Seeking recommendations: Backup tactical light/general purpose light

I'm looking for a light to complement two I plan to carry while conducting dismounted "armed social work." At the one end is a Surefire weapon light as the primary tactical light - either with a dropin or with the p60 and IR filter. Clipped to my vest will be one of the County Comm SOLED's in red for the low light, right there in front of me tasks. What I am looking for falls in between. I want one light that can become my backup tactical light when the Surefire fails - and everything fails, even if its just the batteries at the wrong moment. This light would also be the primary tactical light on transition from rifle to pistol - when the rifle fails. In addition, I am looking for a light that serves as a general purpose light when the SOLED is not enough and I don't want to point my weapon at someone/something just to use the Surefire.

Screening criteria (features the light can't have - don't even mention them if they do):
- Gloves. Requires removing gloves to operate effectively.
- Incan/HID. If it is one it's out. Hey I did post it in the LED section.
- Reverse clickie or twisty switch. (note twisting the bezel as part of the UI does not disqualify the light on this point; this is strictly an On/Off related criteria)
- It's a single mode light over 100 lumens.
- Max lumens out the front less than 60 on highest mode.
- It ever turns on at 59 lumens or lower when the switch is operated, if it's multimode. ( It's ok to have to set the light up prior. Consider that I will potentially be turning the light on and off quickly at times so a wait for memory to kick in means it will be changing modes on me.)
- Requires a battery type besides 123 primary or AA.
- Glow in the dark, tritium components, indicator LED's, or shiny surfaces besides the reflector itself.
- Light is less than 3.5 inches or greater than 6.5 inches long.
- Beam pattern. Either too throwy or too floody will disqualify. Hard to quantify but I'll know it when I see it.
- Durability. I will screen out lights based on issues seen using the forum and google. I would rather people not even comment on this factor to avoid a flashlight maker border skirmish.


Evaluation Criteria (in order of importance)
- Runtime (minutes to 50% on highest setting, longer is better)
- Brightness (Lumens on max, more is better)
- Weight with 2 loads of batteries (oz, Lower is better).
- Battery Type (coded 1 for any number AA, 1.5 for 1x123, 3 for 2x123; lower is better)
- Cost. ($, Lower is better)


Whew, thanks for making it this far. Don't feel like you have to make only one "best" recommendation; list any that you think might work. This is brainstorming options for now. After a couple days I will roll up the candidates that made it through the screening, conduct my evaluation and publish my results.

Okay so that specific a criteria list seems to scare people away. I've built my decision matrix, weighted my criteria, and started adding lights to it.

Lights I've looked at which have been screened for not meeting requirements:
Surefire G2L, Lumapower Incendio, Dereelight is not looking good but I haven't looked through all the pill combinations yet

Lights I have added to my matrix:
Surefire 6PL, Fenix Tk10, NDI, NCE, Novatac 120T, Lumapower D-Mini, and the custom Romisen RC-G2 with Q5 I just got.

Any other ideas?

Surefire G2 or 6P with a Q5 drop in.

If it was me, i'd look hard at this:

http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme gear/flashlights main/surefire_g3l_kit.htm

With this inside:

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=1-139-114-125-6437

I have this exact drop in installed in my nightstand 1st gen 9P, and it is like instant daylight, and the throw is good to about 150 yards with excellent spill.

If it is for tactical purposes, don't skimp.

While this thread mostly served as a way to make myself think, 98 people read so I will at least post my results.

I didn't consider any P60 style drop in modules because they either were too bright for a one mode light to serve all my needs, the UI doesn't work for me for multimode, or they just weren't significantly different than the stock SF head. (I did add Brigadier's recommendation to the list of possibles to go in the weapon light...where I see my blinding power going. ) I ended up adding 14 lights to my list to consider, and put 15 entries in my matrix. (I also considered the TK10 as just a one mode 60 lumen light.)

My top 3 by the initial criteria were the Olight T25-T, Olight T20-M, and the Inova T1. Surprising since I wasn't strongly looking at any of them before I started the process.
Bottom 3 were the RC G2w/Q5, Surefire L1, and D Mini.
Other notable light rankings Tk10 at 5 and 6, SF 6PL at 9, and Novatac 120T at 11.

I never really liked my evaluation criteria but liked the factors I used to screen. I had considered requiring a multimode light given the niche I wanted to fill, but was worried the pool of candidates with UI's I liked would be too small. It wasn't. At the end I pulled all the single mode lights, and the Tk10 for not having a low enough mode.

