35W HID for Work - Which one?

Worklight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
27
Im looking for a 35W, 3000lumens+ HID Flashlight for work, perferably priced under 500$. It must be able to be carried on a belt without too much hazzle.

Any tips or/and ideas? :)
 

Worklight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
27
Definitivly intresting, I heard that there was alot of return on this one though because of flickering? OpticsHQ tested the light before sale though I belive.. and is 400$ :)
 

Hallis

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 23, 2004
Messages
2,590
Location
Dallas, Tx
Well the Costco HID is out. ;) Isnt there a Wolf-Eyes 24w HID now? I've played with the 10w Boxer and REALLY liked it. Easilly belt carryable and 35w usually arent on the same order. But for a $500 budget im sure you'll find something :) The Fenix one looks about perfect. But the runtime is only 30 minutes.

Shane
 

Patriot

Flashaholic
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
11,254
Location
Arizona
Only one light falls within your set parameters at any price. That's the K3500.

What kind of work are you doing?

Does it absolutely have to be carried on your belt or would a compact spotlight be ok?

How did you determine that 3000 lumens would be the minimum amount of light for your task?

I'm only asking because your requirements have boxed you into a single light that is nice.....but has leaves some things to be desired.
 

Sub-versive

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
4
Location
SoCal
What about the x990 or my choice for an inexpensive portable HID,amondotech n30(well only 30 watt,3200 lumen rated) but at $150 at batteryjunction. Come on, after the light beam shot-shootouts posted, it seems like a fine deal to me. I like the looks and apparent size of the x990 a little better, maybe when I have more cash... he he:devil: This can be habit forming.:broke:
 

Worklight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
27
Only one light falls within your set parameters at any price. That's the K3500.

What kind of work are you doing?

Does it absolutely have to be carried on your belt or would a compact spotlight be ok?

How did you determine that 3000 lumens would be the minimum amount of light for your task?

I'm only asking because your requirements have boxed you into a single light that is nice.....but has leaves some things to be desired.

Hey there, I work Security at huge industrial complexes at night and I need something as powerfull, or even more powerfull than Car lights, the brighther the better really. For Searching and blinding intruders.

Polarion Helios size +- abit is "max" size more or less. If you got suggestions for great lights though please tell :)
 

TheGreyEminence

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
176
Location
Germany
Well, the Microfire K3500R is my EDC Light.IMO it´s the maximum i would carry on a belt.Really a monster if you compare Output to Size :D Runtime, checked with a stopwatch, is aprox. 55 minutes non-stop.Colour Temperature goes into "cold-blue" compared with the Polarion.
Cheaper alternatives but much bigger and heavier (SLA batteries): Amondotech/PoweronBoard...35W HID
And if you have aprox. 2000$ laying around *g*...Polarion PH40:twothumbs
 
Last edited:

Flashanator

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
1,203
Location
The 11th Dimension
Hang on a sec???? Wasn't the Torch orginally mad by a CPF member? Ive even seen mag style flashlights with 10,000 lumens.

Did WL just just take the idea & go straight to Guiness book of records?? Coz in Guiness book of records 06 or 07 their lame @$$ laser pointer spyder is in there LOL. Srr if off topic. You would have to have rocks in ur head to compare it to the Polarion.
 
Last edited:

FlashInThePan

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
835
Location
Anchorage, Alaska
Worklight, I'm not sure how familiar you are with HID lights (I certainly wasn't when I first came here!), but one of their huge drawbacks is a slow startup time. Many HIDs take 10-15 seconds to reach full brightness - definitely not the sort of thing you'd immediately "fire up" to blind an intruder with. (Please don't let my 12th grade English teacher see that last sentence...). In other words, if you're going to turn the light on once, and leave it on for the next hour to search a warehouse, HIDs are great. They're extremely efficient, and perfect for that kind of extended use. But for instant-on situations, they're definitely not the best.

You might find that you'd be equally well served by a 500-1000 lumen light. Indeed, you'd be surprised at how bright 500 lumens can be. (I don't know if you've ever seen a Surefire M6 in person, but it definitely rivals my car's headlights - and that's just with 500-700 lumens.) In fact, the darker your warehouses are, the brighter each lumen will seem to be. If you can handle 500 lumens (and I'll bet you can!), you might want to consider a G&P R500, a Surefire M6 (especially with the rechargeable options using LumensFactory bulbs or JS's packs), or a Mag85/Mag ROP mod, all of which are relatively compact and easy to carry on your belt - and all of which come on at full brightness the instant you fire them up.

But if you absolutely *must* have an HID, and it *must* be belt-sized, and it *must* be 35 watts, the Microfire is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. If you want an HID that's easily carried on your belt, but would be satisifed with a light that provides 500-1500 lumens, you could consider AE Powerlight's 24 watt HIDs, or even a modified 10 watt MagHID (just smaller than a standard 2D maglight).

Best of luck finding what you need.

- FITP



Hey there, I work Security at huge industrial complexes at night and I need something as powerfull, or even more powerfull than Car lights, the brighther the better really. For Searching and blinding intruders.

