Sebastian did a review of the Fenix LD10 that I wrote about in my last flashlights post and it sounds like his is pretty happy with it. I think that Fenix is going to start giving Surefire some problems in the near future.
Tag: flashlight
Flashlights
Posted by – August 17, 2009
Rereading the results of the private citizen equipment poll I noticed that only about half of the respondents are carrying flashlights. I have written about flashlights before, but I think this boils down to people picking the wrong light for their application.
High Output vs. Size Everyone wants more and more powerful lights. Unfortunately this usually comes with an increase in size of the light. I believe that the reason more people are not carrying flashlights is because the powerful flashlight they want is too big to fit into their lives, or that they don’t fully understand the role of the flashlight.
The old Surefire 6P was revolutionary about 10 years ago, because of it’s high light output (approximately 80 lumens) in a relatively small package compared to the full size Mag lite. Xenon bulbs, a better reflector, and a better battery (SF123A) were a major breakthroughs at the time. Now LED technology has improved to the point where flashlights like the Fenix LD10 (pictured) can get 120 lumens out of a single AA battery.
Enter the pocket clip. Ten years ago, I was carrying a 6P on my belt in a kydex holster, but I never really liked that system. Now we can get flashlights with greater light output than the old 6P that are small enough to use with pocket clips (I wish Fenix would start putting pocket clips on their smaller lights.)
I don’t really foresee a situation where I am going to need to quick draw my flashlight. If my flashlight is going to be part of a self defense scenario it needs to be already in my hand otherwise it’s probably not going to be a factor. I generally get by right now with just dropping my light in my pocket because it is small enough to do that.
Making do with less. If you look at a larger flashlight like the SureFire M6-CB (pictured) it has some impressive light output (250-500 lumens) that totally surpasses a small pocket light, but it wasn’t designed with private citizens in mind and it wasn’t designed to be a personal everyday carry light.
If I can’t get 500 lumens in a pocket size flashlight then I will have to make do with less light output. If I can’t fit a normal pocket-size light into my life then I will have to make do with an even smaller light and less light output. Whatever flashlight I end up with is going to increase my capabilities in the dark. I am not arguing between the merits of different flashlights, I am arguing against the idea that because you can’t have the perfect flashlight you go without one entirely.
Surefire G2 LED Flashlight
Posted by – November 20, 2008
“This light is a big improvement over the older incandescent G2. The LED increases the brightness and the run time of the the light. This is about the least expensive, quality, tactical light I have found.”
The Self Defense Flashlight
Posted by – November 10, 2008
A flashlight is a basic piece of survival equipment. It is legal everywhere, totally portable, and useful for both mundane and self defense tasks. Most people will use a flashlight more than any other tool. Therefore flashlight should be part of your basic personal equipment.
Applications
The primary purpose of a flashlight is to see in the dark. While this is self-evident it frequently gets lost in discussions of blinding attackers and identifying targets. Shining a flashlight into potential hiding places or danger areas is a demonstration of active awareness. Since surprise is a key element in many victimizations, active awareness will solve some problems before they develop.
A high output flashlight will impair an assailants vision, and coupled with movement has some self-defense value. Remember that this is a momentary impairment and not disabling, so a blast of light should include you taking a few quick steps in a direction other than straight back.
Flashlights can aid you in your deadly force decision making process and target identification. Again this takes just enough light to see to what you need to see, and does not require the full intensity of the beam to make a determination in most cases. This is relevant with weapon mounted lights and and techniques that put the flashlight and firearm together, as we do not want to point our firearms at things we haven’t decided to shoot.
There are a few companies that make jagged or scalloped bezels to improve the striking capabilities of the small flashlights, but I don’t think they are useful. I am certainly not against striking with the flashlight, I just don’t believe that a full-force strike is going to do any more damage because of a few 1/8″ points. After extensive international travel nobody has ever raised an eyebrow at my having a flashlight, but a “spiked” flashlight would probably be a different story. A striking bezel isn’t enough of an issue to make a good light a ‘don’t buy’ it’s just a personal preference.
If you are going to go with a full size flashlight, you can’t beat a 4 ‘C’ cell Mag-Lite. The advantage of ‘C’ cells over ‘D’ cells is that it makes the body of the light thinner and easer to grip and reduces the weight of the light. C cell lights are closer to being batons than D cell lights.
Desirable Features
In the smaller flashlights I look for a pressure tail-cap rather than a click on/off switch. I prefer bright lights (80 Lumens or more), and I would like them to be relatively inexpensive. I am a big fan of the Surefire G2 Nitrolon for these reasons. The additional bells and whistles of strobes, colored colored LEDs, are nice features but not critical.
I would like to go to a high output LED system instead of Xenon bulbs to increase the durability of the light. The Fenix P3D has been very well reviewed by people I consider to be knowledgeable so I will probably get one of those as my next flashlight purchase.
Suggested Models/Brands
Small Flashlights:
Fenix P3D Cree
If you have to have a striking bezel:
Surefire 6PD
Full Size Flashlights:
C Cell Maglite
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