As this is my first posted review of a flashight, please go easy on me. I'm currently deployed to Iraq, so I don't have light meters, spectrum analyzers, etc. on hand to do a technical review. I will answer any posted questions to the best of my ability though. With that being said, here goes my review of the Phantom Products Inc. Phantom Hawk Flashlight.
I received this light in the mail about a week ago and have put it to immediate use. The model I received is the Phantom Hawk, model PH2. It has a single white and a single IR LED mounted in a recessed housing. The light runs off of two AAA cell batteries, and is rated between 250 hours(low intensity) to 12 hours(high intensity).
The Hawk comes complete with a nylon neck lanyard(not shown) and a belt/helmet clip. The belt slot is 1 1/8 inch wide and the helmet slot is exactly wide enough for the military Kevlar helmet band.
On the back end of the Hawk, there is a metal clip you could use to clip the Hawk to your backpack, lanyard, etc.
The overall length and weight is more than the standard squeeze lights, i.e. Inova, which I feel is the targeted market the company is looking to work into. I feel this is offset by the use of AAA batteries which are easily purchased and replaced. With many of the squeeze lights, Soldiers will abandon them when the batteries run out. The PX/BX/MCX rarely has the exact size coin cell betteries you need.
I have my Phantom Hawk mounted on my Kevlar helmet using the supplied universal swivel mount. It stays securely in place and is easily adjusted to focus the light where needed. On a recent nighttime helicopter flight, the Hawk was perfect for lighting up the passenger manifest and immediate area until the helicopters arrived.
With the swivel mount, you can adjust the light as close in front of you or as far away as you need. Since both LEDs are recessed about a 1/4 inch, there is no sidespill to worry about.
I've taken some "beam shots" on the three intensity levels, and with the IR LED on. This is low intensity white:
Medium intensity white:
High intensity white:
And with the IR LED on: Note, the LED is barely visible to the naked eye. I think this is the 840nm IR, but may be wrong. Corrections are welcome.
Both bulbs are rated to 50,000 hours and the entire unit is waterproof to 50 feet. I didn't want to wait around for 50k hours to see if the bulbs would fail, nor did I want to take a dive in the Tigris River to verify the watertight integrity. I will be more than happy to drop it in a bottle of water, or wear it to the showers, if requested.
A neat feature of the Phantom Hawk is it will automatically switch to a lower intensity setting when the batteries start to run down. The LED will briefly flicker, then drop to the next lower intensity level. When you notice your light start to flicker and dim, it is time to dig around in your rucksack for the spare batteries you brought.
There are several different models of the Phantom Hawk planned, to include a white/IR, white/blue, white/green, white/red, white/amber and a doubleintensity white versions. A wider belt clip is also in the works to accomodate the rigger's belts and an adapter to clip the Hawk securely to the improved body armor webbing.
For you in the military, the Hawk is already in the supply system under the NSN 6230-01-533-2898. Everyone else can order theirs at the website, www.phantomlights.com. The price is $28, which I consider quite reasonable.
The Hawk doesn't have the same features as the new Surefire helmet light, but if you don't need a blinky IR strobe, you can save yourself about a hundred bucks and go with the Phantom Hawk. I don't have a set of night vision goggles issued to me, so I kind of dig wearing the universal clip and Hawk on my helmet.
I hope you find this review helpful. If the pictures are too small(I didn't want to overload any dial-up guys, or SpecOps on a Inmarsat), let me know and I can post larger ones. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and please post comments, criticisms, or accolades.
I received this light in the mail about a week ago and have put it to immediate use. The model I received is the Phantom Hawk, model PH2. It has a single white and a single IR LED mounted in a recessed housing. The light runs off of two AAA cell batteries, and is rated between 250 hours(low intensity) to 12 hours(high intensity).
The Hawk comes complete with a nylon neck lanyard(not shown) and a belt/helmet clip. The belt slot is 1 1/8 inch wide and the helmet slot is exactly wide enough for the military Kevlar helmet band.
On the back end of the Hawk, there is a metal clip you could use to clip the Hawk to your backpack, lanyard, etc.
The overall length and weight is more than the standard squeeze lights, i.e. Inova, which I feel is the targeted market the company is looking to work into. I feel this is offset by the use of AAA batteries which are easily purchased and replaced. With many of the squeeze lights, Soldiers will abandon them when the batteries run out. The PX/BX/MCX rarely has the exact size coin cell betteries you need.
I have my Phantom Hawk mounted on my Kevlar helmet using the supplied universal swivel mount. It stays securely in place and is easily adjusted to focus the light where needed. On a recent nighttime helicopter flight, the Hawk was perfect for lighting up the passenger manifest and immediate area until the helicopters arrived.
With the swivel mount, you can adjust the light as close in front of you or as far away as you need. Since both LEDs are recessed about a 1/4 inch, there is no sidespill to worry about.
I've taken some "beam shots" on the three intensity levels, and with the IR LED on. This is low intensity white:
Medium intensity white:
High intensity white:
And with the IR LED on: Note, the LED is barely visible to the naked eye. I think this is the 840nm IR, but may be wrong. Corrections are welcome.
Both bulbs are rated to 50,000 hours and the entire unit is waterproof to 50 feet. I didn't want to wait around for 50k hours to see if the bulbs would fail, nor did I want to take a dive in the Tigris River to verify the watertight integrity. I will be more than happy to drop it in a bottle of water, or wear it to the showers, if requested.
A neat feature of the Phantom Hawk is it will automatically switch to a lower intensity setting when the batteries start to run down. The LED will briefly flicker, then drop to the next lower intensity level. When you notice your light start to flicker and dim, it is time to dig around in your rucksack for the spare batteries you brought.
There are several different models of the Phantom Hawk planned, to include a white/IR, white/blue, white/green, white/red, white/amber and a doubleintensity white versions. A wider belt clip is also in the works to accomodate the rigger's belts and an adapter to clip the Hawk securely to the improved body armor webbing.
For you in the military, the Hawk is already in the supply system under the NSN 6230-01-533-2898. Everyone else can order theirs at the website, www.phantomlights.com. The price is $28, which I consider quite reasonable.
The Hawk doesn't have the same features as the new Surefire helmet light, but if you don't need a blinky IR strobe, you can save yourself about a hundred bucks and go with the Phantom Hawk. I don't have a set of night vision goggles issued to me, so I kind of dig wearing the universal clip and Hawk on my helmet.
I hope you find this review helpful. If the pictures are too small(I didn't want to overload any dial-up guys, or SpecOps on a Inmarsat), let me know and I can post larger ones. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and please post comments, criticisms, or accolades.
Last edited:
