For 12 years I have lived by my Stinger. I switched departments about 3 years ago and they issue UltraStingers. At my previous dept, we had two SL-20s assigned to the car. I rarely took those out. At this dept, I have become accustomed to using the UltraStinger on a full time basis. Its manners are good. Long enough to tuck under the arm, decent throw and good flood for a car stop.
With that being said, I just upgraded both of these lights with Terralux drop ins. The Stinger is like a new light and outshines the new DS C4 polystingers. The Ultra has a decent throw, but the spill makes it terrible for car stops and I don't believe the color suits well for throw/searching.
So, I've been in the search for high quality LED's. I received an LED Lenser X21 last week. While I certainly can justify the cost and make use of the available light, I will be returning it. I have decided that other regulated lights are what I'm after. However, having that much light available has strengthened my desire to buy real, high quality lights.
In the flood mode, I was able to light up entire back yards during noise disturbance/party calls. Certainly adds to your security when fewer people are hiding in the shadows. On the throw mode, I was certainly able to see further/bigger/better than anything before. I believe a light with this much output changes the game for an LEO at night. Searches are more effective and reduce the amount of distance you may have to travel to investigate an area. If you're in the beam, there is no more hiding.
I hate to give up the versatility of the X21, but from just a short period of use, its painfully obvious the output tanks quickly. I, having little tolerance for something I perceive to be second best, have decided to try an Olight SR90 and Fenix TK30 combo. I plan to use the diffusing film trick shown in other threads to make the TK30 a brilliant flood. I envision the TK30 becoming my regular patrol light, while keeping my Stinger on my belt for trusty back-up, where its been for 12 years. The SR90 will come out when I get out to search, which in my assignment at an inner-city division, is quite often. I'll also use it from the car to to roadside searches and spot house numbers.
It is amazing that as officers who live in the dark and are always looking for things that go bump in the night, that we don't put more emphasis in lighting. On a department with 400 officers, I cannot think of anybody carrying anything other than a light available for "free" from our clothing allowance, ie: C4 Poly/Stinger, UltraStinger/Strion/SL20 or SL35. When I whooped out my X21, people noticed. They would request I come to their call, just for the light.
I think I've rambled enough to boil it down to say I believe you need to be above 600 lumens to be at a point you can see everything around you comfortably on a typical close quarters call inside or outside (yard/street/car stop, etc.) Previously, with the above mentioned lights, you could use some spill to notice other things but needed to put the hot spot on whatever you wanted to actually see. With a true flood, this is no longer necessary.
When going to ground searches, the sky's the limit, which is why I'm getting the SR90.