ErickThakrar
Enlightened
(Reviewers note: This unit was provided by the manufacturer for review.)
In the world of tactical flashlights there are certain parameters that are so established in most people's mind as to approach dogma.
Generally, this means that in order for a flashlight to be considered "tactical" in nature, it has to comply with the following criteria.
1: Use 2 CR123 lithium batteries.
2: Have aggressive knurling and a forward clickie switch with momentary on.
3: Be very bright!
4: Be of roughly tubular shape, with the switch on the end so you can use it with a handgun in the "cigar" grip, the Harries, the Rogers/Surefire method, etc etc.
5: Be made by Surefire!
Now, every now and then, something shows up that takes dogma and kicks it a little on it's end.
In this case, this is the Tomahawk flashlight as designed, produced and sold by First-Light USA.
First-Light USA is, as the name may indicate, an American company and their products are all made right here in the US.
First-Light is a relatively new company, having only been on the market for a few years, but from the very beginning, they took some of the commonly accepted things about tactical flashlights and turned them completely on their ear!
As is very evident when looking at the Tomahawk.
I will list the manufacturer specifications and we'll take it from there.
:: Momentary
:: Constant-On (3 levels)
:: 60 hours (lowest setting
Now, being that the Tomahawk is a 2-cell light, you'll note that the length is amazingly short. Most 2-cell lights will be over 5 inches in length. The Tomahawk is barely over 3 inches!
Output
The Tomahawk is powered by 2 CR123 batteries, feeding a Seoul Semi-Conductor P4 LED.
It has a smooth reflector, which in combination with the aforemention SSC-P4 LED produces a remarkably smooth beam with a very decent amount of throw. The reflector appears to be an IMS 27mm reflector, which, while being plastic, is a fairly highly regarded reflector.
The color of the beam is white, leaning towards the cool side.
The LED on high is fed right about 950mA.
The Tomahawk ST is rated to put out 100+ lumens. This is in my estimation a rather severe understatement. Granted, I don't have access to an integrating sphere so I can't really back up my statement, but nevertheless, to my eye, it looks comparable in output to several other lights putting out about 200 some lumens!
The Tomahawk has three levels of output, all three easily accessible with only a few button pushes. The Tomahawk has a memory and will remember the last setting that you left the Constant-On setting at, assuming you have not removed the batteries.
I like leaving the Constant-On setting on the lowest output level. It's excellent for a task-light, navigating around the house or campsite at night, etc.
The strobe function is also directly accessible with a single button push, assuming the Tomahawk is turned off.
The Tomawhawk strobe is flashing at 12.5 hertz, smack-dab in the recommended range of between 10 and 15 hertz.
First-Light are very specific in their selection of the LEDs they get from Seoul. They only use LEDs from a specific binning and as such they have a very consistent tint and quality of light.
This is something that a certain other American manufacturer could learn a great deal from.
Build Quality & Design
The Tomahawk is an interesting little light. The form-factor deviates from the common tubular form-factor by having the reflector mounted at a 90-degree angle to the battery-tube and all the controls are accessible via the control pad on top of the light that you manipulate with your thumb. This layout is what contributes to the Tomahawk being so incredibly small.
The reflector is also of a generous size, especially compared to the overall size of the light.
Now, the idea behind the Tomahawk design is to enable the user to carry the light easily and to use the light with a handgun or a rifle. The design makes it possible to maintain almost the same two-handed firing grip that you would normally use with a handgun and still be able to manipulate the light controls easily. The Tomahawk accomplishes this by the aid of a finger ring. By effectively securing the flashlight to the users hand, you largely remove the concern about dropping the light or of having to put the light away to access other tools. You can reload your pistol or rifle quite easily with the Tomahawk in your hand at the same time. It's a remarkably simple system that works very, very well.
Now, like anything else, you do have to train with this before it becomes second nature, but it's very easy to pick up and seems to come quite naturally. It's very fast to access, you can keep your shooting mechanics almost exactly the same and you don't have to worry about attaching a weapon-light to your handgun. What this also means and this is in some ways one of the most important aspects, is that you will not have to point your weapon at whatever it is you're trying to see. Because of the design of the light, the Tomahawk almost becomes an extension of your hand. It frankly beats the living daylights out of using a typical tactical light with a gun!
