Pentagon lights

I tried searching the forum. Found some old threads about them, but not really what I wanted.

What I am looking for is information on how tough they are. I see them mentioned in Police Magazines and they seem to also be marketed to the military (I never saw one when I was in the Army..ETS 2002).

I want to know if I can really bang them around and still have it work; on par with say, a Surefire.

Also, why aren't they mentioned on here too much? I hear about Ultrafire, Fenix, Wolf eyes, ect, ect, ect. And almost nothing about Pentagon. Surely they are a bigger name then any of those companies...Sort of strange. A reflection of their quality or is it that they are merely marketed almost solely for tactical uses and don't seem to have any lights that would appeal to "mainstream" customers?

their technology is a tad behind by CPF's flavor of the week standards. with that said they are better than anything you can pick up at walmart and such. they are really well built, id be more likely to trust one of them opposed to an ultrafire or some other flavor of the weak.

I had a PentagonLight X2 a while ago and sold it here on CPF. As far as toughness, I don't think toughness of the aluminum tube/head/bezel is really ever an issue, it's how well the lamp filament stands up to mechanical and electrical abuse.

I would say that the X2 is probably similar in toughness to a Surefire 6P, or any of their aluminum non shock-isolated lights. I think Surefire does a better job on breaking the edges off the ends of their springs, because the Surefire springs appear to dig into the battery contacts less than the PentagonLight.

PentagonLight also rates their X2 at 70 lumens (Surefire P60 lamp is rated at 60 lumens), and it did appear noticeably brighter to me on fresh cells.

I own the PX1 and I carry it as a backup on my night hikes
I love the tailcap that snaps into the belt clip (included)
Very bright for 1xCR123A but no rechargeable option
Not as high quality as SureFire but a great deal for $35 @ Lighthound
~OUT

I have the S2 (19 leds) and L2 (lux III) I bought a couple of years ago. They are great lights. As mossyoak says, they are much better than the lights you see in the department stores. They are definitely the high-end lights. Although their build quality is not as good as Surefire in my opinion, I think they were good enough for LEOs or military. However, they are not very impressive in today's standard. Unlike Surefire with lots of third party add-ons/drop-ins/mods, pentagon lights are pretty unique that you can't easily find too many options (in fact you won't find too many places in store or online that sells the Pentagon lights). Maybe they need to come up with more new products/accessories to meet today's standard, and maybe more dealers and advertising.

I have a Pentagon lights X3 model. (The black version). It works well. Pentagon Lights are close to Surefire in terms of quality and toughness. But their models tend to be a bit longer than comparable Surefires. Brightness is another problem. They are behind Surefire.

Surefire and Pelican measure their lumens out the front. Other companies, including Pentagon Lights, measures at the emitter. After the head is installed on a light, its lumens numbers out the front are always lower than at the emitter. Sometimes 1/3 lower, sometimes by as much as half!

That's why a 70 lumen X2 from Pentagon appears LESS as bright as a 60 lumen E2e from Surefire..... because it indeed is less bright.

Pentagon Lights have zero presence on CPF. Meaning, there's no Pentagon company rep. or High-volume Dealer on these forums. That's why there's so little talk about their lights. Well, that; and what others have posted.

Quality is a notch below Surefire. Just as tough as Surefire. Not as bright. Not nearly as many dealers as Surefire. Tough to find aftermarket accessories.

Overall: A solid, lower cost alternative to Surefire. But if you are expecting to find a Surefire twin, you're going to be disappointed.

I might have to pick one up, just to round out the collection and see what is going on with them.

Their website heavily features Toronto police when talking about the Police uses for the lights. Sort of interesting.

I like them... I inquired about becoming a dealer once (for a family business) and was told that the last shippment of troops heading to Iraq (this is several years ago now) were actually split about 50/50 with them leaving with Surefire or other brands, and leaving with Pentagon. Not sure it was true or not.

I personally own the L2 I think it is, it's the 2 cell single LED light, in Milspec Hard Anodize... it's a pretty nice light, I do like it, it doesn't get used much however, as I don't have a good way to carry it, and have moved to small lights like the E2E. When I ordered it (from a vendor) I accidentally recieved there 3 cell incan light in HA, much like an M3 or 9P (me and a fellow CPF member equated it closer to that of an M3, price, build, size wise) and it was pretty nice and impressive.

They don't have the flashy appeal of Surefire, nor the latest and greatest, or all the special features, but they do have some good ideas going... thier modular weapons lights look cool to me, the ability to have a primary light with secondary LED, which you can swap for other modules including a laser or other leds is pretty neat.

