Flashlights....
- Thread starter Falls
- Start date
MicaBlue03
Member
Headlamp instead of/in addition to
As a light to take along in the vehicle, one of the most useful things is a headlamp. When you're trying to do a repair of some kind (flat tire, something wrong under the hood, etc.) it can be tremendously useful to have both hands free. A side benefit is that the light is directed in whatever direction you're looking.
Good, cheap LED headlamps are available for $10-20, and last for hours on a primary battery (no worries about failing to recharge your battery recently enough).
I carry both types of lights in my glove box, and a little AAA-powered LED light in my pocket always.
As a light to take along in the vehicle, one of the most useful things is a headlamp. When you're trying to do a repair of some kind (flat tire, something wrong under the hood, etc.) it can be tremendously useful to have both hands free. A side benefit is that the light is directed in whatever direction you're looking.
Good, cheap LED headlamps are available for $10-20, and last for hours on a primary battery (no worries about failing to recharge your battery recently enough).
I carry both types of lights in my glove box, and a little AAA-powered LED light in my pocket always.
OK I ran out and picked up a 3 watt led for my 2 cell maglight ( C ) , quite a difference , cant wait until it gets dark. Its a huge improvement for a mag light. I Don't think much of their product line . They were the cats ass for a long time but never kept up with technology and others have far surpassed them. They have lost all of the law enforcement market so then they started to market to the general public to keep sales up , even now the options you have to pick from on the shelves at a hunting , fishing , outdoor store far surpass the Maglight , but this $20 upgrade to the Mag. is a must and vastly improves it.
Rechargable light are great but when is goes dead it goes fast ( similar to lithium battery's ) and then you have to go back on a charger.
With Lithium batters eg:123's the shelf life is like 10 years , they don last a heck of a long time on continuos run time 1-2 hours , but you have the option of popping in new battery's quickly and you are good to go . Some lights are coming out with different setting to extend battery life and you can choose how bright or dim you want the light to conserve power for longer life.
Some LED's
are coming out also with an emergency strobe setting which actually takes as much power as using it on the dimmest setting even though it uses the brightest setting but can be seen for a long , long distance and will strobe for a few hours for emergency situations. An LED will provide much longer whiter light. Today I experienced the Blackhawk Gladius I spoke about earlier , the light is a 2 cell lithium with 3 brightness settings , I would say the low-med setting is where my 2"C" cell mag light is at with fresh Duracells and a new LED bulb. The brightest setting is fricken unreal , and the strobe setting is literally sickening and disabling to attackers and a warning/emergency system second to none for a flashlight. I had it shine in my face for about 2-3 seconds from about 10 feet away , totally disorientating and actually felt like I could puke . THIS IS A LAW ENFORCEMENT LIGHT , not made to be a toy and be shining in peoples faces. It is intense , but better be for that price.
Just telling you my experiences and the Mag light upgrade to LED is a MUST DO !! IMO for the cost . It totally changes the light from an ok light to a pretty awesome light. We have 4 old Mags laying around here and I can see doing this to all if them.
One other thing about lithium 123 batteries , sometimes know as photo cell batterys.
Walgreens = pack of 2 for $14.99 (Duracell)
Fleet farm = pack of 2 for $9.99 (Duracell)
Law enforcement suppy store = pack of 2 $4.99 ( unknown brand , say law enforcement grade ) what ever the hell that means but have the same specs. The local PD uses them and work just as good as anything they have used.
You can also buy in bulk of 12 for $21.00 = $1.75 each , probably cheaper if you search the web . These battery's have a 10 years guaranty shelf life.
LED and lithium is the way everything is going. Most PD's & FD and USM ( where I work ) do not use recharables any longer because they are not cost effective any longer.
Rechargable light are great but when is goes dead it goes fast ( similar to lithium battery's ) and then you have to go back on a charger.
With Lithium batters eg:123's the shelf life is like 10 years , they don last a heck of a long time on continuos run time 1-2 hours , but you have the option of popping in new battery's quickly and you are good to go . Some lights are coming out with different setting to extend battery life and you can choose how bright or dim you want the light to conserve power for longer life.
