Alright! Great topic.

Might I recommend this one.

Fisher Price Wild Lights Monkey Saimiri Illuminati




This little bugger is a compact 12"x10", and puts out a retina melting 15 candle power. It runs off 3 AAA batteries, and lets out an 'oo-ah-ah-ah' when you squeeze the happy purple button by his butt.

Weighing in at a featherlight 14 ounces, this light can even be used when wearing your big thick wrenchin' gloves, for those on trail repairs.

[color:"red"] !!!!!EDIT!!!!! [/color]
[color:"red"] My manager, whom I just found out is a closet flashlight geek too, has both Tiger AND Monkey for his kids, and highly recommends them both. [/color]
Also available in Tiger and Snake

ROFL ROA

x2 on the surefire lights, they're awesome, but costly.

http://www.surefire.com

Nite Ize has the C and D cell LED upgrades for Mag lites for $10. Good for 2-6 cell lights. $4.05 to ship. i just picked up 2. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Linkie:
http://store.niteize.com/product_in...;osCsid=2d79a70481d44c1e6022f08ffaef5b14

You can order then from bassproshops, too:
Stinger lights @ Bass Pro

Hmmm...how many other CPF'ers are here?

Maglights are obsolete, archaic, dinosaurs...even with the LED conversions. There are so many better, smaller, more efficient, brighter lights out now-a-days. Here's a comparison I did with a few of my lights.



Notice the 3C maglight was beat by a single AA LED light. My friend had a C or a D maglight LED conversion, but my little fenix blew it away, I was amazed.

Joe, it depends on you budget and what you want it for. For everyday use I really like the L2T Fenix. It uses normal batteries and has a high and low setting.

For self defense I take the surefire E2E with me, especially if I have to fly and can't have pepperspray. It uses CR123 batteries so you need to buy them in bulk for about $1 each. Otherwise they're about $6 each at the grocery store.

You can buy fenix lights at www.fenix-store.com

Also check out www.candlepowerforums.com and www.flashlightreviews.com

Brian, the next generation in LEDs are from Cree. They blow away the 5w luxeons in both brightness and efficiency. A few manufacturers now have flashlights that use them, but they just came out so I'm expecting a lot more on the market soon. Fenix has one.

The performance of the surefire/other CR123 type lights is awesome. The drawback, however, is the battery life! We have discussed the price of the replacements, and it's great that they can be had for $1 a piece, but I don't like just how fast they go out. You HAVE to have extras, or you WILL run out of battery when it's least convenient.

Just my .02, and I LIKE my 'outdated' 3W LED Maglite.

You certainly cannot beat the capacity of the big cells. As for the 123's, you can also buy rechargeables.

As a side note, the LEDs used in the maglights are the same ones used in other high performance flashlights. For the most part they're just luxeon 1 watt, 3 watt, or 5 watt LEDs. The difference is how hard the LEDs are driven and whether they have regulated circuits to keep the output level.

I bought my CR123As from Amondo Tech . Fast Shipping, as cheap as $1 per battery and you can buy 1 battery or as many as you want. Shipping is around $8. The battery they sell is not top of the line, but it getÆs good reviews. 1300mA capacity compared to 1400mA for a premium battery like Sanyo, which you can get for around $2 a piece.

Personally, I would much rather have a duel purpose light that is rechargeable, but can accept non-rechargable batteries if they go dead when your out in the field. The problem with CR123A rechargables (so I hear) is that capacity is almost half of a non-rechargable, but more importantly, there are voltage and stability issues that make incompatable with high draw flashlights. They work great for low draw stuff like cameras, though, so I hear.

When IÆm out and about, I do carry a spare set of CR123s, and since theyÆre small and light, itÆs not a problem. But with the 1 watt setting, which is good enough for most anything, it does last a good long while, something like 9 hours.

I like that Fenix website and some of their products. The single CR123A cell 3 watt light looks interesting and very small. I couldnÆt find the Cree light you mentioned. Do you have a direct link to the product?

Years ago, I got in a fight with a security guard. When we were done(so I thought) he blind sighted me with a 6-cell mag right across the bridge of my nose. Although I still was on my feet and was able rushed him like a bull elephant, It did explode my nose, and had I not been out of control drunk, it might have dropped me. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

So I vote for the mag. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> It makes a great club.