From my experience I'd equate them to an earlier version of Surefire like when Surefire was new... if they can continue to grow, give them time, they might be the next new best thing, next to Surefire.

I must confess to toying with the idea of getting an X2 or L2 (Not to be confused with Surefire's L2) and getting a higher output, aftermarket LED.

A light just as tough, and just as bright as my Surefire L4. (Those two models from Pentagon Lights can be had with carry clips).
The X2 would probably be easier to get into since their LED lights are sealed with a tough sort of glue.

I got a Pentagonlight L2 back in 2005. It had some quality problems, mainly the lens being too small to fit tightly. It was also very thick and heavy. But it also looked promising, if Pentagonlight had pushed the development of this light to include small improvements and eventually a more efficient LED.

But now it's two years later, and they're still selling the same Luxeon III light (for $92!) that has long been surpassed by the Cree and Seoul lights from other manufacturers.

asdalton said:

But now it's two years later, and they're still selling the same Luxeon III light (for $92!) that has long been surpassed by the Cree and Seoul lights from other manufacturers.

Click to expand...

It's funny you mention this, because on Pila USA's website the older Luxeon LED is $53 and the new Cree is a mere $37...

Funny how older tech is more expensive than new tech; I guess it's the MSRP, advances in technology, et cetera.

asdalton said:

.... But now it's two years later, and they're still selling the same Luxeon III light (for $92!) that has long been surpassed by the Cree and Seoul lights from other manufacturers.

Click to expand...

Their main customer base is the same as Surefire's. (Obviously though, they have a much smaller share of it). Surefire's main customers are the military and Law enforcement. They require lights that have proven, bullet-proof reliable technology. That doesn't equal the latest in Cree or Seoul lights. (At least, not yet).

Pentagon Lights clearly is behind on R&D. But what they offer are lights that can be best described as lower cost alternatives to Surefire. An L2 from Pentagon is going to be about half as bright as an L4 from Surefire. But an L4 will set you back about $180 at a B&M store. The Pentagon model is half as much, just as tough. For a soldier or LEO, an L2 might be "bright enough."

I'm not knocking the older technology LEDs by themselves. I recently purchased an Inova T3 and also a T1, both of which use a Luxeon K2, and they are both in the top 10 favorite lights that I own.

But if the question is what simple, tough, bright LED light to choose that's under $100--then based on my experience I would recommend the Inova T3 over the Pentagonlight L2. The T3 is brighter and costs less.

asdalton said:

But if the question is what simple, tough, bright LED light to choose that's under $100--then based on my experience I would recommend the Inova T3 over the Pentagonlight L2. The T3 is brighter and costs less.

Click to expand...

Do you mean the newer T3, with the reflector and uses three 123A cells?

I have that light. Must admit, it's a winner. But if pocket-clip carry is an issue, the PentagonLight L2 is a good choice.

I owned a 19 led UV Pentagon light for a few months and I must say it was well built. It's a step behind Surefire imo, but I prefer the build quality above all the other lights that you mentioned. Like Mossyoak said, many here on CPF are all about the brightest light and or the cheapest price. You can count on a flashy, new, Chinese model every couple of weeks around here. Since Pentagon lights are neither they don't get much attention.

An interesting point to bring up is Pentagon lights are made in the USA. This seems to be one of the biggest selling points (and sometimes ultimate deciding factor) for the typical Surefire buyer, yet many don't purchase/use Pentagon lights. This compounded by the fact Chinese made lights are being snapped up like hotcakes... this makes me question the rationale behind folks purchasing lights because they are domestically made.:huh2:

I visited the Pentagon light factory in South San Francisco a few weeks ago, and was impressed by their facility. On the outside the building looks like an old office building, but come inside and you're in a flashlight wet dream. I didn't get to tour the factory or mess with display lights because it was closing time, but their customer service was top notch; and I even got a few free things from my purchase.:thumbsup: It was a cup, pen and bag for my purchases, all of which GITD. I kid you not, even the bag glows in the dark! I'll post pics soon.

My next purchase will definitely be the belt swivel light and the MOLLE. I like the MOLLE's take on the GI flashlight from the '60s, and the fact that it only takes one AA. The LED at 40 lumens pretty much seals the deal for me. It's only a matter of time before they throw the Cree or Seoul into their LED line, but I suppose patience is an element all of us CPFers need a little more of.

Dudemar

dudemar said:

An interesting point to bring up is Pentagon lights are made in the USA. This seems to be one of the biggest selling points (and sometimes ultimate deciding factor) for the typical Surefire buyer, yet many don't purchase/use Pentagon lights. This compounded by the fact Chinese made lights are being snapped up like hotcakes...

