What makes a light "Tactical"

What makes a light "Tactical?"

Is it the push button at the back and the twist-on like a Surefire?

Reason I'm asking is the new Inova X5 is being called "Tactical" at least at Countrycomm.com

I wonder if brighness has anything to do with it? Robustness? Or has this, too, become a marketing term?

cf other thread on advertising...

Cheers,

Richard

Being in law enforcement for 19 years, IMHBQ(But Qualified)O, it seems the term "tactical" is overused, and simply sounds good as marketing copy hype.

If you can securely grab onto and operate a flashlight in the preferred momentary mode while effectively aiming and discharging your sidearm, it is tactical. I can do it with a MagLite (up to around a 3- or 4-cell length, longer than that and it can get a little cumbersome), or just about any other light which does not require two hands to operate.

There are so many courses (Street Survival, et al) offering different but similar types of flashlights holds that there are new names for them springing up everywhere, so I am not up with the current terminology, but in nearly all techniques the offhand basically works and points the light in the general direction of the gun muzzle while simultanesouly supporting the shooting hand.

I've even been trained in schemes where the offhand holds the light straight out sideways, away from one's body, while the other hand discharges the gun, presumably to make the bad guys shoot at the light where they think your body is. Scoring our targets afterwards proved that accuracy using this technique is iffy at best.

I expect that a light that has been termed "tactical" should have several features. (Having no experience though, means these are assumptions, and likely to be wrong)

1) Ability to be used in a harsh, abusive environment.
2) Ability to be used safely by a stressed operator.
3) Ability to be used in conjunction with other tools.
4) Ability to perform consistently so that it can be used in training and it's characteristics be reliable in live situations.
5) Ability to accept a variety of accessories and carry options, and have parts interchangeability with other lights (such as those used/carried by team-members.)
6) Ability to be tailored to mission specific requirements in terms of output/runtime, beam shape/range, and switching options
7) Ability to provide output that can be used by a trained operator to give a significant advantage from a compact, light-weight unit.

Al

What makes a light "Tactical"?

The label on the box it came in said it was! [J/K]! (trying not to use up the bandwith here)

Aloha

I know that if you make it in black, and call it Tactical, cops will buy it.

i thought it had to be indorcedby surefire to be tactical. [big grin here]

saveing cpf bandwidth is "tactical" btw- and it comes in black! <wink wink>

You can probably write "GUCCI" on shop rags and sell them in Times Square for $50 apiece as "designer hankies".

This subject came up a number of times on some of the knife forums in trying to determine what the real difference was in a "regular" vs. a "tactical" knife. There's so much overlap in descriptions that the line between the two are obscured by semantics.

For example, if I have my Rotring pen in my pocket and go on a tactical mission, has that pen become a "tactical" pen? How much would it matter if I had my silver version or instead had the matte black version?

As far as lights go, Al probably has a very good set of criteria started, but I wonder how many lights considered "non-tactical" would fit a large majority of those criteria.

There are many thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of flashlights that would not be suitable for what I would consider to be a "tactical" application.

I define a "tactical" application one that involves highly trained professionals performing a high risk task with the aim to overwhelm the opposition using a range of specialised tools, skills and conditions.
Engaging the opposition in such a way that threats are precisely neutralised, and the environment controlled as quickly as possible with the minimum loss of life and property.

Al

I thought it was the Marketing/Advertizing Department that made a flashlight "tactical." Painting a flashlight black definitely makes it "tactical."

Black is good. Natural HA III is better. "Tactical" printed on the box is a big help as well. But what really counts is cost. A light needs to be tactically-priced to be a real tactical light!

Hmmm...I have two knives, identical except for color (S&W Framelocks). The one painted black is considered "Special Ops Tactical" while the (unpainted) silver one is not. Hmmm...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MR Bulk™:
Hmmm...I have two knives, identical except for color (S&W Framelocks). The one painted black is considered "Special Ops Tactical" while the (unpainted) silver one is not. Hmmm...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ya see? That's what happens when anything black is considered tactical.

In fact, maybe I can talk my wife into her tactical thigh-highs later tonight...

I had always understood the term "tactical" to mean something that had a low visibility finish and was priced twice what it should sell for...

Thus, the derivative "tactical" coming from the "tactical" approach you must put on the old lady to "tactfully" explain why you need to spend twice the amount any sane individual would for the same object.

am I close??

Tactical lights evolved as an adjunct to small arms use in the fulfilling of police and military tactical operations. As such they had to be small, light weight, non-reflective (matt black or camo), rugged, extremely bright and instantly functional. Those criteria mandated the use of lithium or rechargeable batteries, a tailcap switch, state of the art lamps and reflectors, excellent ergonomics and aluminum or composite construction.
As the designs became more sophisticated such features as shock isolated bezels and Pyrex lenses were added.

Eventually, as Mr Bulk pointed out, "tactical" evolved into a generic term for lights usable in a tactical manner in the same way that "Kleenex" became a general term for tissues.

Brightnorm

.

Tactical = Expensive enough that only government and people addicted to flashlights
will by these products. Note: must have a matt black color. Must be over engineered and all replacement and optional parts must be a least 20% the cost of the original product.

Making it black is a part of making it tactical. Silver or other somewhat bright colors would clearly not be usable in a "tactical" situation. Just as a Bezel twist on/off can not be used in a "tactical" situation. SF is tactical - Peli is not. If there are classes offered to use it, then it is tactical by definition.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Coop57:
Tactical = Expensive enough that only government and people addicted to flashlights
will by these products. Note: must have a matt black color. Must be over engineered and all replacement and optional parts must be a least 20% the cost of the original product.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



That's a good one.

YC

Is the use of the word "tactical" similar to that of "pornography". When a judge was asked to define pornography said that he was unable to but as sure as hell knew it when he saw it.
Maybe a unit like the Megaray would qualify.

The most important feature of a tactical light is that it not include design features which could kill the user, nor encourage the user to do things which would get them killed.

The *worst* thing a flashlight can do is not turn on when demmanded. The second worst thing is to turn on when it's not wanted.

As for specific features, I like:
Momentary-on tailcap switch. Should be resistant to accidental activation, but not fatiguing to hold down.

Dropable and slightly immersible.

Lightweight and small. It cannot fatigue me to hold it up.

Bright. Too bright is better than too dim, to a point. Flashlight + White Birch trees + pitch black = Purple vertical lines.

I think the most important is the first two.

If you can install/lash/clamp it on a gun without worrying about it, it's tactical. If looking at the business end while it's being used is nearly as dumb as looking at the aforementioned, it's tactical.