LIGHTS FOR CCW AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

[watchmaker]

DEAL EXTREME VERSUS P-60 LAMP
FOR SUREFIRE TWO CELLS

A while ago I bought one of the Deal Extreme new Cree lamps advertised to fit the Surefires for two cells, like in the 6P, G-2, Z-2, C-2 etc.

Yesterday I installed it in a Surefire G-2 (the yellow one). The fit is not exactly perfect, as you can see in the picture, the lamp is a little longer than necessary and the bezel doesn’t close all the way, like in the green G-2.
I guess I can fix the gap by instating an O ring, a trip to Home Depot to get one in necessary.




Inside the house, at short range the output is considerable; I think that at the short distance inside the house I will prefer it over the P-60 lamp.
Outside, the P-60 lamp is giving me more range and more picture detail up to maybe 45 yards, at my usual range of 26 yards (where I test all my lights against the deer head) I will say that they both go head to head, as you may see in the pictures in the general illumination department, BUT the definition of the foliage to the right of the tree (at the height of the posted sign) is better with the P-60 incandescent lamp.





Many G-2’s gets to be mounted in carbines like the M-4 or M-16, I have people ask me if I will use the Deal Extreme lamp in them, (As they suppose to resist recoil better), well, no, I still prefer the P-60 lamp for the extended range and even better the P-61 lamp for the increase brightness and coverage with their 120 lumens.

G=2 WITH DEAL EXTREME, RANGE 26 YARDS, CAMERA 12 FEET.




G-2 WITH P-60 LAMP





Any way it is not recoil that break filament lamps, but it is the vibration of many rounds while the filament is very hot, that explain why during the 1920’s and to the 60’s tigers were hunted from machans using regular 2 and 3 D flashlights clamped to the barrel in powerful rifles like the 470 Nitro Express, without any trouble with the bulbs. It seems that one or two shots, will not affect the filament, no matter how much the recoil is.
After all the filament is very lightweight and the inertia is just not there, because the lack of real weight.

All the best

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

DEAL XTREME LAMP, AGAIN

HI GUYS, THIS IS A COLLABORATION FROM
CHEVROFREAK

The problem with the Deal Extreme modules is that none of them use thermal regulation to reduce the drive current to the LED to control the temperature of the lamp. LED's do not like high heat. It reduces their efficiency, shortens their lives, and can cause the tint of the light output to change.

The Nitrolon body of the G2 acts as an insulator rather than a conductor, so that heat just stays inside of the lamp and cooks the LED. These modules are better suited for use in aluminum bodied flashlights like the 6P. They'll work alright for short bursts in the G2 (I'd say a max of 5 minutes) but extended use is not recommended outside of an emergency.

Surefire recently released a G2L and 6PL that uses their P60L LED module. It has a sensor under the LED to cut the current back when the LED gets hot, in order to prolong life. Well, the G2L has only been out for a few months now and Surefire has already made a change in it. They swapped the Nitrolon bezel out for an aluminum one in order to help dissipate heat.

Since they did this with a light that uses a thermally regulated module, it makes you wonder just how incredibly hot the non-thermally regulated modules actually get. Actually, I don't have to wonder since I tested a Deal Extreme 4068 module in a G2 and after just a few minutes it was too hot to hold in my hand, and the tint of the beam had shifted blue. It was perfectly fine in an aluminum bodied flashlight, though.

[watchmaker]

SUREFIRE MILLENNIUM
M-2 CENTURION
WITH 120 LUMENS LAMP
This is the “combat” version with the shock absorbing bezel; it uses two of the 123’s batteries and comes with two lamps, the P-60 for 65 lumens and the P-61 for 120 lumens.

Run time is 60 minutes with the 65 lumens lamp and 20 minutes with the P-61 lamp.



This shock absorbing bezel is supposed to take the blast and the heavy recoil of big guns. I haven’t try mine this way, but I have seen others in my group of shooters at the night range, using these lights and never hear a complaint about they performance.

In comparing it with my Centurion C-2 with the regular bezel and the P-61 lamp, I have noticed that the recessed shock absorbing head of the M-2 put out a more concentrated light.
This is because even than the reflector/lamps are the same, the reflector is more inside the light than in the Centurion II model.
Consequently it put out just a little bit less of a flood than the C-2.

This is at the 26 yards distance, camera 12 feet from the deer and 18 from the bear.



All the best

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

SUREFIRE A-2 AVIATOR
DIGITAL PLUS SERIES

Here is one of the higher quality Surefire lights, the A-2 Aviator which is a regulated light capable of running for 20 hours on the 3 LED’s that produce 3 lumens and for one hour on the incandescent bulb that outputs 50 lumens.

