Flashlights & security officers

[jusval]

I'm a non comissioned security officer, so I don't carry a weapon. I work night shift in an area that has some crime. I make rounds in a very large warehouse. It is not a closed warehouse, meaning anyone can walk right in through overhead doors. I spend time in a guard shack as well. It's outside of the warehouse and is not really well lit.

My question is about what type of flashlight (or flashlights) to carry?

First - I want something that really lights up the warehouse (it's not well lit & not lit at all in some areas). I want to be able to beam down an aisle and see 100-200 feet with a beam that spreads out (like a flood beam). I currently have a Brinkmann Halogen/L.E.D. Spotlight and it's BRIGHT, but of course it will go dim in about 5 minutes. I need more longevity.....

Second - would it be good to have a smaller light with a narrow intense beam for purposefully blinding someone, to keep them at bay for a few seconds and keep them from seeing me clearly? I would think that type of light might give me enough of a chance to decide if I need to reach for mace or a baton. It also might discourage the person enough to just get out, so I don't have to have a confrontation..... How many lumes does it take to temporarily disorientate/blind someone?

As usual cost is always a factor so I would appreciate some thoughts on good flashlights and then some thoughts on the cheaper ones (like the ebay chinese knock offs) as well.....

Also LED vs a regular bulb as far as longevity and stability from the inevitable drop or dings/nicks that are going to happen.

Thanks in advance for helping........

 

[Bruce B]

Surefire G2 LED. Nice 80 lumens of bright light with a 12 hour runtime.

I have one on the way and look forward to using it on the job.

 

[LukeA]

Pelican 7060 or 8060. The 7060 was originally designed for the LAPD. The 8060 is its bigger sibling.

The 7060 is rated at 130 lumens, but it outperforms that by a wide margin. The 8060 is slightly brighter. 7060 lasts 1.5hr, 8060 lasts 4 hr with its rechargeable batt.

Both lights are rechargeable in a dock. The 8060 can take C cells in a pinch.

Pelican's customer service is absolutely unbeatable.

 

[jusval]

I'm surprised so far. I really don't know enough at all about flashlights. I never would have thought so few lumens were necessary. I had read somewhere that it took about 150-200 lumens minimum to disorientate soemone enough for them to be blinded by the light. So much for reading......

Really I thought I would have to get to 400-500 lumens to get to the floodlight stage, but I know the reflector style must have a lot to do with it.

The 7060 and 8060 are really bright! What about the "generic" versions of them (chinese)?

I should probably qualify the price more clearly.

To me, a $20 flashlight is expensive.......... and I would have to save for a month to buy a $50 one..... I only work part time for cheap, so it's got to be a lot less than $120 flashlight.......

But those Pelicans are awesome flashlights.........

 

[Burgess]

to Jusval --


Welcome to CandlePowerForums !


:welcome:



Hope you find some suitable flashlights.


Stay safe.

_

 

[Sgt. LED]

If it was me I would have something LED, tough, not custom, able to run off rechargable or primary cells for when the rechargable cells run out, big, bright, and a runtime to 50% of at LEAST half of my shift.

Pelican 8060 sounds really good to me actually!

 

[isc]

Surefire G3L.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I would've really, really liked to have had an LED Surefire with long batteries when I was on long, lonely nightshifts on a wide open state government site. We had rechargeable M@glite style monsters which had been run in to the ground long before I ever worked there, and my E2E got a workout, burning through several sets of batteries in my first 2 weeks, learning the ins and the outs of the place in the dark.

My reasoning behind the G3L?

Reasonably light for what it is.
LONG burn time (9 hours?)
Bright enough to give you the temporary blinding needed if you find someone doing something they shouldn't.

Also, I suggest you find something which you can LEGALLY carry, even if its not within company policy. Back when I was doing night shift security work, I always maintained my security baton and handcuff proficiency - I was legally allowed to carry, but I was in breach of company policy. The baton, an extendable one, stayed in a holster inside my pocket. At the end of the day, the only way I was going to lose my job is if I had to pull it and use it, and the only time I was going to pull it and use it was if my life, or the safety of a coworker or innocent person, was threatened. You can get a new job tomorrow. Should you be injured with a knife, you won't be able to get a new life.

 

[jusval]

Surefire G3L.

Also, I suggest you find something which you can LEGALLY carry, even if its not within company policy. Back when I was doing night shift security work, I always maintained my security baton and handcuff proficiency - I was legally allowed to carry, but I was in breach of company policy. The baton, an extendable one, stayed in a holster inside my pocket. At the end of the day, the only way I was going to lose my job is if I had to pull it and use it, and the only time I was going to pull it and use it was if my life, or the safety of a coworker or innocent person, was threatened. You can get a new job tomorrow. Should you be injured with a knife, you won't be able to get a new life.

