Best 2 AA to edc for wildland firefighting?

I just ordered a ropoffs CO-7 ( http://www.ripoffs.com/datasheets/co7/co7.html ) and was looking for a 2AA light to go in it. I work for the forest service on a fire engine. I usually user a light to help with looking into dark crannies during my morning engine checks and for distance spotting on night shift. Reading address and signs from the cab of the engine and whatnot at night (plus seeing wildlife). A low mode for reading and the like would be nice too. I'm thinking maybe a fenix L2D RB100. How does that sound? Any better (or cheaper) suggestions?

Firefighting? How hot does the flashlight need to be able to survive?

Also how far away are the things you need to light up? Will you use regular alkalines or nimh, or is li-ion OK as well? And on the battery theme, does battery run time matter?

A little education, as a rule of thumb the bigger the head of the flashlight, the bigger the reflector, the farther it can throw a beam with the same brightness light coming out of it. So 2AA lights tend not to be the best for seeing far away.

I have the L2D with Rebel 100 and it is a great light. The quality is good, and the brightness on turbo is great. This light will blow away the maglight with incandescent bulb. You will be amazed I am sure.The L2D 100 will throw a decent beam 100 feet, which sounds like what you need. The low mode is still fairly bright. In fact it is a little too bright to use for reading in the dark with dark adjusted eyes. When I need to read with it I put my hand over the head to block part of the light. Another option is to get the diffuser for $5 and use that behind you when reading. But of course this might bother others in the area.

Battery life with the L2D is great. Fenix has one of the most efficient drivers out there. I use LSD nimh batteries in mine. Turbo mode blasts out there. The diffuser is nice and well worth the five bucks, IMHO. So, will the not so low mode be OK for you? And will the throw of say 100 feet be OK. (100 feet is very subjective. Different people would give different ratings with the same light. My rating was based on urban (not so dark) dark adjusted eyes.)

PocketBeam said:

Firefighting? How hot does the flashlight need to be able to survive?

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Well, it won't be used for interior structural firefighting (my seoul-modded Streamlight Survivor LED is what I use for that), so it shouldn't be exposed to extreme heat. Hopefully it will survive a good drop

Also how far away are the things you need to light up? Will you use regular alkalines or nimh, or is li-ion OK as well? And on the battery theme, does battery run time matter?

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It depends on how far away what I need to see is. My modded SL propoly 4AA Lux does pretty well, but is a bit big for edc, although I do keep ity around the engine (except I seem to have misplaced it). As for batteries, AA alkaline I can get free for work use and I always have a box of them. Plus I may be away form home for over two weeks. I might use nimh and switch to alkalines after I run them down on an assignment.

A little education, as a rule of thumb the bigger the head of the flashlight, the bigger the reflector, the farther it can throw a beam with the same brightness light coming out of it. So 2AA lights tend not to be the best for seeing far away.

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Someday I'm going to get an HID spotlight, but those are a bit big for edc carry. This is something I can always have with me for little tasks, but some throw would be nice.

I have the L2D with Rebel 100 and it is a great light. The quality is good, and the brightness on turbo is great. This light will blow away the maglight with incandescent bulb. You will be amazed I am sure.The L2D 100 will throw a decent beam 100 feet, which sounds like what you need. The low mode is still fairly bright. In fact it is a little too bright to use for reading in the dark with dark adjusted eyes. When I need to read with it I put my hand over the head to block part of the light. Another option is to get the diffuser for $5 and use that behind you when reading. But of course this might bother others in the area.

Battery life with the L2D is great. Fenix has one of the most efficient drivers out there. I use LSD nimh batteries in mine. Turbo mode blasts out there. The diffuser is nice and well worth the five bucks, IMHO. So, will the not so low mode be OK for you? And will the throw of say 100 feet be OK. (100 feet is very subjective. Different people would give different ratings with the same light. My rating was based on urban (not so dark) dark adjusted eyes.)

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I'm almost never in urban conditions, but that sounds like decent throw, although it may not match my modded survivor. The not so low low is non-ideal, but not a deal breaker. THe black color makes it harder to find if I drop it in the dark, though.

For what you've described, I think the L2DR100 would be great.

Firefighting is one of the few times when I would recommend something other than LED. The L2D has a large, bright spill-beam which would tend to pick up the smoke a lot and wash things out, whereas an incandescent or HID would cut through it better.

For lighting up an engine or a house number or street sign, you will be just fine with the L2D.

:thumbsup:

I try to stay out of the smoke as much of possible. With things as dry as they are, downwind of a fire is not the place to be. For wildland, I think the battery life advantages of LED outway the downsides (especially with the warmer tints).

Is there any chance of getting one in natural?

Gnufsh said:

Someday I'm going to get an HID spotlight, but those are a bit big for edc carry. This is something I can always have with me for little tasks, but some throw would be nice.

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This isn't today's question but the HID Wolf-Eyes Boxer 10W/123 is really short for HID. http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=1-17-74-6231&tb=2

This uses ordinary CR123 not AA and I'm not sure it's rugged enough for your scenario.

When I'm, on a fire assignment, I won't have ready enough access to CR123As. If it has a rechargeable battery and a car charger I could charge it in the engine. Otherwise, it has to use AAs. It doesn't have to be super small and compact necessarily. Price is a factor as well, this job doesn't pay all that well. I was thinking of the amondotech illuminator, but the 2-mode WE one looks interesting (if a little pricy).

Well, the holster is one of the open bottom types, so iit needs a light with a big head like a minimag to fit. I have an ultrafire 601A (2AA) http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.889 that fits without it's lanyard. I was thoinking of swapping it with a Q5 Cree XR-E star I have laying around, but I don't know how well the reflector will focus it.