Is the Pelican™ 7060 LED a firefighters best bet?

Hello all,


I'm a firefighter from Virginia.


I, like several of my fellow brothers/sisters, carry the Survivor® LED on my turnout pocket. Great light during structural firefighting operations but just doesn't cut it during late night EMS calls, vehicle accident, parking garage walk-thrus, finding street addresses and the like.


I've been recommended the Pelican™ 7060 LED during the above situations. It was recommended by a family member law enforcement officer in Florida.... He swears by it.


Anyway.... I thought I'd come to the pros.


Is the Pelican™ 7060 LED my best bet? I really cannot spend much more than what the Pelican™ 7060 LED sells for [$120.00]; I will if I have to but it's not a preference. Or is there a better value flashlight out there for around the same dollars?


Here's my wants: Bright [bright!]with a fixed beam, not much bigger than about 7" or so [anything much bigger will NOT fit into my turnout pant pocket], preferably rechargeable but lithium operated batteries is not a problem, has a more than decent run-time on a full charge, will give me the same lumens at 100-feet as it will at 6-feet and operates with a tail switch. Any other features is an added bonus.


Any assistance would be appreciated.


God bless.

The Pelican 7060 has pretty good throw, and the polymer body might make it better.

Would you like a cradle charged light?

You can also try swapping a current gen LED for the Luxeon III in your Survivor. It will double or more the current output for the same runtime, but the mod can be a bit complicated(from the thread I seem to remember).

:welcome:

Grubrunner said:

Here's my wants: Bright [bright!]with a fixed beam, not much bigger than about 7" or so [anything much bigger will NOT fit into my turnout pant pocket], preferably rechargeable but lithium operated batteries is not a problem, has a more than decent run-time on a full charge, will give me the same lumens at 100-feet as it will at 6-feet and operates with a tail switch. Any other features is an added bonus.

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The Pelican 7060 is about 9" long.

All lights will give the same lumens (total output) regardless of distance. If you mean lux (illuminance on an object), then no flashlight will project a beam that is equally intense at 6 feet and 100 feet. It's just not possible, unless you are using a laser.

If you are willing to go with an incandescent light, then the Streamlight Strion is rechargeable and a much smaller light.

I'd be worried about how well the polymer body could handle firefighting temps - I'm not a firefighter so I don't have experience with what sort of working environment you'd expect your equipment to handle, but if a material can't handle the temps generated from hotwire bulbs, then I wouldn't want to use it moving through a burning room..

I'd go with something that has all-metal construction (including the switch), and could accept lithium primary cells (more than one for runtime) for their high temperature threshold. My vote would be for a Nitecore D20, powered by a pair of Energizer Lithiums. See it here: https://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=93&products_id=550

i would think the TK20 would cut through the smoke better

Please describe the situations and environmental conditions you expect to be using the light. Without more specifics I'd be inclined to say any of the throwier lights on the market would be worth checking out.

I am guessing that you guys missed this:

I, like several of my fellow brothers/sisters, carry the Survivor® LED on my turnout pocket. Great light during structural firefighting operations but just doesn't cut it during late night EMS calls, vehicle accident, parking garage walk-thrus, finding street addresses and the like.

Click to expand...

From what I have read about the 7060 it should do what you want.

No, we didn't miss anything.

What does "doesn't cut it" mean? Not bright enough? Too large? Too heavy?

Since he wants a light that is 7" long or shorter, it is clear that the Pelican 7060 is too large.

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

I'll try and address some questions raised.

Gunner12 said:

Would you like a cradle charged light?

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Yes, that would be my preferance.... this way I could leave it on charge at the station between shifts.

carrot said:

Please describe the situations and environmental conditions you expect to be using the light. Without more specifics I'd be inclined to say any of the throwier lights on the market would be worth checking out.

Click to expand...

Sure.

