best LED 12v spotlight for under 75?

[bobbo268]

There are a million 12v spotlights out there and a million more LED. I have many LED flashlights and it really is a crapshoot which ones brighter, and money isn't always the answer, neither is the alleged LUMEN rating that is listed on the package.

I need an LED spotlight that runs on the 12v cig plug, not just charges. I bought a 10dollar spotlght from home depot last year that took 8 hours to charge on 12v and had a run time of 15 minutes and could not run while plugged in.... should have just thrown it in the lake......

anything thats good around 75 bucks?

 

[m casey stock]

Re: best LED 12v spotlight for under 75?

Yep...I bought one a month ago at SAMS in Orange beach for $49.00 can't remember the brand at the moment, will have to look at it later. You could contact them online for a faster response. It isn't rechargeable at all, will only work when plugged in to 12v. I have no problems seeing the markers way ahead of when I need them.

 

[mrdancer]

Re: best LED 12v spotlight for under 75?

... I have many LED flashlights and it really is a crapshoot which ones brighter, and money isn't always the answer, neither is the alleged LUMEN rating that is listed on the package.
...

With the more expensive LED flashlights, you are paying for a better lens design and superior heatsinking (the LED itself adds very little to the cost of the light). You are also paying for quality features like square-cut threading, good o-ring seals, vibration-proof solder connections, etc. It's what makes the difference between a flashlight that lasts one year and a flashlight that lasts 20 years.

With that being said, I got one of those cheap blackndecker spotlights from Wallyworld for under 20 bucks. It runs on 3 C batteries. No, it isn't rechargeable and doesn't have a cord that gets in the way, but it will run close to 80 hours on low and 20 hours on high, and it's easy to have extra batteries on hand and change them out quickly. As for brightness, it out-shines my incandescent 2mcp Brinks spotlight, can easily see stuff one-tenth mile away in the dark (will light up reflectors probably a half-mile or so), and is small/light enough to put a shoestring lanyard through the handle and wear off your belt or around your neck.

They've come a long way in portable LED lighting in the last few years. However, the quality stuff is still far ahead of what you can find in the brick-n-mortar chainstores.