Super Bright Flashlight

I'm a sucker for gadgets, and it seems I'm also constantly looking for a decent flashlight when I need one. The problem is that they seem to have dead batteries or the bulb is burned out. It is always something.

Several years ago I used an LED flashlight on my job with the railroad (after ten years I still have it). Prior to that my choice was a Mini-Mag light. Though very bright, it ate batteries at an alarming rate and if the light was dropped while turned on the filament would always break. Those little Krypton bulbs are around $5.00 each. Anyways, that first LED flashlight was great. Batteries lasted forever, and the thing could be banged around without damage. It was a small unit, used three AA batteries and worked well, though it only had four leds.

Newer generation LED flashlights are very bright, but they have many leds. One I've seen uses 100 leds in the head. It is probably bright, but it is also big. Not the best thing for carrying around or packing with your gear.

The other day I was in my local parts store and saw this thing on the counter. I bought one for $25.95. It has one LED that is focused by a lens. The case is aluminum and is bullet proof. It uses three AAA batteries and on body of the flashlight it gives battery duration...4 hours at maximum brightness, 8 hours at 50%, 15 hours at 10% (which is still very bright) and it also has a feature where it will flash SOS and a strobe feature. The beam pattern can be adjusted also, from wide to narrow. The battery life for the last two features is listed at 72 hours. Believe me....This thing is literally blinding on full brightness, and the case is designed to be used as a personal defense weapon if needed. It is about 4.5 inches long and the lens is 1.5 inches in diameter. The on off switch is on the rear and it glows in the dark. The end also has a strong magnet in it.

I am totally impressed with thing. It will illuminate objects at up to 150 yards. Well, see it for yourself by following this link. I highly recommend this flash light for home, shop and scooter. I do not think you will be dissapointed with this light.

http://www.amazon.com/REDLINE-TACTICAL-FLASHLIGHT-STROBE-5557/dp/B0049M8I22

I have been using a Gerber LX3.0 for some time it's a great light. Specs can be viewed HERE.
It's a good balance between the home store checkout "cheapies " and a Streamlight Tactical. As for Maglights, I feel they still have their place and still have a bunch in service. Gary

Gerber

Mr. Gary..... I agree that the Gerber is a fine, high quality flashlight. At nearly 75 bucks it is fairly expensive and that might be a tad beyond many people's budget.

As far as Mag-Lite flashlights go, they are also of superior quality, but my point was the bulb, like any incandescent bulb is fragile when turned on particularly because they burn at a much higher temp than most bulbs and they are expensive to replace. I am disabled and retired now, but in my former life I was a locomotive engineer and a part time police officer for the City of Marion, Arkansas. The LED light I carried on the RR was subjected to hard duty, and having carried a Mini Mag I know from experience they are tough, but the bulb is a weak point, as is battery life. Like most police departments, we used Mag Lites exclusively, but again, they are expensive and rather large to pack on a bike where space is always at a premium. The other problem I had with the Mag Lites was the switch. It seems that was their weak point, for I have seen many of them fail. I have bought a few of those check out counter specials, and I also agree that the majority of them are chinesium junk. This Redline light appears to be of superior quality to those. Only time will tell about the wisdom of my purchase.

I believe that with LED technology improving by leaps and bounds, in a short while incandescent flashlights will be as hard to find as a black and white TV is now.

The intensity of the output of the Redline flashlight must be seen to be believed. For 25 bucks it was an easy choice for me.

I agree, LED's are the new way to go. It sounds like you've been around a while. Do you remember the first maglights? Switch failure usually meant you couldn't switch it on sometimes and off others. Like a lot of things when you need it the flashlight that works is best. BTW CHINESIUM is a good term, it's sort of like the technical term MYSTERY METAL. Gary


Edit: It was Kel lights-sort of the first generation of the Mag lights.

surefire makes a great lights. here is their new light 6PXÔäó Pro
Dual-Output LED $79.00.

If you want to learn about lights become a regular reader at Candlepower Forums.

There are many good lights made in both China and Korea, as well as the US. I carry several on the bike where, for reliabilty, including storage reliability, all are lithium powered LEDs. All are capable of at least an hour at full power (too bright at night) to many days at lowest power. For really dark conditions, minimal light all you need is 2-3 lumens to see enough to work. For typical working situations like seeing into dark corners in daylight and working in larger spaces at night 40 lumens is way plenty. Many make the mistake of buying the brightest thing they can get which only wrecks night vision and shortens battery life. Experienced users invariably prefer less light and give greatest weight to the lower output modes. It is rare that you will use a bike light for "night search" so carrying one that emphasizes only 100 lumen + power and has a narrow pencil beam isn't a good choice- that's what the typical police maglite does.

