The Malta Police Force Will be using LED Flashlights soon !!

Amonra · May 19, 2006

I was contacted by the Malta Police Force to supply them with 2xAA flashlights a few months ago. Being a flashaholic i grabbed the opportunity and suggested an LED powered flashlight. Since i have been doing some business with Dae for a while i selected a few lights from him and gave some samples ( which Dae kindly sent me ) to the Police.

There were many contenders for this tender, the main competitor naturally being the minimag but after long discussions and testing they have finally decided to go for this:

Which fortunately i will supply them ( im so happy i managed to beat the competition

but most importantly i managed to guide a government institution to 'see the light' )

It will be custom printed with the Malta Police logo and serial numbered.

They decided to go for this one due to it being brighter, tougher, better looking and most importantly has a much much longer runtime than the competition resulting in great battery savings. ( our government is trying to cut costs )

Many thanks goes to CPF because without it being here i would not have been able to 'see the light ' myself
And infinate thanks goes to Dae for being such a great person to deal with and for his great service, help and support and John ( lighthound ) for directing me to Dae in the first place.

Thanks

Big Bob · May 19, 2006

Congratulations sir, and well done :twothumbs

BBL · May 19, 2006

what type of led/light is this? any specs?

i associate the 'police' brand with low-quality, chinese made... but maybe i'm wrong.

maverick · May 19, 2006

BBL said:
what type of led/light is this? any specs?

i associate the 'police' brand with low-quality, chinese made... but maybe i'm wrong.

I second that. That light looks very similar to some low-priced lights that can be found around Asia. They're still decent, but of course not as bright or reliable as their Surefire counterparts.

Greg · May 19, 2006

4AA Streamlight ProPoly Luxeon would probably beat this light down however it is probably more expensive than this light as well.

The force is probably not issuing this light to be used in tactical situations but probably for everyday uses.

Amonra · May 19, 2006

Big Bob: Thanks mate.

BBL / Maverick: It uses 11pcs x 5mm led's, 2xAA Batts. houses some kind of electronics, twisty tailcap, aluminum body up to 5mm thick in most places, type 2 anodize, tight o-ring seals all around, excellent machining and very well finished. It is not too bright as the led's are slightly underdriven which greatly reduces risk of led failure making it very reliable, the birghtness level is ideal for what it is intended to do i.e. every day use / low battery consumption. It is made in China, very well priced but it is certainly not cheap quality.
I don't think any government is going to issue surefire lights to all of their police force mainly due to the high cost of the flashlight itself, not to mention running costs.

Greg: The SL PP is nice but still too expensive and not what they requested ( 2xAA ), besides i do not think a plastic light is ideal for the Police.

ABTOMAT · May 19, 2006

I'd be interested to see how these hold up in use. These _are_ the dirt-cheap Chinese lights that everyone's selling for a couple bucks. Sometimes you can practically buy them by the pound off eBay. Most of the reviews I've heard haven't been to favorable.

In the US many police agencies require plastic flashlights for legal reasons.

Amonra · May 19, 2006

Abtomat: These are not the dirt cheap chinese two buck pieces of crap you find on ebay. they might look the same but are not. They have been put to rigorous testing by the police and they came out on top against all the others INCLUDING 'USA' made Maglights so that says something doesn't it ?

maverick · May 19, 2006

Amonra said:
Abtomat: These are not the dirt cheap chinese two buck pieces of crap you find on ebay. they might look the same but are not. They have been put to rigorous testing by the police and they came out on top against all the others INCLUDING 'USA' made Maglights so that says something doesn't it ?

Though I guess coming out on top against Maglight doesn't say much....

LowBat · May 19, 2006

Are there any reviews of this flashlight, or a website with a detailed description? I'm interested to learn more.

Synergy · May 19, 2006

Amonra said:
Greg: The SL PP is nice but still too expensive and not what they requested ( 2xAA ), besides i do not think a plastic light is ideal for the Police.

:huh2: ....Many fire services have used "plastic" flashlights for years in very harsh environs without problem or failure, including brands such as Pelican, UK and Streamlight. I'm not trying to flame on you or anything, so please don't take it that way...Just curious as to why you think a "plastic" flashlight would be unsuitable for police use.

WNG · May 19, 2006

maverick said:
Though I guess coming out on top against Maglight doesn't say much....

Especially against a miniMag. Today's offerings are thin, poorly threaded, and dim. Just bought a NiteEzes drop in kit for $10. I was disappointed with the overall output, and came to my senses...why am I bothering to put any more money into one?? Escpecially when for $10 one can find a LED light that'll blow it away.

270winchester · May 19, 2006

well, I suppose the Malta police knows what it's doing. I just hope that if I ever visit there, the cops don't get envy of my lights and "confiscate" it for their own use like the cops in Mexico did to me.

But 11 low out put LEDs? Jesus, are they too poor to afford Fenix?

THen again you ordered the lights on behalf of the police, you made the decision, so I don't expect you to say anything other than positive about these, uh, "Police" lights. COnsidering Malta is applying for EU membership, it would be sad to see a European country police carrying dim "LED" lights...

