Any suggestions for a noob.

Hi all.
I'm new at this but quite interested.
Soon when I finish my studies I will be returning to my home country to join the police there again.

Thing is that I have always felt that the 2AA maglight that we are supplied with there is to weak to be of any good use.

I am looking for a small light for my equipment belt that has a powerful and somewhat centered beam.
I have been looking at the surefire E1 and E2 models.

If anyone has any experience or suggestions it would be great.

Hi Brin,welcome!
I don't own any of E series, but I have heard
a lot more praises for E2E than E1,E2.For a police officer, I do think a combat grip would
be great. So how about a G2Z? Not too expensive,
very practical. If you don't like Polymer and prefer aluminum ones,there are C2,Z2,M2.What do you say?

Brin, Welcome To The CPF!

You certainly can't do wrong buying an E2 (an E1 may not be bright enough for an LEO). And if utility is all you're after, try going for the other faves as well:

- Streamlight Scorpion
- the Taclites

Or if you're really on a budget, try the Legend LX. Its cheap enough so that if you don't like it, it won't hurt your pocket. And it'll always be an excellent backup light.

Beware though - most of these lights use lithium CR123 cells, so it might expensive running these lights, depending on how and where you buy them.

LED lights are coming into the picture, but its not likely that you'll find one off-the-shelf that will match the size/cost performance of a good incandescent. Perhaps if you are adventurous, you could persuade one of the excellent modders on the CPF to sell you a 5-watt white luxeon-based mod - the only LED flashlights available anywhere that can match or surpass an E2's performance in a compact package.

Good Luck with your flashlight search!

The SL Stinger is used by a lot of LEOs. It is re-chargable (good for about one hour of constant runtime per charge).

Thanks for the replies, Im gonna have to check on availibility here in Canada, since they probably cost 3 times as much back home.

I don't believe a combat grip would be any special use to me, as police officers dont carry firearms where I am from (iceland). Except maybe if a combat grip has any non-weapons advantages that I don't know about?

But I am now looking into the stinger and G2Z.
Does the power from these lights compare with a medium to large mag?

!now Im afraid I might be catching the flashlight bug, after reading this forum! I cant afford to catch any more of these bugs(palm,ipod,lights?) lol

I have a Legend LX (Brinkmann) and had to order bulbs for it, as Walmart does not carry them. I am not a LEO, but I do have other uses for it. It is a very nice light. The only problem with it, is how do you carry it???? Brinkmann is working on an accessory pack for it. Since I have a couple of Rebels, I swapped the rubber on the heads, so I could use the Rebel's belt clip thing, and it works fine. However, this may not be the best option for LEO use. The LX is brighter than a 4 or 5 D Mag-Lite.

The advantage of Lithium batteries (123 or AA), is that they function very well in cold conditions. You could get an Inretech adapter for the minimag and run it with a pair of lithium AAs (1 watt Luxeon Star and quite bright). It is a drop in module for the minimag and decently long runtime.

i am quite surprised that the standard issue light is a minimag. yes, you need something much brighter. if you want rechargable, tigerlight ($130 us) streamlight ultrastinger ($120 us) or maglight rechargable ($100 us) are some of the standard issue lights many police departments use here un the usa. the scorpion is also a nice light, i believe it is around $40? us dollars.

depending on the availability of batteries in your area, lithiums might be difficult to aquire, so you might want to make sure before you shell out lotsa money for a sf. if you are looking for a good small light, get the arc ls, it has different battery packs, going from much smaller, to about the same size as a maglite, also, you can use either cr123 or aa's. it is great light, but can not throw as far as some others, so it would be a perfect backup or close range light. i personally reccomend the ultrastinger because of the brightness and throw (also, i own one so i can say first hand), however, in iceland, the wall outlets may be different, so you will have to check into that also. maybe a taclite is what you are looking for.

What type of batteries are available to you where you live? Do your normal house current for local electricity run 110v or 220v? you could get a rechargeable if the proper batteries are not available in your area. I would suggest getting a second rechargable battery also. This way you have one to use while the other charges. Also you may have to get a voltage converter at Radio Shack to accomadate using 110v unit if you do not have 110 comong out of the wall in Iceland. Also one other consideration is Pelican lights, they will run on regular C or D batteries and have more output than a mini-mag, lighter to carry than the bigger Mag lights, and durable too. just one more consideration to confuse you.

Well I forgot to state, that the mini mag is the standard belt light. There are large Mag lights in the cars. However these large mags are used by everyone and have a quite high failure rate(getting old.
The thing is when I have to run out of the car to chase someone or something like that I most often do not have time to grab the large mag light and often need to rely on my belt light. Plus the times when I have had time to grab the large mag it mostly just got in the way because of it's weight and size.

These are situations where I need a low weight and powerful light.

I believe that almost all types of batteries available there.

