Brinkmann dual Xenon vs. Blackfire

[walletless]

Hi was hoping someone here has used both these flashlight/spotlights.

I am ready to drop $$ for a good spotlight. The two names that comes up frequently here are Brinkmann Dual Xenon and Blackfire CREE T6 1000 Lumen LED. They both are in the $25-30 range.

For those who have owned and used both these flashlights, if you had to buy only one of these two for your detailing work, which would it be?

The environment that I detail my car in is an apartment's covered parking garage. It has some incandescent lights which I cannot turn off.. which of the two light would be able to spot swirls better (on a black Altima)?

[walletless]

Re: Brinkmann dual Xenon vs. Blackfire

My bad. I meant Ultrafire, not blackfire. Here is a link:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-wf-501b-xm-lt6-5-mode-510-lumen-memory-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-1-18650-55241

{This is w/o battery. eBay has several sellers who sell it with battery and charger for under $30}

[BlueZero]

Re: Brinkmann dual Xenon vs. Blackfire

I have an LED Fenix flashlight that I have tried to see swirls with but had to luck at all. My Brinkmann has served me well for years.

[GhOsT1321]

Re: Brinkmann dual Xenon vs. Blackfire

I too, have used high powered flashlights. They do work, but not very well. On a tightly focused beam it's hard to see the swirls as it's too intense in such a small area and thus, the swirls are barely visible (swirls reflect white light).
On the more diffused flashlights, it's overly diffused and unidirectional, making swirl finding easier, but still does not work very well.

I recommend a Brinkmann over any flashlight. The Xenon emitter in it should prove more useful for swirl finding. Cree emitters tend to blend into swirls better and be harder to see. It's also bidirectional as the over-flood from each xenon emitter extend into the other hotspot, giving the swirls 2 directions to see them from.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Brinkmann dual Xenon vs. Blackfire

The Brinkmann is really hard to beat. A nice little high powered flashlight can come in handy but they can sometimes be so powerful as to wash out what you're trying to look at. I picked up a really cool little light at CES a year ago and thought it would be fantastic, but I rarely use it because of that overpowering look, especially on metallic paints.