Lights For Ccw And Law Enforcement

[watchmaker]

RAYOVAC SPORTMAN XTREME

2AA 3 WATTS LUXEON FLASHLIGHT

I found this one at Wal-Mart and a fortunate find it was, the light is about the size of a Surefire L-4 or Surefire E2L, it even has a switch similar in operation to the Z-52 switch of the Surefire, press once for momentary, and twist the tail cap for permanent.

The package claims 80 lumens and it probably is, but of course, due to the small reflector and being a diode, the light is diffused and doesn’t have good throw, but good enough to make it comparable with other Luxeon III’s that I have seen at much higher prices.



Yes, the price was $25.00 and therefore makes this light a bargain, and another great feature is while others lights consume the expensive 123’s, this one works with two AA batteries.

The body holds a nice clip that makes it unnecessary to carry the light in a holster. It even has a lanyard if you want to keep it with you when you open your hand to do any other task.

The run time is given at two hours, which is good and even better than others lights of this power can give even using 123 batteries.
If you need more runtime than this, you can buy the exact light in the 1 watt version with an output of 45 lumens and a runtime of five hours.
For a long time I have been using rechargeable Nimh AA batteries. I use them for all my power-hungry gadgets, GPS’s, two-way radios, cameras, etc. The Nimhs provide me no-guilt runtime and, at the same time, helps the environment.

Beam shot at 26 yards, camera at 18 feet from the target. I moved the deer up front a little, so the background and the leaves from my cherry tree will not interfere with the picture. I should cut the overgrown bushes that are taking over the fence, but the weather hasn’t cooperated lately for doing yard work.



Cheers,
Watchmaker

[rgeliske]

Hey, you don't have to explain to us just convince your wife nothing that slithers on the ground can get past that fence.

[watchmaker]

THE CLASSIC SUREFIRE E1E EXECTUTIVE ELITE

FLASHLIGHT

This light is a beauty, short, light weight, with considerable power and with a decent run time for an incandescent light
In today’s market it is a little obsolete in the power department, as the Fenix line of small pocket/key chain lights put out more lumens and have more features.
Still, the Surefire E1e is the “classic” small light that arrived at a time when 15 lumens was only achieved with big lights using 2D batteries.

The E1e is extremely well made and finished in hard anodized type III in an olive drab finish; it weights 2.20 ounces and has a length of 3.40 inches. The lens is Pyrex and the reflector is stochastic, meaning that is finished with a light stippled pattern that makes the beam free of defects, rings and artifacts.

The light runs on one of the RC123’s batteries with a run time of 1.5 hours, the beam is nice, but will not throw far as the reflector is quite small, and small reflectors produce quite a flood.
The tail cap has three positions: unscrewed a couple of turns it will lock up the light (what is considered a safety position); screwed a little more, will allow activation of the momentary position by pressing the rubber button; screwed further, will activate the light on constant.




The little light charges the battery from the front, that means you have to take the head out to install the battery, as there is not enough room for the battery to enter if you remove the tail cap, as in most other lights.
The 15 lumens lamp is called MN01, and is 15 lumens of course; the MN02 is 25 lumens but it’s used in the E series Surefire that carries two batteries, as is the more powerful 60 lumens MN03.

I see this light as ideal for a woman’s purse or a man’s pocket. Although the retail price is $79 USD the light is so well made that is worth it. Finally, the light sports a clip that can be used to clip it to the edge of a pocket for quick retrieval, or to the bill of a cap if you need to do some chore using two hands.
Cheers
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]

HUSKY 2D 3 WATT LED LIGHT

I was at Home Depot and I spied a new light in the flashlight section. The new torch is a HUSKY brand, which is a brand name of Home Depot. I have used some of their inexpensive lights; they are made in China and represent a good value in some models.

The new light uses two D batteries (that are included in the package) and the source of light is a three watt LED. The difference in this torch is that the switch activates three different levels of illumination.
The package lacks any instructions and doesn’t even mention the output of the light or the run time. So I am guessing that the first mode (the first click) is a 12 lumens light, second click at 40 lumens and the last click about 80 lumens.

The idea of having three different levels is good, it will conserve battery juice when you just need a little light for illumination, and at the same time, the other two settings are there for more lumens when you need to reach farther or put out more intensity.
As this thread is all about comparisons, I decided to pit the new HUSKY against a Maglite 2D LED 3 watt that I bought a few months ago. I purchased the Maglite from Wal Mart for $24 USD, but I think that it was on sale at the time, still price wise the two lights. Compare.

The HUSKY is ½” shorter, otherwise they compare physically to each other and they weight the same, although the HUKY have a slightly smaller head.
The outside of the Husky is finished in a slightly duller anodizing than the Maglite; both lights look handsome on the outside.
In the inside the Husky shows the threads of the tail-cap, body and head very rough. Removing the head I found an adequate heat sink, although the mounting of the LED looks a little lousy. I wanted to take a look at the reflector and plastic lens, but it was not possible to remove the bezel despite my superhuman and my weight-lifter friend efforts - the bezel seems to have been super-glued in place.

