What is the general consensus on Pelican Flashlights?

With these criteria...If you wouldn't mind ranking it.

1. quality
2. warranty
3. price
4. features
5. price/features
6. any other criteria that makes u decide to buy/not to buy a torch

scale of 10

and If you could post your general thoughts of the subject, I'd appriciate it.

thanx

Pelican makes fairly decent quality flashlights depending on what model you choose. Their lineup is extensive and diverse so it really depends on which model you're referring to. All of my experience with their smaller polymer lights has been good. I can't comment on their warranty because I've never had to use it, but I can attest to their customer service and marketing departments being more than willing to help you find what you're looking for. And if their flashlight warranty is like their case warranty, I'd expect them to be outstanding. Prices are reasonable, especially since some of their items are hard to find anywhere else (waterproof, blinking locator beacons in IR, for example). Most of their products are made or at least assembled in the USA, which is another reason I choose some of their items over cheaper, 'comparable' solutions.

Their 7060 is a great rechargable light. Tough and decently (160-180lm) bright. Their 8060 looks good as well. To rank them... I would put these lights right up there with Jetbeam...Fenix .... I have not used their dive lights...and they still seem addicted to C cell alkaline and nimh and Nicad batts (not in the 7060 or 8060)

Since this is pretty much flashlight heaven for most and since you don't see them talked about alot here I would say look elsewhere. It's not Pelican bashing, just reality. I spend alot of time on the ProAudio forums and it's kind of that way there too. Brands ABCDE are pretty much accepted and the standard. The others generally aren't openly bashed, but they aren't spoken of either unless somebody specifically asks and even then it's avoid them. For me when I think of a light, Pelican never enters my mind. Others may digress, my 2 cents worth.

MARNAV1 said:

For me when I think of a light, Pelican never enters my mind.

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+ (Number of total CPF members - 8)

MARNAV1 said:

Since this is pretty much flashlight heaven for most and since you don't see them talked about alot here I would say look elsewhere. It's not Pelican bashing, just reality. I spend alot of time on the ProAudio forums and it's kind of that way there too. Brands ABCDE are pretty much accepted and the standard. The others generally aren't openly bashed, but they aren't spoken of either unless somebody specifically asks and even then it's avoid them. For me when I think of a light, Pelican never enters my mind. Others may digress, my 2 cents worth.

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Interesting that you said this. Let me give u an example why I asked this question:

Pelican makes a 2330 model thats 40 lumens with tight white spot that runs off 2 cr123's batteries and rated for 40 hrs (i dunno if it will run 40hrs at 40 lumens but pelican generally reliable in their ratings, so let's not make it a sticking point).

when you made that statement in bold, i assume you meant brands like surefire and fenix.

i guess question is on the criteria of how you judge the lights. brand name? performance? options? and price...

in what order do you put price over other options?

i have some experience in high end gear, some of it much pricifer than most expensive surefire light, so this is a serious question from me

to illustrate: what other lights you aware off that have a bright white concentrated beam, run off 2-3 batteries, do 40+lumens and rated for 40 hrs (by a reliable company) and it's MSRP

ptolemy said:

to illustrate: what other lights you aware off that have a bright white concentrated beam, run off 2-3 batteries, do 40+lumens and rated for 40 hrs (by a reliable company) and it's MSRP

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No other company has lied yet so there is no answer.

With two batteries this might be 40 hours until the light is 1 lumen or something but it isn't 40 lumens for 40 hours. I doubt the light will still have any output at 40
hours.

With three it sounds a little more reasonable. However which is it? 2 or 3.

No one is downing Pelican. When I think of Pelican, I think industrial type people buying lights for industrial type things.

They have a lot of safety lights. Like the crap I had to use while working with C4 and some stuff I can't post on the internet.

Search said:

No other company has lied yet so there is no answer.

With two batteries this might be 40 hours until the light is 1 lumen or something but it isn't 40 lumens for 40 hours. I doubt the light will still have any output at 40
hours.

With three it sounds a little more reasonable. However which is it? 2 or 3.

No one is downing Pelican. When I think of Pelican, I think industrial type people buying lights for industrial type things.

They have a lot of safety lights. Like the crap I had to use while working with C4 and some stuff I can't post on the internet.

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true, but industrial lights cannot equal tactical lights with excellent warranty and high quality/reliability?

one of the big selling points in some lights in # of modes. you have 100%,m 50%, 20% 5%, strobe, something else...and i assume the more modes you have the more expensive in the light.

now, options are good and stuff, of cours, but is that main reason people buy the lights? or is it how they look or made? I am assuming that most tactical lights are from high grade aluminium, and have a lvl II or III coating. all have orings and often generic cree or other mechanisms

what then differentiates it? (if not for the 5 different modes, which i assume is a small proprietory circuit that, say surefire, made?)

Search said:

No other company has lied yet so there is no answer.

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How about the Surefire G2L? Eighty lumens for twelve hours from two CR123s? Ha!

I wasn't taking your question lightly, only going by what I see here for the most part. I don't know anyone who even owns a Pelican. I worked construction and at a sheet metal shop, never saw one. It's not a slam on Pelican at all but there must be reasons. Search may have a good point. Most people have Maglite's or those cheapy 2 D plastic lights for $2.99. When you really need them they never seem to work. You have broken down your criteria very well. I haven't used that criteria as much. I'm a person who goes by my gut feeling alot, it has served me well. Again, my 2 cents worth, many will disagree I'm sure. Maybe you could buy some Pelicans and do some comparing, that would give them more presence here. We all may be surprised.

MARNAV1 said:

I wasn't taking your question lightly, only going by what I see here for the most part. I don't know anyone who even owns a Pelican. I worked construction and at a sheet metal shop, never saw one. It's not a slam on Pelican at all but there must be reasons. Search may have a good point. Most people have Maglite's or those cheapy 2 D plastic lights for $2.99. When you really need them they never seem to work. You have broken down your criteria very well. I haven't used that criteria as much. I'm a person who goes by my gut feeling alot, it has served me well. Again, my 2 cents worth, many will disagree I'm sure. Maybe you could buy some Pelicans and do some comparing, that would give them more presence here. We all may be surprised.

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i totally get your point. same as audio folks sticking to few brands example.

i guess i am trying to see whether <incert a very popular light from surefire> offers something better than pelican one. (assuming specs are similar)

in the end, 150 and 130 lumens isnt gonna make TANGIBLE difference, while 8 and 14 hr burning time will

ptolemy said:

i totally get your point. same as audio folks sticking to few brands example.

i guess i am trying to see whether <incert a very popular light from surefire> offers something better than pelican one. (assuming specs are similar)

in the end, 150 and 130 lumens isnt gonna make TANGIBLE difference, while 8 and 14 hr burning time will

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If you want efficiency (more light for longer runtime), you would not go for either of those brands...

Tangible differences are can be seen between brands in any number of aspects. UI, QC, build quality, material quality, brightness, efficiency, ergonomics, tint, beam pattern, etc. The list goes on.

I think I have 2 pelicans - some little dinky "flasher" light on my dog's collar, and M6. I like the M6- it was my first "good" tactical light. Just a bit dated now, since it's 6 years old.

I think part of why we don't see them much is they don't have a lot of "wow" lights. That is, no phenomenal runtimes, no crazy bright outputs, etc. They're kind of clunky as a rule, that horrible yellow/green color, with usually "OK" bulbs in them. Plus few of them are pocketable.

Having said that, I see them a lot at the firehouse. They're rugged and dependable, simply b/c they're clunky with bulbs and probably dozens of years of feedback on their designs.

Probably just not "sexy" enough - not small/tiny/bright/multimode/LED. Kind of like no one really buys an VW beetle to be pick up girls.

LukeA said:

How about the Surefire G2L? Eighty lumens for twelve hours from two CR123s? Ha!

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True, but I was specifically talking about 40 lumens for 40 hours. I reckon it seems logical with three batteries.

The TA30 claims 60 for 25 lumens I think.

ptolemy said:

true, but industrial lights cannot equal tactical lights with excellent warranty and high quality/reliability?

one of the big selling points in some lights in # of modes. you have 100%,m 50%, 20% 5%, strobe, something else...and i assume the more modes you have the more expensive in the light.

now, options are good and stuff, of cours, but is that main reason people buy the lights? or is it how they look or made? I am assuming that most tactical lights are from high grade aluminium, and have a lvl II or III coating. all have orings and often generic cree or other mechanisms

what then differentiates it? (if not for the 5 different modes, which i assume is a small proprietory circuit that, say surefire, made?)

Click to expand...

You included the word tactical. You didn't include the word general. Then you talked about various modes and what not.

Multiple modes isn't tactical. Unless you twist a bezel or selector ring for, which most will still argue as un-tactical for good reasons, it's not tactical.

