+Dedicated Use Flashlight Needed!

[saw45]

Hello Folks!

I need a good flashlight that I'll use for a single purpose. As a nightclub "doorman", I need a flashlight to look at patrons ids, such as drivers licenses. I already have multiple edc lights, so am not looking for a multipurpose light. My needs are as follows-

Standard AAA battery. No need for li-ion.
Great runtime is good, but not an absolute must have.
Forward clicky tail switch, that I'll use as a momentary on/off. (This is a must have.)
Absolutely no twisty switch. Can't stand them!
Floody output would be best.
Something other than aluminum body, such as copper, brass, ss or titanium would be nice.
Led output that would show colors reasonably well.
Up to around $200.00 if needed.
USA made would be nice, if possible.
Will be used in a dimly lit atmosphere, so around 10 to 15 lumens. Too much higher used on shiny plastic ids, will hinder
reading of the ids.

Thanks much for your insight!!!

 

[TMedina]

Check out the CountyComm "Maratac" line - they have a AAA in copper. The copper is a two mode - the "low" is 1.8 lumens, probably too low for your use.

The Maratac AAA in stainless steel has a "medium" mode of 18 lumens for approximately four hours.

 

[saw45]

Thanks, but the Maratec AAA uses a twisty switch, so it's disqualified.

 

[Lightingman]

Thanks, but the Maratec AAA uses a twisty switch, so it's disqualified.

Hahaha, I love it when someone gives me the exact thing you don't want. I believe I can give you better direction.

If you want a single mode tail button clicky light, there really isn't much out there other than the cheaper lights. Simply put, the market to day is buying lights that have options, so that is what manufactures are putting out. So with that said, you can get the tail button on/off, but you can't get one without the twist head, not if you wanna stay small. The twisty head is what manufactures usually make into the UI for the brightness levels.

From there if you want something that has a good run time, can be programmed into ONE MODE ONLY, and is effing nice, then I would get a Quark Tactical QT2A . Another thing is that if you want something other than aluminum then once again you are cutting out all the other flashlights that would actually fit your needs. I get it, you want what you want, but from what I can see, aluminum is what is being offered.

Hope that helps. Sorry to be such a downer.

 

[gravelmonkey]

Peak Eiger with momentary? (It's QTC momentary so push harder for more output), made in USA, comes in HA, brass, stainless steel; good runtime (QTC is pretty efficient on low), available with a Nichia 219 from Oveready (only in HA or stainless)...

BUT:
1) It's twisty if you want to 'lock' brightness (you can use the momentary and not touch the twisty unless you want to put new batteries in..)
2) Some people don't get on well with the QTC mechanism (its a bit of a faff sometimes).

 

[TMedina]

Whoops, sorry - I thought it was a twist to change modes, but a tail clicky. My bad.

 

[sgt253]

Streamlight Microstream. Meets most of your criteria. Unfortunately, brighter than 15 lumens.

 

[Vortus]

Peak eiger without qtc and with a momentary and a hi cri led. Maratac also makes a clicky version, but not sure if its the AAA, might only be AA or 123.

 

[gravelmonkey]

Peak eiger without qtc and with a momentary and a hi cri led. Maratac also makes a clicky version, but not sure if its the AAA, might only be AA or 123.

The current Eigers without QTC will do something like ~75 lumens on a full NiMh IIRC. To get lower output, you'd need to find a (?)#3 head on CPF Marketplace.

 

[DTF]

Gave this one some thought, since I've done the same job at times. First: Not sure if what you describe exists. The AAA designs are mostly twist operated to keep the body slim. Putting a forward clicky on the tail would end up making the rear of the body much bigger in diameter than what is needed for the battery. With there being much more selection available in AA., I would suggest giving AA lights a look.

I'll also suggest what I think would be the ultimate doorman light. It blows past your budget, but, you still might be interested.

McGizmo Sundrop 1.5V light engine with 1xAA battery pak, add the 1/4"-20 clip, add 1/4" stainless swivel, add a coiled tether.

The choice of the Sundrop model head, which has an aspheric lens, instead of the Mule version, is because the Mule, which gives a perfect flood light, has a bit too wide of light pattern and might end up getting in the eyes of customers. The Sundrop, is a smaller circle of light which is just about the perfect size for the job.

The Sundrop uses a High CRI led and provides some of the best color rendering possible.

The titanium clip is extremely strong and getting the 1/4"-20 version allows attachment of a swivel and tether. I really like adding the swivel because it works a level for operation, making a long night of turning it on much easier. I also would probably go with the tether (the original McGizmo Ti hardware version is no longer available but the stainless steel version can be purchased at cetaceacorp(dot)com/outdoor )

The McGizmo lights are made in polished titanium and look very professional.

Don't have a picture of my Sundrop in action but here's a picture of my (much larger) Makai attached with the above mentioned clip, swivel and tether. As you can see, the tether makes the flashlight essentially part of your body. It takes zero effort to hold onto the flashlight.


IMG_0336.jpg by Dean Fletcher - Photographer - Portland, on Flickr

The price tag for the Sundrop, clip, swivel, tether is going to be more than double your budget, however this is the very best solution available and is a real professional tool. Also, if you move on to other work, McGizmo lights typically resell for only a bit less than the original cost and over the years they tend to gain in value.

Hope this helps,

 

[jabe1]

Peak Eiger mule head (pure flood) with a Nichia 219 and a momentary, no QTC, in SS from Oveready would do. Even with the QTC and the head loosened a bit for lower maximum output seems to me to fit all criteria.

Checking IDs I would think purely momentary may be better than an actual clicky anyway.

 

[DTF]

Peak Eiger mule head (pure flood) with a Nichia 219 and a momentary, no QTC, in SS from Oveready would do. Even with the QTC and the head loosened a bit for lower maximum output seems to me to fit all criteria.

Checking IDs I would think purely momentary may be better than an actual clicky anyway.

As I read the info on the Peak Eiger, the output (without QTC) is 200 lumens. It looks like it is only the QTC feature that provides the variable output. So, I would think that only the QTC version would meet the need of low output.

The QTC feature has gone through a revision to improve reliability and reliablity is an important point for a high use job like a doorman. Taking a quick look at what has been said about QTC on the forum, it appears that reliability has been a significant issue with the Peak Eiger.

Also, the Mule head version is out of stock.

 

[jabe1]

200 lumens with a 10440 Lithium ion battery.

I have had no problems with my QTC Peaks. I think many of the problems have more to do with expectations. They are mechanical, and not electronic, so there are quirks.

 

[TEEJ]

I'd go to Vinh's custom thread, and ask him to just make you what you want.

:D

 

[tjswarbrick]

Did you see the guy selling of his LF2XT's? They look like the click versions, and are programmable so you can set the output, and choose mometary.
Not cheap, but beautiful. Al may be near (or slightly above) the top of your budget; fancy materials will likely break it.

I wonder if you could put a resistor or different driver in a Microstream to get it down to 10-15 lumens.

Was going to say Preon1 with clicky, Can be had in Ti (or Ti head and tail), but it's reverse and won't go momentary.
Hmm, not a ton out there, it seems.
Best of luck!