The tail-cap sports a flimsy lanyard that I will not trust to hold the light for long, and looking inside at the switch, I found it very cheesy looking, more appropriate for a toy than for a flashlight. The little strip of metal where the battery makes contact with the switch, it doesn’t look good either.

The Maglite 2D on the other hand, is a high quality product with butter smooth threads, a switch that will last forever and a lot of well thought-out features (cam action, self cleaning switch, etc).
The Maglite is an American product that should cost much more of what it does now. Old timers may recall that when they first show up in the 1980’s the price tag was $60 USD and that they were selling like hot cakes, the engineering of the Maglite was at that time well above any of the existing lights, including the Kel-Lite.

In the picture you can see the Maglite 2D LED on left, the Husky light in the middle, and the red one on right is a Black Bear 720 lumens, (1 ½ million candlepower) a custom made light that shows how much illumination we can put into a Maglite “host” 2D, with a little ingenuity, and if the people are willing to pay the price of a custom product.




Here are the beam shots for comparison, 35 yards to the fence.

HUSKY 3 watt



MAGLITE 3 watt



BLACK BEAR 720 LUMENS




My impression is that the Maglite has a much better beam, in color rendition and in intensity. Also, I can throw the beam of the Maglite much further than the Husky, even that both lights are 3 watt, the Maglite is better in quality of LED and power.
Granted - the Maglite has a 2” full reflector, while the Husky could be only 1 ¾ “ that could account for the better throw, but the Maglite definitely has a whiter beam and it is more intense.
All the best
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

SUREFIRE E2e MODIFICATIONS

Judging for the mail I get from people, there is some interest in modifying the E2e (or E2O) for more lumen output.
The standard question is: Do you have any lamp that will make the E2e brighter?

There are two modifications made to the E2e to make it brighter. Both of them involve the P-61 lamp from Surefire, an incandescent lamp that output 120 lumens for 20 minutes.

The NASCAR modification (more properly named This_is_Nascar, for its developer), involves removing the stock reflector from the P-81 lamp and using the head and reflector of the standard E2e.

On top is the E to C adaptor model, below is the NASCAR model.




And this is the E to C adaptor on top and below the NASCAR modification.




It is necessary to stretch the bezel of the E2e to accommodate the longer P-61 lamp. This is accomplished by installing an O ring between the head and bezel and using a thinner mineral crystal instead of the Pyrex lens.
A washer is also used to bring the lamp to the proper focal point in the reflector. This modification has a run time of seven minutes, when the heat of running the 120 lumen lamp will reach the batteries, causing them to kick the thermal protection. This stops the juice to the lamp. Of course, after the batteries cool down, the light can be used again.

This happens because of the little mass of metal at the head and reflector. If there was more mass of metal at this point the heat would be absorbed (and displaced forward as infrared) and the batteries would continue to provide the full run time of twenty minutes.

And it is here where the second modification makes its appearance; by using an adaptor to bridge the gap between the E series body and a C series head. It is possible to use the P-61 lamp without removing the reflector. All the mass of the adaptor, coupled with the bigger head and the mass of the reflector, perfectly handles the heat of the powerful P-61 lamp, and the full run time of twenty minutes can be achieved, as well as less heat in the part of the light that is held by your hand.

There are a couple of versions in the market of this E to C adaptor. The one shown here was made by Doug Speck in Toronto, Canada. It is hard anodized to match the body of the E2e (or E2O) and the Z-44 (The head of the Surefire Centurion II).
Also, as the reflector (and head) are bigger, the range (throw) is increased over the smaller reflector of the stock E2e. Not to mention changing lamps is a breeze.
For more run time, the P-60 lamp (65 lumens) can be substituted; it will give the light one hour run time with much better throw than the stock E2e.

The NASCAR version has some use when somebody desires a rifle light in the smaller format with an intensity of 120 “real” lumens, and a good flood coverage for clearing rooms. Using a 1” scope ring and a plastic bushing, it is possible to mount the light to any Picattiny or Weaver base.

Best regards,
Watchmaker

[Djwurm]

Well I ordered a Borealis 1050 today in camo.. will post up my impressions when I get it. I also own a bear cub that I used daily in my line of work and is a great light and has great output for its size.

[watchmaker]

Q-BEAM MAX MILLION II

TWO MILLION CANDLEPOWER

SPOTLIGHT

I very recently bought a new Q-Beam two million candlepower spotlight. I am a big user of spotlights, in my case I use them to give demonstration of the power of the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight, in police reunions, night shots, and seminars.

When my eight month-old battery for my two million candlepower Optronics spotlight gave up the ghost, I had to get a new spotlight.
I spied the Q-Beam at Wal-Mart and I bought it on the spot. It is a large spotlight with a four-and-three-quarters inch reflector, and with some extra features not available in other spotlights.
For starters, it comes with two removable batteries. One battery could be on the light while the other is charging, a good feature. Unfortunately, in my case, one of the batteries was already dead and is not recharging. I will have to return the unit and get another, hoping for better luck.
However, bad batteries are nothing new in big spotlights. It seems that the Chinese haven’t gotten the hang of making lead acid batteries last any decent amount of time. I know; I have the corpses of seven spotlights to prove it (some day I will get around to rounding them up and take a picture of them).

