Recommend a torch for a Security Guard

[robbied]

Hey guys,

At work we currently use the 3 D Cell Maglite with Xenon bulbs.
I am looking for a smaller, lighter torch with a decent battery life to use on a daily basis in my line of work. The maglite is too bulky and heavy.

You guys are pro's at this topic

Cheers,

Robbie

 

[Robban]

What kind of price are we talking about?

 

[robbied]

Not too pricey, under $100

 

[mdocod]

You came to the right place. WELCOME TO CPF!!!

Are you familiar with lithium powered tactical flashlights?

Do you want it to be similar brightness as the 3D mag, or brighter?

About how many minutes is your maglight "on" each night?

Do you use it indoors or outdoors primarily?

Are you willing to spend the time to put cells on a charger, or do you want a simple primary cell based solution where you just feed it new cells every few days.

Will you still be carrying the 3D mag as a backup on your "duty belt" or are you going to try to ditch it completely in favor of smaller and lighter... And if you are going to ditch it, have you considered a "backup" light for situations when your primary light fails? We can fit several lights into the space of a 3D mag that are all brighter, hehe.

 

[FILIPPO]

sure fire 6/9P or.....
what do you mean with "decent battery life"?
the 6/9P runs for about an hour and 65/105 lumens output with standard lamp assambly
with OPTIONAL lamp assembly the 6/9P runs for 20 minutes with 120/200 lumens output.

for more info you can visit the SF site: http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/max_segment_listing/disp/strfnbr/6/sesent/00
http://www.tactical-flashlights-store.com/
or wolfeyes web site:
http://www.tactical-flashlights-store.com/

good search!

 

[ACMarina]

yeah, a clear description of "my daily work" would do wonders..

 

[luigi]

It's not in your price range but a Night-Ops Gladius is a great choice for a security guard. You have a bright light, with LED, a effective disorienting strobe and multiple brightness levels.

In the $100 price range the Fenix P3D may be a good choice.

Luigi

 

[carbine15]

Strion

 

[KeeperSD]

or wolfeyes web site:
http://www.tactical-flashlights-store.com/

+ 1 with the Wolf Eyes, depending on your preference in size look at the WE Raider

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=156004

 

[Trashman]

The Streamlight Stinger and the Streamlight Strion seem to be favorites among security guards. (the ones that I've seen) You can get one of the new LAPD lights (Pelican 7060) for $99, if you act fast (you'll still have to wait a month or two for its release, though), because it's on (pre) sale at the Battery Junction until the end of this month (or is it the middle of this month?).

 

[Wyeast]

Depends on how heavy your light usage is during the course of a shift. If you're working where you have to have the light on frequently/near constantly, then you'll probably want a higher end LED to keep runtime high in a portable package. Most 2-cell "tactical" Xenons run in the 1-2 hour range on a set of batts - not enough for a shift with heavy usage.

But if you're only using it occasionally, then yeah, a rechargable one will probably serve you quite well.

--> Andy

 

[defusion]

Most security guards appear to have a really bright tacticool flashlight with low runtime, and a larger one, not so bright, but enough runtime to last the entire shift.

Basicaly it's the 2 extreme's.
If you want just 1 light, you will have to find a compromise between the two, and basicaly need to figure out what you find important.

How bright does it need to be?
How long does it need to run?
How small does it need to be?

If your answers are:

100-150 lumens
1 hour
belt carry, but shouldn't keep bouncing against my leg/should fit in my pockets if i need it to.

i'd get a 3 cell surefire with rechargeables.

 

[yellow]

all "my" guards I sent along at night just have one, and most of them extremely crappy lights, and seem to come through with them. One has a 3D-Mag with 5000 mAh Nicads and seems to recharge it every 2nd day (most of the time they drive between our objects.
So a total runtime of 2-5 hours should last for them, and I would think that will be the same for most night shifts (as there is much time spent at well lit interior).
SFs on primary are too expensive and offer not enough runtime.

My advice is the usual: Fenix L2D-CE.

As long as one does not use it on turbo all the time, it will last one shift for sure, cheap and good Ni-Mhs possible, very small and at the same time way too bright on turbo inside buildings, decent quality and a much better bang for the buck (imho the best at the moment), several output levels are good if less light is needed (and thats very often imho)

When You dont need a baton and dont run outdoors most of Your shift, thats Your light.

 

[TOOCOOL]

Hi robbied I'm a security guard and I use a Bushnell upgraded by CPF member Milkyspit you may want to see if he has anything you could use

Link

 

[Gunner12]

A terralux dropin for your maglite(a 2-3 cell one is coming out) or Malkoff devices, more expensive but brighter.

