Search and Rescue (looking for input)

[PhilV]

I'm a LEO. My dept gets on average 2 incidents a year that requires some sort of hunting/searching at night. I need a light to fill in the gap between my nifty tactical M20 and the Sun.

I've seen a Polarion P2 for $800, and I'm seeing the great price on the TI N30 at $199. The Olight SR90 has a solid grip on my attention, but I'm afraid it might be small for my app (or is it?) I'd prefer to pay the N30 price, But I want maximum daylight with moderate throw in a highly portable package.

As an example, after a Tornado a year ago or so.. a large number of people were scouting debris scattered across a large field. 2 ppl found dead nearby. Quite dark minus flashlights and emergency vehicles a good ways off parked on the road. Another Tornado was on its way.. order was given to pull all units out of the area till it passed. 40 of about 45 units had left, and a 2 man group nearly stepped on a child laying face down in that field. They had to get that close to see him. The flashlight shown across the kid, the rescuer stepped over what he initially thought was a doll. The kid was fine, just in shock. He had probably cried his voice out in the 2 hours prior to us getting that far. I hate to think what would've become of him had we not found him at the last moment. I honestly feel that if we'd had a better searchlight in hand, he may have been found sooner.

I don't mind tinkering, but I don't have a lot of free time. I can handle a simple component build. I don't care to take on anything with huge modification needs or hours of soldering. Buying something ready to go is fine by me as well.

Any thoughts on the best searchlight for my needs?

 

[CajunJosh]

You aren't going to be able to beat the Polarion products in durability and performance. I've dropped my PH50 several times on patrol including one drop from about 3 feet onto concrete and it survived.

I know how important having a topped off battery can be in the field right before that next critical incident. I would suggest you look into the Titanium Innovations L50 light. Over 5000 lumens of output for over an hour and it has a built in charger, just buy the optional DC cable and plug it into the car.

The light also has a nice LED "fuel gauge" to instantly check the charge level. That light is currently being sold at www.batteryjunction.com for under $1000. Having used both the Polarion the L50 on duty I would say go with Polarion if you can afford it. If cost is an issue you still can't go wrong with the L50 as it's output is close to that of the Polarion.

 

[Patriot]

Seems the Polarion would pay for itself if even one life is saved imo. For that application the 4200K HID would seem perfect. Also, a diffuser would be a good idea for searching a debris field up close, then twist it off for longer range.

 

[PhilV]

Seems the Polarion would pay for itself if even one life is saved imo. For that application the 4200K HID would seem perfect. Also, a diffuser would be a good idea for searching a debris field up close, then twist it off for longer range.

I honestly think this way too. however 2 grand on my personal budget is steep. I was hoping to see some miracle combo for $300 like a cyclops mod that would put out comparable light to the big boys.


Is the P2 enough power? I'm looking specifically at it as there's some available under $1000

I *think* the L50 has a few more lumens, but I don't know how it fares vs the P2.

 

[MattK]

I would make the point that if you can equip more people with lights of a similar performance you increase your odds of saving a life.

Basically, if you can have 2, or 10 lights of equivalent performance for the same amount of money you increase your odds of saving lives two to tenfold.

My recommendation based upon your post Phil is an L35, a diffuser kit and a spare battery. It was designed expressly for this type of usage.