Must Haves
50% personal subjective preference & 50% objective on being a great tool.
List updates as time permits...
W3vn Pro Tac. 1050L, 725Kcd, 1703m. Any other LEP this size linger around the 500L, and 500Kcd wall. This light doubles the output and up the intensity by 25%! A breakthrough is not an overstatement. In fact it’s the only single emitter LEP light to break the 1000L that I have handled. Weltool build quality is second to none.FireFlies T1R. SFT40 6500K 1360L, 100Kcd, 633m. This is one of the most impressive stock light to date. Hard to imagine what more one an ask for in a compact EDC thrower. I am not a fan of Audril 2 ramping UI and disco AUX LEDs but this light is go good I will take it. The short included 22430 1800mAh has great runtime while keeping light relatively short. Very unique optics gives ideal focus of the LED die which put nearly all quoted lumen into the hot spot with no spill. And for the price it’s a must have.
Fireflies NOV-MU 21 3800K HCRI. A mule is a must have in every collection. Its the beam of a household light bulb or the sun. HCRI in a warmer tint is a must. You will get a pleasant flat even wall of light with no artifacts. Nothing to distract. The ~180 degree beam lights up your entire field of vision. I make many mules. I even designed my own 12 LED MBPCB and a custom P60vn copper slug just for mules to max out output, CRI, and heat sinking. Problem is most of my mules cost a kidney. The NOV-MU 21 in 3800K is near perfection for both performance and value. It really makes my custom mules seem overpriced. For that reason alone I have to recommend this factory mule light.
ToolVN Titanium. SFT40 6500K 1300L, 11Kcd, 210m. Crazy numbers for something truly tiny for EDC or keys. Titanium is great for EDC as its light, durable and stays good looking. Finally available with the user programable DriverVN4. So much potential for such a tiny thing. If you prefer a forward switch then go PreonVN instead. Be quick though as PreonVN will be gone forever pretty soon.
Surefire P60vn Host + P60vn Light Engine. Surefire invented the P60 system. An empty host with replacement light bulbs/engine and lego-ability of body parts. What a fun innovation. This set up has long been discontinued at Surefire but the innovation lives on. Many manufactures such as SolarForce, Overready, Texas Lumen, Seraph, Nextorch, Cryos Illumination, and many more including myself has given our best iteration of this platform. Unfortunately, it's now a dying tradition. But no worries, I am an absolutely lover of this platform and had promised myself to keep it going for as long as I am in business. Sky Lumen started making P60vn light engines and will hopefully someday go out with one. For now, enjoy the Surefires that I manage to collect all over the net, bored them for 18650, and upgraded the switch to make them modern again. IMO, you are not a tru flashaholic until you own at least 1 P60 light. Oh I made 100 Sky Lumen Nguyen. All sold out. If you want me to do another run send me an email. If there are enough interest may be I will make another 30. I did a bit of a write up here about P60 light engines. Have a read if you are interested in this platform.
NightWatch NS14vn. 28,000L. Only minor mods but you do get the advantage of stock light pricing and Sky Lumen warranty. I don't think you can get more lumen for $135. Beyond the value aspect its also an excellent light inside out with a good UI. For the Cons section i literally put None. I am really not sure how this light can be improved. It's that good. Lots of flood and only comes in cool white 6500K. Good thing the tint is white white and the beam is clean for having so many reflector wells.
Weltool T8vn+ T8vn T2vn and T1vn (ordered from largest to smallest) are the best tacticals on Sky Lumen. For me a tactical light must have a rear mechanical forward clicky for momentary ON and tactile feel, form factor that holds and points well by being grippy and balanced, have DriverVN4, and last but not least a high intensity blinding hot spot. Weltool is one of the best in the business when it comes to this regard. Weltools also has the best build quality which I think is on par with any Made in USA lights. My personal favorite DriverVN4 mode group for tactical use is 10-4-4 => F/5/33 D for 100. Light will always starts on low to not blow out your vision and or reveal your location, yet, with a double 1/2 press you instantly get Turbo for business. Mid levels of 5% and 33% allows for extra long extended runs without overheat. For the most part a tactical light also makes for a great general purpose light. However, a general purpose light will never be a good tactical light. Example, light with side E-switches will make for clumsy tactical operations. Another highly subjective point is the satisfaction of operating a light via a great sensitive mechanical switch. Analogous to gun nuts obsessiveness with trigger actions. It's all about feel.
Acebeam H30vn Headlamp 70.3 HI 5700K HCRI. 2500L, 16Kcd, 253m. We all need a headlamp. It's a light that is least fun but most useful. H30vn checks all the boxes. High output with a HCRI throw beam, side red light and UV or HCRI floods, 21700 long runtime, built in charging, well balance, grippy headband with center head support strap, extra reliable, highly water resistant, and best build quality. No other headlamps on the market is this well rounded. Olight PerunVN 2 comes a very close second though.
Acebeam TK17vn. Triple W2 5400K + Custom Optics 2500L, 43Kcd, 415m. Best triple clicky 18350 EDC because there aren't many competition. A mechanical clicky that tailstand yet very compact and slim for accommodating a 18350 battery. DriverVN4 and being a triple opens up a world of options. Acebeam is also a top tier Chinese brand. It's only fault is common to some other Chinese brands. Over-design that miss more than hits. Perhaps aside from the point, but it seem in the flashlight world China has overwhelming dominance.
Jetbeam RRT01vn. SFT40 6500K 720L, 28Kcd, 335m. The perfection of linear variable brightness magnetic control ring. WHY aren't there more lights with a variable brightness control rings really beats me. It seems this is the best way to select output for perhaps 90% of general applications. Turn ring to the right for output ramp up and reverse to ramp down. Cant be more fool proof than that. No nonsense disco modes integrated into the rotation too. This V2 added a forward mechanical rear clicky for no parasitic drain and more functionality. 18650 body extended is also included for longer runtimes at the sacrifice of looks. Yeah, goes from classy to WTH with the body extender installed. Do the light a favor and toss them. There are better dedicated 18650 lights out there.