What flashight do you recommend?

[jimmyj]

Looks like lots of good ideas but the Maglite seems to be coming out most often so far. Good thread.

 

[Mendonsy]

I have several Maglites (5 I think) that have held up very well.
I have at least a half dozen of the HF freebies. They work fine and are handy because the fit in your pocket easily.
I have two that are similar to the HF lites but also have a red laser. My wife uses those to entertain the cats.
I have some Tractor Supply LED lites in a couple different shapes. They are handy because they have magnets on the back to hold them in place while you work.

 

[KRBrouwer]

Do you have a particular flashlight you like? I need to buy some new flashlights to replace my old bulb style Maglights and the sheer number of them is confusing.

What I would like is an LED that's bright enough to see in the barn at night and takes AA, C or D batteries. I'd like it to be a major brand so I can get parts if I ever need them and I don't want to spend $75 on it because I would like to buy several. Less is better but I'm not a cheapskate.

A couple months back I picked up some flashlights at Costco that take three AAA batteries and have three clicks on the switch. Dim, bright and flashing. It's sort of a hassle to go through the clicking cycle every time you use it. I bought three of these flashlights and so far one is broken, one doesn't work all the time and one rarely gets used. So I'm not happy with those. My Harbor Freight freebies have worked better.

What do you have and do you like it? Any ideas appreciated.

The BEST flashlight I have ever had. StreamLight Stinger DS LED. Came with 2 rechargeable battery packs, wall mount/charger for home, car mount and charger for car. Amazing bright.

 

[JimRB]

I got an LED conversion bulb for my 2 D cell Maglight from the local Ace Hardware store. I think it was the same brand mentioned 7 or 8 posts ago. Satisfied so far and much brighter than the Maglight 30 year old bulb. I think I bought this Maglight 35 years ago. If not it is 25 years old replaced after my truck was stolen. In any event the Maglights have worked well for our family. You can get the D cell lights repaired easily with a repair kit from Maglight. I did toss 3 AA Maglights in the recycle pile. I guess batteries leaked and I could not get them open. I assumed that penetrating oil would not get passed the o-ring seal.

 

[RobertN]

Responder RA Div. 2

This is the one I carry in my turnouts. Have also used out duck hunting. Mine is rechargable. Now they make them in LED. If I replace it, it will be with a Big Ed rechargable.

Pelican 3750 Big ED Rechargeable Firefighter & Industrial Flashlight FREE S&H 3750-001-245, 3750-052-245, 3750-051-245, 3750-054-245, 3750-051-247, 3750-000-245. Pelican Flashlights.

I still like Maglite. LED version work well.

I get the most use out of my DeWalt 18V that came with my 4-tool set(light, recip saw, circ saw, drill-driver). That thing has been everywhere with me. All around the house and property. Camping. Hunting. Battery last a long time on a charge. And, I have the charger that works from the cigar lighter in the truck(I guess they call them auxiliary power now). It gets used all the time! It has been on countless Boy Scout campouts. Dropped, bumped, accidentally kicked. Fell in pond. Sat on.

I like my other, a Makita 9V too.

Otherwise I usually use a LED mini-maglite.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm pretty happy with my three flashlight's. I have a small AA Maglight that's probably ten years old sitting on my desk in my pen holder for those times the power goes out. Mostly it just sits there. In fact, I'm not sure when the last time is that I used it. Last year I bought my wife a rechargeable LED spotlight from Acadamy that has become the go to light when we go outside. It has a very long range, which is what she likes about it the most. She wants to see what's out there. I use it all the time to shoot raccoons stealing food from Oscar, my pet pig. And for those nights when the power goes out for awhile, or I just need a flashlight to see what I'm doing, like working in an attic, I use my Makita 18volt LED flashlight. It will last hours and hours with enough light to work, or just play cards with friends.

Eddie

 

[woodchipper]

For X-Mas, I have been offered a LED head lamp. It has a casing on the back of your head containing three AA batteries. The unit has a single bulb, with a three fonction press "switch" button. Off-On- E. blinking. It has a well proportioned lens. The focus could range from spot, to wide angle (flood). Elastic straps are ajustable, so you can wear it over a tuque if needed, without having your brain compressed...
Of course, it is made in China (to my greatest regret), and all parts are plastic.
This kind of light stays with you at all time (ie: no droping...) and permits to work hands free (Big bonus). As it is head mounted, the light stays beemed where it is most needed, and this is in front of your eyes.
Of course, I have plenty of other lights and they have all been mentioned already in this thread.
May the light be with all

 

[sixdogs]

OK, I'm t he OP and here's what I did. I searched most of the flashlights suggested and decided to keep, but upgrade the Maglites I have, use my Makita 18V flashlight and buy some cheap LED lights from Costco mostly because they did an acceptable job and were cheap. I learned there are a lot of good flashlights out there.

Part of this was pointed out here about how good the rechargeables--like the Makita were. I do use mine frequently but--duh--I forgot about it so I'm going to rely on it more. The Maglites didn't get used much but I upgraded with Xenon bulbs and that improved the light dramatically. I've got four big D cell Maglites so that solved that problem. The Xenon bulb conversions were only a few dollars each.

Finally, I needed a small LED light for my pocket. Even though i'm not real impressed with my three AAA small Duracell Costco LED lights, they wound up being the go-to light for my coat pocket in the winter. They are very bright and all things considered I decided to keep and use them.

Now, to add to the above, because you can never have too many bright flashlights, I bought this 3-pack of flashlights at Costco today for only $16. Each one holds four AAA batteries and seems as bright as the sun. They are a little bigger than my current pocket flashlights but still fit and if they break, so what? I'm out $5?. So I'm good with all that.

All this got solved cheaper than I thought possible. Thanks to everyone. I can see clearly now.


Here's the new Costco flashlights. By the way, no dim-bright-flashing lights. These are bright-dim and no flash.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

...The Maglites didn't get used much but I upgraded with Xenon bulbs and that improved the light dramatically. I've got four big D cell Maglites so that solved that problem. The Xenon bulb conversions were only a few dollars each.

Thanks for following up, sixdogs. Mind sharing which bulbs you ended up with, and where they came from?

 

[sixdogs]

Thanks for following up, sixdogs. Mind sharing which bulbs you ended up with, and where they came from?

No problem. They were genuine Maglight retrofit bulbs with a special socket to replace the standard bulb one. The Xenon bulb has two little prongs on it much like the small flashlight bulb has. It loos like this one. Mag-Lite Replacement Xenon Bulb for 3-Cell C/D Flashlight