1) LED mini maglite conversion(by me using commercially available parts) in RT front pocket. Uses a mid power led unit, AA lithiums, and has an added "safety switch" on the tailcap to prevent the led from screwing out and turning it on/killing the batteries while riding. I use this while poking into dark corners of the bike during daylight and its very handy for use while on the bike.
2) Petzls for headwear. One goes in the tent overhead as my tent light and the other is in the tail of the bike (emergency use only by 2, coin type batts). Both have optional red settings to preserve night vision.
3) Always in my pocket, a single 123 cell powered light with screw type switch that has several intensities. Can be held in teeth if needed. Have used stock and modified Fenix PID-CE models and now carry a Warm White Quark MiNi 123 from 4Sevens. It has a low of 2.5 lumens for 150 hrs, a hi of 136 lumens for 1.2 hrs and other settings and is only 2.3 inches long. VERY SMALL AND COVERS MOST USES WELL. THE LIGHT YOU HAVE ALWAYS AVAILABLE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT and will get the most use. Flashaholics call this their EDC (every day carry) and IMO 4Sevens has the largest selection of good EDC candidates, though there are mnay other good choices. I buy 123s in bulk at less than $1 each and store batts in the fridge plus a few spares with my spare bulbs on the bike- a great battery type but sometimes hard to find and expensive if bought single as a camera battery, its most common US use.
See www.4sevens.com for some well made and reasonably priced items. Yes they're Chinese.
4) An INOVA X5 in my tool roll. 5 relatively weak LEDs but totals about 50 lumens with a wider flood type beam, 2, 123 batts, extremely rugged case. This is a nearly ideal light for the glove box of any car, also, though if you intend to do night search or read street addresses on houses at distance you will also want some sort of pencil beam. Long run time, can be stored with no worries due to 123 power, unlike alkalines that do not like hi temp storage in cars for long.
5) Always on every keychain a coin cell LED light ($1 each from various suppliers) or my very trick, tiny and pricey titanium Draco (not currently available), a tour-de-force demo of what is technically possible when shrinking led lights as much as possible.
5) And I usually have a couple more tiny led types tucked away in gear.

Most older style police lights like full size maglights are way too big and too limited in use to be worth carrying on a bike and the switch design does fail with some regularity though most of the time it is repairable if you have the tools and know how to take it apart to clean it. I have many of the very best (custom or self made) led type maglights that do well over 200 lumens and run literally for days on 3 or more D batteries but I keep them around the house for hurricanes. In "candle mode" running without reflectors they would provide adequate light for a long time with no electricity but are too much for camping. I've also converted many to run on very high power halogen bulbs (50-100+W) using rechargeable nicads and lithiums but these are basically "stunt" or toy lights- powerful enough to actually start a fire but run times too short for real world use.

If you want to see a silly but fun flashlight conversion, google the Larry K12.
Its a 600W aircraft landing lamp stuck in a cheap Harbor Freight housing and run by rechargeable model batteries. Very short run times but about 12,000 lumens!

For carrying on a bike, I strongly suggest sticking to stuff powered by AA batts available at literally every gas station and convenience store or the disposable 123 lithiums, if you carry a few of your own spares because they are very high power density and give the longest life. I'm not a fan of AAA - low power density and sometimes not available. Even less of a fan of D's and C's for portable use. D's, particularly, are getting hard to find on the road as the world moves to LEDs. Note that a single D cell size led light would be about the same size as a 3 or 4 AAA light and give much longer run times but there are very few such types ever made except as customs by hobbyists.

There is a large group of "flashaholics" over at Candlepower Forums. You can research stuff and get expert answers to flashlight questions there. Understand that for long distance use, LEDs do not deliver the ease of color and depth perception that one gets from tungsten filaments BUT this can be offset a good deal but using a warm white type (hard to find). The fact that lights can be made small and have long run times, plus long storage with lithium batts, are the reasons for LED use and they work very well for night repairs, general use, etc.

Recommended vendors
4Sevens
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+1 on the Surefire lights. They are expensive, but they will usually outshine any of the bargain brands. The 123 batteries can be found in most grocery stores and photo shops.

I have two of the older Nitrolon 6-P Surefires with 120 lumen incandescent bulbs and I just bought a LED with the 200 lumen rating.

You don't want to turn one of those on and stare into it.

Bill

racer7 said:

If you want to learn about lights become a regular reader at Candlepower Forums.

There is a large group of "flashaholics" over at Candlepower Forums. You can research stuff and get expert answers to flashlight questions there.

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Do they have flashlight rallies? Is there a Maglight Owners of America?

PGlaves said:

Is there a Maglight Owners of America?

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Get it? MOA.....

