Looking for a "thrower"

Ok my primary flashlights are the 4sevens quarks, however I have come to the conclusion that HID lights are better throwers. I work for the railroad and I need some good range, Im talking like 1000-2000 foot+ range. I work in a railyard at night and need to be able to see cars up to a half mile away and my little 1aa quark wont cut it for that. I am looking for waterproof and somewhat compact, 18650 compatiblity would be a plus. I am new to the HID world so please give me some recomendations.

I think you are correct with regards to HID lights still being king of throw, but not for much longer. I have both the Olight SR95 Intimidator and the SR95UT. Both lights are off the shelf production lights, and have more than enough throw for your needs. The UT version has a lower lumen output, but the beam is extremely focused, and easily lights up the mountain behind my house while we scan for big predators. We've been having Mountain Lion problems, but that is another story. Anyhow The Ultimate Throw version of the light uses a Luminous SBT-90 chip and can throw farther than you need. I have only had these lights for a few weeks, but I use them everyday. The only problem is the need to be waterproof. The SR95s are only IPX-6 rated. It can get wet, they even show it being dunked in the advertisements, but I wouldn't want to use it underwater.

However, if you want an HID light I'd look at this:
http://www.magnalight.com/p-46963-h...-lumen-3550-watt-hid-handheld-or-mounted.aspx

I wouldn't buy one only because I'm sure that within the next few years, LED flashlights will be able to beat this, and the cost is quite high on this beast.

LED will throw further than hid? I don't see this happening, LED manufacturers have little interest in increasing surface brightness of their LED's and the increase in the past few years has been negligible, the huge developments costs to get an LED's surface brightness comparable to a HID (assuming it's even possible) would not be profitable for the manufacturer. And don't forget that HID is also improving, ballasts are getting more more advanced and compact, warm up times are getting faster. I won't even mention short arc.

Sorry for being slightly off topic and not helping the OP whatsoever, my s*** stirrer side wouldn't let me pass by without commenting.

Light point source size is also a big factor in the calculation of throw. LED's are huge in comparison to the typical HID point source size, let alone short arcs.

hello dieselducy
sounds like we have similar jobs. i have an sr95 and its got good throw and pretty good flood too. the real drawback is its size. if your ok with carrying a large flashlight around then its a very good choice. i also use a much more compact niteye eye30. it has more flood but can't throw as far and half the physical length of the sr95. the eye30 also has 4 levels vs 3 on the sr95. hope this helps. take care out there!

The L35 from batteryjunction ( http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-l35.html ) is a robust and affordable HID. It's not exactly pretty, but it sure is practical and the handle makes it easy to carry around. It uses special battery packs though, and if you want spares they are pretty expensive ($115 each).

Another option in the same price range is the new Fire Foxes FF3. This is a much smaller light, but it's actually more powerful than the L35. It uses four 18650 batteries, so that's a plus. There is a thread about this light a few places below this one (as of this posting), with lots of pictures and beamshots.
You can buy it directly from China for $270 with free shipping. It's the first website that comes up when you google Fire Foxes FF3. I bought mine from there and it got here in about a week. Awesome little light, but with less runtime and no handle it might not be as practical as the L35?

Edit: BTW. I just ordered another FF3 It's just THAT cool! the power to size ratio of this thing ridiculous

Two things not to forget with the FF3
1) There is a high temperature mode that kicks in after 10-15 minutes of runtime and lowers the Output to 24 Watts
2) The FF3 is more a flooder than a thrower, what the TS is looking for.

If i´d need a Light for my job and my safety would depend on it, i would not go for a FF3 and such stuff.
I´d invest in a Polarion Dual S or PH40/50.

Rgds

Doberman said:

Two things not to forget with the FF3
1) There is a high temperature mode that kicks in after 10-15 minutes of runtime and lowers the Output to 24 Watts
2) The FF3 is more a flooder than a thrower, what the TS is looking for.

If i´d need a Light for my job and my safety would depend on it, i would not go for a FF3 and such stuff.
I´d invest in a Polarion Dual S or PH40/50.

Rgds

Click to expand...

True, but the FF3 still throws pretty well. 1000-2000 foot range should be ok. The FF3 is a new light with no proven track record, so I agree that there are other lights I would rather trust my life with (like the polarion). I mentioned it because it's compact, takes 18650 batteries and should work for the range the OP needed.

dieselducy,
You didn't mention a price range, but if you can afford a Polarion ($1800-2200 new, at least $1000 used) I would go for that over anything else. Those are probably the best overall HID lights you can buy.

I should read threads more careful.
Distance was mentioned in foot; did not realize that this is only about 70 meters....
Yes, a FF3 will be in both modus more than sufficent to throw such distances.

Regards

dieselducy said:

Ok my primary flashlights are the 4sevens quarks, however I have come to the conclusion that HID lights are better throwers. I work for the railroad and I need some good range, Im talking like 1000-2000 foot+ range. I work in a railyard at night and need to be able to see cars up to a half mile away and my little 1aa quark wont cut it for that. I am looking for waterproof and somewhat compact, 18650 compatiblity would be a plus. I am new to the HID world so please give me some recomendations.

Click to expand...

http://www.onestopthrowshop.com/main.sc

This guy is a member (SAABLUSTER) here and makes awesome throwers in LED.

I am in the process (getting money together) of getting one from him just to test out.

it will be the ThruNite TN31 modded by him with a max range 980 meters or 3215.22 ft.


S/F,
CEYA!