The light is available with white, green, yellow, red or blue LED’s, my version is the white LED’s as I need the light for navigation in the woods, the other popular choice is the red LED’s for the pilots of airplanes to use in the cabin, in the tarmac the main incandescent bulb comes in handy to check the tail and wings of the plane.



The light has a switch with two stages press a little on it and the 3 LED’s come first, a little more and the incandescent bulb will be on, this is the momentary phase, also you can twist the switch for steady on for the 3 LED’s and a little more twist for the incandescent bulb.
The switch also has a lock on position, aligning two marks on the body and tail-cap will immobilize the switch for safe storage or carrying in luggage.


BEAM SHOT FROM 26 YARDS




The light works with two of the 123’s batteries that are supplied with it, length of the torch is 5.50 inches and it weights 4.10 oz. the finish of the light is military hard anodized type III that makes it highly scratch resistant and it comes with a long clip that makes unnecessary the use of a holster.

As the light have a regulator chip the incandescent bulb get a soft start, which make it last longer than regular incandescent bulbs.

Surefire sell the light out of his web site and at dealers for $195.00 my light serial number is A-19737 which tells me that they don’t have any trouble selling them to selective customers.
Cheers

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE BOREALIS FLASHLIGHT
1050 LUMENS

Three years ago the Borealis flashlight was conceived to be the most powerful military/police flashlight in the world. At 1050 lumens the beam of light is very similar to a two million candlepower spotlight, all that power cased in a 12 ½ inches long, 28 oz. light, that will run for 50 minutes before needing a recharge. Then the light uses a fast RC charger that does the job of recharging the high current batteries in 90 minutes.

Three years ago everybody was in awe of the Surefire M-6, a military/police light that makes 500 lumens for 20 minutes run time on six disposable 123’s batteries, at a cost of almost $12 per twenty minutes run.
When the agency pays for the batteries, all is well, but for the civilians that wanted to have those mega lumens of light, there was no option. Black Bear Flashlights wanted to produce a rechargeable light that surpassed the M-6 and still be affordable for those with mortgages and families, and the result was the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight.

The light was conceived to make use of a well known flashlight shell that is available anywhere, that way after years of hard use, the shell can be replaced for less than $20 USD and in ten minutes of the owner’s time.
The super-bulb that is almost 3 ½ amps needs some very powerful batteries; those nine AA batteries of high current are housed inside a Rolls Royce battery carrier that has also a charging port on the negative side. Plugging the RC fast charger in this port for 90 minutes, will recharge the powerful AA Nimh batteries.

THE ROLLS ROYCE BATTERY CARRIER AND THE RC FAST CHARGER





The Borealis also has some especial components to cope with the increased heat from the bulb. A ceramic switch/bulb holder, a solid aluminum reflector and a Pyrex lens, take care of the high temperature issue.


The BOREALIS is the highest intensity incandescent flashlight available in the market. Some HID’s lights throw more lumens, but those are considered searchlights and not flashlights; as a HID can take as much as 30 seconds to start up, they are NOT instantaneous as the incandescent flashlights are.

HERE ARE SOME COMPARISON BEAM SHOTS AT 35 YARDS WITH THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY/POLICE FLASHLIGHTS.
THE CONTENDERS FROM LEFT;
MAGLITE 3 D, MAGCHARGER, ULTRA STINGER, SUREFIRE M-6, AND BOREALIS




MAGLITE 3 D (the most popular police flashlight)




MAGCHARGER




ULTRA STINGER




SUREFIRE M-6




BOREALIS RECHARGEABLE








Black Bear Flashlights spends several hours on each light working on fixing all the internal resistance issues and pro-gold all contacts and components for an increased conductivity. This results in their trademark of intense WHITE light as more voltage reaches the super-bulb. This bulb is not a flashlight bulb, but one made for powerful medical instruments.

THE BOREALIS ROYAL MODEL, WITH THE NEW LOW PROFILE STAINLESS STEEL CRENELLATED BEZEL AND QUICK DETACH SWIVEL.




Police officers have adopted the Borealis for its tremendous throw and flood capabilities; hunters have abandoned their spotlights for the easy carrying of the Borealis, and civilians looking for a powerful light for the car or for home defense are flocking to the Borealis flashlight.
Respectfully

Watchmaker

[Lycanthrope]

This thread is incredible.

Lycankeepsgettingbetterthrope

[DaveM55]

I'm kind of a flashlight junkie, but no where the connoisseur that watchmaker is.

Excellent thread!!!

Which one is the best and brightest flashlight for under $100.00? I just can't afford the $200.00 Black Bear Flashlights.

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by DaveM55

I'm kind of a flashlight junkie, but no where the connoisseur that watchmaker is.

Excellent thread!!!

Which one is the best and brightest flashlight for under $100.00? I just can't afford the $200.00 Black Bear Flashlights.