IsaacHayes · May 19, 2006

Maybe it's not for search/etc but just for lighting up short distances for like writting tickets/etc. Perhaps they have larger recharable icandecnets for when things get serious. Perhaps this is just a "small" close range EDC light that they need?

nerdgineer · May 19, 2006

Are these lights Dae's normal stock, or were they specially selected in any way?

If they are his normal stock, I'd certainly be interested in your customer's feedback about how well they work over time.

webley445 · May 19, 2006

Not saying good or bad here, JMHO.

Police are not organized, equiped, or operated, the same everywhere. We are spoiled here in the US and have to remember that.
we have major emphasis on officer safety and it other parts of the world they do things differently.

I remember another post on CPF not too long ago about a Brit on the PD who stated that officers were using minimags on duty.
I would ask are they am armed force like in the US? Perhaps their force is set up like UK, and these lights are just general purpose use? I'm sure there are plenty of personnel that use their own equipment and lights, as has been the norm for PD's worldwide for eons.

I'd be more interested to know how that PD is set up and how they operate. Is it mainly metro or rural? What types of calls are the most common? Are firearms abundant there like the US or is it a gun free state like other euro states?

I have a 9 led 3xAAA "Police" light. mine is "ok", but the main failure point is the plastic tailcap for momentary on. Can crack easily if dropped on it. The rest is built pretty tough, body wise. thick and heavy. If the model shown has a solid metal tail cap I could see it for general use on the streets.

Amonra · May 19, 2006

Maverick / WNG : Even though a minimag may not mean much to you it seems to me that it is pretty famous and well regarded around the world including these forums, if maglights were so crappy why would the US police use them and why do a large number of modders most of which being well respected use them ? why would they even have a lifetime guarantee ?

Lowbat: There are no reviews nor detailed descriptions that i know of.

Synergy: it's not what i think, it's what the head of Police thinks. If he thinks so im not going to argue, i am not a cop so i have no experience as to what they would consider suitable.

270Winchester: Mexicans are not Maltese, Malta entered the EU a year ago, would you consider anyone who does not have a Fenix poor ?, i'm not the one who took the decision, the head of Police did. 15 - 20 lumens is not dim at all for normal everyday usage. having a "bright" flashlight that needs a battery change every couple of hours or less is useless when you're on night shift. it would be actually sad to see any cop in any country that could not do his job because his flashlight ran out of juice.

If any of you are familiar with government tenders you would know that they are very specific, in this case: aluminum 2AA flashlight, long runtime, durable, reliable, waterproof and costs no more than $15. This is exactly what they need. i offered other lights some of which were very bright along with this one but they did not satisfy all the requirements and therefore not what they need. This one did so they ended up choosing it.
Is is useless to offer a $100 surefire, a $35 fenix, a $25 SLPP or any other fancy or expensive light if it is not what they need.

Now if you think that you could find a better option and still satisfy all the requirements, be my guest and apply for the tender.

Amonra · May 19, 2006

Isaachayes: i don't know what they need it for, i only know what type of flashlight they need.

Nerdgineer: they are slightly modified stock. They have been using the sample for about 3 months with no problem except for a broken contact after being abnormally abused during testing ( slammed against a concrete floor tailcap first ).

Webley445: Malta is a very small country ( 400,000 ppl crammed in 316 sq. Km of land ) it is almost all city. police calls are mainly just disturbance of the peace and some robberies like shoplifting etc. firearms are illegal, even paintball guns, except for shotguns which can only be used for clay pidgeon shooting and hunting in selected areas and seasons. it has a rubber momentary on tailcap so it does not break if dropped.

Long John · May 19, 2006

Hello Amonra

Critic is easy, but why, I see no reason for.
The police need this light and :sold:

. Why not?

Amonra, you did a :goodjob:

Best regards

_____
Tom

dulridge · May 19, 2006

webley445} I would ask are they am armed force like in the US? Perhaps their force is set up like UK said:
The UK police is not routinely armed - there are firearms squads but they tend to be off duty when they are needed - there has been a big row this week about the unavailability of armed officers in Fife.

My father is the only judge in the area who is polite to policemen who want a warrant signing in the middle of the night. As a result he signs a lot of warrants at night. He has never seen an armed policeman arrive at the door.

A few of the local cops are using LED lights, but the majority are carrying Maglites of some sort - the last cop I had personal dealings with (in my bedroom at 1:30am on a Sunday morning) was carrying a 2D maglite.

As for the rest - well don't subsitute a torch for replacing a lightbulb in my bedroom - one of my neighbours saw the torchlight and called the cops. I sleep very, very soundly. I didn't hear them ring the doorbell. I didn't hear them phone me. I didn't hear them breaking in. I awoke to 2 cops shaking me awake.

The cops who I deal with at work are buying LED lights - the problem is that Grampian Police supplies AA cells, anything else they have to buy for themselves - a Nuwai 1W light running on a sub-C rechargeable pack is popular - if only because a local store had them cheap. Maglites are much more expensive in pounds than they are in dollars - a 6D will cost over £30 (US$55) here.

The Malta Police Force Will be using LED Flashlights soon !!

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