Rediscovering Incandescent Lights

I am a huge fan of LED lights and most of my current collection reflects this preference. I love the toughness of the bulb, their longevity, the long runtimes on small batteries. I am intrigued by the new technologies with variable output and great regulation. I love the small form factor of the fenix lights and the disproportionately large output.

My favorite lights are my McLux III and my Surefire U2 with the Kroma being up on my list right now (I just haven't had it long enough to really determine if I like it as much as the others).

Up until I purchased the Surefire A2, I had all but written off incandescent lights but this light started to work it's magic on my and it soon worked it's way up to the top of my list.

My other incandescent lights fell out of favor with me because of the rate that they ate batteries and the gradual dimming over time... until I found out that they could run off of rechargeable batteries. I now find myself grabbing the M3 and the C3 without remorse and I am finding that the color recognition from the incandescents really torches the LED lights that I have. I don't think that I will be bringing incandescents backpacking with me but I am finding many more opportunities to use them around the house.

Was I the only one who did not know that they could run well on rechargeables?

-Goatee

I prefer incandescents as well, with the A2 being tops just because of the regulation.

I'm also a big fan of the Mag hotwires, especially with the Lithium-ion batteries.....these have a very straight discharge anyway, so it is almost like being regulated.

LEDs have their place, but for long throw/high output applications, I think we will have inacandescents for a long time yet....

dragoman

Possibly. And maybe anyone else that read the warranty information on a Mag bulb package.

I suppose a lot of it depends upon your usage. If it's only for play/hobby, I can see where battery consumption can be a problem and the LEDs would seem like a salvation.

On the other hand, there are those who use lights with specific purposes in mind, and in those cases, LEDs cannot always be used in lieu of an incandescent, and of course there is no substitute for an incandescent when you really need a light that can throw.

I don't know about others, but I've been using incandescents with a rechargeable battery for over a quarter century (Streamlight SL20 series), and there has never been a doubt to it's usefulness.

:)> said:

Was I the only one who did not know that they could run well on rechargeables?

-Goatee

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Mag hotwires are gonna have to happen soon:naughty: I have been thinking about them but I have never pulled the trigger

-Goatee

You need both in my opinion.
Incandescent provide a LOT of firepower ( Lumens) when required.
LED's provide a long run time.
Both should be in your bag of tricks.
My weapon light will be Surefire with a lot of power to so the job. (On M4gery and others)
Led's for normal nighttime or low light operating.
Since I am in the South "hurricane area", both can be complimentary when needed.
I still love my Magcharger because when I up-graded from a regular 3D Mag,
I saw the light. This was "old days" when I worked Warrants and went out at night to arrest people.Got 2 now. Upgraded my old 3d Maglites to LED with diamond 3W . These were the first lights that you could bet your life on. Just keep spares handly, bulbs, etc. This site has cause me to buy a lot of lights lately.
Just trying to get into the modern era.
Walking lights today ar Nuwai 032, Fenix LOP, and a P1 on way.

I just finished putting my ROP together.

Now I wanna make a Mag85.

At first I was more a fan of LED than Incan but after getting my M3T im having second thought.

Mad1,

I think it may have been your thread that helped me see the "light". Thank you and congratulations on your M3T. The M3 was one of the lights that I desired most up until last December.

-Goatee

When they begin making LED's that put out the full spectrum similiar to incans then I will invest in them, but currently with this drawback, I use them for non-critical things since I can't see as well with a so called "white" LED as I can with a normal incan.

I mainly have LED lights and I generally prefer multilevel and regulation. In general, one doesn't find incandescents with these features together, so I would dismiss buying incandescents.

I bought a chinese police incandescent light a few months ago with the 8V bulb and a couple rechargeable batteries. I thought it's pretty cheap just to try it out. It doesn't have the best beam, but I started to appreciate the color of Xenon bulbs.

I bought the A2 a few weeks ago and I absolutely love this light. It is one of my favourites and I too am rediscovering incandescent lights.

Where I walk my dogs there is a section of road with no sidewalks. I walk this section facing traffic (not much at the time of night I go out). I use my Mag85 when a car come into view. I shine it off to the side of the road and as the car gets closer I spotlight the dogs.

Occasionally some idiot fails to take heed and comes barreling right at me without even slowing down. That's when you need a big gun. Nothing like a Mag85 aimed straight at the driver to make them hit the brakes. How far would you keep driving if you couldn't even see as far as your nose? Of course, I always have a Plan B escape route as a last resort.

Yup...before i joined CPF i only had LED lights and were blown away by them...after joining CPF and tasting a 2D ROP, i jumped into the hotwire bandwagon both feet in. Now it seems i just don't use my LED lights anymore, except for play. EDC is a SF A2, just perfect.

Nothing quite like several thousand lumens being pumped out of a 3 1/2 D mag. And if i need an incan with runtime, i've got a 3D mag with 1 hour runtime or 2 1/2 hours with the low bulb which is still big lumens.

JimH said:

Where I walk my dogs there is a section of road with no sidewalks. I walk this section facing traffic (not much at the time of night I go out). I use my Mag85 when a car come into view. I shine it off to the side of the road and as the car gets closer I spotlight the dogs.

Occasionally some idiot fails to take heed and comes barreling right at me without even slowing down. That's when you need a big gun. Nothing like a Mag85 aimed straight at the driver to make them hit the brakes. How far would you keep driving if you couldn't even see as far as your nose? Of course, I always have a Plan B escape route as a last resort.

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I walk my dog every night, and none of the streets in my neighborhood have sidewalks.

I'll typically have an LED turned on and pointed at the ground (usually the same hand I'm holding the leash in. This accomplishes 3 things: 1) I can see where I'm walking 2) the dog can see 3) any cars/vehicles passing can see the light on the side of the road. A good light for this is my Surefire D2 Defender with a BOG 3W drop in.

I also carry my Mag85 or similar light-cannon. If a car is getting too close, etc, a brief touch of the switch is usually enough to cause him to stay away. I haven't yet had to blast someone in the windshield with the Mag85 sustained, which I guess is a good thing....

dragoman