Does anyone own a First Light Tomahawk?

I am a police officer and am looking for feedback on this light. It looks really promising as a police duty light. I have been a police officer for 6 years and can see a lot of advantages. I do not live anywhere near a dealer and would like some feedback before I buy the light without trying it.

I don't have the LE version but just the one with one LED. It's plenty bright and intuitive to use with a lot of nice features. The beam pattern is not quite as clean as some since the one I have uses a smooth reflector but you have to be fairly picky to even notice it. I can definitely see it being useful for a LEO in a number of situations. One slight annoyance for me on it is that if you set it down on the bottom on a flat surface it will be just on the verge of tipping over forward. Not a real problem since you can lay it on it's side but having seen them in pics I thought it would stand up better (it does but the slightest jiggle will topple it). The clip is fairly secure and useful on a number of things and the finger loop (different sizes are available) makes it easy to hang on to when you have other things in hand. Service from Tomahawk is top notch. I have not seen or tried the other LE versions with color LED's around the perimeter so I can't tell you about those but I assume they have a different beam pattern as the main reflector would be smaller. I think there may be a review around here somewhere from a year or two ago. I know member Silverfox (our battery guru) and member brighterisbetter own Tomahawks also so if they don't see this thread you might PM them if you have other questions. Thanks for your service.

I have the Tomahawk MC Red/Blue. I have both the Tek loc & Molle-loc clips. I would use the TRS Tek-Loc with a Duty-Belt to keep the light from being lost. With the finger clip it becomes 2nd nature like carrying a ring of keys like I do. I have large hands/fingers and it fits well the clip is flexible enough. The thumb button overrides anything else when needed so if blinding someone becomes necessary when talking to them or you need to shine a light down a door panel/armrest/behind seat its quick and bright. Then goes back to normal just as fast. I like the lockout feature also, its a good idea to keep a light locked out in a lot of places. Just my opinion but mine is glued to my hand. Review here https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/188740

Nice light and good reviews here. I have the single LED version as well and really like it. I am surprised this light does not get more play on CPF.

One thing to note is that the light has a parasitic drain-or at least older models did. I do not know if it has been fixed, but the company was aware of it back in March of 2008. I purchased mine in October of 2008 and it still has the drain. Batteries die faster in this light than any other LED I have. I'm not an LEO so I don't rely on my lights like you do, so it's not a huge issue for me. But it is something to consider.

I own the LE version. Very useful. The high beam is nice and high and the low is very good for finding something in the vehicle.

The alternating white/red/blue will definitely get attention. Useful also as a dash light.

LawLight
:thumbsup:

I own the LE Version One of my favorite lights great features, ergonomic, very well built light. Here is a video of me running thru all the modes except strobe each mode has 3 brightness settings that the light remembers the level, except strobe enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMZCswxSWGs

Thanks a lot for the feedback. It is hard to find any feedback regarding this light. It does not seem to be popular on these sites. I was thinking of getting the tomahawk ST ,,as I can't really see any uses for the red and blue lights provided with the LE. I have a small pelican L1 with a red light and a Surefire G2Z which I will be putting a metal bezel and a Malkoff M60 drop-in as a back up light.

At my department we sign out streamlight polystingers prior to shift but I mostly use this light to direct traffic or to search vehicles when the occupants have all been safely secured. My department also provides me with CR123 batteries so runtime and drain is not a big issue.

How well does the tomahawk stay in your hand? Would it stay in your hand even if you were in a minor struggle with a suspect or for handcuffing?

Are there any advantages in going to the LE versus the ST that I am not thinking about.

Is the light bright enough?

Can any modifications be done to the light, such as drop-ins?

Can I clip the light to my duty belt or is the Tek Lok holster strongly recommended?

Just a few questions for you, any anwers will be greatly appreciated and would help me in selecting the right light.

