Hey guys! I’m looking for an EDC light that’s 800+ (pref 1000+) lumens, tailcap switch, rechargeable via mini USB or USB-C, and less than $50– is that price point delusional?
The closest I’ve gotten is the Wurkkos FC11 but that’s a little too large for my pocket and doesn’t have the tailcap switch (which means it turns on in my pocket sometimes and I can’t turn it on as quick when I grab it).
My use case is obviously flashlighty stuff but an important use for me is that it’s part of my self defense layering.
Lumintop has a “Tool AA 2.0 EDC” that is about the perfect shape (fits in my fist- not square, knobby, or fat) and size (3.52*0.73 inch), but it’s not rechargeable, not as bright as the Wurkkos (but still bright at 650 lumens), and I don’t need its 5 different light modes to cycle through if I accidentally tap the back during use. Still would recommend the light, and I thought about getting a USB-C rechargeable AA for it, but as previously stated I’d really like something a little brighter and ideally a better tailcap switch.
I browsed the forum, and I saw a couple posts about the Wurkkos TS10. It’s kind of similar in size to another light I have and is a little fat for what I’m looking for. I think the FC11 is as thick or a little thinner, and still a bit big for what I’m looking for. May still try the TS10 if I can’t find anything else. I’d still consider stuff outside of the $50 price range but I really want something inside if at all possible.
What kind of beam pattern are you looking for? To take this to the extremes, a 10 watt laser that would be good for a lower tier laser cutters is roughly 1,000 lumens. The same is true for 75 watt incandescent lightbulb. In the flashlight world, the cutting laser would be a thrower and an incandescent bulb is a flooder. The two have very different uses.
I live in suburbia and find flooders great for walking around. I also like flooders for wooded trails, as a light source for working on much of anything up close, and as a light for bouncing off something for ambient lighting.
Throwers are useful for highlighting things far away. If you're in an open space and want to see if there's something wandering around far away, a thrower is the way to go.
There are also things like color temperature and CRI to talk about, but most enthusiast lights offer multiple options these days.
I’m not looking out too far away, anything I’ll need to illuminate is probably inside of 10-15m? The reason for the high lumens is information blocking and making light for self defense, so I’m guessing a flooder is probably the category I’m looking for.
An Emisar D4 might fit the bill. It's fairly compact, floody, and can be a pocket rocket (lots of lumins in short bursts). No onboard charging though.