Some LED's
are coming out also with an emergency strobe setting which actually takes as much power as using it on the dimmest setting even though it uses the brightest setting but can be seen for a long , long distance and will strobe for a few hours for emergency situations. An LED will provide much longer whiter light. Today I experienced the Blackhawk Gladius I spoke about earlier , the light is a 2 cell lithium with 3 brightness settings , I would say the low-med setting is where my 2"C" cell mag light is at with fresh Duracells and a new LED bulb. The brightest setting is fricken unreal , and the strobe setting is literally sickening and disabling to attackers and a warning/emergency system second to none for a flashlight. I had it shine in my face for about 2-3 seconds from about 10 feet away , totally disorientating and actually felt like I could puke . THIS IS A LAW ENFORCEMENT LIGHT , not made to be a toy and be shining in peoples faces. It is intense , but better be for that price.
Just telling you my experiences and the Mag light upgrade to LED is a MUST DO !! IMO for the cost . It totally changes the light from an ok light to a pretty awesome light. We have 4 old Mags laying around here and I can see doing this to all if them.
One other thing about lithium 123 batteries , sometimes know as photo cell batterys.
Walgreens = pack of 2 for $14.99 (Duracell)
Fleet farm = pack of 2 for $9.99 (Duracell)
Law enforcement suppy store = pack of 2 $4.99 ( unknown brand , say law enforcement grade ) what ever the hell that means but have the same specs. The local PD uses them and work just as good as anything they have used.
You can also buy in bulk of 12 for $21.00 = $1.75 each , probably cheaper if you search the web . These battery's have a 10 years guaranty shelf life.
LED and lithium is the way everything is going. Most PD's & FD and USM ( where I work ) do not use recharables any longer because they are not cost effective any longer.
Last edited:
Koz said:
Ok as you know from my prev. post I did this up grade and played a little with it , well it finally got dark out and I live out in the country and it fricken dark and I'm out in the back 40 running around with my little flashlight testing it out ( wife just shakes her head ), I put Koz's Mag. upgrade to the test ..... like he said WOW !!!!
Damn good call Koz !!! amazing and a great cheap HUGE upgrade. This was done to my 2 "C" cell Mag.
RamThis said:
Seems like this thread is the link ....lol.
Like Koz said go to a place that sells Mags and look for LED replacement bulbs . it seemed to me the "C" and "D" cell is a common bulb BUT you need to find one for how many cells you have in your light. My package said for 2 cell "C" or "D" lights so you will need to find a light for 4,5 & 6 cell. Great upgrade just swap out the bulb.
I typically don't use my Mags and usually buy Surefires because of size and brightness and quality. I was just using old Mags we had laying around from my patrol days long ago, but sure brought new life to them.
RamThis said:
I used to have a 6-cell maglite but sold it after getting fed up dropping $20 on a new set of batteries.
The best of the new breed of LED flashlights are probably those from Fenix -- many of the models use the new Cree LED module, which is way more powerful and less power hungry than the Luxeon LEDs that most other brands (inlcluding Maglite) use. In fact I've read some reviews that put them up there with the most powerful incandescent bulbs in flashlights like the Streamlight Stinger.
I just converted my Surefire Z2 combat light to and LED prefocused head unit. SWEET !!! I also have a Blitzer tail cap coming for it which provides 2 different light setting and a strobe function.
The maglight mod was great and a must for Maglight users.
It does not compared to the Surefire though.( either does the fricken price ) lol.
The maglight mod was great and a must for Maglight users.
It does not compared to the Surefire though.( either does the fricken price ) lol.
I go to this forum from time to time to check out the newest/best led flashlights:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/
The people there are some serious flashoholics. Not the trenchcoat wearing kind.
You can find some good info there. Some guy has a military spotlight that looks like a 4-chamber TOW missile launcher. It is huge.
Check out the galleries section. Then you know what I mean by the term "flashoholic".
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/
The people there are some serious flashoholics. Not the trenchcoat wearing kind.
You can find some good info there. Some guy has a military spotlight that looks like a 4-chamber TOW missile launcher. It is huge.
Check out the galleries section. Then you know what I mean by the term "flashoholic".
Working in law enforcement, flashlights are a valuable tool. The agency issues out the surefire P6 and Pelican M6. I went out and bought myself a Wolf Eyes 9T, and damn this thing is bright! I got the 9T because its relatively cheap for a tactical flashlight, plus it comes rechargeable.
Gromulus
New member
Flashlights, Websites, and Gladius - Revisited
Falls,
Refer to an earlier thread. I even referenced the Gladius, one of my favorite torches:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showt...perpage=15&highlight=Flashlights&pagenumber=2
Falls,
Refer to an earlier thread. I even referenced the Gladius, one of my favorite torches:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showt...perpage=15&highlight=Flashlights&pagenumber=2
RamThis
New member
Anyone tried one of THESE LED'S for their MagLite??
