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Any flashlight enthusiasts? Great half-off LED flashlight deal.
Learn my love of flashlights from Reddit and got this deal. I'm not sponsored or shilling just like this flashlights and wanted to share the deal. (And cut my teeth on posting here.)
Sofirn flashlights are highly regarded in the flashlight community. I've gotten a few of their torches and I've never been disappointed. This is a pretty amazing deal which includes the 18650 Li-ion battery with built in C charging.
https://www.amazon.com/promocode/A1ULCAIBGHXI4S
Note that you have to clip the 20% off coupon on Amazon as well as use the promo for 30% off.
Any other flashlight fans here? What's your poison?
When you say flashlight enthusiast, like, how many flashlights do you have? How did you become a flashlight enthusiast?
I don't have that many.
Headlamp, EDC, Big boy, and the show stopper today stays in my car .
But they are all well vetted by the flashligh community and are so much better than anything I've had before. They actually meet the lumens stated, come with good batteries and can be charged with a C charger from the flashlight itself, have the user software to be able to make slight changes to the user interface, and are offered in different light tones for bluer or more natural light.
I've got about a dozen in regular use (or at least charged-and-ready-to-use) in various locations and specific purposes.
damn, promotion has ended. Thanks anyway!
Way too damn many - both flooders and throwers, in pretty much every standard battery size, and often multiples of them. Enough that I would not be concerned about any sort of blackout, and - as I grew up in a very rural location - multiple-day blackouts were normal during the year. Rain would fall, wind would blow, landslides would bring a tree or five down on the lines, and it'd take at least a day for the power company to fix it.
That's mostly why I got into them. I went looking for a bright flashlight I could use when walking around after sunset - I live in the 'burbs now, but some of the bus stops I use are a km+ away from home and need me to cross not particularly well-lit roads - or during blackouts, and fell down the rabbit hole. They are just ridiculously brighter than anything I grew up with, their light is more pleasant than the 6500K+ LEDs in cheap supermarket lights, they last longer, and you can use them to set things on fire. Forget being afraid of the dark - the dark is afraid of me now!
They are just
coolpleasantly hot, you know?I'm a scuba instructor and underwater photographer. I've spent more money on lights than I did 3 of my cars combined.
Which may also say something about some of my older cars...
I have this, plus a diffuser I got from spicy3d on r/flashlight. It’s great! #notashill
Same light with battery? Was it $14.99?
I don’t remember.
I wouldn't call myself a flashlight enthusiast, per se... but I do have an EDC kit with a bunch of stuff, and a flashlight is one of those things. Mine is a LUMINTOP Tool 2.0 (14500 and AA battery compatible), and it's by far the best flashlight I have ever purchased. For how incredibly small it is, it is insanely powerful, bright, and the 14500 battery lasts a surprisingly long time. And I also really like that I can just swap in an AA in a pinch, if my 14500 runs out of juice or I forget to recharge it.
p.s. Speaking of EDC. From an old comment of mine, for those interested:
That's quite the kit! I'd probably include a few Band-Aids and possibly first aid items before a diamond file but you never know when you're going to have to file your way out of a prison cell! /s
Hah. Yeah, the saw and file would have been a bit overkill which is why I never wound up doing it. But don't worry, I also have a bunch of medical stuff in another bag that I usually take with me too with Bandaids, gauze, compression bandages, Polysporin, after-bite, benadryl, alcohol swabs, etc. I like to be prepared (it helps reduce my anxiety). :)
I don't have a lot of use for flashlights since a cell phone will do, but I have a red keychain flashlight that's the size of a quarter and has lasted forever on its first battery. I'm glad I have it.
Personally I find cell phone flashlights lacking in intensity and also very difficult to hold for most tasks. But I will say they certainly are always with us and that is amazing. For me and "EDC" flashlight stays in my car or is brought with me when I think I might possibly need it.
Yes, sometimes they're awkward.
To me, being dim and red is an advantage because it doesn't affect my night vision. The keychain flashlight only has a button that you have to hold down, though, so it's mostly emergency use. There's another model with a switch.
I might like a hands-free red flashlight if I got into astronomy more. When I visited Chabot observatory, they wore red-illuminated name tags that seemed pretty cool.
Omg I love this for keychain flashlights. (Not shilling, just like it.)
I love it too, though apparently quality control might be lacking. One of the two I've had failed (started strobing annoyingly on any setting) and when I searched online I found many similar stories
I still use my working one a lot though. When it works, it's great!
