*A review of some Xenon bulb flashlights*
Lately I have been looking for a good reliable flashlight to
carry with me as my mini mag is just not bright enough for times where I need
light out here. It gets very dark out in the desert and where I live, street
lights are not the norm.
This started me looking for one of the Xenon bulb flashlights I have heard so
much about. I started looking for a Surefire but the price scared me off a bit
for what I would consider a daily carry light (More on that later) so I tried to
buy a cheaper one in hopes it would serve my needs and I would not worry too
much if it got lost.
I started off picking one up from a ebay from a seller by the name of "asiasources"
(I think that was the name). It was one of those knock off "police" lights with
a logo on it that looked a lot like the walther logo. These lights have been
flooding the market on ebay .
Ended up costing me 4 bucks for the light and around 3 bucks for shipping. Not
too bad and if the light was a dud, I was not out that much cash.
When the light arrived, I was rather impressed, as it is well made and did not
feel like junk. After putting in the batteries I was kind of disappointed. This
was the end result. A very unfocused beam and not all that bright.
This lead me to start looking around more, so I had heard that Wal-Mart had a sale on the new Xenon bulb Brinkmann "Maxfire LX" flashlights. I picked up one of these for 19.95 and all I could think was WOW, what a difference. Much better and focused beam, this light was BRIGHT! Only problem I had was that It was rather big for daily carry but that could be worked around for now. Here is a shot of the beam from this light.
The size of this light was becoming an issue, I normally wear my
light "holster" at about 4 o'clock in a light carrier and when I sat down this
light was digging into my back. Off to look for one that was better.
I ended up with a Surefire E2e executive flashlight. Once again proving the "Buy
once cry once" motto. I probably should have bit the bullet and just got the
surefire to being with. It was much smaller, fit into my old maglight holder and
was way brighter than any of the others I had tried.
Here is a shot of the beam off the Surefire. It is a bit whiter than the
Brinkmann and comes in a MUCH smaller package.
All and all I will end up using all 3 lights at different times
so they wont go to waste, but the surefire will get the daily carry light role.
That's my "buy once cry once" lesson for the day :)
eXe
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