Thank you for your appreciation of my thread.
Lumen output is not all that is important for a BRIGHT light, reflector diameter and configuration have a great influence in how the beam is projected and how intensity is perceived.

As your parameter is bright, let's start with 200 lumens minimum, there is a few Surefires that using 123's batteries and upgraded lamps will be "bright", but the price will be over the $100 and the cost of the batteries will be high.

Enter rechargeable lights.
Maglite have the Magcharger, it is 200 lumens and will cost about $100 or so, street price.

Streamlight have the Ultra Stinger it is about $130 or so, it is billed at 295 lumens, but caution here, it is a little exagerated as they quote "bulb" lumens from the bulb factory, not lumens measured out of the flashlight with the loses from reflector and reflection of the lens factored in.

And Black Bear have the Bear Cub at $130 shipped, 220 lumens for 90 minutes on Lithium Ion batteries (the Lithium Ion stay charged for months and don't need to be near the charger). This light is 9 inches long and weights 13 oz.
It is also apprantly brigther than the Ultra Stinger even that the later is billed with higher lumens, reflector configuration is THAT important.

ULTRA STINGER



BEAR CUB




All the best
Wartchmaker

[watchmaker]

CREE 7090 XR-E LAMP

JET-I (AA) MK IIX FLASHLIGHT


I had the opportunity to test briefly this flashlight a few days ago; since I just got to handle it for a few hours I will not call it a review, but just a little trial.

The light was actually passing by, my friend Luis from Spain had ordered a Borealis 1050 lumens and a Bear Cub 220 lumens flashlights, he also wanted one of Emilions’ workbench JET-BEAM I MK IIX little lights that have multiple functions and are billed with a 100 lumens maximum power in the 1 AA version and with the extended tube for two AA batteries at 150 lumens.
So I had one ordered from Emilions and it arrived quite quickly, from Hong Kong to New York in just five days!

Physically, it is the size of my Fenix L1P light, (about 40 lumens) and it is very similar in shape and weight.(without the extension)
For those not familiar with these lights I have here a picture of them side by side.



By adding the extension for another AA, it is claimed that the maximum output is 150 lumens. Now that is a serious lumens output that we are taking about, so my main interest was to see if really the little light was going to reach that high.
Unfortunately I didn’t have available any other comparable light, the closest that I had seem was my friend Fenix L2D that claims 135 lumens, but he was out of state, so the light was unavailable to me.

I have in my stable of lights, one PR T head (Pelican Reflector Turbo) that McGizmo made for me with a TWOJ Lumileds Luxeon III, which is a real screamer, going into the 130 lumens when pushed hard by two of the rechargeable 123’s at 3.7 volts each.
This head is in an E2e body and is my favorite of the Luxeons lights I own.

The comparison to the little reflector of the Jet Beam will be unfair, as the Pelican reflector is much bigger in diameter and deeper, concentrating the light in a much tighter and intense beam.
The smaller reflector of the Jet Beam will tend to disperse the light beam in a more open pattern which will compromise the throw.

But here is a picture of the two lights side by side, so you can see how they look like, and how the Jet Beam is with the added 1 battery extension tube.



And here is a picture of the beam shot against the ceiling at a distance of 6 feet, the one on left is the Jet Beam I MK IIX



And after that, I took pictures of the beams shots at my customary 26 yards against the Deer and Bear heads.
If the picture of the beam shot of the Jet Beam doesn’t look too impressive for the 150 lumens figure, keep in mind the terrible advantage in concentration of light that the Pelican reflector provides for my PR T 130 lumens light.

Beam shot with the Jet Beam 150 lumens (2 batteries, maximum power)



And here the beam shot with the McGizmo PR T head (130 lumens)



I can’t close this account without telling my readers of the many features of the little Jet Beam light,
On the exterior the light is finished in hard anodized type III, the lens is Sapphire crystal and it comes with a set of extra switch covers, lanyard and a nice belt holster.

The circuit is 0.7V to 4.2V, after you click it on (Medium Brightness) soft touching the rubber switch will provide low brightness, maximum brightness and strobe, and one more touch will put the light in standby.

Waiting two seconds and clicking the light again will access the advanced mode with 10 levels of output, and five special functions including strobe SOS at 100 % and SOS at 5 % and others.

This seems to me, is the light to end all of the key chain lights and then some. As soon as my checkbook is recuperated from the ravages of uncle Sam, I am going to order one for myself.

I still think that for clearing a warehouse or a big yard, you need the longer distance reach of a good (in the 200 lumens bracket) incandescent light. When the factories start using the Cree 7090 with bigger reflectors, we will see the results, but I myself believe that the lack of the red spectrum in the Luxeons will always make them short distance lights and reduce the definition on the target; just look at the pictures that I have presented until now and see the performance of Luxeons even with the big reflectors of the Streamlight 4AA and the Task Light.

