woodrow
Flashlight Enthusiast
(Moderators, please consider this for the reviews section)
Mike at Brightguy told me that these are finally in stock, so I thought I would give one a try, as I really liked the SurvivorLED when it came out a few years ago, but I always felt it needed more punch. This new light with the new K2 led is putting out around 150 lumens or so and it makes up for the SurvivorLED's lower #'s. So here is a review of the FireVulcan LED lantern.
After reviewing Streamlight's HID monster, I expected this light to be bigger, but it is very compact, measuring only 7&1/2"L x 5"W at the head...3&1/4 at the body x 6&1/2" at the handle. The other lights in the picture are a D-mini with PEU's 18650 tube and a SurvivorLED in the background. The lantern is very light at 1.85lbs. It comes with a FireVulcan charger base, AC charger and seatbelt style release carrying strap (for when it gets too heavy
)
The light uses built in rechargable lithium cells (I have not unscrewed the plate to gain access, so I do not now how big the cells are. I would imagine not that big since from high to 10%, is only 3 hours. Possibly 2x18650's could be put in to mod the light, but I really never need that much burn time. Plus the light will do 6 hours on medium(low) or 20+hours with just the tail lighs if you are in a jam. I guess Streamlight just wanted as light of weight as possible for the lantern.
The appears to be very rugged with an "unbreakable" plastic lens, (scratch resistant coated) 2x thick O rings behind the lens and where the bezel screws into the light. The light is rated to be water resistant to 3' for 30 minutes. The lantern has a smooth reflector that it 3&1/2" across..... which gives it its TRUELY LASER LIKE spot and wide spill.
I have the SurvivorLED reflector next to the Vulcan's to show the difference in size. Keep in mind, that the SuvivorLED has a Big reflector for a regular led light. The light turns on with a toggle switch under the handle.
The light's UI is kind of cool, once it is set up. To turn the light on, press the switch to the left or the right. If you push the switch to the left, the light turns on high, and the tailights come on constant.
Push the switch to the left or the right and the light shuts off. From off, push the switch to the right, and the led comes on high, with the tail lights blinking. If you want the light to switch to low, or the taillights to shut off.... or only the tail lights to be on, hold the switch for 12-13 sec, and it will cycle through those modes. (with solid tailights at the left, or blinking tailights at the right) When you turn the light off and back on, the light resets to high and solid or blinking. If you want to have another mode as startup, (for example, I have the light come on high with no tailights at startup) hold the switch to the right or the left for about 30 seconds when you reach your desired mode... and when you turn the light off and on again, it will start out in the mode you chose.
This sounds more complicated than it is, but basically, you can have 2 different modes the light will come on to with a simple right or left press on the switch.
The light is a serious light made for Firefighters and Rescue Personnel. It has a Laser Thin spot beam that is smaller in diameter than any other throw light I have ever owned. (D-mini, SurvivorLED, Tiablo A8Q5) It also has a very wide spill beam, that is not nearly as bright as the Tiablo for example, but I guess in smoke, that's a good thing. The light sells for $136 at Brightguy, and I think it is worth that. I am not a firefighter, but the light has the only beam that appears to get narrower as it shoots out from the light. I like to pretend it is a mini-MaxaBeam. It is a cool choice for me, because I liked my Tiablo, but it felt (to me) like it would be destroyed (or at least the lens would) by one sharp drop to the pavement. This light feels like you could take it anywhere.
I will post indoor and outdoor beamshots in a few minutes. Thanks for reading!
Mike at Brightguy told me that these are finally in stock, so I thought I would give one a try, as I really liked the SurvivorLED when it came out a few years ago, but I always felt it needed more punch. This new light with the new K2 led is putting out around 150 lumens or so and it makes up for the SurvivorLED's lower #'s. So here is a review of the FireVulcan LED lantern.
After reviewing Streamlight's HID monster, I expected this light to be bigger, but it is very compact, measuring only 7&1/2"L x 5"W at the head...3&1/4 at the body x 6&1/2" at the handle. The other lights in the picture are a D-mini with PEU's 18650 tube and a SurvivorLED in the background. The lantern is very light at 1.85lbs. It comes with a FireVulcan charger base, AC charger and seatbelt style release carrying strap (for when it gets too heavy
)The light uses built in rechargable lithium cells (I have not unscrewed the plate to gain access, so I do not now how big the cells are. I would imagine not that big since from high to 10%, is only 3 hours. Possibly 2x18650's could be put in to mod the light, but I really never need that much burn time. Plus the light will do 6 hours on medium(low) or 20+hours with just the tail lighs if you are in a jam. I guess Streamlight just wanted as light of weight as possible for the lantern.
The appears to be very rugged with an "unbreakable" plastic lens, (scratch resistant coated) 2x thick O rings behind the lens and where the bezel screws into the light. The light is rated to be water resistant to 3' for 30 minutes. The lantern has a smooth reflector that it 3&1/2" across..... which gives it its TRUELY LASER LIKE spot and wide spill.
I have the SurvivorLED reflector next to the Vulcan's to show the difference in size. Keep in mind, that the SuvivorLED has a Big reflector for a regular led light. The light turns on with a toggle switch under the handle.
The light's UI is kind of cool, once it is set up. To turn the light on, press the switch to the left or the right. If you push the switch to the left, the light turns on high, and the tailights come on constant.
Push the switch to the left or the right and the light shuts off. From off, push the switch to the right, and the led comes on high, with the tail lights blinking. If you want the light to switch to low, or the taillights to shut off.... or only the tail lights to be on, hold the switch for 12-13 sec, and it will cycle through those modes. (with solid tailights at the left, or blinking tailights at the right) When you turn the light off and back on, the light resets to high and solid or blinking. If you want to have another mode as startup, (for example, I have the light come on high with no tailights at startup) hold the switch to the right or the left for about 30 seconds when you reach your desired mode... and when you turn the light off and on again, it will start out in the mode you chose.
This sounds more complicated than it is, but basically, you can have 2 different modes the light will come on to with a simple right or left press on the switch.
The light is a serious light made for Firefighters and Rescue Personnel. It has a Laser Thin spot beam that is smaller in diameter than any other throw light I have ever owned. (D-mini, SurvivorLED, Tiablo A8Q5) It also has a very wide spill beam, that is not nearly as bright as the Tiablo for example, but I guess in smoke, that's a good thing. The light sells for $136 at Brightguy, and I think it is worth that. I am not a firefighter, but the light has the only beam that appears to get narrower as it shoots out from the light. I like to pretend it is a mini-MaxaBeam. It is a cool choice for me, because I liked my Tiablo, but it felt (to me) like it would be destroyed (or at least the lens would) by one sharp drop to the pavement. This light feels like you could take it anywhere.
I will post indoor and outdoor beamshots in a few minutes. Thanks for reading!