The interface is one of the more ingenious ones I've seen for a long time.
The control pad on top of the Tomahawk has three buttons. One large, roughly half-moon shaped Momentary-On button, and two smaller, square buttons. The right button has two functions. One is for the Ready-Strobe. The second function is to select the level of output for the Constant-On setting. Which is activated via the left button.
This may sound slightly complicated but in reality, within a few minutes of picking up the Tomahawk, it comes very natural. One feature that's rather handy is that while in the Constant-On mode, assuming you're using one of the lower output settings, by pressing the Momentary-On button, you immediately get full output from the light.
The control pad also allows you to lock-out the light completely, but can be "un-locked" with a simple button press and is immediately back in action.
The main drawback of the control pad is that it does draw some current in order to monitor the buttons, however, this current draw is so minute ( only 120 micro-amps) that it is unlikely to drain your batteries unless you have for habit of leaving your light sitting in a drawer or on a shelf for years on end. As the Tomahawk is designed as a duty light for police officers, military personnel and for concerned citizens, this is in my opinion bit of a non-issue.
The Tomahawk has, what is in my opinion, one of the best designed and strongest clips that I've seen in years. It is entirely compatible with MOLLE systems, and can easily clip on to a regular belt or a pants waist. It is rubber-coated for most of it's length and what isn't coated has your typical black-oxide finish. It's frankly a fantastic clip since it lets you easily attach the Tomahawk in such a way that the light will point away from you, facing forward if you will, unlike most regular flashlights, where if you clip them to a pocket or belt, or put them in a holster, the light either goes straight up or straight down.
The Tomahawk comes with two different sizes of the finger rings, both of which are plastic and attach quite securely to the light. They seem to be very strong and I've yet to damage either one of these rings, despite using the Tomahawk quite a bit.
The Tomahawk itself is coated in your typical MIL-SPEC HAIII anodizing in a dark olive color.
The finish is a little on the glossy side, but seems well-done, although there are some color differences between the various parts. This is relatively normal however and does not impact the functionality of the coating. My unit arrived with the coating free of any nicks or scratches.
On the inside, First-Light coats the battery-tube with another MIL-SPEC coating, in this case an anti-corrosive chromate conversion coating similar to CHEMKOTE, but without the signature golden color of CHEMKOTE.
The lens is glass, anti-reflective coated and seems quite durable.
All threads were smooth and arrived well-lubed.
The battery-tube itself has a tough rubber cover. The cover is removable and could conceivably be replaced if need be, however I have not as of yet been able to even remotely damage this cover, nor does it show any appearance of wear after a few months of daily carry.
Machining is generally of quite high quality and appears to be fully comparable to companies like Surefire. I'm rather impressed by First-Light's build-quality and their obvious attention to important details.
Accessories
The Tomahawk doesn't come with much in the way of accessories. Two different sizes of the finger ring, a product manual and a First-Light USA catalogue.
And of course, a set of Duracell CR123 batteries.
First-Light, however, have available on their website and presumably through their dealers a few rather nice accessories available.
Conclusion
The Tomahawk has quickly become one of my favorite lights and is generally the light that I carry on my belt on a daily basis. It's compact, provides plenty of output for the vast majority of tasks, has excellent battery life and is plenty tough to withstand the rigors that I put my Every Day Carry gear through. I've used it in the mines, hiking, daily use around town, on my bike and never has it gotten in the way nor failed to come on and provide bright, white light whenever I needed it.
The form-factor is incredibly ergonomic and it's size and weight means that I can go an entire day with the Tomahawk on my belt without ever thinking about it being there.
That is not to say that everything is perfect. The Tomahawk is a great light but there are a few things I would like to see done to improve it.
