Originally posted by: swbsam
Originally posted by: vi edit
Yeh, I've got a G2 as well. Incredibly bright and has an excellent "throw distance" for all the bigger it is. Plus it's virtually indestructable. But if you turn it on and leave it on I think you only get about 20 minutes of use out of it. So it's a compromise.
LED will have better battery life, but I haven't seen one yet that has the throw of a traditional bulb. They work okay as flood lights from a few feet away, but they just sort of fall apart after that.
[edit] I'm thinking 20 minutes is the burn time for the upgraded bulb. Regular bulb is around 50 minutes)
Does that mean that you need to replace the batteries after 20 minutes, or the bulbs?
The batteries. I have a nitrolon G2 with the HO lamp, it is ridiculously bright for its size but eats batteries like candy. I love handing it to the uninitiated, their first reaction is always to point it at their face & turn it on. 5 minutes later when their vision returns to normal they are always amazed at how bright it is. At $1.50 a battery it's $9 an hour to run with the HO lamp.
There are lots of good options available in the 2xCR123 category. If I had to pick one of mine for use like the OP described I'd say the Inova XO3. It produces usable light for a very long time, & is reasonably bright with a fresh set of batteries. It's not the blinding output of the G2 HO but it's a great light.
Viper GTS