looking for new duty light

Ok here goes. I'm looking for a new duty light I've had some pretty bad luck with mine getting destroyed. I have $200 burning a hole in my pocket. I had and inova t4 that my partner thought would be good to put a strion battery in and well poof. So I switched to my stinger led which went for a swim in the illinois river. So I'm now in the market for a new duty light. Docking rechargable is preferred but 123's. Will suffice. I'm looking for a stingerish size for belt carry. And before all you fenix addicts go and recommended the tk40 there is no way I'm lugging around 8 AA batts rechargeable or not its just not practical. So flagsholic land what say you.

You might want to give that new 5.11 Light for Life a look. Charges in 90 seconds, 90 lumens max output for about an hour, then winds down to lower outputs over the course of the second hour, so you're not left in the dark.

I have no experience with duty lights, however, so I'm not entirely sure what makes a "good" duty light. I'm basically just regurgitating info I've gotten through lurking these forums.

The MSRP is about $170.

I know of several LEO's and Military that like the JETBeam JET-lll M, which would be my suggestion. Only $84.00 before CPF discount. Easy to use 2 level interface that allows the light to come on in preferred level. One level is user definable. It takes cr123a primaries, rechargeable rcr123a's, and 18650's(which give 3 hours runtime on high)....and it's tough as nails.

Here is one example of an officer that uses one.

Be sure to check out the CPF Specials page for discount codes. :thumbsup:

Consider the Peak LEO series. Super quality, and optional configurations that let you tailor the light to your preferences as to size, output, batteries, switches, and even metals.

Many of my LEO buddies are carrying around EagleTac T100C2MKii or T20C2...on my sugestion of course. Of about 20 of these recommendations I would say that about 12 of them have replaced Stingers. Not quite near your $200 budget but that should be a good thing!!

If you can hold out a little (and pass by with something inexpensive), Peak is coming out with a new hand cannon with an SST-90 at 2000 or so lumens. While I'm waiting, I'm using a Malkoff P7 dropin in a 2C mag because I like the form factor, durability, and size. Anything Malkoff would be a good choice as far as durability for LEO use.

Well if you have $200 bucks burning a hole and you want a reliable light I say go with a Surefire LX2 or other. Also I would recommend looking at the Malkoff MD2 with a M60 or M30. Those are some real reliable lights. I want to try the 511 light myself but size seems a bit big and I like being able to carry spare batteries for those long searches in the woods. It may be able to charge in just 90 seconds but when your 5 miles in the woods there isn't 90 seconds worth of power near you.

C4 Streamlight PolyStinger and Surefire E2DL:

I carry two lights on duty: a 185 lumen C4 Polystinger, and a 200 lumen Surefire E2DL. Bought them both at Gulf State Distributors which is the biggest duty store in Alabama, and they really aggressively price stuff for LEO's. I paid around $120 of the Polystinger, and $118 for the E2DL. I also bought the fast-charger for the Polystinger.

For heavy rain and illuminating car interiors I recommend the Surefire E2DL. Not only is it 200 lumens, it has a fuller (wider) beam pattern without being too wide. The wider pattern is also better in buildings as the polystinger's pattern is just a bit too tight. Of course the Surefire has spoiled me, I thought the Polystinger was just amazing until someone loaned me a 200 lumen Surefire.

Someone on this thread recommended the LX2. I would not recommend the LX2 if you do traffic stops because of the user interface. I have both the E2DL and the LX2 (After one shift with the LX2 I definitely ended up liking the E2DL because of the excessive pressure it takes to keep the LX2 on high - if your thumb lets up even ever so slightly the LX2 drops down to 25 lumens until you're squeezing the crap out of it again to get it back up to 200 - hardly practical during a traffic stop. You shouldn't be paying that much attention to your light in a safety situation, tactical or otherwise).

With the E2DL you click it once for high beam and you're at 200 lumens until you click it again, and it really illuminates the interior of a vehicle on stops. Some will point out that besides the momentary button in the rear, the LX2 also stays on by twisting the back - but this is very impractical for LE because the throw of the twist is WAY too long, almost 340 degrees of twisting to get from low to high beam making it a dangerous two-handed process or tricky and lengthy one-handed process in which the clip still gets in the way in either one. Just a quick click with the E2DL, and the E2DL is a decent little weapon, and Safariland makes a duty-belt holster for the E2DL.

For the bigger light, if I didn't have the Polystinger I would carry a Pelican 7060. I have a Pelican 8060 in the car that is a great big back up, I thought I would use it at vehicle checkpoints or working races, but really haven't.

Surefire C2, bored to accept 18650 cells. With a Malkoff M30!


:thumbsup:

Check this thread!

So what did you decide?

DimeRazorback said:

Surefire C2, bored to accept 18650 cells. With a Malkoff M30!


:thumbsup:

Check this thread!

Click to expand...

+1

I have it. I love it. Nuff Said :twothumbs

secureone said:

Ok here goes. I'm looking for a new duty light I've had some pretty bad luck with mine getting destroyed. I have $200 burning a hole in my pocket. I had and inova t4 that my partner thought would be good to put a strion battery in and well poof. So I switched to my stinger led which went for a swim in the illinois river. So I'm now in the market for a new duty light. Docking rechargable is preferred but 123's. Will suffice. I'm looking for a stingerish size for belt carry. And before all you fenix addicts go and recommended the tk40 there is no way I'm lugging around 8 AA batts rechargeable or not its just not practical. So flagsholic land what say you.

Click to expand...

I have a guy I work with that is very happy with the Pelican 7060. Another buddy just bought an 8060 w/ cradle. A bit bigger than you specified though.

Thanks guys I'm thinking ill give the 7060 another try. I had one that fell out of the holster and the 3 way switch became a 2 way. I just ended up pitching it which was pretty stupid cause it was a great light. I still have the charger though so ill just but the light. With the extra money I could buy an eagletac. But now I can't decide between the t100c2 or the t20c2. Decisions decisions