Flashlight

Campfire Time wrote:
X2! I just can't see buying a "good" one when the cheap ones work just fine. I used to used several 6 volt hand held lanterns. This year I switched to using little cheap LED flashlights that fit in my pocket. They throw off plenty of light, use 3 AAA batteries, and are usually free giveaways from Harbor Freight or from trade shows in various industries. I don't think I paid for one yet other than replacement batteries.

The above post is a perfect example of why this and many other questions asked on this forum are so subjective to personal taste and needs. I would never think of a Harbor Freight flashlight as anything more then a toy I give the grandkids to play with and when they kill off the batteries the light goes in the trash. If all you need or want is the light given off by a HF flashlight then there you go. If you want to be able to go from so little light that its not really usable to lighting up the world then something better should be looked at. Hard to say what's best when opinions run from free HF lights to $200 lights. Best one can do is figure out what they want to be able to do with said item and figure out what's there best option. Heck there are forums dedicated to flashlight where the members take there light very serious.

3oaks wrote:

PackerBacker wrote:
I buy 6-volt flashlights from Dollar General and toss them every couple years.

http://www.dollargeneral.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=Flashlights&origkw=Flashlights&sr=1

That's what I use, the old tried and true 6-volt spotlight along with a good alkaline battery. Though, better quality than Dollar General's so I don't toss them.

I was buying the better quality ones too but at $4.55 it was cheaper to buy a couple new ones than to replace the battery. I would get about 3 years out of a 'good' one.

Will admit that I felt guilty throwing out was seemed to be a perfectly good case/bulb the first time. :E

... Eric

I have about 15 of these stashed around the house, trailer and truck and my wifes car. They come in very handy because they can stand on their own, hang up, and stick by magnet. They use AAA batteries so can be reused easily. HF gives them out free occasionally and they are very cheap to purchase if not free.


I also agree on the Costco flashlights.. I have three of them and they will light up the forest! :)
Barney

I am a little goofy about flashlights and I have a bunch actually. If I have a problem in the middle of the nite, I want to be able to throw lots of light where it's needed.

I have one of the headband ones with the tiltable LED light. These are great if you need two hands to work on the problem.

Just bought an LED 6-volt lantern (cheap) at Walmart.

I also picked up a multi-pack (don't recall if it was 2 or 3) of a free standing multiple LED 'lantern' with a flashlight on the end. Separate on/off controls for the flashlight and the lantern. It bends, has a hanger on the top end and a strong magnet on the other end. They stand about a foot high. As I recall, they even came with batteries. Got them from Costco. I keep one in my truck and one in the basement.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will review each one and make a decision. When I look them up on Amazon, there are hundreds or thousands of them. Some of them are not as good as they claim and that's why I wanted to check with this forum and limit my choice based on your experience.

Brighter is NOT better, in my opinion.

I find that an overly-bright flashlight destroys my night vision. Then I can't see anything at all outside the flashlight's circle.

Occasionally Home Depot has an 8 or 10 pack onsale for $8 or $10. LEDs with 3 AAA batteries. They are surprisingly bright and we don't care if we lose them or give them away.clicky

This is a loaded question. There so many to chose from these days. The 3 factors IMHO. 1. Size and weight, 2. Brightness, 3. Finally price. Once you weight all these when shopping you will have the perfect light for YOU! No one
light works for everyone.

Good luck!

I like a bright long range light for the house because I live in the country. I often look outside to see what that noise was and want to see as far as possible in order to keep my distance from the boogy man. I'm looking at buying the J5 Tactical V1-Pro, $12.95 on Amazon.

I have to agree with 4X4Dodger. Mag light is the choice for me. And my go to light. But at the same time I must say I do use the free Harbor Freight LED lights. Light weight, bright enough for my uses and free. Stock up now!