Well, it's East TX and I can legally carry just about what I want, from Mace, to a Stun gun, to a baton, but I just don't really want to carry any of it. Being part time and semi-retired due to health reasons, I am not proficient and would probably just get my but beat worse when someone took my baton away, so a really bright light and probably mace or a loud alarm might be the best way........

Actually I probably could just make a battery pack for the Brinkman out of 10,000 mah NiMh batteries wired series/parallel and plug it into the charge port as an auxilliary for the flashlight and give it longer life....... Maybe? and then just get a spot beam like the ones suggested for disorientation..... Hmmmm...........

 

[HKJ]

Check the MVP it is a powerfull led flashlight that runs on 18650 lithium Ion batteries and can run for more than 1 hour at full output. Selecting a lower light level, gives your many hours of light.

For even more light, your need a HID flashlight, one of the cheapest, with lots of light, is MicroFire K3500R, it will run for just under an hour and only has one level. The output from this kind of flashlight are very close to the high beam from a car.

 

[sORe-EyEz]

one recommendation for Inova T1 2008! compact in size, bright. not sure if Surefire E2L fits the bill but the previous single-stage version does 9hours on a set of lithiums, the newer dual-stage does 6hours on high- on a flat or near flat output. :twothumbs

IMO, G2L does not maintain the 80lumens throughout the 12hours of stated runtime.

 

[BlueBeam22]

I recommend you get the Coleman 530 lumen LED rechargeable spotlight $60 from Sears or $45 from Walmart.com. This light has a throw of over 1/4 of a mile, so it will easily light up a swath of a large warehouse from end to end, and should have more throw and a more intense beam than your Brinkmann spotlight (more intense beam and throw than your Brinkmann's main halogen beam).
The Coleman is rechargeable and runs for 2.5 hours on a full charge, which is AMAZING. It can also be run directly from both its AC adaptor and DC car charger adaptors for unlimited runtime. It has a very intense beam and is blinding and disorienting at close range. It is a black pistol-grip style spotlight and very comfortable to hold.

 

[Monocrom]

I'm surprised so far. I really don't know enough at all about flashlights. I never would have thought so few lumens were necessary. I had read somewhere that it took about 150-200 lumens minimum to disorientate soemone enough for them to be blinded by the light. So much for reading.......

Who ever it was that wrote that is a damn idiot who should be beaten for giving out such utterly worthless self-defense advice!

You can also forget about #2 from your original post. You'll get, at most, a second of distraction time if you hit someone in the eyes from a bright light. And you better be ready to defend yourself, because no intruder is going to run off into the night due to a bright blast of light to the face. That's not happening. It's not about if you should reach for your Mace or baton. It's about not letting a potential threat go unseen so that you can still have time to reach for your Mace or baton.

Don't rely on the beam from a flashlight to keep you safe. Cause it's not going to!

Oh yeah..... Welcome to CPF.

 

[rala]

I would carry 3 lights minimum. I would not recommend a custom build as a primary light due to reliability issues. That one can stay desk top in the shack same with the spotlight, too big and bulky. Also for a primary, I would get something that is rechargeable or can use rechargeables since it would be used often. Since you think a $20 light is expensive, I'll try to keep my suggestions cheap.

1.Ultrafire wf-500 w/AW 18650's
2.Ultrafire C2 w/ 18650
3.Surefire G2, Brinkmann Maxfire, or Streamlight Scorpion

I know they are all over $20, but those are as cheap as I would get. All are light weight and shouldn't hinder a fast getaway if the need arises. My opinions on carrying a baton, mace, cuffs, or any other gear is that if your not efficient in its use, don't.

 

[LED61]

I second rala for item #1 above. It can be had rechargeable for about $60 charger included. Plenty bright, will run for about 1 hour.

If you want to go brighter and for a warehouse seems reasonable, you can also spend about $190 for a wolfeyes M300 Lion. Now that is REALLY bright incandescent, rechargeable, and will run slightly over an hour.

 

[TMedina]

The MiniMag x3 AA LED is cheap, batteries are cheap and the metal body will take casual abuse reasonably well. You can also find the light in just about any chain, from Target to Wal-Mart. The light output isn't tactical standard, but it works well enough for working and casual foot patrol.

The bottom line is, don't ever count on a flashlight as a weapon unless you mean to use it like a club.

Anything using a CR123 battery will become very expensive in terms of batteries used, never mind initial purchase - even if you opt for a Chinese import. A Pelican PM6 3330 LED isn't bad, priced at $25 or so, but you'll feel the bite in buying batteries pretty regularly and it still isn't tactical level output.

-Trevor

 

[C4LED]

The MiniMag x3 AA LED is cheap, batteries are cheap and the metal body will take casual abuse reasonably well. You can also find the light in just about any chain, from Target to Wal-Mart. The light output isn't tactical standard, but it works well enough for working and casual foot patrol.

This is a pretty good compromise considering the wide array of criteria you want (more contradictory than you probably realize is); small size, low price, high power, reliable, etc....

You can also use rechargeable AA's with this.

 

[jusval]

Who ever it was that wrote that is a damn idiot who should be beaten for giving out such utterly worthless self-defense advice!

You can also forget about #2 from your original post. You'll get, at most, a second of distraction time if you hit someone in the eyes from a bright light. And you better be ready to defend yourself, because no intruder is going to run off into the night due to a bright blast of light to the face. That's not happening. It's not about if you should reach for your Mace or baton. It's about not letting a potential threat go unseen so that you can still have time to reach for your Mace or baton.

Don't rely on the beam from a flashlight to keep you safe. Cause it's not going to!

Oh yeah..... Welcome to CPF.

Yes, I read a thread about "False sense of Security" with a flashlight. I believe you are right. I think that's what I'm looking for, because I don't want to ever use Mace or a Baton. I don't like fighting (self defense). I took the guard job just like the other retiree's did. It's about all we can get for a job any more. After the stroke, I don't get many job offers and it's a good thing..... You should see how many times I have to spell check these posts! :laughing:
I wear my security name tag to remember my own name now!

Anyhow I will be looking for a good flashlight for lighting up the dark areas. It can't hurt.... I'm really grateful for all the options you all are giving me. It helps to hear from people using this stuff and what you all have to say..... I probably will carry mace, but I have to check with the owners first. I think they look at it as "run away, just run away and call 911" Unfortunately I don't run, I walk slow....

 

[jusval]

The more I think about the battery pack add-on for the Brinkman Halogen I have now, the better I like it. I can buy a 12v, 2.3 amp hour Camcorder battery for about $15 and a charger for about $10. I could slide it in a pouch on my side and just use a cord from it to the Brinkman. I would think that it would give sufficient additional time to the light, but I'd better do some checks on a tester, to see what draw is on the Brinkman. It might be a viable option.

I still want to get something like what many of you have offered as a smaller style which can be holstered. I like that idea. I like the LED idea too. I really am surprised at the power of the LED flashlights. Very interesting..... Unenlightened, Ya that's me!

 

[pete7226]

I'm going to comment on this as I have some thoughts as a Policeman (Chicago) and this topic seems to pop up every few weeks. I'd ditch the thought of using a g2 as your primary light, simply not enough light. Blinding someone is temporary(it only buys you time) remember that and adjust your tactics accordingly. Your job role demands a brighter light. You need to be able to CLEARLY identify threats/objects quickly, sometimes in big areas. I would find something that puts out over 250 lumens at the least, preferably closer to 500 and has medium-long throw, as your primary light. There are dozens of excellent lights in this range. Some cheaper than others.
I'd make your primary a strong Incandescent-cant be beat for color rendition, important in high-risk scenarios, and your backup, Led-with a long run-time(for rescue-non-life threatening scenarios). Have an extra set of batteries for both.I'm assuming you are new to flashoholism so I'll suggest some stock setups.
Two of my favorites, Surefire HOLA M3/M4 TurboHead. These can also use rechargeable batteries if you search the forum. Once you familiarize yourself with this forum you will see that there are many cheaper Mag-lite custom setups that you can put together that will put out a ton of lumens for half the cost of the Surefires. Search for mag11, mag85. Both excellent lights with the mag11 run-time being much longer than the 85 but not as bright (550vs750 lumens) out the front. The choices are too many to list, the fact that you are on this forum shows that you care more than the average joe about your tools of the trade, its a good start. Do some research here and you will find a light that meets your needs. Dont sacrifice output/quality for price. Your safety is in your own hands.:welcome:

 

[divine]

You can have someone seeing spots for a few minutes with a 30 lumen light, even when their eyes are adjusted to office lighting (probably not outdoors, though).

The lights we deal with on here are somewhat off the board compared to what useful light is. :devil: