Inova T2 - same size more light, spot, similar battery life?

I'm a security guard and use my inova t2. awesome light. I want something that is about as durable but I want more light.

I love the 3-4 hour battery life from 2 123a batteries.

spots work best since I need some longer distance use out of it.

anything much larger will be a hinderance to me.

Money is not a big issue, but water proof and durability and battery life are very important.

I would recommend an Aleph or PR-T try an U bin, both custom lights.

HTH
AlexGT

custom light? I don't think I trust myself and I would wonder if everything was done correctly. I'm would like retail solutions first, then go to custom if none worked for me.

try an inova t3, or the rechargeable t4, or the surefire L4, all are slightly larger but much brighter and still very compact

The L4 is all flood, and only ~1 hr of runtime, so it probably wouldn't be a good choice, I'm not too familiar with the T3's and T4's but I think the Surefire E2L would be a decent choice for you, tough as nails, great throw and long runtime. A Streamlight Propoly Luxeon 4AA would be great if you don't mind the extra bulk, it has a very tight spot, with a very nice spill beam, best of all it'll run on AA Alkalines/NiMH/Lithiums.

-Josh

I'll second the Surefire E2L suggestion.

Don't worry about the quality of McGizmo's Aleph series; McGizmo is known to do top-notch work here, on par with Surefire and Inova, if not better.

HDS if you want to use a clicking interface.

I was thinking of a t3 as a possibly, but was not sure I wanted to stay in my inova groove. I love them but would like to know if there are better options out there. inova has NEVER let me down when I need them.

what is the size and brightness difference from the t3 and surefire L4?

I domt like rechargeables because I need it ready right away so no time for charging

any other options? white light is a plus as well. do I still need to worry about green timted Luxans? I had to exchange my T1 once becsuse it was very green.

I'm with Carrot. The SF E2L is a nice light with excellent throw. It is built "solidly" and can take E series heads for future versatility. The T3 is also a great light. I have 3 of them and carry them often for medium distance throw. Good luck with your choice.

what is an e series head give me?

at flashlightreviews.com I can only see the new reviews. Where is the link to all the past and current reviews? is it still there?

The E2L is an E2e with a KL1 head. Likewise, the L4 is an E2e with a KL4 head. Most people just recommend buying a whole new light, because you don't save that much in just buying the head.

Reviews: http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_by_mfgrs.htm

I have the Inova X03, the twistie version, and it is a favorite light. All of the Inovas are favorites, I love their build quality, light, and battery life combination very much. Nothing against Surefires at all they are great lights, I just find the Inovas work just as well for my purposes, and are more reasonable pricewise. I wont spend $100 on a flashlight personally, I just cannot justify that when there are others that work as well for my purposes.

In fact, I don't think there is one light could meet your requirement, same size, brighter and similar battery life as T2. I think Inova T3 is a good choice and it could run for 2 hours roughly. Maybe you could try to consider this combination, recharge battery and Inova T3. Other than that, I think Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA Luxeon is a good choice if you don't mind the size. I am using Streamlight 4AA and Gladius for my work now.

kl1 looks good for 59 dollars since I have an e2e. are there good holsters for an e2e with a kl1 head?

Just out of chance, I found that the Maxpedition 4" holster (I use it for my Inova x5) works very well (nice fit) with the E2L (and other E2 series lights). I'm sure there are others (some better), but for 10.79 its not bad.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/ma4tushforin.html

The E2L is what immediately came to my mind. Good buy since you've already got the E2E host. Runtime isn't as long, but it'll poke holes in the beam of your T2. Plus, you have the option of 3.7V lithium ion rechargables (Pila 168S or 17650s).

can you run 3.7 lithium rechargeables?

The KL1 head can actually handle up to 9 volts, which means you can use 2xR123As in it, since even hot off the charger, they'll peak at 8.4V (4.2V x 2). It also runs well (fully regulated) off of 3.7V batteries like the Pila 168S/600S (same battery, newer name), or 17650/17670 cells.

I don't know anything about runtimes with these battery configurations. In fact, I'm rather curious myself.

where can I purchase these batteries economically and which ones are better and why?

You can get the batteries/charger from AW (check the Dealer's section) or from lighthound.com (they look like those are AW's there too). Performance, I can't say.

I think I'll start a new thread asking just that. Searching only turned up compatabilities, but couldn't find anything about actual brightness/runtimes.