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StuartH

StuartH

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Stuart
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Looking to pick up a half decent torch for under £100,preferrably one that uses AA batteries but not a deal breaker.So far I have been looking at the thrunites and nitecores,anyone used these?..The thrunite tn4a seems a good buy for £40 on amazon and is 1150 lumens which is impressive for an aa torch.Any suggestions welcome.
Cheers
 
Briefly David....it was just that the thrunite and nitecore kept popping up most often
 
I've got a nightcore. Bloody bright but drained batteries when not turned on which in turn led to batts leaking inside the torch and breaking it. If I were buying again I'd get more Cree torches from DX.com or banggood.

PS we appear to be separated at birth when it comes to hobbies ;-)
 
If you want a well made torch with a monster output have a look at the Nitecore EA4.

It runs on 4 AA batteries and puts out 800+ lumens, it really does light everything in front of you on the high setting.

£60 on eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nitecore-...639?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a9bfba1ef

Edit, it looks like they have brought out a newer version (the link is an EA41 with a slightly higher output).
 
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What do you want it for? it's all well and good having torches like the sun but if you need it for a long night walk or close up work (for example) then something that lasts more than 5 seconds and doesn't blind you would surely be preferable.

I have a TerraLUX natural light torch which I like as it has a warm white balance (as opposed to the blue of most LED lights) which is very nice with a wide beam for general use. Fenix torches are decent too.
 
landwomble said:
I have one and I wouldn't recommend it. Every time I pick it up after being unused for a week or so, the batteries are dead.

http://m.banggood.com/5000Lm-3xCREE...geable-Headlight-Headlamp-Torch-p-958266.html

Im tempted by this next. 18650 powered stuff is MUCH brighter for same physical size
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I've had mine over a year, it's never had a problem, I suspect more of a battery problem than a torch problem, I only run Eneloop technology batteries in it (Sanyo, Duracell, Uniross and Energiser) or Ni-Zn batteries from Maplin.

Now 18650... Plenty of cells gone dead on me, some charged 5 or 6 times and then fail to work. I wouldn't rely on an 18650 torch as my emergency torch (and I probably have 10 or 12 18650 torches). I've actually had better results using rechargeable protected CR123 (16340) batteries in those bodies.
 
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Dave1 said:
If you want a well made torch with a monster output have a look at the Nitecore EA4.

It runs on 4 AA batteries and puts out 800+ lumens, it really does light everything in front of you on the high setting.

£60 on eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nitecore-...639?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a9bfba1ef

Edit, it looks like they have brought out a newer version (the link is an EA41 with a slightly higher output).
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Yes they do a 2015 edition which is similar spec to the thrunite..but its £20 dearer seeing as thrunite is £39. It will ne multi purpose..the thrunites battery life isnt that bad at all when not on turbo mode.
 
The night core having a special "I'm really off" mode accessed by holding power button for 3 secs which still pulses the led around the power switch is a good indication of how complicated the torch is. Off should mean off.
Anyway, not claiming to be an expert but I have binned a nightcore, and I have a lot of cheap Chinese cree torches that are great...
 
landwomble said:
The night core having a special "I'm really off" mode accessed by holding power button for 3 secs which still pulses the led around the power switch is a good indication of how complicated the torch is. Off should mean off.
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The reason for the "hold for totally off" is because you activate the low power modes by only half pressing the power button. The low power modes wouldn't work if the simple click off was a "I'm really off" mode as you think.

Anyway, not claiming to be an expert but I have binned a nightcore, and I have a lot of cheap Chinese cree torches that are great...
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So have I (many, as in probably more than 40 scattered around the house, I went through a phase of buying cheap Chinese from DX), I wouldn't say any of them are as good as the EA4.

If not the EA4 I would go with a Fenix or 4Sevens for similar money.
 
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YMMV but mine drained batteries when not used, which eventually killed it. The lack of optical zoom affects how useful it is, too.

Stu, there are some great drop ins for 4 cell maglites that are interesting...
 
Cheers guys for the replies..as I say £100 was my limit and thrunite ticked most my boxes but thought I would see if there was a better alternative.Someone suggested a zebralight but they are at top end of my budget and going on specs didmt offer much more
 
landwomble said:
YMMV but mine drained batteries when not used, which eventually killed it. The lack of optical zoom affects how useful it is, too.

Stu, there are some great drop ins for 4 cell maglites that are interesting...
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I still suspect your batteries would have been more to blame for draining, if not, perhaps you had a faulty unit? Didn't you consider getting it replaced by your retailer?


The drop ins work well for 3-6 cells IIRC, I have one in my 5 C cell maglite, works well, but not as bright as the Nitecore ;).

Also brought the drop in for the AAA and AA Maglites, and even bought an AA LED, (which was expensive for the results).

@StuartH, if you want to really broaden your torch world, head over to CPF for some browsing.

Budget lights
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?130-Budget-Lights

General LED
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?45-LED-Flashlights
 
Thanks Dave for the links..a few of my searches has taken me to candle power and have had brief look..what do you make of the thrunite Dave?
 
StuartH said:
Thanks Dave for the links..a few of my searches has taken me to candle power and have had brief look
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It can become almost as expensive as this place if you lose control ;).
 
lol I can imagine mate..do you rate the thrunites?
 
Yeah bit of a no brainer I'm guessing..just need to decide on cool white or neutral lol...
 
StuartH said:
Yeah bit of a no brainer I'm guessing..just need to decide on cool white or neutral lol...
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I prefer neutral, if you are used to incandescent light then even neutral will look cool to you.

I often find those designated as cool white to be cold to the point of being a little blue.
 
