Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - DealExtreme Flashlights - help me choose!

I am a gadget newb!!!

So I want to get a couple of flashlights.

(1) My fiance is is taking night classes at law school and it get very dark when she leaves class. I'd like her to have a very bright flashlight for security.

(2) In addition, I just purchased a NiteRider MiNewt X2 Dual. I'd like a backup flashlight for my setup that I can mount on the bar.

I'd like to spend less than $30 each. (Or a total of $60 or so.)

Please give me some suggestions for the biggest bang for the dollar.

PS - What is CR123A and is that better than a AA setup?

I am a gadget newb!!!

So I want to get a couple of flashlights.

(1) My fiance is is taking night classes at law school and it get very dark when she leaves class. I'd like her to have a very bright flashlight for security.

(2) In addition, I just purchased a NiteRider MiNewt X2 Dual. I'd like a backup flashlight for my setup that I can mount on the bar.

I'd like to spend less than $30 each. (Or a total of $60 or so.)

Please give me some suggestions for the biggest bang for the dollar.

PS - What is CR123A and is that better than a AA setup?


1. A good choice would be to get a light that is ~175-200 lumens which will aid in blinding a suspect should she be uneasy with someone approaching her at a distance. A flashlight is good more for distance and mid-range. At close range 10meters or less it will be uber bright in the eyes of the target but at that range you will probably be fumbling in a panic to know how to use the item right. At close range the light becomes more a striking/throwing tool for defense.

2. The Fenix L2D (2xAA), Fenix P3D (2xCR123) or the Fenix P2D (1xCR123) all fit the bill for blinding lights and makes a good backup light if you keep it on the belt/bag.

All items from the www.fenix-store.com (www.fenix-store.com) include free S/H and has a good reputation for good customer support. I don't work for them or get kick backs from mentioning thier name. The L2D is ~$60 USD and out the box can use 2xAA's which is pretty much a staple in every house hold or you can find anywhere.

The P2D and P3D use CR123 batteries which are lithium batteries normally found in some cameras and the military flashlights. They have a higher voltage and suppositly the shelf life of a CR123 unused is 10yrs (seeing how the army uses it I would think that claim holds well). A huge bonus of the higher voltage is a brighter light in the Fenix RB100 P2D or P3D models able to get 200lms. You don't want to be hit in the face with that light. A downside of CR123 is that while they are avaliable to purchase at stores they are not that avaliable in corner stores should you run out of power at night when most retail stores have closed. Thus making you more accountable of carrying spare cells in your bag or pocket to cover your riding time and extra time should you need to take a detour/fix the bike.

It's always a good idea to think of how long it takes you to ride from point A to B at a casual pace then take that time and add 50% or 100% to that so you have your butt covered. Obviously when you ride at a moderate pace it'll be probably 1/2 the time of your casual pace so you'll have more light reserve then for repairs and such.

You can buy rechargeable CR123's which are called RCR123. R being obvious for 'rechargeable'. It will save you lots of money in the long run but it's about $9/cell up front. While it may cost you $2.00 USD per disposible CR123 at Fenix store if you find yourself out of power at night and a corner store sells CR123 you'll be paying a premium for that if they have it. Probably $5/cell at the corner store. Ouch :eek: .

The ideal setup should be that you keep one set of disposible cells in your bag/bike-bag and use rechargeables daily to keep costs low. That way you cover the costs of using disposibles daily and still have a set of disposibles on you should you forget to recharge or low on power. Best to have two sets of rechargeable cells and one set of disposibles but if you can't do that then go with one set of rechargeables first then later get a set of disposibles to compliment the setup. You never know when your lights may run low on power in our busy lives and that spare set of cells saves you a lot of headaches and safety issues (not just traffic but the sketchy people).

With a P2D it will be smaller then a L2D so if she's like pretty much all girls I've known wanting smaller and slimmer stuff to fit into that bottomless pit purse (:rolleyes:) you can carry it lighter as well. P3D has longer runtime then P2D but uses two CR123's. With a P2D if you carry 2xCR123 then you have two spare cells.

Seeing as you have a Minewt right now you may want to get a DealExtreme (www.dealextreme.com) flashlight seeing as you have the powerful headlight already for your backup and transfer your savings in cost over to your fiance for a solid powerful light.

Get her to mount the powerful light on her helmet. That way she can look the suspects in the eyes when she's looking around scanning the dark areas. A bright piercing light on the helmet is a deterent already. If she even feels a slight bit uneasy of anyone around have her sweep the area with the helmet light at the people in thier eyes so it knocks out thier night vision for a moment while she rides off. Anyone thinking of doing any harm just lost thier visuals.

You can suppliment the bike with a cheap handlebar light at Walmart which uses a xeon bulb and two LED's. It comes with flashing mode and it's made by Bell. It has a safety low battery feature that switches to LED when the cells are low. It uses 4xAA. The 2xLED's are more a flood light and for slow speed riding ~10kph. The xeon bulb is probably good for ~15-17kph.

Thanks for the great answer Zero! Very helpful answers.

Next question - how can I mount the lights you mentioned to a handlebar?