RoboRider said:

I've replaced all my flashlights with the LED headband lights.
The main advantage of these lights is that they stay on your head with the headband, thus leaving your two hands free to work. look.

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I'm scared to admit how many of those I own. Gary

Great info racer7. Gary

Candlepower Forums

I agree with Gary... That is great info racer7. My point was/ is the compactness of the Redline. It fits easily in your pocket. Yes, aa batteries are much more common that AAA, but I feel this is going to change also as low current draw devices become the norm. As has been pointed out, the best light is one that is at hand when needed.

copandengr said:

I agree with Gary... That is great info racer7. My point was/ is the compactness of the Redline. It fits easily in your pocket. Yes, aa batteries are much more common that AAA, but I feel this is going to change also as low current draw devices become the norm. As has been pointed out, the best light is one that is at hand when needed.

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You got a good thread going! The Redline does look good, I wish I could see one in person. I'm not much for the confusion of Amazon or E-bay but chances are the Redline will show up in one of my regular catalogs. There is nothing wrong with AAA batteries, the ones that sorta seem out of place currently are the C size. I've had the best luck all around with Energizer brand batteries. Gary

copandengr,
Don't get me wrong- I think the light you noted is a great buy for the features. It has hi power, a useful beam width adjustment, is compact and is priced right.

Its disadvantages will be shorter run time due to AAAs and drain of the LED at that output level and the fact that it is way too bright for many uses; The low power modes are the most important for most stuff (though not for cop or search type lights).

I appreciate your bringing it up because it will remind me that the beam width feature may soon start to appear on other lights- there is a huge amount of competition on this in Asia where lights are a serious hobby for quite a few, maybe because they don't have guns and hunting (renting guns at ranges is very popular with Japanese tourists in Hawaii, for example, who are truly amazed that Americans think owning firearms is normal)

Paul - There probably is an MOA - Maglite Owners of Asia- because there is a whole mini industry of Asians making many varieties of custom reflectors, modified bodies, various lenses, current regulators, battery holders for various substitute batteries, hi power rechargeable lithium C and D batteries not made in the US, a plethora of various LED conversion types, alternate switch types, bulb holders for any imaginable bulb, etc etc. all for the genuinely American MagLight. It is the basis of many of my own customs for that reason and I get my parts from Hong Kong, Korea and the US, mostly with a few from Japan and Europe.
The 1185 bulb conversion is a common, extremely bright and very practical halogen one though with 30 minute run times in most configurations. It is only one of hundreds of various halogen, led and hid variants at least 3 or 4 dozen of which are reasonably common to hobbyists. Some of the LED types use 3 or 4 relatively hi power LEDs to push out 400-700 lumens, approaching what the 1185 halogen will do, but with longer run time- however, you need some basic electronics skills to assemble a multiple led light that will need some sort of current control circuitry, heat sinks, plus revised switches, lenses, etc. One does not see these types commercially because they would have to retail at over $200.

I admit it

Walking down the flashlight aisle?

I call that the "Fleet Farm Tax".

Kel Lights

Gary.... When the Kel-Light first came out, there were several lawsuits filed over the police use of them... Seems some officer's use went beyond illumination. Several departments banned them.

copandengr said:

Gary.... When the Kel-Light first came out, there were several lawsuits filed over the police use of them... Seems some officer's use went beyond illumination. Several departments banned them.

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Actually, it was several years before the lawsuits proliferated...like twenty some odd...when they came out, it was considered okay to use them in place of a baton, since that's how they were designed...the lawsuits centered on the fact that training for waling with a Kel Light or Mag Light wasn't done in the academy or anywhere else, and also because some officers went a bit overboard in their enthusiasm...but as I recall, these didn't really start happening until the early to mid nineties, after the Rodney King Kaper...

Lawsuits

Yardog, the lawsuits were going on well before Rodney King. They were brought to the forefront by that well publicized event. The civil actions may not have been as prolific, but there were several well known incidents here in Arkansas. Maybe I'm remembering them so well because of our training at the academy. Only a small part of the certification course was the actual use of these weapons. Most of the time was spent learning about the court decisions and Arkansas state policy, as well as our individual departments protocol.

I had to go through training that included batons. Our instructors were none to gentle demonstrating their use on us. I also had to go through the training on pepper spray which included getting a royal dose of it, as well as getting zapped by a stun gun. The Arkansas Law Enforcement Standards Commission required it, saying the application on us would prevent the abuse of these less than lethal weapons as well as give us confidence that they would work on a suspect. I was glad they did not take the same position on our pistols or shotguns.

Our department did not require us to carry these things, but we had to be certified in their use if we decided to do so.

One word: Surefire. All you need to know.