Most notably, the clip. Yes, yes, I've said the clip is fantastic and I stand by that. However, the finishing on the clip could be a little better. The clip on my unit had some rather rough edges. They weren't outright sharp, but they could have done with a pass or two on a buffing wheel to knock off the burr left over from the stamping operation. This is a relatively minor nit-pick however, and doesn't detract from the over-all functionality of the Tomahawk which is still excellent! As a further nitpick, the Tomahawk did arrive with some dust trapped behind the lens. This is something that is relatively easy to avoid, but while annoying to the purists like myself, it poses no detriment to function.
The other thing is more of a feature request. I would very much like to see a new version of the Tomahawk that could handle rechargeable batteries better. Now, while a 17670 battery will fit and the Tomahawk will come on, it doesn't much like it and it continues to complain about low battery. A circuit that could handle the lower input voltage and work with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery like the 17670-type could greatly improve the attractiveness of the Tomahawk for, especially, cops and SAR personnel. It is somewhat less important from a military standpoint as military personnel are more commonly issued batteries for their equipment.
That being said however, I can't recommend the Tomahawk enough. It's a great little light at a competitive price point, it's made in the US, by an American company, so it's Berry-compliant.
And it offers a feature set that is almost unrivalled by other American manufacturers, especially at the listed price.
Highly recommended!
The Tomahawk comes in several different versions at varying price-points. They can all be viewed here: First-Light USA
Thank you to Leslie Kirby and the team at First-Light USA for helping me with all the questions I had and for providing me with the review sample. They were a real pleasure to deal with and they show a great deal of dedication to their customers. Something that is all too rare these days.
Pictures to follow.
The control pad. Pressing the two square buttons locks and unlocks the Tomahawks. It glows red to indicate lock-out and green to indicate when it's un-locked.
The Seoul LED. From the looks of it, this would be relatively simple to upgrade if one desired to.
The main components from the bezel. Lens, O-rings, IMS reflector, bezel and lens retaining ring.
Notice the excellent machining quality. The knurling on the tailcap is very well-done.
A look in through the lens at the reflector. The LED is very well-focused and the IMS reflector does an excellent job as always.
http://specialcircumstancesinc.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-light-usa-tomahawk-st-review.html
In the world of tactical flashlights there are certain parameters that are so established in most people's mind as to approach dogma.
Generally, this means that in order for a flashlight to be considered "tactical" in nature, it has to comply with the following criteria.
1: Use 2 CR123 lithium batteries.
2: Have aggressive knurling and a forward clickie switch with momentary on.
3: Be very bright!
4: Be of roughly tubular shape, with the switch on the end so you can use it with a handgun in the "cigar" grip, the Harries, the Rogers/Surefire method, etc etc.
5: Be made by Surefire!
Now, every now and then, something shows up that takes dogma and kicks it a little on it's end.
In this case, this is the Tomahawk flashlight as designed, produced and sold by First-Light USA.
First-Light USA is, as the name may indicate, an American company and their products are all made right here in the US.
First-Light is a relatively new company, having only been on the market for a few years, but from the very beginning, they took some of the commonly accepted things about tactical flashlights and turned them completely on their ear!
As is very evident when looking at the Tomahawk.
I will list the manufacturer specifications and we'll take it from there.
SPECIFICATIONS
WEIGHT
:: 5.6 ounces DIMENSIONS
:: 3.35" H x 2.38" L x 1.48" W MAXIMUM LIGHT OUTPUT
:: 100+ lumens CONTROL FUNCTIONS
:: Ready-Strobe:: Momentary
:: Constant-On (3 levels)
BATTERY RUNTIME
:: 2 hours (highest setting):: 60 hours (lowest setting
Now, being that the Tomahawk is a 2-cell light, you'll note that the length is amazingly short. Most 2-cell lights will be over 5 inches in length. The Tomahawk is barely over 3 inches!
Output
The Tomahawk is powered by 2 CR123 batteries, feeding a Seoul Semi-Conductor P4 LED.
It has a smooth reflector, which in combination with the aforemention SSC-P4 LED produces a remarkably smooth beam with a very decent amount of throw. The reflector appears to be an IMS 27mm reflector, which, while being plastic, is a fairly highly regarded reflector.
The color of the beam is white, leaning towards the cool side.
The LED on high is fed right about 950mA.
