american wars...what flashlights did the soldiers carry?

[ergotelis]

Guys this belongs to general flashlight discussion and not only here in led flashlights

 

[berry580]

if he survived, i have confidence that any aluminium flashlight over $50 would probably have survived in an operable state too. nothing spectacular.

I think quite a few in Iraq are using Surefires and Novatac's. I've seen quite a few on eBay stating "used in Iraq".

Here is a very interesting story from Surefire's web site:

**************************************

L4 a Lifesaver in IED Explosion

It was a pitch-black, quiet night, and I was under the cover of a burned-out house. I saw what appeared to be an iPod and assumed it had been dropped by one of my fellow soldiers. Well, it wasn't an iPod; it was an IED (improvised explosive device).

I remember a bright, white light flashing, and waking up several hours later with a wall on top of me. I was 99% covered and stuck, except for my free right arm. I could not see and could barely breathe, but I could hear what I thought were drones passing by overhead and other units passing by. But I couldn't make a sound. Then I remembered that my SureFire L4 LumaMax® was on my belt.

After 10 minutes of painful wiggling, I was able to reach my L4 with my right hand. My head was split wide open, my nose was nearly completely off my face, so I couldn't get enough air, and I was quickly passing out, but I was able to click my L4 on and off several times before losing consciousness. It was enough to get me noticed by the drone passing over me. Roughly 20 minutes later, I was rescued and extricated from under a ton of debris.

Now, 197 stitches later, I'm back home recuperating and rehabilitating. The hundred-plus dollars I spent on my L4 was worth every penny. This is a life-saving tool. My only regret is that, after I passed out, I dropped my L4 and lost it forever. But I'm already saving up for a new one and hope to rejoin my unit in a few weeks.

God bless America, God bless The Corps, and God bless SureFire!

Gunny David M.
Piscataway, NJ

Guys this belongs to general flashlight discussion and not only here in led flashlights

+1
i get this feeling that some people considers LED flashlight forum as the "default" flashlight forum

 

[TMedina]

if he survived, i have confidence that any aluminium flashlight over $50 would probably have survived in an operable state too. nothing spectacular.

Maybe, maybe not. But stories like that one build Surefire's reputation.

And you can bet he told every last one of his buddies, not counting the recovery crew who found him and anyone they might have told afterward.

-Trevor

 

[Monocrom]

if he survived, i have confidence that any aluminium flashlight over $50 would probably have survived in an operable state too. nothing spectacular.

I don't think you'll find too many individuals wishing to test out that theory.

 

[berry580]

I don't think you'll find too many individuals wishing to test out that theory.

Maybe i should have said "many aluminium flashlight over $50" instead of "any aluminium flashlight over $50 would probably have survived in an operable state too." would be more agreeable.

Anyway, your call.

 

[Phyltre]

I don't think you'll find too many individuals wishing to test out that theory.

You're right, we need more light torture threads around here. I was shocked by how much abuse the Fenix TK40 took.

 

[Monocrom]

Maybe i should have said "many aluminium flashlight over $50" instead of "any aluminium flashlight over $50 would probably have survived in an operable state too." would be more agreeable.

Anyway, your call.

If I had the money and the time, I wouldn't mind torture testing some lights. But blowing them up might be a bit problematic.

 

[Lurker]

I think the Gerber infinities were being issued, at least a few years back, by some units. There was even a government version of the light. Also the Petzl Tikka and Tikka XP had some versions that were specialized for military use. I think all of those saw some use in the middle east. These would be for task use, not as weapon lights, of course.

 

[gorn]

My son was just home on leave from Afghanistan. He has done a tour in Iraq and wasn't issued any light at all. He told me in Afghanistan they are issued LazerBrite light sticks and Energizer hardcase tactical angle head lights.

 

[Benson]

I have to toot my own horn on my predictions as when asked "what is the future of LEDs" thread last year, I was the first, and maybe only person to predict the development of multiple color LEDs on one die. I was pretty stoked to see them come out with the Quark RGB a few months back.

Except, of course, that the MC-E is a quad-die emitter, so RGB+W makes exactly one color per die, not multiple. :shakehead

 

[berry580]

You're right, we need more light torture threads around here. I was shocked by how much abuse the Fenix TK40 took.

its just a flashlight, not a laptop. besides the lens, IMO there's not that much areas that can fail easily.

 

[DevilPig]

I was issued one of the angled D-cell lights in boot camp when I joined the Marines in '02.

And as someone has mentioned before, I'm wondering if theres anyway to take this pretty useless light into something decent....hmm

 

[hron61]

yes there is a couple ways to turn the military angle light into a usefull light. i have started a thread about it and members have responded with many options. thanks guys. its in this topic and its starts out, i want to convert old fulton...

 

[TMedina]

This _should_ work - the Terralux LED adaption module - if you note in the description, it comes with both flange and screw bases.

The Fulton Angle uses a screw base, if memory serves - so it should fit with a minimum of fuss, but I can't swear to it.

-Trevor

 

[wwglen]

wow, just went to streamlight site and some specs for the light are 1/2 watt led (white) with 20 lumens and a run time of 7.5 hours. im thinking 20 lumens vs some of whats available. it is a very impressive looking light thats for sure.

The issued version is the C4 one (50 lumens 5.5 hours).

wwglen

 

[cal..45]

the best equipped soldier is the one who cares him/herself about the stuff they might need. i'm a civillian but train alot with US and international coalition forces for afghanistan and kosovo. those guys are always surpised when i show them my big bag of gagdgets, some laugh at it first but after a while they realize how useful such things are in the field (usually they get a "shopping list of recommendations" from me then) ....


cheers

 

[FlashKat]

The electrical components could fail, the tailcap switch could fail if cheaply made, the LED if it is not mounted properly.

its just a flashlight, not a laptop. besides the lens, IMO there's not that much areas that can fail easily.

 

[TMedina]

Actually, there's a lot that can fail depending on the complexity of the light and the abuse it's subjected to.

Lights mounted to weapons suffer from vibration and shock because of recoil. Prolonged exposure to cold, heat and/or humidity. Iraqi moon dust. Being dropped, banged and generally abused.

I will be the first to admit that the average user doesn't have that problem with their equipment - but there are enough people who do to create a niche market.

-Trevor