Flashlights?

[Frr]

Im thinking about getting myself a small flashlight to carry around and Ive seen some nice lights over at SureFire. I want something that will temporarily blind/disorient/destroy night vision in moderate to low level light conditions. Perhaps restaurant or outdoor early dusk type lighting. What I want to know is approx how many lumens (at minimum) should I look for? (Im thinking about getting something LED for reliability).


Also, they seem pretty spendy, are SureFire really worth it or am I fine with a cheaper brand?

[x-ricer]

i would suggest looking at the surefire E2D. nice little flashlight with 60 lumens that is enough to disorient, and it also has a "strike bezel" that you can womp the BG with when he is blinded. it is a little spendy, but i think it's darn worth it.

[Frr]

Yeah, I was looking at that one, I like it. So you think 60 lumens is enough then? I was wondering if I needed to approach 100? Its too bad there is nowhere around here I could go and look at them in person.

[x-ricer]

60 lumens is definately sufficient. it is considered tatical. i close my eyes and shine it on myself sometimes just to kinda test it...you can literally feel the heat from this little flashlight. my brother and some friends got the same one. good stuff! sometimes you can find them used on these types of forums, or other flashlight forums.

Good luck!

[TakeDown]

I agree with ^^ regarding the 60 lumens. I use a Surefire G2Z 60 lumen for duty and it's more than enough. I'm sure there's a lot of other good inexpensive brands out there, as many of my fellow brothers are using all these off brands lights I've never heard of. But for me personally, the only name I trust my life with is Surefire.

I personnaly carry a Surefire G2 60 lumen bulb off-duty at times. And the incandescent bulbs are not that fragile as you may think, I've never had to replace any of my handheld ones.

[podwich]

If you're trying to get bright for pretty cheap, get the G2. It's around $30 and is also 60 lumens.

[tbhracing]

I love SureFire, but got lucky with that Pelican on ebay. I have several Pelican lights and they have severed me well. They have pretty good customer service too.

[punisher50]

update after posting my original comment, i realized that once you carry a surefire, whether it's the G2 or the A2, there's no going back. after losing my original G2, i switched to the inova x5, and even bought a cheap brinkmann legend at academy. i have since put the inova in my briefcase and passed the brinkmann to a fellow bouncer. I went to a local gun store and picked up another G2 in black (matches my new glock 17 nicely) and put a modified koppo wrap on it using constrictor knots to keep overall size down, so that i wont lose this one as easily if there's a scuffle. I'll post a picture so you can see what i'm talking about, if you dont already know, just as soon as i can find my data cable.

anyway the surefire IMHO is the way to go.

[Skintop911]

Originally posted by punisher50
at one point i thought my line of work needed the 120 lumen bulb, but really the only difference i noticed was my batteries didn't last near as long.

The difference between the P60 lamp (65 lum) and the P61 (120 lum) is most apparent in throw, not in total brightness. Especially true at close ranges.

My EDC lights are E2Es or E2Ds. Working lights are 6Ps with P61 lamps. I have G2s stashed everywhere.

[jay33]

He is some links to find more info than you probably want, lol.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/index.php?

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html

[Kyglock22]

It's expensive...but I LOVE my Surefire L4. The LED will will probably outlive the flashlight in my case....and it's rated at 100 lumens. It does everything I want in an EDC flashlight.

[TakeDown]

Kyglock-

I also have a L4, and when I first got it I was like, ho **** this is a good light with plenty lumens. But, I discovered later that once that high output is done and you're in the 'useful' output mode, the light sucks. Just MO. I'm glad I didn't buy 2 of them which I almost did. It's still a good light, but be ready for a big drop in lumens.

[flybywire]

I bought a Surefire L2 in Oct. I wanted an L4 but they were backordered, so I went with the L2. Now I'm glad I have the L2. I like the 15 lumen/100 lumen feature (push tailcap a little or a lot).

I am so sold on the Surefire product, I bought a G2 for my mom and a 9P for my girlfriend (household use). I'm leaning toward an L4 for mounting on my (ordered, but yet to arrive) AR15.

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of a good deal.

[Wulfenite]

I've had a Surefire P6, a Digilight and recently got a Surefire Aviator.

I tell you, the two level light (regular utility light mode and "super bright" mode) is one of those things that once you have you'll never want to go back.

[iholla]

I love my OD green G2--Brite little sucker I must say

You have heard they have a G3 coming out in mid Jan, right:shocked:

Looking to get me a Gladius Nite-Ops:banana:

[RichAdair]

Chief Supply has the NiteOps Gladius on sale, black only, for $158.99 until January 31, 2007, if you're looking for a great deal on a fantastic light. I have had a Gladius for over a year now and just ordered a second one today when I found out about the deal on Chief Supply. It also comes with a free pouch, which, from the pictures is the Blackhawk Mod-U-Lok holder.

Here's the link:

http://www.chiefsupply.com/Flashlights/Tactical/Hand-held/75200#

[Wulfenite]

Word has it a pocket-able version of the Gladius will be comming out some time early this year.

[iholla]

Thanks Rich--good deal

[MrMurphy]

For blinding light, inside 30 yards 60-65 lumens is fine.

As a civvy i carried a Surefire E2E and it worked very well.

I currently use a Surefire 6P on my M4 and it does just fine at those distances. I'll be upgrading to a 9P because I need to light up and blind people down the length of aircraft hangars (60+ meters).

[angula]

The BlackHawk Night-Ops Falcata lights are also a great choice (my personal carry) and they are available in 3x 123 or 2x 123 battery (for longer life, if necessary). They are Xenon and extremely bright and include removeable anti-roll.

And we happen to sell them as well. :)

Also, they work with all the Gladius accessories (such as the soft pouch or the Mod-U-LoK).

Here is a link:

https://www.smartgunner.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=falcata&btnSearch=GO&Page=1

Also, please note we are running a promo for this quarter of 5% off our tactical lights (includes TLR-1, TLR-2, M6X, Falcata, Gladius, H2X, etc). Use DISCOUNT CODE "TALK-Q1".

Thanks!