I intend to keep the flashlight in the pocket of my turnout pants at all times. If we know we are going into a structural burning building [more often than not, we do upon arrival at the scene], then I'll remove the flashlight and leave it in the engine before entering the building and rely on my Survivor® LED on my turnout pocket..... which, thus far, has held up very well to the extreme teperatures that we experience in a fully involved structural fire.

The extra flashlight I'm looking for is for night calls that involve "... late night EMS calls, vehicle accident, parking garage walk-thrus, finding street addresses and the like." So they will NOT be exposed to any "extreme" conditions.

What exactly are "... throwier lights on the market?"

asdalton said:

The Pelican 7060 is about 9" long.

All lights will give the same lumens (total output) regardless of distance. If you mean lux (illuminance on an object), then no flashlight will project a beam that is equally intense at 6 feet and 100 feet. It's just not possible, unless you are using a laser.

If you are willing to go with an incandescent light, then the Streamlight Strion is rechargeable and a much smaller light.

Click to expand...

I thought the Pelican™ 7060 LED was only 7" in length. Thank you for the heads-up. I guess I can get away with a light at 9" but would like to have it shorter if at all possible. Our turnout pant pockets are deep and quite large to accomodate a flashlight of that length.

I guess what I'm after, upon reading your reply, is the best "lux" I can get for around the $$$'s I want to spend. I'll spend more if I have to, but preferablly not.

asdalton said:

What does "doesn't cut it" mean? Not bright enough? Too large? Too heavy?

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I mean it's awkward and not bright enough.

It's velcroed and clipped into the RHS of my turnout coat pocket. To remove it every so often and use it as a handheld flashlight is both awkward and somewhat cumbersome... not to mention a little inefficient.

I'm looking for something I can reach into my pant pocket and use almost instantly when and should the need arise.

I'd also like something a little brighter than the Survivor® LED I now have. The more light, at a reasonable length and price, the merrier.

what about fenix tk11 with an rechargable in it? small, bright, good throw and an decent runtime

I take it you mean the older survivor, there is a new Led in the latest version giving around 100 lumens might fit all your needs and cradle charge. If its for seeing street names and numbers and working at RTC's the just about any good quality high powered light will do. Specially if its left in the Pump at structural fires. I modded one of our right angled lights to meet my requirements its now a 450 lumen three mode light that does everything I need. The only difference Im going to try is a warmer tinted Led to cut smoke better and reflect back less.

Like gunner says you could mod your light but go with an ssc p4 instead of a luxeon. very cheap option $6.

Id maybe go for a fenix TK20 nice simple two mode light cheap batteries good through and built like a tank. Surefire G2 with an R2 droppin could also fit the bill and is pretty tuff and totally upgradable as newer/brighter droppins come out.

Rob

For reliability you won't beat Pelican. Ever. Bar none. When you buy a Pelican light, you buy the privilege of having light when and where you need it for life. Good luck breaking the light, and if you do, Pelican will have a new one in your hands within a week.

LukeA said:

For reliability you won't beat Pelican. Ever. Bar none. When you buy a Pelican light, you buy the privilege of having light when and where you need it for life. Good luck breaking the light, and if you do, Pelican will have a new one in your hands within a week.

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+1
Their customer service is very good and when I had a few broken battery carriers they sent new, beefier ones to me within a week. Not only that but the broken battery carriers didn't even affect the function of the light!

The problem I see with the 7060 is that the switches require a very light touch to turn the light on. Granted, it will only be a momentary on, but nonetheless it might be that movement and bumps associated with having the light ride around in a pocket will intermittently activate it.

Just a thought.

LukeA said:

For reliability you won't beat Pelican. Ever. Bar none. When you buy a Pelican light, you buy the privilege of having light when and where you need it for life. Good luck breaking the light, and if you do, Pelican will have a new one in your hands within a week.

Click to expand...

+2

My 7060 is one of my most favorite lights. While I have brighter lights, it is Pelican's history of "fixing it no matter how it broke" that makes me want to grab that thing whenever I need a light.