I own one. It's a great light.
You can read my review of it here.

http://specialcircumstancesinc.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-light-usa-tomahawk-st-review.html

Steevo said:

How well does the tomahawk stay in your hand? Would it stay in your hand even if you were in a minor struggle with a suspect or for handcuffing?

Are there any advantages in going to the LE versus the ST that I am not thinking about.

Is the light bright enough?

Can I clip the light to my duty belt or is the Tek Lok holster strongly recommended?

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I have been using an LE for the past year and it is a great piece of gear. Used the Red/White/Blue beacon a couple times - once for some extra visibility at an accident and once to signal my location. You don't need it often but it is nice to have.

I carry mine next to the belt buckle with the tec-lock. It is perfect for hands-free use 90% of the time, but can be detatched/reattached very quickly.

The light is easy to hang on to, and I don't use the finger loop.

As far as brightness goes, it seems a little brighter than a stinger but is roughly in that category.

Why dont you use the finger loop?

Tek-lock strongly recommended IMO

Definitely bright enough.
Tough enough to be used like a roll of quarters in your fist although I have no idea why nor have I ever used it that way.

Steevo:

The Tec-Lock attachment comes with a plastic tube-like fitting that replaces the "grippy" rubber tube covering that comes with the light. This plastic tube has a projection that clicks into a receptacle mounted to the tec-lock.

It is possible to mount the finger ring in addition to this plastic tube, but when the ring is mounted it interfers with a full 180-degree rotation of the light when mounted on the belt.

About half the time I use this light hands-free while it is mounted on the front of the belt next to the buckle. Depending on the situation, it is sometimes necessary to rotate it through the whole 180-degree arc. This is particularly useful at crime scenes and eliminates the need to hold a straight light in the crook of your neck or armpit.

If I was doing alot of building entries I would definately use the finger loop. IMHO this is much better than a light mounted directly on the gun. You don't have to point the gun at everything you want to see and the shooting grip is excellent.

Has anyone had any experience with the first light liberator. It seems more bulky but it looks like it is more out of the way than the tomahawk for more of a true hands free light.

There are so many good options for a police light. How do I choose the right one. I do not live near any light dealers so anything I get would be ordered in without testing. Therefore I want to be absolutely certain that I get the "right" light.

Everyones input has been great. Now Im just trying to get some input on the liberator. Anything at all would help.

First Light offers a T&E program. I would suggest starting there.

Steevo said:

Has anyone had any experience with the first light liberator. It seems more bulky but it looks like it is more out of the way than the tomahawk for more of a true hands free light.

There are so many good options for a police light. How do I choose the right one. I do not live near any light dealers so anything I get would be ordered in without testing. Therefore I want to be absolutely certain that I get the "right" light.

Everyones input has been great. Now Im just trying to get some input on the liberator. Anything at all would help.

Click to expand...

I used the Liberator as my primary duty light for a while until it was claimed by the sea. It was pretty expensive for what it was, but if you need to partially free up a hand, it does that.

I tried putting various things in my hand when grabbing people with my Liberator--pepper spray, ASP baton, another flashlight--and found that anything thicker than a roll of quarters wasn't graspable with the Liberator's hand bracket over your palm. The ASP baton worked OK, the pepper spray can didn't, nor did the Surefire M6 or Wolf Eyes Boxer. Obviously, a gun isn't going to be useable with the Liberator in hand if your primary gun hand were injured.

Border Patrol dog handlers and horseback riders use the Liberator and like it. I liked mine, too, but the ability to shoot with it is overrated by First Light. I found it really wasn't much better than a handheld, possibly worse in some respects. It was handy for searching something at night. Both hands could search while putting light on the bag.

It takes up a little real estate on your gun belt, too, about 4-5 linear inches. That's part of the reason I lost mine--I hung it on a jacket pocket and it fell out while I was running.

In summary, if you have cash to burn, get one. Otherwise, you can probably live with a handheld and a weaponlight for your handgun, which is my current duty carry.