Or a new light, Lumapower M1(review). High, 4hours on a 18650 rechargeable battery, for searching and low(26 hours on rechargeable) for all around. Or for a few dollers above your budget, the Lumapower MRV will be great. Projects better then the maglite, 7000 lux Vs. 19000 lux on high and 9000 lux on low(all at 1meter), and runs on 18650 rechargeable batteries.

Fenix L2D-CE(review) is also be a good light.

Do you prefer LEDs or Incandescents?

If incans, try the Roar Of Pelican(ROP) upgrade.

Welcome to CPF!

 

[BGater]

Fenix L2Dce . Several hours on Turbo, and a whole shift on med or low. You could get one of these, and a charger for $100. I have a LaCrosse BC900 charger, it works great and comes with 4 AA and 4AAA bats. I have an L1Dce and love it. Check out the flashlight review link below, it will give you all the goodies on the L2Dce.

http://fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_55&products_id=195

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/la_crosse_bc-900_battery_charger.php

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1dce-l2dce.htm

 

[robbied]

Hey guys thanks for the replies!
I usually have the flashlight on for on average 90 minutes a night. Its mostly on/off, I rarely run it constantly. I want a smaller light so I can carry a small baton also instead of the big maglite. This flashlight would be the only one I carry.

I am leaning towards the Fenix L2Dce, it has a decent run time. Would this light be brighter than the 3D Xenon Maglite?

 

[scottaw]

Go for something with a Cree or Seoul, it'll give you plenty of light, and you can actually get some runtime out of it. Definately go led, im assuming as a guard it might actually get used, and the led won't break when you need it most.

 

[LED61]

I would stick to an incandescent for your needs. The wolfeyes Raider is a great buy at $49. Then, buy Lumens Factory EO9 replacement lamp and two Wolfeyes 18500 rechargeables with charger. You will have this great rechargeable setup for under $100, very bright and very portable.

 

[mdocod]

90 minutes a night! wow.

are you using rechargables already? That would be pretty dim by the end of every shift on alkalines.

If you are using the light outdoors primarily, then I would suggest trying to stick with incandecent.

There are tons of ways to get the runtime you need. You can go with a lower powered lamp in a large "tactical" body (still way smaller and brighter than a 3D mag), or you can go even smaller, (or brighter) and carry spare cells along with you.

When trying to "shrink" the size of the light-source, price goes up. You kinda have to run lithium batteries to get a lot of oomf in a small space...

I'm going to suggest a 2x18650 li-ion configuration. Running a LumensFactory ES-9 bulb. This will give you about double the brightness of a mag3D with a steady discharge curve (stays reasonably bright throughout the discharge) with a maximum runtime of about 150 minutes, this gives you some overhead in the runtime department. Size of this light is going to be aprox 8.5 inches long, 1 inch diameter, (slightly larger at the head and slightly smaller in the body)

The problem with this recommendation, is the price, and the complications involved with piecing it together. You'd have to buy the following:
1. 2 18650 protected cells (I'm thinking AW cells to save on cost here) ~$29
2. 1 good quality charger so you can "set-it-and-forget-it," since you will be charging almost daily. Having to monitor charging on a cheap charger would be a pain. So the Pila IBC charger. ~$50.
3. 1 2x18650 body (leefbody) ~$70
4. tailcap/switch ~$40 for a surefire/leef type switch
5. bezel, ~$15-30 depending on source, G&P makes a cheap one that would work fine.
6. Lamp. should probably buy a spare also... so about ~$30 total for 2 lamps shipped.

notice how we're up around $250 for a compact rechargable flashlight. bummer eh?

ok... so lets cut some corners and make it happen...

1. 2 Brinkman maxfire LXs $17 each at target. 5.5 inches x 1 inch. tiny. (this way you have a backup ready to go, extra runtime on board pre-loaded)
2. Ultrafire WF-139 charger. You need to monitor this one and remove cells when it goes "green." But it's cheaper, only like $15 online.
3. 2 protected 17670 cells from AW: $24.50, more if you want more spares, each cell fully charged will provide about 50 minutes runtime with a ...
4. LumensFactory HO-4 lamp (x2, one for each flashlight) ~$30 shipped. This is a little brighter than a 3D mag. with a much nicer beam, soft focused center spot, no artifacts in beam.

total $103 for 2 rechargable flashlights.

there are endless options like this...

LED61s idea is great, but I think I would suggest stepping down to a lower powered lamp with your runtime needs in mind. The EO-9 is a scorcher but will only run about 40 minutes on those cells, so either more spare cells or lower powered lamp. (the ES-9 would run about 100 minutes on those cells)


You can also piece together something cheaper from more common flashlights... Like... for example... find a 2AA flashlight that takes PR based bulbs, that you like the look and feel of and think would be tough enough, and drop in a 6 cell mag xenon bulb and run it on a pair of 14500 li-ion cells. Bright as a 6D mag in a 2AA formfactor with about 40 minutes runtime per set of cells.