but at the expense of run-time. Stated at 2 hours run on full, rubbish unless it switches to a lower mode at some point. On a quality 18650 it will theoretically run on full for 1 hour. Does not have a low enough low mode for me.

I used to be a total power hound and throw monkey but after many torches ever increasing in size, have decided that while insane bright and long reach are nice, I now prefer pocket size lights with moderate brightness and good throw. Longer run-times is now more important and also much lower modes like moon mode, 10, 60, 240 and 400 lumens is what I go for.

Steve.

 

[carpy1]

Thanks everyone for the help,

Based on the replies im not going for a daft 900lms led, im going to go for the solarforce.
Just need to choose either on/off version or high, low, strobe and sos versions.

cheers again

 

[DavidJT]

The brighter the torch the more your eyes will close down and spoil your night vision.
Unless you are doing serious search and rescue, or have sight problems, I'd personally choose a well built well designed torch with lower output and hence longer battery life IMHO.
Tesco did some great Cree based torches a while ago, still have one as my regular user, but use a much dimmer non LED little maglight or small head torch around camp, and when night fishing so as not to blind myself.

 

[Ronnie]

I got unbranded dual Cree Q5 torches for my bike for navigating country lanes at night. Really solid, light weight, quality gear. Great for use around the homestead too. Look like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-Q5-B...isure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item4aae21e80b

I did NOT buy them from that seller, and can not vouch for their service.

 

[jeffz]

I find the P3 plenty bright, has an adjustable beam, it's well-made, affordable, tough as they get - and takes a single AAA.

 

[calibanzwei]

Got a P3 myself - lovely little thing.
When the moon and stars are out, I dispense with a torch altogether - try to develop decent night vision (apart from when searching for things in the depths of ones bag!)

 

[rik_uk3]

Take a look at some of the dealextreme torches, superb value for money

http://s.dealextreme.com/search/cree prices include delivery. $1.5 to the £ so divide by 3 and multiply by 2 for £ price.

 

[FGYT]

B&Q do Cree LED torches very good

I have this one £15 http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...s<{9392059}/specificationsProductType=torches

the Zoom makes it throw a long way

its jsut brighter than my Sure fire 6p with 80lum LED head so the quoted 90 lums is fairly accurate and its way brighter at distance with the zoom going much further

i find it easier than my Fenix 1 AA to hold being fatter it talks 3 AAA in a carrier

no adjustable light levels tho