I bet the company would send you a new one
Hehe I didnt know anyone else called themselves a flashlight enthusiast. I love this one. Absolutely blindingly bright when all of the lights are on, right down to a night light for reading and not disturbing your bed partner. Flashing red beams too for cyclists or emergencies. I wear it all the time car and house repairs. Highly recommend. (Sorry for the Amazon link, didnt know how else to show it)
Okay I'm about to nerd out on you ready? And I by no means saying that the linked flashlight isn't good especially for that price. But here are the depths of the rabbit hole I followed.
Deep breath
Lumens listed on Amazon are horrendously accurate. My headlamp is 1800 lumens and Is brighten up for anything. I also have a 16,000 lumen flashlight that I've seen tested on YouTube. It's brightest setting can out shine my new Mazda's LED high beams. This many lumens uses crazy amount of power and makes everything extremely hot so the light limits itself after 20 to 30 seconds.
DEEPER
It uses 3 x 21700 batteries that are 4000 mAh each rated 40 amp (10C) discharge. And weighs >1.5 pounds.
In comparison some amazoner posted the battery pack included tested at 1133mAh with no statement on it's discharge rating.
What I'm getting at is caveat emptor. For 20 bucks I'm going to buy one of these to use when I don't want to take my pricey ones. But especially when buying more expensive or performance lights look for either a lumen test online or ask a weirdo like me. I promise the difference is staggering.
If you're interested in taking a sip of the Kool-Aid try this hand held
https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/sofirn-sp36-blf-anduril-2-0-rechargeable-flashlight-5650-lumens-powerbank-output?variant=a7a88eda-6e90-4e69-b7a3-640b228d4177
Do you use it for burning holes in the side of the garage or... ?? lol
Yeah, I like flashlights and I seem to collect them without even trying, and every time I see one in the store I have to keep reminding myself that I dont NEED another one, but Ive never quite reached that depth of nerdiness :) Ive definitely seen a few youtubes though of that guy that made a beam that lights up the road and the trees a mile ahead with a beam thats like its a nuclear meltdown inside a flashlight. Very cool. Too bad you have to drive out into the middle of nowhere to turn it on, otherwise the neighbors would be calling about an alien landing.
Lol! I mostly use it for what I've dubbed "bright light duels." I challenge somebody who talks about having a bright flashlight or whom I see holding anything above average.
We don't point it at each other of course. Just in the trees. So far I've won 3 of 3, with two out of three telling me that they just needed to charge their light. So as a gentleman I offer them to charge off of my flashlight which does reverse charging.
They're out there. https://xkcd.com/1603/
Got a few Nitecores for work (since they're plastic), a few scuba lights, and got a Wurkos most recently because usb-c charging is convenient. It's worth having one in each car and one for travel in the carry on.
Perfect! lol
I'm still clinging to my original Kickstarter Hexbright programmable flashlight with custom firmware. It's not the brightest light by a wide margin, especially not today, but I've not seen anything else like it.
Edit - As an example of what I mean, here is the README from my Hexbright firmware:
Operation
While the Hexbright is powered down, a quick press of the button will power up the Hexbright; repeated presses will increase power to the LED driver and then power down the Hexbright.
While the Hexbright is powered down, a long press of the button will power up the Hexbright in standby mode; repeated presses will increase power to the LED driver and then power down the Hexbright, exiting standby mode.
Holding the button while the LED driver is on will enter dazzle mode until released.
Auto-Off
Once the Hexbright has been powered on for a period of time the next button press will always power down the Hexbright rather than cycle through the remaining power levels.
Standby Mode
While in standby mode the Hexbright will automatically power down its LED driver after a period of inactivity, powering the LED driver again once movement is detected. While in standby mode the Hexbright will continue to consume minimal power.
Dazzle Mode
While in dazzle mode the Hexbright will quickly and randomly strobe the LED driver at full power. As I am not an expert I will simply state that I believe dazzle mode should be used with great caution regarding photosensitive epilepsy.
Have you used a flashlight that uses Anduril 2.0? Maybe not quite in depth but definitely take a look. More options than I need personally.
https://abload.d/img/fwaa_anduril21mkpk.png
I hadn’t heard of it before, but now I’ve got your comment bookmarked to jump down that rabbit hole later. Thanks!
If you really want to go down this rabbit hole, it's a big one - e.g. there's a guy in China named Hank who makes and sells a range of flashlights under the Noctigon and Emisar brands, and there's even a dedicated subreddit for his flashlights, /r/hanklights.
I have one of the D4V2s and it's very nice - it's got four LEDs that come on two at a time, giving me the ability to go back and forth between a more narrow "spotlight" beam and a wider "flood" beam. It runs the open-source firmware Anduril, which @vagueallusion linked elsewhere.
