Tactical Flashlights

deanopilot · Post by **deanopilot** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 12:57 am

Got a couple of surefire tactical flashlights for the Holidays (C2 and E2E). Now I'm on the hunt for several E2E's to give as gifts. Ran around the house collecting all the worthless (comparatively) maglites I mistakenly thought were suitable for their intended purposes. Now that I've "seen the light" I know that my maglites couldn't hold a candle to the surefires. Anyone else have similar experiences of enlightenment?

dermeister025 · Post by **dermeister025** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 6:34 am

That was basically how i felt when i got my Pelican M6 LED. Only tried one briefly before i bought myself one, and when i finally got it out in the field i realised i was holding a light that was as bright or brighter than my 3-D maglite - and was also a fraction of the size and weight, tougher, and with better battery life. I've now expanded my collection of flashlights a lot, adding a pelican M3 LED, Stealthlite LED and LED Headlight among many others. With the incredible output of the new Luxeon LED's it's clear that the conventional light bulb is fast becoming obsolete.

However the maglite still has its place as a tough dependable flashlight (and backup club) and if you're interested, their one weak point - the bulb - can easily be replaced with an LED. A couple available options can be found here:

www.quality-items.com
www.ledsupply.com

Wow, you really got me off on a tangent there! but flashlights are one of my main interests - right up there with Guns, Knives, 4x4's, MRE's... well, really anything outdoor and survival related! Here's a couple great resources for flaslight discussion and reviews:

www.candlepowerforums.com
www.flashlightreviews.com

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:26 pm

Thanks dermeister, that's great information. I'll check out the LED replacements for the vast collection of maglites I have. Getting off on a tangent is what the OT thread is all about.[/quote]

Post by **DIRTYDAVE** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:24 am

I have a flashlight from Target, cost me about $4.00. It is my bedside tactical flashlight. Now on the other hand, my brother bought one for about $120.00 and you can kill a bear with it after you blind him for a few minutes, has serrated edges on it, the whole nine yards...

dermeister025 · Post by **dermeister025** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:26 am

Aah, that sounds like one of surefire's self defense flashlights... I thought about getting one, but i'm out to rescue people, not gouge them with a flashlight! Wow, wouldn't that make a wonderful injury report! "Lacerations inflicted by flashlight" WCB would have a field day!

Post by **DIRTYDAVE** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:12 am

LOL! Yes, it 'twould make a funny report.

dermeister025 · Post by **dermeister025** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:40 pm

It'd be right up there with a friend of mine - he's an electrician, was bending some heavy conduit and slipped on some hydraulic oil... So no word of a lie, he filled out the accident report saying "sprained ankle while on a bender in standoff"... He got some funny looks from his boss!

deanopilot · Post by **deanopilot** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:35 pm

I'd imagine that it's kind of hard to be an effective attacker with charred retinas.

Post by **kman** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:56 am

Speaking of LED upgrades for the MagLite's, I picked up one of these a couple of months ago:

NiteIze L.E.D. & Switch Upgrade

It's a decent little upgrade to the flashlight and only costs about US$9.

deanopilot · Post by **deanopilot** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 5:41 pm

Thanks kman. I just bought one of those for my daughter. She became the proud owner of my mini-maglite after it was deemed obsolete by the new surefires. The led conversion kit was $8.98 at Lowe's and works sufficiently for a 6-year old. However, the focusing capability is lost, the light is substantially tinted blue/purple, and the quality is not of maglite standard. But, it should last for a very long time.