[Closed] Recommend me a good torch

Very happy with my LED lenser.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Lighting/d220/Torches/sd2490/LED+Lenser+TT+Police+Tactical+Torch/p41307
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Might be better off with a head torch for poo picking-up duties though?

I have one of these;

[url= http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/Shop/Fenix-Torches/PD-Series/12922-Fenix-PD35.html ]http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/Shop/Fenix-Torches/PD-Series/12922-Fenix-PD35.html[/url]

Expensive but will last for years. Incredibly bright for its size. Only downside is that you will probably need to buy some batteries / charger for it (+30/40 quid on top.

Olight S20 baton; awesome little torch. Use mine for road cycling, don't see why it wouldn't work for dog walking 😉

I've recommended these many times in the past, and I'll keep recommending them, because they're brilliant little torches for ten quid:
http://www.dx.com/p/trustfire-r5-a3-cree-xp-e-r5-3-mode-230-lumen-memory-led-flashlight-1-aa-1-14500-39062#.V7DLXXh4WK0
I bought three more recently, my original three are five or six years old now, and one has just gone wierd, it's just showing a faint greenish glow from the LED, but the others have been excellent, I've used them on the bike with a Twofish Lockblock on the bars and on my helmet, and they give more than enough light for regular riding along narrow lanes.
I use 14500 Li-Ion rechargeables, but they will run on AA's as well.

I use these ultrafire cree torches for everything from dog walking to helmet lights...
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm?itemId=261174252820

Cracking little torches

LED Lenser make some really nice torches. Bright and fantastic quality...

Another vote for the Fenix but depending on budget maybe just a previous version of the joystick?

James

Last 3 years have been using an RSP Asteri 3 watt front light for both road light and torch duties. Rechargable, two brightness settings (H-L) and steady flash. Prior to this I used an LED Lenser, yet after buying the RSP (as a bike light) - found I prefer it also as a torch - ie solid alloy, plenty bright, last longer between charges, no need to faff with batteries. Has a nice heft to it and seems very watertight. Seems also that the battery is serviceable/replaceable with minor DIY (rear cap screws off)

^
[url] http://road.cc/content/review/15798-rsp-asteri-3-led-front-light [/url]

[quote=nuke]
I use these ultrafire cree torches for everything from dog walking to helmet lights...
Cracking little torches

I bought one of those in 2010, cost a tenner with battery and charger.
It's been in my pocket and used since then, it's used a lot, I also have one on each bike, I carry a spare battery and my torch through the winter and have never been let down. I have worn through the rubber cover over the on/off button, so I guess it's time to get another.

You didn't state a budget ?

I've just ordered a LED Lenser L7, on recommendation from my brother, to replace an old Maglite. Just under £30.

+1 for a Fenix.
Maybe simpler/cheaper to get a model than charges from USB. eg Fenix RC05 (also can run off a AA if necessary). http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/Shop/Fenix-Torches/RC_UC-Rechargeable-Series/13401-Fenix-RC05-Rechargeable-Flashlight.html

Apologies for being non-specific, but as a cyclist who rides in parks a fair bit, I think the multi-LED dog collars are brilliant (as opposed to a single light) - they are really eye-catching, so I'd heartily recommend seeking one out.

+1 for LED Lenser. I got a P5.2 to replace a P5 to replace a maglite. Then I found the P5, as you do when you've bought a new one. Never got the Maglite back from the Great Lake Hotel, where I left it, but the LED Lenser is so much better.

The after-sales service from LED Lenser is fantastic too.

I keep threatening to get one of these cheap Chinese things of the sort that CZ recommends, but never really got my head round which was "best" in terms of the different LED types and beam patterns. I suppose what I want is something pocketable but with a focus, so I can get a decent spread or light up something half a mile away.

That and the other thing that confuses me / puts me off is the batteries; it feels wrong to be spending five times the price of the torch on a battery and charger.

Cougar - Moderator
The after-sales service from LED Lenser is fantastic too.

They are good at that.

If you've got an old Maglight there's no need to bin it. They are still very well made sturdy torches that are nice to handle, it's only that technology has moved on and overtaken them in terms of bulbs/electronics and battery life. To bring it up to date one of the third party kits to convert them to LED operation (Nite Ize or TerraLux) for a relatively low outlay gives them a new lease of life.

I've done this with a classic 2AA model and am very pleased with the result. Won't be up there with the latest purpose built LED models in terms of outright performance (I also have a similarly sized LED Lenser which is better in performance terms) but you will have a very serviceable torch that's much better than the original for under a tenner. The body of the torch will also be higher quality that some of the far eastern online cheapies.

LED Lensers are ace.

Mine has been in mud and sand all around the world with no issues over the last few years.

I had the Nite Ize kit in my Mini Maglite. It was certainly less fragile than the Maglite bulbs, but you lost the focus.
Haven't had a look at a proper LED Mini Maglite compared to an LED Lenser.

I have a maglite XL50 as well as the LED lenser I linked earlier. The lenser pisses over the maglite. Button action on the mag is too light, and I kept digging it out of my kit to find it flat. The lenser feels MUCH more robust and has an atty which stops it rolling away. I have had poor experience of maglite kit and service over the years; I won't buy another. Only picked up the XL50 cos it was cheap from sportpursuit, wish I hadn't now, it just lives in the roller cabinet. I'd certainly try a fenix, they are very good and if I were REALLY flush.......surefire.......

I keep threatening to get one of these cheap Chinese things of the sort that CZ recommends, but never really got my head round which was "best" in terms of the different LED types and beam patterns. I suppose what I want is something pocketable but with a focus, so I can get a decent spread or light up something half a mile away.

That and the other thing that confuses me / puts me off is the batteries; it feels wrong to be spending five times the price of the torch on a battery and charger.

Well, if you get the one I've recommended, which I've been using for five or six years, then there's no confusion.
They run on standard AA's, so there's no real issue with the cost of the batteries, and half a dozen 14500's with a charger that'll also charge the larger 18650 cells isn't going to break the bank either; from Amazon a two-pack if TrustFire 14500 Li-ions are £8.99, about the cost of one torch, and a charger that'll take two batteries the same price, that's hardly five times the cost, and if you get them from dx.com they'll be cheaper.
I've got a whole bunch of different torches, mostly 18650 sized, plus a couple of Fenix, but the ones I've linked to have been by far my most-used torches, I've always got one with me, and I'll take two or three away, along with half-a-dozen charged batteries, and they've never let me down.
I find it incredibly difficult to justify spending £30-40 on a torch when these little TrustFire ones do as good a job for less than a tenner.
And I find so-called 'zoom' torches to be utterly pointless, if the beam works as well as these do.
Here you go, the same ones I've been using for years, two for just over four quid:
http://www.dx.com/p/trustfire-protected-14500-3-7v-900mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-2-pack-26124#.V7JFsnh4WK0
And the torch is £9.15 from dx.com
So the batteries are less than a quarter the cost of the torch, not five times:
http://www.dx.com/p/trustfire-r5-a3-cree-xp-e-r5-3-mode-230-lumen-memory-led-flashlight-1-aa-1-14500-39062#.V7JGL3h4WK0
The charger is £5.72:
http://www.dx.com/p/ultrafire-3-6-3-7v-battery-charger-1251#.V7JHUHh4WK0