http://www.batteryjunction.com/surefire-g2x-c-yl.html

The important thing to remember about "tactical" flashlights is that they must have to ability to have a "temporary on" so that they can be "flashed" instead of clicked off and on. Many flashlights have a number of modes from bright to medium to low and strobe with each click. At the last low light shoot a number of guys had fancy flashlight that looked cool but when turned on could not be turned off without going through the bright-medium-dim menu.

No bueno!

The light must be able to be flashed off and on with a temporary touch on the switch.

Byron

I have a Fenix LD12 that I am pretty happy with. It was around $50 as I recall and takes an AA battery. Has a tail cap switch but then a button on the side near the head to change modes so it is one click on and off with the tail cap switch. It is over 100 lumens on bright.

I carry the Olight M-10. It is small and bright. It has three brightness settings.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/olight-m10-xml2.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw1_KwBRDEz_WvncL4jGwSJ...

Streamlight makes a great product; several on amazon for under 50 bucks... they work very well.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

I've been carrying this little guy from Helotex

http://www.helotex.com/G2

They are fairly inexpensive, pretty durable and nice and bright. I originally found them on a GearHog deal and the next time they came up on sale, I bought five of them! I carry a light ever day at work, many construction sites have dark areas even in the middle of the day. I spent the past couple years on Maintinence crews at hospitals and spent a lot of time on a ladder in a ceiling. It was nice being able to see a leaking pipe from 50 feet away. I even made a Kydex carrier to hold the light bezel down and a leatherman tool. Normally on my off days I clip the light in my offside pocket. It carries easily and is handy to have. I also like the fact that it will use either AA or CR123 batteries. The only downside is as Byron talks about, the tail button is a clicky on/off.

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

They are $15 and work as well as the $150 lights from a decade ago. On, off, and hold They run on a single AAA. Includes a neat clip allowing pocket/belt AND cap carry. Only downside is they aren't waterproof and I've killed a Glock branded version that way.

I am also testing a Pelican micro that has three settings, plus flash on/off. The build is better, but mine has contact issues. I miss the neat clip. Also an AAA design. Much brighter than the Streamlight, and about $25 on Amazon.

Really, really like it.

A couple of years ago I bought a Fenix PD32. It uses a pair of CR123A batteries and has several different brightness modes. It is not very big for a light with 2 batteries. Since I bought it the model has been upgraded several times and if you buy one now it will be a lot brighter. I carry this one all the time in my briefcase.

About 1.5 years ago I bought a Fenix PD22 for pocket EDC. It uses a single CR123A battery, is not very big and has very good output.

Both of these lights are in the $50 ballpark and I think they are a good bang for the buck. Both of them are Clickies so they might not work well for tactical strategy. There are a lot of boutique brands that are nice but expensive, and sometimes hard to find.

CR123A batteries are expensive if you buy them in the drugstore, but fairly economical if you buy a batch of them on the internet. The CR123A batteries have several advantages over Alkaline, but if you prefer Alkaline batteries Fenix makes several models that use Alkalines.

I have owned Streamlight, Inova and Pelican and they are all good brands. Mag ignored the LED market for a long time but now even they make several models that use good LED's.

...promotional deal for the house-brand credit card, which happens to be with a bank we do some business with.

It featured the Surefire Fury for under $100 (minus $80 immediate credit). That is the P2X with IntelliBeam. Just Bells and whistles, or worth the extra $$$?

I have had a Fenix L2D for a number of years, courtesy of a deal with OTony. I noticed a bit of hesitation to fire up recently, so pulled the batteries, only to find one had leaked some internal goo into the works.

It took me a while, but I eventually got it so it would work somewhat, but it was just enough of a pretext to start me looking for a real replacement, hence my original question.

To have a real worthwhile opinion in this discussion, but I have at least one flashlight with me at all times. Found some LED Mini-Mag 2-AA lights on sale for $11 each, so bought several. One of them is attached to my house key ring and is with me any time I leave the house. The rest are stashed in tool boxes and various strategic places. Have also picked up a few 2 and 3 D size LED Mag-Lights for $15 or so, these are along side the driver's seat in each vehicle. Every vehicle key ring has one of the freebie 3-AAA LED lights from Harbor Freight. Alongside my bed is a Duracell 250 lumen Cree LED 3-AAA tactical-ish light with the rear button that will stay on momentarily if you hold the button down for a few seconds, otherwise you have to go through the menu, it was picked up in a pack of 3 for $15 at Sam's Club a couple years ago. Yes, I have several handfuls of rechargeable batteries in each size for the lights which see regular use and regularly have some charging to keep all the lights working, these are much less expensive than buying alkalines all the time. For occasional use lights, alkalines have a much better shelf-life and are used in those. It is surprising how often these lights get used and how nice it is to have them available all the time. You may say, but how often do you need three flashlights (house key ring, car key ring, driver's seat)? I say, how many times have you been stuck at night with an emergency along the road and found the one flashlight available to have weak or dead batteries? Which reminds me, the toolbox in the car has an LED head-lamp in it with a spare set of batteries.

For the last few years I've carried a Fenix single AA battery light for constant daily use. I joked that it changed my life but it really has. The last 6-8 months I've been swapping it out with a Streamtlight Stylus AAA light. Also very bright for what it is.

Neither of them are "tactical" nor would they do well at blinding someone. But I use them a dozen times a day or more. Work provides me with batteries, I also buy my own. I have a "weapon light" and a surefire somewhere that use 123 batteries but I will never buy another.

I have 4 of these, and for the money they can't be beat. They have 2 modes, one that has different light levels, but the other is a tactical mode where it is either on or off at full brightness. I've had no problems with mine and they seem ruggedly built with heavy duty aluminum body and a good switch...

http://www.lapolicegear.com/lapg-operator-l1-flashlight.html

Oh, and LA Police Gear is a great company to deal with..........

x

But I do have several single AA old fashioned mag lights scattered about in the vehicles, kitchen, workbench. If I need a bright light, I strap on the wheat light.