Polarion Helios size +- abit is "max" size more or less. If you got suggestions for great lights though please tell :)
 
Last edited:

Worklight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
27
Worklight, I'm not sure how familiar you are with HID lights (I certainly wasn't when I first came here!), but one of their huge drawbacks is a slow startup time. Many HIDs take 10-15 seconds to reach full brightness - definitely not the sort of thing you'd immediately "fire up" to blind an intruder with. (Please don't let my 12th grade English teacher see that last sentence...). In other words, if you're going to turn the light on once, and leave it on for the next hour to search a warehouse, HIDs are great. They're extremely efficient, and perfect for that kind of extended use. But for instant-on situations, they're definitely not the best.

You might find that you'd be equally well served by a 500-1000 lumen light. Indeed, you'd be surprised at how bright 500 lumens can be. (I don't know if you've ever seen a Surefire M6 in person, but it definitely rivals my car's headlights - and that's just with 500-700 lumens.) In fact, the darker your warehouses are, the brighter each lumen will seem to be. If you can handle 500 lumens (and I'll bet you can!), you might want to consider a G&P R500, a Surefire M6 (especially with the rechargeable options using LumensFactory bulbs or JS's packs), or a Mag85/Mag ROP mod, all of which are relatively compact and easy to carry on your belt - and all of which come on at full brightness the instant you fire them up.

But if you absolutely *must* have an HID, and it *must* be belt-sized, and it *must* be 35 watts, the Microfire is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. If you want an HID that's easily carried on your belt, but would be satisifed with a light that provides 500-1500 lumens, you could consider AE Powerlight's 24 watt HIDs, or even a modified 10 watt MagHID (just smaller than a standard 2D maglight).

Best of luck finding what you need.

- FITP

Hey,
Thanks alot for a great post :)

I know about the "Fire up" period on alot of HIDs, but im Guessing where it "starts" isn't that low when it comes to lumens - anyways, Ill most likely be "running" around with the flashlight on, I rarely turn it off when I go outta my car, Norway is dark at night *grins*. Another concern and reason for me to want "this" high lumens on my torch/flashlight, is that there are some areas thats 100 meters away, which are dark, but inbetween me and my targets, there can be streetlights, I find that unless I got powerfull lights then, I will be somewhat blinded by the lights in the middle so that I cannot see the effects of my light :)

Looks like Ill be going for the K3500R, can anyone comfirm wether OpticsHQ tests the lights before sale? I heard rumours about it.
 

bill_n_opus

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Messages
365
Sounds like you want super bright with instant-on ... not exactly HID territory (the instant-on part) ... might I suggest getting a D size Mag, put a drop in from either Malkoff or Elektrolumens into it.

- can use AA rechargeables (or even D size rechargeables if you want to invest a bit into batteries)
- very bright, probably bright enough for your application
- under 500 bucks
- pocketable (so to speak)


Basically, look at the high end of LED technology, not the low(er) end of HID which means lots of compromises.

Wayne of Elektrolumens offers the shade slayer which is ~ 1280 lumens rated (not out the front) for 300 bucks. I'm sure you can contact him and ask for a build that encroaches the 500 dollar limit and he'll build you an even brighter custom build.

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi

He also has his new drop ins that are very bright.

Gene's Malkoff devices offers some really nice drop-ins as well ... he's quite busy though so you may have difficulty getting one.

You could also contact some of the other custom builders like Icarus et al. I think Icarus is in Scandinavia somewhere too so that may work for you.

Hope this helps.
 

iced_theater

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 12, 2005
Messages
819
Location
Green River, Wyoming
It's probably easier to get one of Malkoff's drop-in's than it is Wayne's. I've been waiting on a Longthrow light for a 1 1/2 years so far. Will probably be 2 before it's made.
 

bill_n_opus

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Messages
365
It's probably easier to get one of Malkoff's drop-in's than it is Wayne's. I've been waiting on a Longthrow light for a 1 1/2 years so far. Will probably be 2 before it's made.

Yikes ... that's a long, long time. Is Wayne that busy or what's going on?
 

Northern Lights

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 17, 2006
Messages
1,267
Location
Southwest
I take an N30 to work. Biggetst advantage over the body of the Vector, Cabelas, Harbor freight, and Sams which use the same body is size!! and an easy to remove and charge battery pack. 80-90 minutes run time and is as small as most 12v cheap spot lights. 3200 lumens for $150 or less. It has an easy to use small area LED light on it too. The pack has charge indicators, charges AC/DC. It is so easy to carry, biggest advantage and it is very rugged although it is plastic housing. Spill beam is meaningful so it is worthy of relatively close use as well as extreme range. I have often used mine to search acres of Sonoran Desert for people and have been pleased with the results.
N30 click here
belt carry is possible I suppose but as a support item, I would not carry it as an everyday item. I do not know if your term belt carry was for one of those nice small flashlight sized HIDs or one to be called out for special occaisions. I use a short shoulder strap and it rides under my left arm on a cross chest carry just over my left side duty belt. I can hold it and the forend of a long gun at the same time too.
 
Last edited:
Top