Dudemar

Click to expand...

There's a reason why PentagonLights aren't being snapped up as quickly as Surefire models.... More than one reason actually.

1 - Reputation: Surefire has it over Pentagon.

2 - Brightness: While many feel that some Surefire models are behind the times, Surefire measures its lumens out the front; and we know this! Pentagon, as far as I know, doesn't.

3 - Aftermarket Support: This is a big one! Surefire definitely has it. Pentagon, doesn't.

4 - Number of Dealers: Good luck finding more than a couple of them who carry PentagonLights.

I ran into problem #3 when I wanted an aftermarket replacement for my stock PentagonLights X3. Made a topic about it on CPF. Only responses I got were the ones letting me know that there was nothing out there for it. No 3rd party support at all. Best I can do is buy an L3 head (LED rated at 105 lumens) from Pentagon, and put that on my X3.

I like my black X3, but for upgrading.... I would have been better off buying a Surefire M3, instead.

Hi Monocrom,

I agree with you on some of your points, but I'd like to add my thoughts:

1. No doubt. Pentagonlight (PL) may not have been around as long, but it's still a well established company with (IMHO) awesome lights.

2. I emailed PentagonLight today with this question:

"Dear PentagonLight,

Are your lights measured in "torch" lumens or "bulb" lumens?

Thanks,

..."

and here's their response:

"Torch lumens as that best matches the end products that you will ultimately
purchase from us."

So PentagonLight does in fact measure in torch lumens.

3. I agree; but if PLs were more popular I'm positive there would be some semblance of an aftermarket segment for these lights.

On the flipside the company does offer a Lifetime Warranty, and I assume if they want to have any competition with Surefire they have a similar guarantee. One way PL tests their lights is by throwing it against a wall many times (I read 20) to see if it still works (and it did), so it's reasonable to say you're still covered if you drop it a few times.

4. I'm not sure how many brick & mortar shops offer PLs, but they are sold at a lot of online shops. Try googling "pentagonlight" and you'll find a bunch of matches, in fact www.opticsplanet.com has a sale right now...

Judging from your post 3rd party support is a big buying point for you, but to each his own. I personally love lights stock, and aftermarket stuff is the cherry on top.:naughty:


All the best,

Dudemar

PS- I know it's off topic, but is your avatar Vega from Street Fighter 2?

To: dudemar -

Hello!

1 - I agree with you! But open up any firearms magazine, and what do you see?.... Surefire ads. (Sometimes the occasional Streamlight ad). Before I found CPF or even became a flashaholic, I knew about Surefire and Streamlight. Knew about Maglite cause everyone knows about Maglite. Thing is, even after becoming a flashaholic, I at first still had no clue what to expect from this company called PentagonLights; the first time I encountered an X3 sitting in a B&M store's case. Never heard of PL. Had no clue what to expect, in terms of quality. Decided not to take a chance.

That's what i mean by reputation. It's a quality brand that in terms of toughness can indeed hold their own against Surefire. But how many folks know that, compared to the number that know about Surefire? A great rep. does you no good if fewer people know about it vs. your competition.

2 - Well, that's great news! Thanks for letting me know. I can add PentagonLights to the same list with Surefire, Pelican, and (possibly) HDS. Definitely nice to know that my X3 is actually 135 lumens. I had heard from another CPFer with more experience with PL products that their inca models are often spot-on. But that they're LED models tend to be a bit generous with regards to lumen ratings. Looks like that isn't so.

3 - Definitely a bit frustrating that there aren't aftermarket products that would help boost performance. Compared to a Surefire M3.... Well, it's blatantly obvious which model gets catered to.

4 - Usually when I see PL products in B&M stores, it's usually just the Black X3 model by itself. No PL accessories of any kind available for it.... Not even spare lamps. I guess it's a different situation, online.

Normally, I prefer extreme reliability in my lights. And often leave them stock. But it's nice knowing that I could upgrade each and every single Surefire light in my collection, in terms of output; if I wanted to. Can't do that with my X3.

BTW, it's a variation of Vega. My avatar has black hair instead of the proper blonde color for the character. I use it more to highlight the rather obvious fact that internet forums are so impersonal that no one even really knows whom they are actually speaking to. I use it more to highlight the mask than the character from the game.

Does anyone have a Pentagon clickie they could try on a surefire G2? Im trying to add a clickie to my light but I really want to avoid the unreliable pieces that surefire sells...