Looking for a Do it all light if it exists for Search and Rescue

[john_aero]

Ok,

So i am tired of using the old maglite AA and 2D lights.

I had a led lenser P7 for a while and loved it, but due to it not being water proof or impact proof it was not for me sadly.

I suppose ideally i shoudl get 2 lights, one for the jacket pocket and the other for utility belt.

Let me explain, i want a light for day to day use, walking, hunting and working on bikes/cars.

but I also and in the civil defense, we do lot fire fighting, search and rescue etc and i want light that i want go out do a night time search over rough terrain.

I am looking for AA or AAA lights as the cr batteries are too expensive in ireland and nto easy got. Also as i will be using the light when i travel on motorbike i want be able get batteries in any small back yard shop.

So from my search i had gone for the ledlenser p7, but die to the items mentioned above i am now looking at the fenix ld20, ld10 or ld40 etc

but i dont have supplier in ireland so hard for me go try all the lights for size and weight.

I am open to different brands etc but i take it i am limited when i ask for AA lights.

Maybe i should just bite thre bullet, get rechargeable batts and go for something like the fenix pd33 and bite the bullet for batts

 

[john_aero]

maybe answering my own thread, but am i best get 1 decent light and a cheapo small light like led lenser p3 or the fenix ld15 for the pocket when walking home from the pub?

even lights like the tk40 or tk45 now drawing my attention for my utility belt for searches and get small light ofr daily use

 

[clip_point]

I think the Fenix TK41 would be a good light for your requirements. Puts out 800 lumens with 8 AA cells, for over 2 hours (fenix data); it is also waterproof to IPX-8 standards.

 

[john_aero]

is that 3 hours at max output?

 

[clip_point]

is that 3 hours at max output?

Nope, it gives 2hr15min at the 800 Lumen "max" mode, while it gives 7hr15mins at 335 Lumen "high" mode.

 

[Dougcov]

Fenix TK41 is an incredable all around light. Its a little big for a pocket though, about the size of a 2d maglight

 

[john_aero]

i think i need a small loan as looking at klaus xt10/11/202C lights now, man what selection we have now from years ago. even some the custom lights on this forum are out of this world

well i am now thinking if funds allow maybe 2 lights, one for belt and one for the pocket

 

[Jerimoth]

For SAR you'll need a headlight. I use the black diamond Storm or the rechargeable LiIon Petzl Ultra. Then a light like the Tk41 would work as well.

 

[john_aero]

well more i use headlight but want one for walking thorugh woods and sadly its usually looking for bodies so want light with decent spead/throw not a dedicatoed thrower or flood. inbetween if one even exists

 

[Bill in AZ]

In Search and Rescue you probably need several lights. I always carry a Surefire Saint headlamp and an older Surefire equivalent of the G3 that I have upgraded to 120 lumens for a hand flashlight. They each hold 3 CR123's and last a long time on a mission, often multiple missions. The headlamp is variable output, so you can run it very low for general hiking, and the hand light is often used fairly sparingly unless in an intensive search, in which case they are both on high. I always carry several other cheap, small, simple flashlights because you will invariably find your search subject without light, or you will get caught out after dark and your team members will have assumed the search would be over before dark and didn't bring any lights, or their batteries died, or, or, or... These lights sometimes disappear after a mission, so, cheap, small, lightweight.

I went for a while trying to stay with AA's or AAA's, and I still carry some of each (for the cheap lights, or other squad members), but the CR123 lights really last a long time.

 

[john_aero]

well i think i learend that AA or AAA are only good for the car or for cheapo light and will have bite bullet for cr123. torch the same price really more batts slightly harder get over here

 

[archer6817j]

well i think i learend that AA or AAA are only good for the car or for cheapo light and will have bite bullet for cr123. torch the same price really more batts slightly harder get over here

Random opinion: Since it sounds like you are actually going to use your light, as opposed to just looking at it, I'd seriously consider the total cost of ownership of the light you choose. If you get any 2x123 light, you'll spend something like $800 on batteries for the equivalent cost of a single 18650 lithium-ion ($20.00 at most). Even if you have to replace that 18650 five times, you are still only looking at $100. Not to mention that you can get twice the output of any 123 based light. The TK41 mentioned before is a beast, but you are going to feed it over $1,800 in AA batteries over the same (theoretical) life span as one 18650. Point being (if I were you I'd seriously consider going rechargeable 18650 and save yourself a truck load of money in the long term.

 

[john_aero]

picked up a fenix pd32, its small, fits in pocket and was cheap locally,

did as you said archer, got a re chargable 18650 and so far has held up well and great not have carry load spares with me. will get a 2nd battery to have in jacket when out in the night on duty.

but so far liking what new LED's have when look at my DD maglite

 

[Jash]

Fenix LD20, Fenix TK41, an 8 bay smart charger and 3 x 8 pack of eneloops. You're done.

 

[joe1512]

Another option (though heavy) is the TK70. It uses 4 D batteries, which can be 10,000 mAh low selfdischarge rechargables. The light goes from 20 lumens, 300, 940ish, and 2200 max with very strong throw. You can get it for under 200 bucks.

It has the advantages of using normal NiMH batteries (get a universal smart charger and use it for AA,AAA,D,C,whatever around the house).

However it is very large and unwieldy but for search and rescue work I would think you'd want the extra power and runtime.

With 40 amp-hours of energy, that's a good 5 hours of runtime on the 900 lumen mode (same lumens as TK41 max).