Quick purchase advice wanted

[Cyclops942]

Folks,

I'm headed to Gall's in Lexington, KY, this Saturday. I'll hit both their catalog showroom and their warehouse (for their monthly Saturday Sale of returns, overstocks, and closeouts).

At their showroom, I'm thinking I'll pick up at least one LED light. They carry ASP Sapphire, several of the Streamlight Stylus models, and the Photon. Please post here with your recommendations. (I already have a blue Sapphire, a white CMG Infinity Task light, and a Model 2 EternaLight.) Please include color recommendations, if appropriate.

At the warehouse, I'll be looking mostly at returns, so I'll end up paying about half the retail price for these items, and it's most likely to be strictly the incandescent lights. I already own a Streamlight SL20X and the ubiquitous MAG 3D and 4D. They carry Streamlight, SureFire, and Pelican. Please post your recommendations.

I'm cross-posting this to both the incandescent and LED boards.

 

[Clay]

Well, my recommendations would be for the PhotonII for LED and an E1 for incandescent.

The E1 is great because you can take it with you anywhere. The Photon is great because it is always there on your keychain whether you remembered another flashlight or not. I prefer the white photon but have started carrying a blue as well for signalling uses.

Hope this helps! I may have to venture down to Lexington from Louisville one of these Saturdays myself...

 

[Chris M.]

I second Clay`s reccomendation for the Photon-II LED light. I have 2 which are on my keychain- White, and Turquoise. The Turqoise one is my favourite of the two. It`s incredibly bright for its size, and a stunning colour too, though the white is a great little light too.
You`ll not be dissapointed if you get one!

 

[Cyclops942]

I'd love to get the E1 or E2, but Gall's only offers the 3P, 6P, 9Z, 8X, and a couple of the other tactical lights.

How does the 3P compare to the E1? Should I spend the extra bux to get the 6P?

As far as the Photon II goes, they only carry green, blue, white, yellow, and red. No turquoise, daggonit.

 

[Bucky]

Forget the 3P, it's either E1 or bust and since they don't offer any E lights, definitely go for 6P instead of the 3P.

Also, I love my 8NX (polymer version of the 8X) and I would recommend it as well. Having at least one rechargeable light is always nice for those times when weight really does not matter, but runtime does. Often I marvel at how much it would have cost me to run a battery-powered SureFire after expending both battery packs from my 8NX

.

Bucky

 

[Clay]

I second Bucky: 6P over the 3P anyday

The 9N's are nice though expensive.

The Streamlight Stinger is another good choice. I don't have one, but always played with a cop friend's and it was awesome.

 

[Cyclops942]

Okay, here's the list of what I got:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Streamlight SL20X w/AC & DC chargers (for friend -- he saw mine and wanted one)
<LI>SureFire 9Z
<LI>SureFire 8X
<LI>Photon II, green
<LI>Yellow magnet-mount dome strobe
[/list]

I put back the SureFire 6P in favor of the 9Z (more light, same price); I put back the Streamlight Stinger XT w/AC & DC fast-chargers in favor of the SureFire 8N (I paid $5 more and lost the fast-charging capability, but I got two batteries, and the light itself was lighter and a little smaller); and I also passed on the low-frequency horn and speaker combo, because I figured my wife would freak enough over the other stuff.

I got the green Photon because it was the brightest color available (red, green, blue, yellow, and white only at Gall's), and I didn't get the Streamlight Stylus because the Stylus 3 was too long, and the Stylus 2 wouldn't run long enough.

Okay -- critiques, anyone? Be gentle, please.

 

[Size15's]

I suggest you get a P91 for your 9Z. Also, you may want to think about a LockOut TailCap (Z41)

Enjoy!

Al

If you order online, it maybe worth getting a couple 12B Hurricanes for DL123As

 

[Cyclops942]

The P91 is for more light. The Z41 is to keep from running down the batteries. But why the 12B Hurricanes, and what does ordering online have to do with making it worth getting them? Sorry, but you lost me there.

 

[Size15's]

It all depends on how cheaply you can get hold of Duracell Ultra Batteries.

The SureFire 12B Hurricane is a box of 12 which can be used as emergency illumination in the event of a powercut etc.

They're also great for storing batteries in.
And allow drained batteries to be used for backup lighting around the house etc.

(I would like to suggest you never completely drain batteries in your SureFires. This in my experiences creates yellow deposits on the inside of the bulb due to the "Halogen Cycle" requiring high temperatures to fix the Tungsten back onto the filament. As the batteries die, so does their ability to drive the lamp at the high temperature required.)

If you can get 12 DL123A Duracell Ultras for less than the cost of a 12B, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's very interested.

Al