Final list I am looking at harder (in order) - the Olights, NCE, NDI, Novatac 120T, and Surefire L1. Different than my gut would have told me. I'm really starting to like what I am reading about the Olights too.

novatac 120T or P in black. slightly short, but still very usable. probably go with the T, easier with gloves. nice high, nice med/low.

id upgrade the so-led to a photon freedom in red instead.

Take a look at the Fenix L2T Q2, simple 2 mode light.
Or Look at single level SureFire E2DL.

I had a hard time understanding your criteria but if I did read it right then I think the Surefire E1B would do the trick.

Did anyone else feel like they were taking a test just now?

Hoople- The Novatac was what I would have called the front runner before I started. And it's still got a lot of pull among the finalists as I dig deeper. As to the Photon, I like the idea of the adjustable levels. I might get one in addition to keep in the vehicle. My experience tells me if I hook it to my vest it's a "dead light walking". I'm sure the SO-LED is less durable, and it's not as nice, but it's good enough and cheap enough I have a cache ready for the inevitable deaths. Quantity has a quality all it's own. Besides I really like the MOLLE clip of the SO LED.

Not So Bright - Shoot I missed the forward clicky on the L2T ver. 2. Added to my short list of finalists. E2DL single mode I missed too (Surefire only showed the dual mode on their site but I remember reading about it now). I'm betting it would have done well...but now I decided to take all the single mode lights off the list. For "not being so bright" you got two lights I missed ...what does that say about me? :laughing:

UMC - The E1B is one I wanted to add. When I looked into it I didn't like the mode switching so I screened it off the list. If only it was like the L1 switching ... Nice idea though.

Thanks for the ideas to all of you.

but now I decided to take all the single mode lights off the list.

Click to expand...

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=1-139-114-125-6494

D26 Digital 3.7-6 Cree Q5 LED *2-Mode (High & Low)

• Free Shipping
• Q5 Cree 2-Mode LED *260 Lumen* 3.7-6V D26 Bulb Fits: 6A, D2 and 6H. This bulb also fits Pila flashlights and Surefire™ flashlights that use a P60 bulb.
• Digital circuit function: High and Low Operation: Changing modes is easily done by powering on and off until you get to the mode you want. Slight pressure works great to cycle and then click on to remain in the desired mode! If left off for more than 2 seconds the circuit resets and starts at 100%. Digital circuit sequence: 100% (260 lumens) and 2% for low.
  
  Specifications:
  Brightness: 260 lumens (maximum stage)
  
  Runtime: 1 - LRB168A Rechargeable battery
  • Full brightness stage: 110 minutes with regulated output and 30 minutes with unregulated output.
  Runtime: 2 - CR123A Rechargeable battery:
  • Full brightness stage: 80 minutes with regulated output and 4 hours with unregulated output.

Maybe I should explain what my initial thoughts were. For single mode lights my initial requirements said not more than 100 lumens. I didn't want a light that was so bright that I had way too much light for most of what I needed it for. I was trying to combine the requirements for a backup tactical light with an EDC type light. It's a compromise I can deal with. Less stuff means more ammo or more mobility - both better in my book than the "perfect" light.

I added the 6PL to my initial list to fill that niche in brightness levels. Multimode modules just didn't work for me because I saw myself switching back and forth at the wrong times. When I looked at the list I created, I was surprised to find more than enough good multi-mode lights. Given those options I didn't have to settle for a single mode light that was good enough at everything, but right for almost nothing. That sealed the fate of any P60 module/host combo for this light, in my opinion.

Later I may add a P60 module/host for times I won't be humping it all over. The idea's there but there are higher priority items that are not light related. I've been keeping track of dealers that ship to APO though. I'm a budding flashaholic...might need a fix.

Do the new L1 or L2 cree count as a twistys? They have 2 momentary on levels that are controlled by pressure, but for constant on you will need to twist. Other than that they look ideal.

umc said:

I had a hard time understanding your criteria but if I did read it right then I think the Surefire E1B would do the trick.
Did anyone else feel like they were taking a test just now?

Click to expand...

nevermind

They certainly qualify. In fact the L1 is on my short list. Not sure why I don't have the L2 on the list. Pretty sure I meant to look at it and it's the same UI. My short list keeps growing again. Thanks!