Need Advise - Firefighter Helmet Flashlight

OK gang.....I've found my way here in hopes of getting some expert advise. I'm looking for a high intensity flashlight that I can mount on my firefighting helmet (possibly 2 flashlights). They need to be relatively small (approximately 1" diameter X 5" length). I need an on/off button on the end of the flashlight because of my need to operate with gloves. Also, I prefer 1 mode..."on or off" but willing to have "off...high...low" at the worst. I usually work on the roof on fires and although heat definetly is an issue, I'm not worried about it. I'm willing to put it to the test. Battery life minimum of 2-3 hours. See the photo below (the lower photo) which shows the elastic strap that holds the light/lights, hence the smaller the better.

Thanks in advance for your opinions/advise.

PS I've heard that the Cree XR-E, Seoul P4 and Lumiled Rebel LED are best. True?

It looks like your pictures may have answered your question for you:
http://www.streamlight.com/market/market.aspx?mkid=2

also:

http://www.uwkinetics.com/products/category.php?cat=8

Both of these manufacturers have product lines with firefighters in mind. This is a good place to start looking.

Thanks KeyGrip for your response...

I'm pretty familiar with the typical helmet lights designed with firefighters in mind....seen many on my department. I'm convinced that they are not up to speed on the new high power technology. I was looking for something smaller with high output (75 - 130 lums) Any suggestions?

Fire71: I see. Check out FoxFury: http://www.foxfury.com/

And Barbolight: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=95

Good stuff KeyGrip:



Lumens = 144
Field of Vision = 30°
Distance Vision = 250 - 300 ft (76 - 91 m)
Peripheral Vision = 60 ft (18 m)
Waterproof = Yes (20 ft / 6 m)
500°F (260°C) for 30 minutes
Housing Material = 6061T-6 Aluminum; CNC Machine
Size / Type = 4 C (Batteries Not Included)
Battery Life = 6 to 12 hours (varies by mode)

Thanks again for your thoughts. The Barbolight looks especially interesting. That's more of what I was looking for. Problem is availability and price.

It is also possible to buy the propoly Luxeon in you pictures and then modify it with a Seoul P4 LED for More brightness. The stock light is already pretty good but has about 30-40 lumens. The Seoul P4, Cree XR-E, and Rebel 80-100 have twice the efficiency compared to the older Luxeon I, III, V, and K2 LEDs, so for the same power, you would get twice the amount of light with the newer LEDs.

In smoke or fog, warmer/yellower lights have more penetrating power so a cooler tinted LED will scatter more and be less useful then a much warmer incandescent. But the LED should run for longer then the incandescent.

Welcome to CPF!

Great idea. I didn't realize that was an option. I'll research that a bit more. Thanks!

If you were referring to the Propoly mod, then this thread should help. The mod seems to be a bit hard.

Most people at my station use pelicans, but I don't now if your station has any SOPs regarding if the light has to meet any division requirements.

you may need to comply with MSHA, OSHA/ANSI/ or other regulatory agency guidelines when choosing equipment. When i was on a confined space entry team, we could ONLY use OSHA rated intrinsically safe lights, namely Pelican and Streamlight.

What is a confined space entry team? We had some new directives and training about "confined space" and stuff I'd never heard of before. Is this a fire dept. thing, law enforcement, disaster unit, or some company? What types of flashlights are used and what are some of the hazards and considerations?

Hope I'm not taking this off topic, but we deal with confined spaces in our area of operations, with most of our training is "Stay out."

There are no requirements by policy nor any regulatory agency that I'm aware of. Pelicans are popular but I'm convinced that there is something better in terms of high power technology. I'm not looking to cut through smoke as much as I am just trying to get the most "bang for the buck". I like lots of visibility at night.....lots of light. I like the elastic strap that Streamlight makes. It holds lights snug to the helmet and less likely to hang up on something. I just want a small light with booku illumination. I'm not on any USAR team so intrinsically safe is not a consideration. Thanks to all for the input.

PS Confined space refers to rescues in tight quarters were atmospheres can be toxic or explosive due to the lack of air ventilation (ie. below grade, tanks, pipelines , etc.) You can't wear any light that could generate a spark and ignite a flammable gas.

Guys, fire71 is not looking for a firefighter specific light, so we don't need to worry about Divisions, etc. Something he can tie down to his helmet. bright for a relatively small size. Sounds like a Surefire with clicky switch and a drop in led LE. Run a couple of hours at excellent brightness. There are any number of drop ins for a Surefire 6P. Do a search for "drop in's in Google Search CPF only at top of every CPF page. People here can give you some advise on an appropriate LA for a 6P, or 6P clone.

Bill

If you alreadfy have the SL 'rubber band' style holder it can take pretty much any 1" / 24-28mm light.

I highly recommend a throw with a smooth reflector - OP reflectors and diffuse beams are not your friend around smoke.

I'd take a look a at a LumaPower D-Mini - tight throw beam, quite small etc. An M1 might be a better choice as it it accomodates 18650 rechargeable cells which could give you the runtimes you require. We actually test fit an M1 to a fire helmet with the SL rubber band today and it fit very well. Perhaps the ideal would be a D-Mini with a D-65 adapter but for that $$ you might as well buy the M1.

The problem you're likely to run into is runtime - small, super bright and 2-3 hr runtimes rarely come as a package.

The M-1 looks like something that would work,,,,,something like what I was looking for. Fit's in the strap, tight to the helmet, bright, with good run time. Thinking this might be it! Any other comments from the rest of you guys? I really appreciate your guy's input. Thanks.

I got a Lumapower M1 Tactical from Battery Junction. Honestly, I haven't used it, because I'm either using the big Boxer 24Watt HID for search and contact, or the mini Novatac 120T for everything else.

But the M1 Tactical is a really solid flashlight in the self-defense/police style. It has a twist on/momentary button, so that could be a minor nuisance with gloves. Didn't old style M1's have clickies?

If I need something brighter than the Novatac 120, but more pocketable than the Boxer, then I'll carry my M1.

I have the SL PP set up with the same mount as in the first picture. I really like it. Its more than bright enough for my uses. In fact, I'm afraid if it were any brigther I would probably have problems with the smoke lighting up too much.

You deffinatly have to have something with throw and almost no sidespill is best. LED's are tricky to get set up right for smoke. Still, the ones that are out there geared towards FF's are really well done and are great in the heat.

clipse

I placed an order for the M1 this morning with the 18650 rechargeable set up. I'll let you guys know if it fits the bill or not. It's a great forum for info and you all have been great in your responses/input and I really appreciate it. I think I'm a flashaholic in the making. Perhaps I'll stick around. I originally forgot to mention that I currently carry a[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-2] Pelican [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-2]"Big Ed"[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-2] right angle flashlight on my turnout coat (chest high). I'm hoping the M1 will compliment it. I've concluded that when on a roof at night it would be helpful to have a helmet light that tracks specifically where I'm looking. As a captain I don't actually cut as often as I would like (it's my firefighters' tasks to sound and cut) but more light will provide additional safety for all of us topside. Thanks again gang.
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Regarding certifications for firefighting I think they are more important than most of the people thinks here.

First of all I would like to say that U-04 ATEX is not certified for the US market, but it is under european requirements.

When a flashlight has been certified for firefighting it meand that you can enter a room with explosive mix of gas and air, and it will not start the fire under the worst conditions.

If you are going to use a light that is not certified remove from it all the steel parts (clips, screws) that may cause a spark, and take care also of the o-rings that will seal the internals of the light from the atmosphere.

Regards