Personally my general torch is a LED Lenser P14 you can generally pick them up for about £40-45 solid as a rock, resonable size, useable power, can focus the beam, isn't a battery hog...really not a lot more you could want IMO if you want more power they sure have that covered by other models, personally I'm a massive fan of the LED Lenser range
 
Cheers both...think I will give the thrunite tn4a a go see what its like.
 
strumstrum said:
have you looked at the LED Lenser brand? great throughout the range IME
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I bought a LED Lenser, hey if it is good enough for the emergency services it should be good enough for me. And wow it is. So good I bought two more.

Distance, beam control, quality, battery life all very good. A solid reliable performer.

My use is primarily dog walking in pitch black unlit forest areas. The only other light I've got is a little help from the moon at times.
 
LED Lenser. Good enough for me. Cheap enough and really well built. I could get a few more lumens for a bit less cash but when I pick up my Lenser I know it's going to work.

Having said that, I got an ugly little torch off of Amazon for about a fiver. Took weeks to get here but it's really great. Looks exactly like this one except for the logo.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/300LM-Flash...UTF8&qid=1427274742&sr=8-3&keywords=led+torch
 
If you want something to get you by whilst you make your decision then this is pretty good from Trustfire at Amazon for £25. As one of the reviewers says, it's not 3800 lumens but does put out a very bright flood and includes the batteries for that price. I've found the ability to use two or three batteries is surprisingly useful with two making a nice compact torch. The charger is a bit crap but mine hasn't failed yet. The only real negative is the lack of beam focus.

Based on good reviews I bought a LED Lenser P7 a while back and have never been that impressed with it. It's nicely made but I was underwhelmed by it's performance and hence value. Maybe it wasn't the best model.
 
Spuff said:
If you want something to get you by whilst you make your decision then this is pretty good from Trustfire at Amazon for £25. As one of the reviewers says, it's not 3800 lumens but does put out a very bright flood and includes the batteries for that price. I've found the ability to use two or three batteries is surprisingly useful with two making a nice compact torch. The charger is a bit crap but mine hasn't failed yet. The only real negative is the lack of beam focus.

Based on good reviews I bought a LED Lenser P7 a while back and have never been that impressed with it. It's nicely made but I was underwhelmed by it's performance and hence value. Maybe it wasn't the best model.
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I have P7QC I assume the P7 is the same but without the colour changing, the P7 as far as I'm concerned is a fairly short range torch I know my QC version is not a focusable beam which is a shame but ultimately it's not a high power long range torch
 
Dave1 said:
The reason for the "hold for totally off" is because you activate the low power modes by only half pressing the power button. The low power modes wouldn't work if the simple click off was a "I'm really off" mode as you think.



So have I (many, as in probably more than 40 scattered around the house, I went through a phase of buying cheap Chinese from DX), I wouldn't say any of them are as good as the EA4.

If not the EA4 I would go with a Fenix or 4Sevens for similar money.
Click to expand...

I got a Nitecore EA41 last December. Quite astounded at the illumination. 300m beam would be great, but that torch lights up the whole 300m road ahead like a car headlight. 4 x AA batts. and very much smaller than a Maglite.
 
MWHCVT said:
I have P7QC I assume the P7 is the same but without the colour changing, the P7 as far as I'm concerned is a fairly short range torch I know my QC version is not a focusable beam which is a shame but ultimately it's not a high power long range torch
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I bought the Lenser back in 2012 (so I'm sure it's been revised since then) but I'm sure the only problem really was my expectations rather than the torch. I gave it away to my Maglite loving parents and they are still very happy with it. Your colour version looks interesting though - hadn't seen that before!
 
Spuff said:
I bought the Lenser back in 2012 (so I'm sure it's been revised since then) but I'm sure the only problem really was my expectations rather than the torch. I gave it away to my Maglite loving parents and they are still very happy with it. Your colour version looks interesting though - hadn't seen that before!
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The colour version is epic, I used it to do the coloured lighting in this one, it is wonderful for filling in like this

LET THERE BE LIGHT by mwhcvt, on Flickr
 
Spuff said:
If you want something to get you by whilst you make your decision then this is pretty good from Trustfire at Amazon for £25. As one of the reviewers says, it's not 3800 lumens but does put out a very bright flood and includes the batteries for that price. I've found the ability to use two or three batteries is surprisingly useful with two making a nice compact torch. The charger is a bit crap but mine hasn't failed yet. The only real negative is the lack of beam focus.

Based on good reviews I bought a LED Lenser P7 a while back and have never been that impressed with it. It's nicely made but I was underwhelmed by it's performance and hence value. Maybe it wasn't the best model.
Click to expand...

Buy anything branded by trustfire and you are asking for problems ;) or anything with the word fire in the name.
 
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u8myufo said:
Buy anything branded by trustfire and you are asking for problems ;) or anything with the word fire in the name.
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The Surefire stuff is very good (which is why so many of the budget Chinese makers have ____fire names).
 
Dave1 said:
(which is why so many of the budget Chinese makers have ____fire names).
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Sorry Dave,forgot about Surefire being pretty decent,but are you saying that makes evey battery with the name fire in it ok then?
 
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u8myufo said:
Sorry Dave,forgot about Surefire being pretty decent,but are you saying that makes evey battery with the name fire in it ok then?
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No Rich, I'm agreeing with you, most of the XXXX-fire stuff is as you say, usually very low end and often not something to rely on.

They are all trying to trade on the Surefire name and hope people think it's the same brand.
 
Dave1 said:
No Rich, I'm agreeing with you, most of the XXXX-fire stuff is as you say, usually very low end and often not something to rely on.

They are all trying to trade on the Surefire name and hope people think it's the same brand.
Click to expand...

Sorry mate, got you.You know what I can be like sometimes,well no all the time :D
 
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