Kind regards
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE FENIX L1D
AA KEY CHAIN LIGHT
WITH CREE EMITTER

I finally remembered to order one of them, as I am not in any sense keychain-light poor, having several of them from the ARC AAA passing through the CMG (Course Made Good) to the Streamlight key mate and Fenix’s L1P and LOP AAA.

Not long ago, I reviewed the Jet beam II Mark VIII, which is a very similar light to the Fenix L1D. Any of the two can be considered revolutionary, and it is hard not to get excited about them.

I opted to have the Fenix L1D that works with 1 AA battery, as I like the size and shape which is the same as the Fenix L1P that I have been using for the last 18 months.
The L1P is a 40 lumen light that runs on one AA battery. I never did a timed run test because I always carry a couple of extra batteries in my pocket anyway to get extra run time from my lights, but wherever it is, it can never equal the multi-functional powers of the Fenix L1D.

The extreme power is achieved by a Cree 7090 XR-E LED emitter with a life of 50,000 hours- the little torch has two models of output selected by turning the bezel.
The first mode (as you click the light on) is 9 lumens and will last for 25 hours in the AA battery. The second mode (as you soft-press the switch) is 40 lumens and will last for 5 hours, and another soft press on the switch will access the 80 lumen power and your battery will last for 2 hours.
There is also an SOS mode (with another soft press) using the 80 lumens power.

Here are some of the lights, at top is a McGizmo modification (a collector’s item light worth $250 USD) it outputs 135 lumens and the big 32 mm reflector throws the light well at the 26 yards distance.
Next is the Fenix L1D which shows it is a tad longer than the Fenix L1P , below.
Next is the ARC AAA and the Fenix LOP, great keychain lights, all.






The second mode of the light system is accessed by turning the bezel ½ a turn. It is a steady 90 lumens that will last for 1 ½ hours and with a soft press of the switch the 90 lumens becomes a very quick strobe, that can disorient people or help in disco dancing.

Most chores inside the house can be handled with the 9 lumen mode. For walking the dog or hiking a trail at night I will use the 40 lumen mode; in fact, I can see that attaching it to my cap with Velcro will beat all the head lights in the market, as it is so light and so convenient without the restricting head band around my head- and anyway, I always wear a cap to shade my eyes or protect my glasses from rain, branches, etc.

The SOS or the strobe mode will always be there if I need to attract attention in an emergency. It is even useable in the suburbs, like recently, when a member of my family fell and broke her arm in the rear entrance of a church, she landed between two pine trees and the pain was so strong that she was unable to move, or even scream for help, and a key chain light used as a signal called the attention of people nearby and she was able to summon help that way.

Here are beam shots with the L1P on left and the L1D on right both at 40 lumens, the L1P is more yellow in the corona, but at the center are of the same intensity





The 80 lumen mode or the 90 lumen mode puts a tremendous amount of light NEARBY. Yes, I emphasize the word because due to the small reflector (that will diffuse the light into a flood), the reach of this little light even at that power is very restricted. Oh yes, it will serve to illuminate a big room well, but when tested at the 26 yards distance where I have my deer and bear it was just as the poor results that I got before with the Jet beam, so you can check that post if you are curious about the amount of light reaching there.

For that long distance you just need a bigger reflector of a bigger flashlight. My PR Turbo head by McGizmo running two Lithium Ion 123’s is much more efficient in putting illumination in the 26 yard spot just because the Pelican reflector of 32 mm is so much more efficient in canalizing the light.

So, a long distance light it is not, but all the other common chores can be handled very easily with the new Fenix L1D light. The battery will last a long time on the nine lumen mode (25 hours) and will probably be my choice for hanging from the ceiling of the tent all night long, in replacement of the CMG LED that I was using until now.

I paid $52 USD for the light and I consider the cost a bargain. With one in my pocket I just need two or three more powerful lights to cover all lightning situations that I can possible think of; for example, I will use a 200 lumen light in my belt for animal control (in the wild and in the street- and I mean two and four-legged animals) this could be a Surefire Centurion III with the optional P-91 lamp, or even better the rechargeable Bear Cub 220 lumen 90 minutes run time.

For my truck or cars, I am never too far away from a Borealis flashlight, 1050 lumens and 50 minute run time, the most powerful flashlight in the world with the power of a two million candlepower spotlight.
With that I am in control of riots, accident sites, search and rescue, and WWIII.

Coming back to the Fenix L1D, yes I am very happy with this light. Hopefully it will give me even better service than the Fenix L1P and the LOP that I have been using until now -lights that are very good and I have nothing but praise for them.
Respectfully
Watchmaker