HID advise for emergency/tactical use?

[Reflector]

Hi, and thanks for a great forum! I work as a emergency worker for a fairly large city. I need a light for use in search and rescue. We have maritime, city, and rural (mountain/forest) responsibilities and I need a light that will work in all those environments. It must be small enough for easy carry in a bdu pocket, and preferrably have a "very" short "warm-up" period from power on to full effect. I have looked at the Helios P40, and it looks like a great light. Does anybody have any experience with the Helios in rescue/tactical environments, and are there other HID lights out there that would possibly fit these needs? I have Surefire M6, and it's a great tool, but I need a light that has better reach for spotting objects farther away.

Thanks!

 

[Cigarman]

I've seen one from Xenonics that looks like a big maglight (fatter) and uses a xenon short arc that is a good light for throw and instant on. It was pretty expensive but it might be less than the Polarion. Night hunter 2 was the name I think.

 

[LED61]

Welcome to CPF!!!

A 24W HID that works great and is as small as can be is the Wolf Eyes Boxer, you can see it here:

www.pts-flashlights.com

For more output and fast startup, look at the Microfire K3500R

www.opticshq.com

And for insane output look at the XeRay 50 at

www.xevision.com

The polarion helios is also in the high power league, but very expensive.

Hope this helps.

 

[JohnB]

Welcome to CPF,
I have a colleague in SWEDEN who is currently working with some government agencies for portable Lighting needs. They carry several different brands. She may be able to help you out.

You can check out her site at www.Liotec.se

Regards
John

 

[Gladius01]

Have you look at LEDs flashlights as well? WiseLED Tatical P4 give out 1500 lumens and very bright for leds flashlight with the size of Maglite 2D.

 

[DM51]

You ask about the Polarion Helios PH-40, and I can highly recommend it as a very professional piece of kit. Expensive, but VERY good. 4,000 lumens, instant on (unlike most HIDs), 90 min run-time, totally weatherproof, 12 ins long so a reasonable size.

As you are in the EU, if you decide to get one they stock them here for €1,600 (~$2,100), i.e. the same price as in the USA - and you won't have customs/shipping problems etc.

 

[Reflector]

Thank you all for your advise! I've looked up all the lights, and compared them side by side. The problem is that now i think I really need to get them all! I also sent an e-mail to liotec.se regarding one of their HID lights.

I responded to a call this evening for smoke coming from the top of a 12 story apartment building, and I tried to use my Surefire M6 to spot the smoke. The M6 didn't really have the reach needed, so every week I find myself wanting a more powerful light for different tasks.

Thanks DM51 for the EU link, I initially thought the Polarion Helios was only sold within the CONUS. After browsing the web, and looking at the different options, I think I might go for the Helios. I have never used HID lights before, and I'm curious to know how "fragile" these lights are compared to incandescent lights. I would think that the Helios PH-40 is built to take a beating, but compared to my M6 something tells me that HID bulbs are more "delicate?".

Thanks for all your help so far!

 

[LED61]

CPF good member BVH has one Polarion Helios that he wanted to sell a little while ago. Even if you imported it into the EU it might save you some $$$$$$. Try to PM him if you like.

 

[DM51]

Thanks DM51 for the EU link, I initially thought the Polarion Helios was only sold within the CONUS. After browsing the web, and looking at the different options, I think I might go for the Helios. I have never used HID lights before, and I'm curious to know how "fragile" these lights are compared to incandescent lights. I would think that the Helios PH-40 is built to take a beating, but compared to my M6 something tells me that HID bulbs are more "delicate?".

Thanks for all your help so far!

Glad to be of assistance. The PH-40 Helios is reasonably tough, and reassuringly solidly made, and in fact it is dive-rated so it is totally waterproof too. The great thing about it that sets it apart from most other HIDs is that it is "instant-on" - you get ~3,000 lumens immediately you turn the switch, rising to 4,000 after a few seconds. Some HIDs start very low and take a long time to warm up.

I wouldn't say it is as tough as a Surefire though - you wouldn't want to throw it around or use it to whack a troublemaker over the head. I'm not going to drop mine on a concrete floor to see whether it will take it, but my guess is it would survive a fall from ~3 feet. Maybe the manufacturer has a spec for this that I haven't seen.

 

[Reflector]

Yeah, it looks like the Helios is built to endure lying in my duty bag, and being used with the same care all my other equipment gets. I am not to worried.

I saw a beamshot taken inside a gym somewhere comparing the SF M6 to the Helios....wow! The Helios lit up the ENTIRE gym, floor to ceiling, and flooded the wall way beyond what the camera could cope with.. The M6 lit up parts of the wall on the other side of the gym. Truly impressive output form the helios.

If I can get 3000 lumens instantly and 4000 after a few seconds, that's good enough for me. The reason I have been hesitant to buy a HID light is that I initially though that I would have to wait 30 seconds ++ to get a good output.

I think I'll have to buy a new padlock for my locker at work. I almost had to fight the night shift guys over my SF M6 when I first got it.. :laughing:

Thanks!

 

[DM51]

Reflector, if you haven't already ordered, there's a Helios PH-40 on sale here at a very good price, although I don't know what import tax you might have to pay to get it into Norway, or how that would compare with the tax-paid price from the other link I gave you.

 

[Ken J. Good]

Polarion-USA will hopefully be releasing these before the end of the year (no price point yet).

We are going to call them "Bash Guards". They should go a long way in protecting the light from unintentional drops.

These are Rapid Prototype Nylon models to help me visualize the final product. They are sitting on a 1-off, aluminum model of the PF40.

Looking at materials selection and molding right now.

This is the fun part of doing this stuff in my mind.

If anybody is going to the SHOT Show in Vegas, look me up at the Polarion booth. We will be in the the outside tented areas.

I should have working prototypes of a new Polarion-USA weapons-mounted version of the PF40. I will shoot a sneak preview as this thing gets finalized.

Reflector: If you have any specific questions about the Polarion Product line, just shoot me an email at: [email protected]

The link to the Norway dealer is one of our dealers.