Help locating decent flashlights!

[firesure]

Hello

I'm based in London, England and getting decent flashlights here is difficult unless you go online which I don't like doing!

However I'm going to Florida in January for a week, and I was hoping to pick myself up something over there to go with my Surefire 6p. Was looking at the M3 combatlight, and possibly picking up the holsters to go with it (for night duties). Also looking at something for the car. Any suggestions? I will have a bundle of cash as it's a shopping trip!

Do they sell Surefires etc in the outlet malls over there, or in the airports etc.?

Cheers

Shaun

 

[Marduke]

Let us know specifically what city you will be in, and we can give you some pointers. Keep in mind that Florida is the size of England and half of Scotland combined, so it's not like it's convenient to stop at any store in the state.

 

[Gunner12]

You can usually find Surefires at Hunting, sports, and Law enforcement stores. Haven't seen them for sale in airports.

I would recommend the 6PL for night duty and a cheap light for the car(Energizer Hard Case 2 AAA or 2 AA with a Cree?).

{This part is my thoughts, skip if you want to}

You will discover that there are many good deals online and if you shop at a good dealer, you will get what you ordered for and also a good customer service.

For example, it is very hard to get Fenix Lights at stores(almost impossible) but Fenix Store has a very good reputation. There have been many examples of them shipping out a replacement light(on the rare occasion that one breaks) before the owner sends them the broken light.

Dealextreme is known to be slow shipping but they have many good deals and if they do mess up, they are usually pretty quick at sending a replacement.

I know the feeling of not being able to see the produce before you buy. It can be really scary especially if you place good money on a light. If you are willing to buy online though, the Dereelight CL1H is a good alternative to the 6PL, brighter and dimmer at the same time(2 modes).

The newer LED(Cree XR-E P4-R2 bin, Seoul P4 U bin, Luxeon Rebel 100) are much brighter then the 5mm LEDs and previous high power LEDs most have seen, so if you have only seen the 5mm LED lights, lights with the newer LEDs are much better then those and provide a very good alternative to most lights.

The newer LEDs are twice or more efficient then the Luxeon I, III, V, and K2 so for the same power, the produce twice or more output.

For example, the Cree XR-E P4 at 350 mA(Bin codes in increasing brightness: P3, P4, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, R2) has more output then the Luxeon III at 1000 mA. The Cree Q5 produces about 230 lumen at 1000 mA.

The Surefire G2L, 6PL both use the Seoul P4 U(sometimes called SSC) bin LED. The newer Surefire E1L, E2L and L1 both use a Q bin Cree XR-E LED(usually just Cree).

{end of my thoughts}

For specific store's I'm not sure since I've never been to Florida. I'm sure others will chime in and suggest stores though.

Where in Florida are you going?

:welcome: