Big Ed vs Survivor

How's everyone. Planning on buying a flashlight, debating between the Big Ed by Pelican and the Survivor by Streamlight. Any suggestions, recommendations? Any first hand experiences? Thank You

Welcome FF1!

Don't have these. But I read a little about the Big Ed and it seems to be "fixed" focus beam. They have two (2) models I believe. A rechargeable and a an alkyline version, and I don't think that they are interchangeable. Marketed towards firefighers if I remember correctly. Seems to be brighter than the others in its class. Besides Pelican has a reputation for building quailty products.

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy!

No experience with the Pelican but as a NYC FF I can tell you the Survivor is used by the entire dept & is tough as nails,bright too

hey FF1, through some personal experiences of my own I went with the survivor because of its new smoke cutting optics. some of the guys at the dept carry the responder 4c and i got a big ed from the local public saftey store along with the survivor. i took all three into our smoke house and tested them. the survivor came out the best as far as i was concerned. the only thing i wish it had was the pelican warranty. but i have never had a problem with streamlight charging outrageousley for fixing any light i have had. hope this helps. also price is a big thing to consider when looking at the 2 lights.

Hello FNG120!

Just wondering about the Pelican Big Ed that you compared to the Streamlight Survivor. Was it the 4C cell or Rechargeable one? Or is there not much difference between the two Big Eds? I've read about the Streamlight Survivor's optics being the best from others. . .

I'm learning here. . .

it was the rechargeable one and i dont know much about lumens and all theat but if you look at a survivor it has the front part of the bulb frosted to make a tighter beam ie better smoke cutting ability

Thanks for the lead FNG120! Thank You!

CHC said:

Thanks for the lead FNG120! Thank You!

Click to expand...

anytime

So what do you reccommend, is the lifetime warranty warrented for the price of a pelican over the smoke cutting capabilities of the survivor. Seems like its leaning towards a survivor, rechargable. What should I get overall?

Won't frosting just cut out artifacts? The Ed has an 8 watt bulb and survivor a 5 watt.

Did you look at the Bright Star Lighthawk, it's in your price range and you can't beat a large reflector for a real pencil point beam. i.e. "smoke cutting".

i would go with the survivor because of its proven reliability. sure you can go with the lighthawk, which by the way i am getting, but i didnt think that was the point of this thread. if you want a light with great reliability and optics along with right angle for hands free operation then you want the survivor. also i would look at the local public safety store where you get your turn out gear and get a sew on holder with velcro straps on it. its made for right angle lights and keeps them from moving around too much like if you just clipped it on your air pack.