The Tomahawk ST is rated to put out 100+ lumens. This is in my estimation a rather severe understatement. Granted, I don't have access to an integrating sphere so I can't really back up my statement, but nevertheless, to my eye, it looks comparable in output to several other lights putting out about 200 some lumens!
The Tomahawk has three levels of output, all three easily accessible with only a few button pushes. The Tomahawk has a memory and will remember the last setting that you left the Constant-On setting at, assuming you have not removed the batteries.
I like leaving the Constant-On setting on the lowest output level. It's excellent for a task-light, navigating around the house or campsite at night, etc.
The strobe function is also directly accessible with a single button push, assuming the Tomahawk is turned off.
The Tomawhawk strobe is flashing at 12.5 hertz, smack-dab in the recommended range of between 10 and 15 hertz.
First-Light are very specific in their selection of the LEDs they get from Seoul. They only use LEDs from a specific binning and as such they have a very consistent tint and quality of light.
This is something that a certain other American manufacturer could learn a great deal from.
Build Quality & Design
The Tomahawk is an interesting little light. The form-factor deviates from the common tubular form-factor by having the reflector mounted at a 90-degree angle to the battery-tube and all the controls are accessible via the control pad on top of the light that you manipulate with your thumb. This layout is what contributes to the Tomahawk being so incredibly small.
The reflector is also of a generous size, especially compared to the overall size of the light.
Now, the idea behind the Tomahawk design is to enable the user to carry the light easily and to use the light with a handgun or a rifle. The design makes it possible to maintain almost the same two-handed firing grip that you would normally use with a handgun and still be able to manipulate the light controls easily. The Tomahawk accomplishes this by the aid of a finger ring. By effectively securing the flashlight to the users hand, you largely remove the concern about dropping the light or of having to put the light away to access other tools. You can reload your pistol or rifle quite easily with the Tomahawk in your hand at the same time. It's a remarkably simple system that works very, very well.
Now, like anything else, you do have to train with this before it becomes second nature, but it's very easy to pick up and seems to come quite naturally. It's very fast to access, you can keep your shooting mechanics almost exactly the same and you don't have to worry about attaching a weapon-light to your handgun. What this also means and this is in some ways one of the most important aspects, is that you will not have to point your weapon at whatever it is you're trying to see. Because of the design of the light, the Tomahawk almost becomes an extension of your hand. It frankly beats the living daylights out of using a typical tactical light with a gun!
The interface is one of the more ingenious ones I've seen for a long time.
The control pad on top of the Tomahawk has three buttons. One large, roughly half-moon shaped Momentary-On button, and two smaller, square buttons. The right button has two functions. One is for the Ready-Strobe. The second function is to select the level of output for the Constant-On setting. Which is activated via the left button.
This may sound slightly complicated but in reality, within a few minutes of picking up the Tomahawk, it comes very natural. One feature that's rather handy is that while in the Constant-On mode, assuming you're using one of the lower output settings, by pressing the Momentary-On button, you immediately get full output from the light.
The control pad also allows you to lock-out the light completely, but can be "un-locked" with a simple button press and is immediately back in action.
The main drawback of the control pad is that it does draw some current in order to monitor the buttons, however, this current draw is so minute ( only 120 micro-amps) that it is unlikely to drain your batteries unless you have for habit of leaving your light sitting in a drawer or on a shelf for years on end. As the Tomahawk is designed as a duty light for police officers, military personnel and for concerned citizens, this is in my opinion bit of a non-issue.
The Tomahawk has, what is in my opinion, one of the best designed and strongest clips that I've seen in years. It is entirely compatible with MOLLE systems, and can easily clip on to a regular belt or a pants waist. It is rubber-coated for most of it's length and what isn't coated has your typical black-oxide finish. It's frankly a fantastic clip since it lets you easily attach the Tomahawk in such a way that the light will point away from you, facing forward if you will, unlike most regular flashlights, where if you clip them to a pocket or belt, or put them in a holster, the light either goes straight up or straight down.
The Tomahawk comes with two different sizes of the finger rings, both of which are plastic and attach quite securely to the light. They seem to be very strong and I've yet to damage either one of these rings, despite using the Tomahawk quite a bit.
