Fenix L1T / L2T Flashlight
 

I have been a happy owner of a Surefire A2 flashlight, which combines 3 low-power LEDs with a high-power xenon bulb. It's solidly built and works perfectly. However, it has three minor problems:

1. It's a bit big to leave in the flight bag.
2. Its too expensive to leave in the flight bag - $150ish
3. It takes Lithium 123 batteries, and we have moved everything in the aircraft and survival gear to AA batteries.

So, I picked up a Fenix L1T light. It uses a Luxeon III LED powered by a single AA battery. Its twin the L2T uses the same head but a body that takes 2 AAs.

The light is well built from aluminum. The anodizing isn't as good as the Surefires. It has a flat bottom with a recessed "clickie" switch, so you can stand it on the end and point it at the ceiling.

The light has a low and high setting. The low is reasonably bright - it's not something you want to use if you want to keep your night vision. The high is pretty bright - not as bright as a 60 lumen Xenon bulb, but pretty bright. High and low are selected by twisting the head.

It uses a voltage boost circuit to keep the output fairly steady until the battery is almost dead. A review puts the battery life on high at about 1:30. Since I normally use the low setting, I can say it goes about two weeks of daily use between battery charges - I use NiMiHi cells.

The lights are both about $45 at online stores. I like the single AA version because it's smaller and still plenty bright. Worth putting in the flight bag and survival pack.

One thing about replacing the lite that uses the 123 batteries--------the lithium batteries have a shelf life that is way longer than the AAs. If you are using this flashlite as an emergency backup unit, the batt shelf life may be critical. I keep one in my truck just for the reason of long shelf life.

On the other hand, if this unit gets regular use, the cost of the 123s is a real killer, and you made a good choice.

I would suggest that the batteries of any "Emergency" flashlight is included in your "annual" check.

Mike

Very true. We got around this by purchasing a pack of lithium AAs (expensive!) for the survival bag. They have a very good shelf life as well.

The L1T/L2T head is identical and will take up to 4V; this means you can use one of the 3V Lithium AA batteries in the L1T without blowing the power regulator. Many lithium AAs are 1.5V, but they do this by putting a resistor inline with the cell. The 3V versions don't have the power-sucking resistor.

Looking for the perfect flashlight
 

I think the Fenix is a nice flashlight for the money. I think the common fault among the flashlights I own is that they are hard to hold in your mouth, and they are round and tend to roll around if you drop them.

I have a Gerber Recon that I like in the cockpit, it isn't very bright, and lets you rotate between white, green, blue and red lenses, but it still rolls and is not a good fit in the mouth.

Nucleus

The best flashlight for the buck
 

1. Go to a place that sells maglites...
2. purchase the 2 AA cell mini maglites
3. purchase the LED conversion
4. take 42 seconds and install
5. Enjoy for hundreds of hours...
6. Use the 14.00 total that you spent as an example to the wife of how you save money to "spoil her" and take her out to dinner with the rest of the money.. who knows.. she may help you buck some rivits.... or do your upholstry if your really lucky.

Best
Brian

ps.. I'm sure the flashlight mentioned in the ad is Fantastic.. but I'm an aircraft mechanic and I'm not rich... so I get what I can get. And I've not found anything better for the buck....

I've found the mag light conversions to be lacking in brightness - they're normally Lux I emitters or weaker, and while that's good, I just need a brighter light sometimes. The Lux III is just about perfect for a flashlight.

However, you're right, the price is good.