I'm a little lost as to what question your asking.

I think we can sum it up to this: Pelican makes some good quality lights, but if you want a tactical light, other companies offer better products.

I know a few cops who use the 7060. More on various Police discussion groups. However, a LOT more with other companies.

Search said:

True, but I was specifically talking about 40 lumens for 40 hours. I reckon it seems logical with three batteries.

The TA30 claims 60 for 25 lumens I think.



You included the word tactical. You didn't include the word general. Then you talked about various modes and what not.

Multiple modes isn't tactical. Unless you twist a bezel or selector ring for, which most will still argue as un-tactical for good reasons, it's not tactical.

I'm a little lost as to what question your asking.

I think we can sum it up to this: Pelican makes some good quality lights, but if you want a tactical light, other companies offer better products.

I know a few cops who use the 7060. More on various Police discussion groups. However, a LOT more with other companies.

Click to expand...

i was actually people view's in comparison.

i know streamlight stingers are popular, but they only run 1-2hrs, so it seems to bed way low for use

also, i might be misusing the term tactical? i assumed it's the shape of it with buttom on the back, and modes via it?

ptolemy said:

also, i might be misusing the term tactical? i assumed it's the shape of it with buttom on the back, and modes via it?

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If you can access modes via the switch, it is NOT tactical. The light must operate as single mode from the switch, and modes must be accessed via some other method.

Zero complaints. A Stealthlite 4AA was my first "high performance" light, and it went through daily hard service for years. Twice it went into warranty with Pelican. Once for a distorted lens (left on in a hot attic) once for a worn out switch (happened after several years). Both times Pelican made it right, no questions asked. The first time they sent me a replacement lens/bezel. The second time they asked me to send in the light (for autopsy) and gave me a replacement. :twothumbs

They're not the smallest or the brightest. But they do they job right. Many of them feature things that other lights may not necessarily have. (catalyst pills - no explosion hazard, flip switches that are operable even with heavy gloves - useful for diving and/or firefighter gear)

Marduke said:

If you can access modes via the switch, it is NOT tactical. The light must operate as single mode from the switch, and modes must be accessed via some other method.

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Surefire 2 modes? press for low and press more for high?

I actually wish I could buy a cheaper well-built light like that... probably copyrights :candle:

I have a couple of pelican lights. I have a 7060, which in my opinion is an extremely underrated light. However, I would categorize it as a duty light, rather than a tactical light. It fits in the same capacity as a streamlight SL-20x or stinger. I absolutely LOVE that light. I own many other lights, most of which are more expensive Surefire and Surefire legos, and I still love my 7060. Being a duty light, it doesn't get talked about much on the forums, since basically there's nothing to talk about. No multiple modes, no UI to argue about, and the quality is fantastic. So it's kind of boring for a flashaholic. Besides, they're kind of big for what they do (an asset for a duty light), and there's no cutting edge technology.

I guess that sums it up for me. For work, I would go with a pelican. For hobby, Surefire legos.

-John

ptolemy said:

With these criteria...If you wouldn't mind ranking it.

1. quality
2. warranty
3. price
4. features
5. price/features
6. any other criteria that makes u decide to buy/not to buy a torch

scale of 10

and If you could post your general thoughts of the subject, I'd appriciate it.

thanx

Click to expand...

1. quality 10/10
2. warranty 10/10 best warranty and customer service i have ever experienced
3. price 10/10
4. features 10/10
5. price/features 10/10
6. any other criteria that makes u decide to buy/not to buy a torch Innovation (RALS light system for example), lights that work without fail in brutal environments (hazmat, explosive atmospheres etc)

your probably not going to get very positive comments here, CPF is a very tiny and NICHE market, whereas Pelican Light users tend to be industry based (mining, fire, police, SAR, offshore, oil, deep sea diving, space exploration, caving etc etc etc) and not people that use CPF or build or use one off type flashlights or cutting edge components etc. Pelican lights are also RATED by OSHA and other REGULATORY agencies for use in dangerous environments, something that 99.9% of lights of CPF are NOT rated for.

Love the Pelican lights (and the cases). I once accidentally dropped my SuperSaberlight off a big wall i was rappelling off of. Pelican replaced it with a newer upgraded model, no questions asked.

again, Pelican ligths are aimed at industrial, exploratory , emergency services and some recreational users, where a simple, rugged, waterproof, explosion proof, reliable light is needed to work every time.