I can safely say that I have tried all of them, and I can tell you that a quality spotlight is not available in the USA, unless you buy one of the Australian’s Night Force spotlights. Australians, with their liberal night hunting laws, know a thing or two more about night hunting and lights that the average American hunter does.

For law enforcement the panorama is different. With the advent of the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight (12 ½” long, 28 oz) a spotlight in the cruiser is no longer needed.
After all, spotlight use for law enforcement is confined to operation from the car, which is why you don’t see a trooper conducting a traffic stop with spotlight in hand or chasing down a suspect with one in tow.

Coming back to the Q-Beam Max Million II, it also has another feature that was not available before in any other spotlight; a double trigger that when touched high, can activate mechanically a spring that will push the smaller part of the two-part reflector/ bulb holder, forward. This causes the focus to change to a wider flood; interesting concept, but perhaps of dubious utility. I have seen it employed in flashlights before, but by the use of two filaments positioned in the bulb envelope at different heights.

Here is a picture of the Q-Beam together with the Borealis



Unfortunately the Achilles’ heel of any spotlight is the quality of its batteries. In the normal use that I give them, they never last more than 6 to 8 months, which is why I am not looking to pay more than half a century note for one, with is just what the new Q-Beam cost me at Wal-Mart.

How does it compare with the Borealis 1050 lumens (two million candlepower)?
To answer that question, I move them to the backyard of my local church, where I have a solid wall of trees and a range of 35 yards (I try to avoid solid light-painted walls that produce too much reflection and confuse the camera).

Q-Beam Max II Spotlight



Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight




Black Bear 720 lumens flashlight





The new Spotlight did well in comparison, but it is more inside the range of the Black Bear 720 lumens (10 “ long 23 oz) than of the more powerful Borealis. Here are the pictures for you to judge; of course the Borealis and the BB 720 are better law enforcement tools as the side spill is bigger and the intensity and the color are brighter. Of course, you need side spill to avoid panning a tight focus’ light and losing precious seconds when clearing a room or warehouse.
For those that use the Q-Beam for varmint shooting (with a partner to hold the light of course) the light will do okay up to 300 yards.
For that use you can take advantage of the red filter (at shorter distance) and the other two filters, ( blue and amber), are completely useless for varmint shooting and for any other use I can imagine, as I can not see a blood tracker using such a big spotlight with the blue filter on it.

Respectfully,
Watchmaker

[ashylarry]

wow great reads. now i need to go out and buy some lights

[watchmaker]

FLASHLIGHTS FOR SELF DEFENSE


As strange as it sounds, some flashlights are used for self defense quite often in daily life.

Sometimes by professionals Police Officers in a way to avoid using deadly force in confrontations with suspects, and other times by civilians that are not permitted to carry lethal weapons.

In the US we have it quite good in that we are allowed to carry short knives and some others implements but in the majority of Europe such activities are illegal or highly frowned upon by the authorities.
If you defend yourself with a baseball bat even in your own home in certain countries you have to give reason for why you have such an implement with you.


Other lights use others means of incorporating defense mechanisms in their construction. I am thinking now about the ARES Defense Companion, a Maglite with 3 cells that incorporates a shotgun of 410 gauge (only one picture is circulating in the Internet and I think is not in production) or the Tiger Light that incorporates a pepper spray canister, or the several models of Surefire that come with crenellated bezels (one example is the popular E2D executive Defender).

Surefire was the first (to my knowledge) at popularizing the crenellated bezel and the SureFire Institute offers a class in basic defensive tactics called “The power of Light” which is open to all qualified civilians as well as law enforcement professionals .
The course is taught by certified instructor Steve Tarani (shown below delivering a carotid strike).




The Borealis flashlight can be had with the optional heavy stainless steel crenellated bezel that is offered in a limited production run.
Such bezels add 3 ounces to the weight of the head and the bezel even that is not actually sharp will be a good imitation of the broken beer bottle.

I don’t think that an aggressor, if he is in his right mind, will confront such a weapon that first will blind him with 1050 lumens and then is ready to rearrange his facial features.




The Royal Borealis uses a Quick Detach Swivel, that when used only with the nub for the lanyard, can be very hard on skulls and noses.





This old Borealis model sports the heavy 3 inch head (the head is now out of production), more resembling a medieval mace. This is also a fantastic throw monster reaching over several hundred yards.





I have in my long association with the flashlight Industry seen a few models which spray OC from the front of the lens, flashlight that also incorporate a screaming siren, flashlights that incorporate a stun gun and others weird contraptions all of them gone from the market now.

What seems to prevail is just a good weight reliable flashlight that can be used as a baton or with the new crenellated bezels and the introduction of really powerful MEGA lights capable of blinding an assailant.
Best regards,

Watchmaker