The Tomahawk itself is coated in your typical MIL-SPEC HAIII anodizing in a dark olive color.
The finish is a little on the glossy side, but seems well-done, although there are some color differences between the various parts. This is relatively normal however and does not impact the functionality of the coating. My unit arrived with the coating free of any nicks or scratches.
On the inside, First-Light coats the battery-tube with another MIL-SPEC coating, in this case an anti-corrosive chromate conversion coating similar to CHEMKOTE, but without the signature golden color of CHEMKOTE.
The lens is glass, anti-reflective coated and seems quite durable.
All threads were smooth and arrived well-lubed.
The battery-tube itself has a tough rubber cover. The cover is removable and could conceivably be replaced if need be, however I have not as of yet been able to even remotely damage this cover, nor does it show any appearance of wear after a few months of daily carry.
Machining is generally of quite high quality and appears to be fully comparable to companies like Surefire. I'm rather impressed by First-Light's build-quality and their obvious attention to important details.
Accessories
The Tomahawk doesn't come with much in the way of accessories. Two different sizes of the finger ring, a product manual and a First-Light USA catalogue.
And of course, a set of Duracell CR123 batteries.
First-Light, however, have available on their website and presumably through their dealers a few rather nice accessories available.
Conclusion
The Tomahawk has quickly become one of my favorite lights and is generally the light that I carry on my belt on a daily basis. It's compact, provides plenty of output for the vast majority of tasks, has excellent battery life and is plenty tough to withstand the rigors that I put my Every Day Carry gear through. I've used it in the mines, hiking, daily use around town, on my bike and never has it gotten in the way nor failed to come on and provide bright, white light whenever I needed it.
The form-factor is incredibly ergonomic and it's size and weight means that I can go an entire day with the Tomahawk on my belt without ever thinking about it being there.
That is not to say that everything is perfect. The Tomahawk is a great light but there are a few things I would like to see done to improve it.
Most notably, the clip. Yes, yes, I've said the clip is fantastic and I stand by that. However, the finishing on the clip could be a little better. The clip on my unit had some rather rough edges. They weren't outright sharp, but they could have done with a pass or two on a buffing wheel to knock off the burr left over from the stamping operation. This is a relatively minor nit-pick however, and doesn't detract from the over-all functionality of the Tomahawk which is still excellent! As a further nitpick, the Tomahawk did arrive with some dust trapped behind the lens. This is something that is relatively easy to avoid, but while annoying to the purists like myself, it poses no detriment to function.
The other thing is more of a feature request. I would very much like to see a new version of the Tomahawk that could handle rechargeable batteries better. Now, while a 17670 battery will fit and the Tomahawk will come on, it doesn't much like it and it continues to complain about low battery. A circuit that could handle the lower input voltage and work with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery like the 17670-type could greatly improve the attractiveness of the Tomahawk for, especially, cops and SAR personnel. It is somewhat less important from a military standpoint as military personnel are more commonly issued batteries for their equipment.
That being said however, I can't recommend the Tomahawk enough. It's a great little light at a competitive price point, it's made in the US, by an American company, so it's Berry-compliant.
And it offers a feature set that is almost unrivalled by other American manufacturers, especially at the listed price.
Highly recommended!
The Tomahawk comes in several different versions at varying price-points. They can all be viewed here: First-Light USA
Thank you to Leslie Kirby and the team at First-Light USA for helping me with all the questions I had and for providing me with the review sample. They were a real pleasure to deal with and they show a great deal of dedication to their customers. Something that is all too rare these days.
Pictures to follow.
The control pad. Pressing the two square buttons locks and unlocks the Tomahawks. It glows red to indicate lock-out and green to indicate when it's un-locked.
The Seoul LED. From the looks of it, this would be relatively simple to upgrade if one desired to.
The main components from the bezel. Lens, O-rings, IMS reflector, bezel and lens retaining ring.
Notice the excellent machining quality. The knurling on the tailcap is very well-done.
A look in through the lens at the reflector. The LED is very well-focused and the IMS reflector does an excellent job as always.
http://specialcircumstancesinc.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-light-usa-tomahawk-st-review.html
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