But I'm not at all "into" the hobby like people on /r/hanklights or /r/flashlight are - people there have dozens of flashlights!
I love my Hank light. I have the Noctigon K1 with a SBT90.2 5700k in it. It’s an absolute beast of a light.
I'm not really collector, but I'd call myself an enthusiast. I have a Convoy S2+ that I've had for 7 years and has gone through 2 drivers (FET+1, Moonlight Special), multiple different firmwares, 4 LEDs (219b, 219c , LH351, 519a) and two springs (mostly as upgrades). I also recently got a Convoy H1 and it's amazing.
I love high CRI LEDs with good current use and tints :)
Convoy S2+ is probably the best go-to for those who'd like to go into flashlights. Changed my 6 year old convoy's reflector to a 45° TIR (there's an option for as high as 65°) lens for a wider beam profile. The lighted tail switch accessory is a nice touch, but completely drains a 3000mah battery in 2 months.
Parts can easily be found in bangood/gearbest/aliexpress.
Yeah it's absolutely fantastic. My current setup is a red s2+ host (swapping between 18650s and 18350s with the shorty tube) along with a 519a, moonlight special driver and a 30deg tir.
I have friends who have some of the more expensive collector lights (high end hank lights, noctigons, etc), and tbh I haven't felt the need to upgrade. The convoy lights are tough enough and thanks to the new LEDs every few years, I stay up to date with LED tech advancements for only a couple bucks.
My poison?
Numerous zebralights, a few armyteks, countless hanklights, FW3As, 3 generations of rrt01 rotary flashlights.
All modded with with 219b, dedomed 519b or sliced dogfarts, modded anduril firmware and/or boost drivers. Some larger footprint LEDs with sliced xhp50.3 and xhp70.3s. Mostly around 4500k, with some around 3000k and very few above 5000k
Krazy Ken did a great video about flashlight scams a few months ago. It's well worth watching if you want to get a good idea on what not to buy.
He pulls out a 100,000 lumen monster at the end of the video to show off what a non-scam flashlight can do.
I haven't watched that one but I did catch some from the torque test channel.
They also bust out the MS18 then the mad lads proceed to add turbos and overclock it. FSM bless the nerds with engineering degrees.
https://youtu.be/42d10bhs304
Hi, I'm codesplice, and I'm a flashlight addict.
This is my latest EDC light. I love that it's small, plenty bright, packed with a variety of useful modes that are easy to access (and jump straight to the desired mode rather than having to cycle through them), and charges with USB-C.
Oh, also it glows in the dark which is neat.
Do you prefer The blue or stark white or the warmer 5000K? Personally I always look for a warmer torch.
For the main cannon I do lean toward the cooler end of the spectrum just because it "looks" brighter to my eyes. The side light on this one is a bit warmer which is nice to have when I want it though - I use that a lot for creeping around my house in the dark.
I used to frequent /r/flashlight and it made me buy way too many flashlights. I love them. I already have two different SC18's so I won't be using this offer :)
I'm kinda
fleshlightflashlight enthusiast, but on the cheap side, one might say.I have bought only one really expensive flashlight amd it's not even that pricy... It is Ledlenser P5E I think and it cost aroind 30€. It is single AA battery without button - screw to turn on, unscrew to turn off. I like both these things, I like that it runs from primary cell (non recarheable and easily sourceable) and there is no shitty button (as I had my fair share with cheap.flaslight with bad buttons/contacts).
I get to know Ledlenser brand thaks to Lidl supermarket that had smaller sibling of P5E for sale for I believe 5€. It runs on songle AAA battery and also have no button. I biught it and liked it so much that I went and found P5E. The best flaslights I have.
I also have some camping light (you would use in a tent), some rechargeable flashlight frm Lidl supermarket (their own brand) and one double D cell heavy duty one big pieceof aluminium one. It is much better to kill intruders with than to ueit as flashlight. Don't get me wrong! It sines perfectly fine, but D cells are not that cheap and also not sold on every corner (unlike for example AAs).
I also had some cheap chinese/ebay flaslights. Sme were btter than the others, some were shit right from the start.
If you want a good flashlight, you have t soend money on it - that's the lesson I learned over many years.
Yeah, I don't have many but converted to 18650 ones recently and never looked back. Always carry a zebralight sc64le in my pocket which has been very convenient many times, + an acebeam headlamp that kicks the shit out of my old quad AAA black diamond (which admittedly does have some extra features ig). I have to stop myself from going to deep down the flashlight rabbit hole (for my wallet's sake)