Torches (Mag, Dolphin, LED, HID). What do you have?

Titan · 08 Feb 2012, 7:46 pm

As topic suggests,

What torch do you have and how do you rate it?

Mag:

Dolphin:

LED:

HID:

Titan · 08 Feb 2012, 7:51 pm

I personally have a Dolphin and prefer it to the LED if going camping etc as its a wider stronger beam and the torch is fully submersible.

Would love a waterproof diving HID tho. Not very cheap those things lol

blackduck30 · 08 Feb 2012, 8:51 pm

I have a Dolphin also.
Very reliable and rugged and as you mentioned good quality light.
My next door not long ago got a twin set of HID's and damn they throw a beam but also pricey.
His were rechargable and looked good quality as well.

I got one of those head mounted LED jobs for small fiddly placed as well, great for line of sight stuff.

Titan · 09 Feb 2012, 8:22 pm

Hmm i wonder how decent HID tourches are on Ebay like so:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Waterproof-2 ... 1c220b0969

- Waterproof
- Rechargeable battery
- 800M light distance (How far does dolphin torches shoot u reknz?)
- 6000K light temp

Hmmmm

blackduck30 · 10 Feb 2012, 6:22 am

Looks good.
I Have seen the reach of these things but not this particular model.
The ones I played with had incredible reach and the beam was actually adjustable, 2 or 3 settings i think from memory.
I am pretty sure he got his in the states also but his was a twin pack.
It was a "day" light very white.

The rechargable factor is great

The only thing about that is once battery is done you need to charge and if you are in the middle of no where it could cause a problem. A spare would be good to have charged. Normal use would be fine though.

Titan · 10 Feb 2012, 9:27 pm

Been trolling ebay and found this monster:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/65W-HID-XENO ... 45fd516f3f

Hmm keen to see if we can get a couple and save on postage?

Sparks · 12 Feb 2012, 5:18 pm

I use a Petzl head torch for general stuff and an LED Lenser P7 for spotting. Both highly recommended

dangerdanger · 20 Feb 2012, 10:18 am

I'm a led lenser whore.. P7, H7r, Quattro RGB v2, X21.

Also have a whole bunch of cheap ultrafire torches that are pretty disposable, use them for backups just in case (or when a mate forgets his damn torch.. lol)

Titan · 20 Feb 2012, 11:09 am

A few family members were ordering some TrustFire TR-J12 units few days back as they managed to get them at $70 inc rech batts and chargers.... had to wave my hand and get one also while opportunity was there

should be waving my 4200 lumens monster in a week or so

Daniel89 · 20 Feb 2012, 6:48 pm

I have a HID torch that I bought off a particular gentleman on another forum

6000lm
65w hid flashlight
6600mah battery
6000k color temp only

Titan · 20 Feb 2012, 7:06 pm

Daniel89 wrote:I have a HID torch that I bought off a particular gentleman on another forum

6000lm
65w hid flashlight
6600mah battery
6000k color temp only

You are ready to go exploring... don't forget to tell people when you go not to bring their torches lol.

blackduck30 · 20 Feb 2012, 8:47 pm

Titan wrote:A few family members were ordering some TrustFire TR-J12 units few days back as they managed to get them at $70 inc rech batts and chargers.... had to wave my hand and get one also while opportunity was there should be waving my 4200 lumens monster in a week or so

Look forward to some feedback from that then.

I'm still interested in playing with some LED units if I can get then cheap.
From the youtube vid they dont look hard to wire up.
If i can get a dolphin to work I am thinking of trying to make up something for the forester tail lights, maybe a ring of LED for brake lights or something. Still looking at the spare tail light I have and contemplating the in's and outs of it.

Titan · 21 Feb 2012, 6:57 am

blackduck30 wrote:
Titan wrote:A few family members were ordering some TrustFire TR-J12 units few days back as they managed to get them at $70 inc rech batts and chargers.... had to wave my hand and get one also while opportunity was there should be waving my 4200 lumens monster in a week or so

Look forward to some feedback from that then.

I'm still interested in playing with some LED units if I can get then cheap.
From the youtube vid they dont look hard to wire up.
If i can get a dolphin to work I am thinking of trying to make up something for the forester tail lights, maybe a ring of LED for brake lights or something. Still looking at the spare tail light I have and contemplating the in's and outs of it.

I always wanted to install additional lights in the boot lid tail lights, like the JDM spec. But do it myself without $200 price tag.

blackduck30 · 21 Feb 2012, 7:25 pm

yeah, I know what you mean.
I have an outer and also an inner light ( left side ) so have something to play with out of the car.

PTC · 22 Feb 2012, 11:32 am

Len Lenser is my brand of choice. Well made, good battery life and great spread of light coming out from them.

