Looking to buy a "compact" quality HID light

[JeffInChi]

Hello everyone-

I'm fairly new to CPF and have recently been thinking about purchasing my first HID light for on duty purposes (LEO in city). But I'm very unfamiliar with some of the brand names and what pros and cons they possess.

-I want something around 12" in length (give or take a couple inches) and something with the width of a D cell maglight or smaller.

-I'd like it to have an output of 1000+ lumens that can really light up a target at around 100yds (or more).

-It doesn't have to be waterproof or "dive rated", but I don't want to worry about bringing it out in the rain.

-Would prefer if it didn't have any type of drain, although it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

-A weight of under 48oz would be preferrable.

-A runtime of around 60mins +

-It doesn't have to be at full brightness as soon as I turn on the light, but I don't want to wait 60-70 seconds for the light to get bright either. If it could be at 75% brightness at 5-10 secs, that would be awesome.

-I'm probably going to keep it in a duffel bag in the trunk of the car, where it'll subject to the effects of bumps, quick turns, and a variety of potholes and speed humps. How fragile are the bulbs, and would this damage the life/brightness of the bulb? How fragile are HID lights?

So far, I'm thinking about purchasing Oracle 24x-9 xenon 24w or a AE Powerlight 24W. I would like to stay around $300 or less. Are these decent lights or does somebody have a better recommendation and why? It doesn't have to be a 24W, but it seems to be where my lumen preference meets my size preference - if anyone knows of a 35W HID that is around a foot long, please let me know.

Thanks
-Jeff

 

[Richie086]

So far, I'm thinking about purchasing Oracle 24x-9 xenon 24w or a AE Powerlight 24W. I would like to stay around $300 or less. Are these decent lights or does somebody have a better recommendation and why? It doesn't have to be a 24W, but it seems to be where my lumen preference meets my size preference - if anyone knows of a 35W HID that is around a foot long, please let me know.

Thanks
-Jeff

Hi Jeff and welcome to the forum.

I think you also need to determine do you want 4300k or 6000k+. 4300k produces a much whiter and useful color rendition beam compared to 6000k. But this can also be personal preference.

 

[JeffInChi]

Richie086-

I would prefer a 4300K, but anything towards the "bluer" side of the spectrum would still be considered.

 

[Metatron]

Hello everyone-

I'm fairly new to CPF and have recently been thinking about purchasing my first HID light for on duty purposes (LEO in city). But I'm very unfamiliar with some of the brand names and what pros and cons they possess.

-I want something around 12" in length (give or take a couple inches) and something with the width of a D cell maglight or smaller.

-I'd like it to have an output of 1000+ lumens that can really light up a target at around 100yds (or more).

-It doesn't have to be waterproof or "dive rated", but I don't want to worry about bringing it out in the rain.

-Would prefer if it didn't have any type of drain, although it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

-A weight of under 48oz would be preferrable.

-A runtime of around 60mins +

-It doesn't have to be at full brightness as soon as I turn on the light, but I don't want to wait 60-70 seconds for the light to get bright either. If it could be at 75% brightness at 5-10 secs, that would be awesome.

-I'm probably going to keep it in a duffel bag in the trunk of the car, where it'll subject to the effects of bumps, quick turns, and a variety of potholes and speed humps. How fragile are the bulbs, and would this damage the life/brightness of the bulb? How fragile are HID lights?

So far, I'm thinking about purchasing Oracle 24x-9 xenon 24w or a AE Powerlight 24W. I would like to stay around $300 or less. Are these decent lights or does somebody have a better recommendation and why? It doesn't have to be a 24W, but it seems to be where my lumen preference meets my size preference - if anyone knows of a 35W HID that is around a foot long, please let me know.

Thanks
-Jeff

microfire warrior III
wolfeyes boxer.

 

[Patriot]

Richie086-

I would prefer a 4300K, but anything towards the "bluer" side of the spectrum would still be considered.

By that choice alone you'll be pretty much limited to the Oracle24W or Tactical HID 24W. Microfire, AE, and WE are all 6000K or higher.

 

[JeffInChi]

Any reason so many of these 24W HID are 6000K or higher? Is it more expensive to make a bulb under 6000K? Are the 6000K bulbs better for searching or intermittent weather? I'd imagine it'd be much easier to spot an object with a "warmer/whiter" bulb tint then with a "bluer" one (especially an object with bright color), but I have no experience with HID lights.

How about some of these "generic" lights on ebay? I know there's always an inherent risk from buying from a small time dealer/seller, but has anyone bought a no-name HID and had it (and the battery) last?

Thank you all for the recommendations and help so far.

 

[cue003]

Probably the best bet will be the Oracle compact HID setups.

 

[Patriot]

Any reason so many of these 24W HID are 6000K or higher? Is it more expensive to make a bulb under 6000K? Are the 6000K bulbs better for searching or intermittent weather? I'd imagine it'd be much easier to spot an object with a "warmer/whiter" bulb tint then with a "bluer" one (especially an object with bright color), but I have no experience with HID lights.

It's the inexpensive and common standard. There's also marketing stigma attached to "xenon" HID lights in which it's still commonly perceived that bluer beams are "cool." The Asian car import crowd is testimony to that movement.

How about some of these "generic" lights on ebay? I know there's always an inherent risk from buying from a small time dealer/seller, but has anyone bought a no-name HID and had it (and the battery) last?

The Oracle and Tactical HID's are one of the types sold on ebay under different names. No sense in looking any farther than these since they've already be guinea pigged by CPF members.

 

[SunFire900]

Why is it that they never seem to use or offer 5000k HID bulbs? They are supposed to be the closest to sunlight in color. You are lucky to find 4300k offerings and just forget about finding 5000's.

With 6000-8000k bulbs you can't see anything in rain or fog because the light bounces off anything it hits and is dispersed. You just get a "cool" looking blue lightsaber beam.

I personally would prefer 5000k because they are more white. I hate blue and am not too fond of yellow beams. I had to put up with yellow beams for too many years.

 

[BVH]

I remember someone (maybe Xeray, not sure) indicating most popular HID bulbs are 6000K + because of the preference of that color of light in Asian countries. This came up when Dan's Xeray 50's and someone in Asia selling the same light (except with an Asian 6000K bulb) first appeared on CPF.

I have 5000K's in my truck and wouldn't think having anything different. They are "diamond white" and very pleasing to my eyes. Glass beaded white lane line paint really comes to life when hit by the beams. If it were possible to obtain 4750K HID lamps, I'd be first in line.

The newest Oracle 24 Watt owners here on CPF are reporting 55+ minutes of run time. She's pretty much full brightness to human eyes by about 18 - 20 seconds. It's a wee bit larger than a Mag but not bu much. You could pick one up and a second battery for under your budget. I'm a happy Oracle 24 Watt owner.

 

[Metatron]

now that i think of it, with the new sst-50 and sst- 90 leds being tested by olight and such, it may well be worth a little patience to get a beam around the 43000k mark...

 

[Patriot]

That's certainly something to consider for someone looking for something in the 1000 lumen range. I'm waiting to see how much heatsinking they're going to require once they're released. Same with the JetBeam Raptor 3.

 

[JeffInChi]

I'd just like to thank everyone for there help and patience, and after reveiwing all the advice and suggestions, I think I'm going to go with the Oracle. I like the fact that its a 4300K temp, and I read from richie086 that it might even be closer to 5000K, which would be great! I've done some searching, and I can find it for a little less than $200 w/shipping. I'm gonna take BVH's advice and buy a 2nd battery for it for extended runtime if I need it. Thanks to you all again for the help. :thanks: