Flashlight(s)
 

Ive been on the hunt for a good light for hunting,fishing and everywhere in between. ive been looking a streamlight because they have nice prices but surfire seems to have better lights? Looking for quality for around $50. i am looking for a light with a good beam but good battery life. i appreciate the help.

Thanks, M.D.

Hand held or "head light", I do like the Stream Light line. The Stream Light specs will help you with the battery life issue. In general I do not need a powerful lumen to get into and out of the woods. So I use a relatively low light head strap light, and pack a few AA batteries just in case. Helps keep my hands free when night fishing as well.

I did buy Stream Light's HD rechargable lantern because of my experience with them here I work. These are superb for searching in the dark for downed game, have a long battery life, and are ideal for emergency use.

Like Mojo stated, a good headlamp would probably serve you well and falls within your $50 budget. The problem with Surefire is that the batteries must be bought in bulk. Otherwise its $8+ for a set of batteries that might last an hour or so of use. While I was stationed in Haiti, supply was clearing out their invetory and gave me a big box of those cr123 battieries. I would like to buy a Streamlight Sidewinder. Bass pro carries it for $70. This is more than your stated amount but the cost of AAs vs cr123 would save you money in the long run.

I have a Coast LED flashlight and headlamp and I am happy with both. The headlamp can dial up or down in brightness. They have a version of the same headlamp that you can focus the beam with too. I got a $15 set of 3 watt LED flashlights at Sams Club that when they work they are awesome. But I had problems with the switch and now I don't trust them.

I have a hand cranked flashlight that I love. I never runs out batteries. Just crank it up again. Lots of manufactures out there.

Streamlights are nice for a hand held , I actually got one off the tool truck that stops by my work that was in their monthly flyer pretty cheap. I dont know if you can get one from their website or not but you can check it out for yourself www.cornwelltools.com . As for a head light I like the energizer hat lights. They are cheap which is nice if you loose them alot . I loose mine quiet often.

Grander Mountain has a branded flash light that is really good and a decent price. Its led and the brightest darn flashlight i have sever seen in that price range.

I got a flashlight from legendary whitetails and it's awesome! Can be used with 3 AAA's or the included rechargeable lithium ion battery. Has home and auto chargers. 2 brightness modes 80 or 120 lumens. Works great. Check it out at deergear.com. I think it was around 60 bucks.

Another option to look at is Bushnells line of flashlights. I have had one for a few years, and I believe they are now down to the $30-40 at our local bushnell store. I think I put one set of batteries in ever yeasr that I have had it. Side by side comparison to a SUrefure Z2 its really close to the same brightness. It also has multi level brightness seting with a pulse and SOS flash which is great for signaling.

I have had the same questions and quests....which is better...head lamp or hand held.
I jumped in and bought a Fenix H-21. At 97-100 lumens it's great. They come with a flip-up defuser(actually its a slip-on). The lamp with the defuser down is great big lit area without the single spot or beam. 100 lumens on high lights up quite a walk path. With the defuser flipped up , there's another story. The beam is awesome ! Easilly 100 yrds identifiable targets(people,paths,edge of road,etc). More distance is in specs but I have never had the need for anything over 100 yds, and that was only to see where the dog ran away to and what it was chasing. I bought also a Fenix E-21 hand held...max @ 154 lumens. This I put under the barrel of my shotgun. Porkys are hard enough to see at 11:00 night with the dog running them thru the brush. I have no problem seeing them/shooting them with real accuracy from light.
Realistically, I would recommend investing in a good battery charger with AC & DC adapter. NimH batterys will come into store sales more often than lithium and they are to be trusted. I went with the Radio Shack type (34.99)that holds up to 12 batteries at once but will also charge AA, AAA, Square, C cells at the same time. Spend your money just once that way. IMO !!

MANY years served well with the ole AA MagLite.

For hunting, I've got a Fenix PD-32, and a Surefire G-2X. Both are what I would call "quite good". They're small, light weight, and cast a lot of light for only using two small batteries.

I've been buying the Tenergy CR123A lithium batteries in bulk. IIRC this gets the price per down to about .50 cents each.

The Inova XSDMA-HT flashlight provides good engineering and illuminative power. At approx 2.9 inches, it delivers all the flashlight power you need. and also has patented optical system and precision construction, you can count on the Inova XSDMA-HT Dual Mode LED Flashlight.

I would recommend Streamlight Protac 2AA which is a ULTRA-COMPACT TACTICAL LIGHT The combination of small size and C4 LED output results in one of the brightest tactical personal carry lights for its size. This has a phenomenal strobe of 4 hours and nylon holster. Get it from the Safforsportinggoods for quality services.

I've been looking for the hunting flashlights for days, I do not know whether I should by Sure fire, Fenix, or Tank007 flashlight (a brand in China). Do you guys have any good ideas?

I use a LENSER H7r very small light weight head lamp that keeps up with my nitelite coon light. Adjustable beam and brightness.

I night fish with it on the whole time and its never went dead on me.

This is about all I've needed for a handheld for years. Last Christmas they had a special. Box, two sets of batteries, a charger and car charger, for around 12 bucks. I've got four of them now.

Batteries seem to be all about the amp hours (miliamps) and the higher amp hour batteries last way longer. But cost more than the light does.

I've had a couple of pieces of rubber pop off, nothing a little glue wouldn't fix.

The compass on the end is a joke, it only works with the batteries removed. ;)