Though when taking photos i prefer a Incandescent globe in my torch to make a more natural light in the shot. White LED's is just too harsh light and changes the feel of the location. Except when you have covered it with a diffuser and coloured filters.

And Dolphins i gave up on years ago. The one i bought for a swim underground. Keeping the torch floating on top of the water. It was dead by the end of the trip and rusted by the time i went to go use it again.

blinkybill88 · 09 Mar 2012, 6:58 pm

$10 Dollar LED Torch (WIN!)

Honkey · 12 Mar 2012, 2:48 pm

If HID is what I'm thinking of (like an L.E.D. circuit rather than a bulb), then I had a little AAAx3 one...and BY JIMINY... did that thing throw off a beam of light!!!!!

Unfortunately, I have no idea where it has gone *sigh*.

Now I'm reduced to using an XSTREAM 17 L.E.D. Cx3.

Dolphins used to be INSANELY bright, but nowadays they are pretty lackluster. id rather pay the cash and get a mag or HID.

Titan · 12 Mar 2012, 3:05 pm

Honkey wrote:If HID is what I'm thinking of (like an L.E.D. circuit rather than a bulb), then I had a little AAAx3 one...and BY JIMINY... did that thing throw off a beam of light!!!!!

Unfortunately, I have no idea where it has gone *sigh*.

Now I'm reduced to using an XSTREAM 17 L.E.D. Cx3.

Dolphins used to be INSANELY bright, but nowadays they are pretty lackluster. id rather pay the cash and get a mag or HID.

Ahhuh! So its not just me going crazy, im convinced that Dolphins were brighter back in the day!

Honkey · 12 Mar 2012, 4:03 pm

Titan wrote:
Honkey wrote:If HID is what I'm thinking of (like an L.E.D. circuit rather than a bulb), then I had a little AAAx3 one...and BY JIMINY... did that thing throw off a beam of light!!!!!

Unfortunately, I have no idea where it has gone *sigh*.

Now I'm reduced to using an XSTREAM 17 L.E.D. Cx3.

Dolphins used to be INSANELY bright, but nowadays they are pretty lackluster. id rather pay the cash and get a mag or HID.
Ahhuh! So its not just me going crazy, im convinced that Dolphins were brighter back in the day!

Definitely not just you. My mate had one from the early 90's, and that bastard would leave flash steaks on your retina for hours afterwards, even with a battery that's 3/4's dead. But I bought one about 4 years ago and it was pathetic, despite the fact I bought a new second battery and better lightbulb.

Companies just don't make things like they used to, as we can so tell with the architecture and abandoned machinery. With the speed that technology is advancing, things need to be made disposable to make room for said advancements, but I believe they sacrifice just too much quality.

Honkey · 12 Mar 2012, 4:05 pm

Though I never tried rewireing it. That might have helped a little.

lnelson48 · 16 May 2012, 12:53 am

iv got a led one that is just like a maglight

twisties · 11 Jun 2012, 9:23 am

I've got a Klarus XT2C which is 470 lumens and has a dedicated button for defensive strobe. It is awesome for the price, a lot of law enforcement guys use them and the XT11 for something a little bigger

Panic! · 01 Jul 2012, 3:25 pm

I have several torches. I have a cheap rubber covered one that I brought years ago and has been overseas with me several times now. I brought about 5 matching Dolphin size Ultracell LED torches which take the clunky 6 volt batteries. They have 18 LEDs I think,each with their own focus. It throws out light like a Dolphin, looks like a dolphin but the batteries have lasted over 6 months now.
Apart from them I also have a couple of cheapies. I've never invested much money on torches.

Enigma · 05 Aug 2012, 8:08 pm

Fenix torches are supposed to be better than LED Lenser. I have seen a small Fenix torch, and was quite impressed with the amount of light output.

They are worth checking out.

kontour · 23 Sep 2012, 10:12 pm

I use a HDS Clicky Hi CRI, an Olight M20, A Fenix TK40 and a Surefire L1. Had this setup for a while and havent felt the need to upgrade.

Just picked up that new Petzl Nao headlamp and from my limited time with it it seems like an awesome bit of kit. Worked with it the other night and didn't realize until I got back into camp that I'd had the perfect amount of light all night without even having to touch the thing.

HDS lights are far and away the best lights I have ever owned, a bit pricey, but they're built to last, have a lifetime warranty and are probably the one light I own that I would and have completely trusted my life to.

Fenix are fantastic, really solid bits of gear. 4sevens are pretty good too. With the new Cree XP-G2's coming out now there are some great lights on the market.

For cheap awesome lights check out shiningbeam.com, Bryan is an awesome guy to deal with and ships super fast. My first LED was one of his upgraded Romisen RC-F4's ($25 if i remember correctly) and I stil use it today because of how bright it is in such a small package.

What torch do you have?