New Rescue light?

I am heavily involved in Search and Rescue in my county. I am also addicted to flashlights.. 3 times a year we teach a weekend Search and Rescue class. Usually I try to buy a few new toys before it to "test" and sometimes loan them out to the students to see how they hold up to SAR work.

Next week is my 1st class of the year and I'm looking for a new flashlight.

Usually my light of preference is one of these 2:

Pelican - http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2410

or

Streamlight - http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=104

I just picked up a streamlight LED HP http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=171 but it is rechargeable and I really prefer something we can take the batteries out and put fresh.

So.. Here is my question.. I'm looking for a new light.. Less then 80.00, it should be LED and I prefer it to run on AA's and it must have a decent amount of run time. At least 1-2 hours on a set of batteries if not longer.

Any thoughts? Thanx in advance!

not much amount of runtime with any high power flashlight unless there is a low mode....especially with AAs...

check out the Fenix Tk20 and the soon to be realeased Tk21 with a smaller head/reflector and never go back...(low mode with more output than your picks is 11 hours)

BTW the lights you are looking into are really LOW powered with todays standards

edit: Also...have you caught wiff of thew developementsin headlamps too?
Surefire SAINT, Zebralight H501 & H30, Fenix Headlamps, New PETZL headlamps with updated LED, etc...

huh! seems I filled your weekend already

You might want to check out the ND-5

http://www.lasergenetics.com/nd5-laser-designator.aspx

Maybe the new Wolf Eyes Krait would work for you. It's under $80 and runs on 2 AA's.

It's a flood-to-throw light which could be ideal for SAR work. It uses a XR-E R2 and has 3 modes plus strobe.

I am a big fan of Dereelight Javelins. They are quite upgradeable since they use p60 drop-ins. The stock arrangement is 2xaa. They also sell a 1xaa extension that increases brightness and run time. It is a very nice light. flashlightconnection is out right now but depending on your location there are other dealers in other locations. I ordered the host for $28. I also ordered a cheap xre p60 dropin for that host and with a smooth reflector it is a very good thrower. The stock xpg r5 is also very good with good throw and great spill.

The real question to be answered before any recommendations we make will be truly useful to you, is whether the nature of your SAR work is mostly wilderness, or whether your team also undertakes urban SAR operations.

Wilderness SAR work argues in favor of using a neutral or warm white emitter, for better color rendering and better object and edge definition in outdoor environments. In that case your budget would be well served by looking into the EagleTac line of lights, and looking into a Malkoff P60 Warm drop-in for a standard P6 host (for which there are numerous bodies available.)

If your SAR work also includes urban environments, you could utilize the higher lumens available from cool white emitters, and both EagleTac flashlights and Malkoff P60 or P61 drop-ins would work in your price range. (If you like the Malkoff drop-in, be sure to order the flood beam configuration for urban SAR work.)

Either of these two kinds of lights will offer better performance than the brands you originally asked about. The EagleTac line also offers lights that use AA cells, so power availability will be less or an issue in remote operating environments. Finally, regardless of the light you choose, consider whether operating costs can be kept low by using rechargeable 123 li-ion cells (assuming your mission profiles allow for use of a recharging station).

I'd be interested in learning what you eventually purchase, and reading how those purchases performed for you.

Quark AA2 Turbo.

The Pelican 8060 would be the light I'd most favour for SAR work as it has a number of attributes that would serve you well. For a start it is cheap to run as it is a rechargeable which runs for a good 4 to 6 hours. It also can utilise 'C' cell batteries which will provide up to 10 hours light if you find yourself in an all night search. It has a beam which throws for a considerable distance with a very good spill. It is as rugged as any other Pelican light and can take all the abuse that the SAR role is likely to throw its way. Lastly, it has Pelicans fantastic warranty should you ever have the need. Of course it isn't in your price range:sigh: but IMHO it is probably one of the best lights out there for SAR work. Anyway I hope you find what you are looking for and keep up the fantastic work you are doing.:thumbsup:

MrEarp:
I do wilderness SAR in PA. I can tell you what I use to give you some ideas, though my lights don't meet your specs.

I've been using a Fenix P1D CE mounted in a Fenix headband for a headlamp. I have the P1D in an aftermarket Leef body, which allows me to switch modes easily. I started using this set up after breaking my plastic bodied Black Diamond Spot headlamp. My eye is on the new SF headlamps, but that's for somewhere down the road.

I neck carry a SF L1 LumaMax hanging from a SF lanyard. The lanyard lets me drop the light to go hands free when I need to for radio calls, taking notes, etc. I've come to appreciate it's UI for SAR. A 1/2 push on the switch for low, full push for high if I need more throw. Or I may twist the switch to full time low and push the switch for high when needed.

I just got a JetBeam-III M I'll use for SAR. No experience with it in the field yet. I'll probably set it in a high/low mode. But then I can switch to one of the flashing modes if I need to do some signaling.

At this point I like the small 123 single cell lights since they're easier to carry with everything else I have to carry. The amount of light, throw, run times, etc. have worked for me. I bring spares with me in a battery caddy. I'll be using 18650s in the JetBeam to stay with a single cell set up.

I'm not near the light expert that many are here at CPF, and mostly I read to learn. But here's my input regarding some user lights in a SAR capacity. Good luck with your hunt for a new light.

gander6

So.. Here is my question.. I'm looking for a new light.. Less then 80.00, it should be LED and I prefer it to run on AA's and it must have a decent amount of run time. At least 1-2 hours on a set of batteries if not longer.

The below are my thoughts:

From your initial description, I think you need more power and should think about my below as, my opinion, your eighty dollar light, ain't gonna cut the mustard and you're wasting your money. If I were doing SAR, I'd be hitting the hit and pumping up the wattage. I'd be looking more towards a JetFire M2S or a RRT-3, or equivalent. Yes, more than your stated budget but more functional on a rainy night when you're trying to light the trees in a river, fifty or a hundred yards away.

Oh, and FWIW, again, solely my opinion, AA's reduce your overall output and should seriously be reconsidered as a power choice as AA's, although convenient, reduce your light output.

:thumbsup:

glockboy said:

Quark AA2 Turbo.

Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup:

Mostly wilderness but we get into some City / Urban Ground SAR type stuff as well.

The reason AA's are part of the equation is the batteries have to be readily available at any gas station in the middle of the night in the middle of know where. Also Most of our portable radios will run off of AA packs as well so its all about battery standardization. The less unique things are during an emergency the better off we are.

Plus we get LOT'S of AA's donated to the team and since we have a few members who are on FEMA teams they require them since they have pallet's of AA's for response..

How bout a Fenix LD20?

MrEarp said:

Usually my light of preference is one of these 2

I'm looking for a new light..

Click to expand...

So what (specifically) is 'wrong' with your favorites that you're looking for something else?

have you looked at the ITP A6 Polestar ?

it meets your AA and price point requirements and throws a decent amount of light.

Nothing is really wrong . I just am always looking for the next best thing.

I'd love something like the pelican or the stream light that I already have but that are much brighter. The streamlight has more of a focused beam where as the pelican is not as focused.