Well I found a few lights near me, I will most likely buy one of these because of the conveniance.
These are:
Streamlight Scorpion, Stinger
Surefire 6P, E2, G2,

My thougts now: I think that the stinger is a bit large for a 12 hour day belt light.
So I have to deside between the scorpion, 6p,e2,and g2.
Anyone know witch is the brightest of these?

Originally posted by Brin:
So I have to deside between the scorpion, 6p,e2,and g2.
Anyone know witch is the brightest of these?

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Brin---It's a question of run time and brightness.
The 6P and G2 run 65 Lumens for 60 minutes. The E2 runs 60 Lumens for 75 minutes. I'm not sure on the Scorpion. It's in the same neighborhood.
By the way, you can replace the standard bulb in the 6P and G2 with a high output 120 Lumen bulb but the run time drops to 20 minutes.---Marc

Make sure you can get batteries for a reasonable price too.

The G2 & 6P both use the same lamp, a P60, The E2 uses a different lamp and has a wider beam than the G2 & 6P.

A 3D maglite is about ~30 lumens.

The Scorpion is about the same brightness as the 6P & G2 and comes with an extra bulb. The Scorpion also has an adjustable focus beam. The Surefire are set at optimum focus and cannot be changed. Bulbs for the Scorpion cost about $4. Bulbs for the Surefire (P60) cost about $16.

Originally posted by Brin:
....The thing is when I have to run out of the car to chase someone or something like that I most often do not have time to grab the large mag light and often need to rely on my belt light.... These are situations where I need a low weight and powerful light.....
My thougts now: I think that the stinger is a bit large for a 12 hour day belt light.
So I have to deside between the scorpion, 6p,e2,and g2.
Anyone know witch is the brightest of these?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Brin,

When I first read your post about the 2AA MAG, I couldn't believe you were serious; I thought it was a joke, sort of like using a horse drawn cart as a patrol car.

Based on my experience with these lights I would exclude the E2 from your list. When it first came out it had a very diffuse beam, which although later improved by a redesigned reflector, is still is no match for the other three lights you mentioned. If you need a "serious" pursuit light then it's critical to focus on the brightest 2x123 lights available.

The 6P and G2 take the same Surefire lamps and are essentially the same except for the 6P's metal body and the G2's composite body with metal tube insert. The 6P comes with a "lock-out" tailcap, and other CPF members can confirm whether the G2 has this feature. I prefer the G2 for two reasons: It's lighter and the composite body is warmer and easier to hold onto in cold weather.

Even as a relatively unemcumbered civilian I've found that an ounce or two less on my belt makes a difference, and I think that any weight saved on an officer's heavy duty belt is worthwhile. Here are the weights of the three lights under consideration and a fourth, the Asp Taclite, which I feel is worthy of inclusion despite its weight.

All weights include batteries weighed on a digital postal scale accurate to 0.1oz

Taclite: 5.4oz

6P: 5.3oz

Scorpion: 4.6oz

G2: 4oz

The Scorpion is an excellent value and may be slightly brighter than the two Surefires in the first few minutes of its burn. There are four reasons why I do not carry the Scorpion and why I don't think it is ideal for critical use:

1) In a dynamic or chase situation when you may need to present the light immediately in perfect focus for optimum intensity, an external focus light that changes focus as easily as the Scorpion can put you at a disadvantage

2) Battery change can only be accomplished by removing the head and destroying focus. After reloading you will have to focus once again, so that even if you achieved optimum focus and taped the head in place you would still lose valuable, perhaps critical time.

3) At tightest focus its hotspot diameter is slightly larger than the Surefires, and as the batteries begin to fade, the Surefire's tighter beam becomes an advantage

4) Its recessed tailswitch is very sensitive and can easily be accidently activated.

If you need a very penetrating super bright small light, then I would recommend the INTERNAL FOCUSING version of the ASP TACLITE with TRIAD lamp as one of the two brightest, longest throw 2x123 lights currently available. The only other light in its class is the TACM III which is also a super bright 2x123. It is an excellent light, but of somewhat less robust and detailed construction than the Taclite. It is, however, fully waterproof.

If you are interested in the Taclite, you should know that it has a "clickie" switch. Click on/ click off. No momentary on. I personally prefer the Surefire "push button/ turn to lock" system even though many in our group like the clickies. One of our senior law enforcement professionals still prefers his Taclite to other lights, but that is a minority opinion.

Here is some discussion about the Taclite in case you're interested:

ASP TACLITE THREADS AND INFORMATION

Good luck,
Brightnorm

Brin, regarding your query about the combat grips, i would say that the combat grip is very useful, even if you don't carry or use a firearm. the combat grip allows you to hold the light in a more comfortable manner, without requiring you to bend your wrist forward when using a normal flashlight or bend your wrist backward when holding a flashlight in the "tactical" overhand style.

also, the combat grip would make the light easier to grip on to even when its wet or slippery, as the combat grip doesn't rely much on surface friction to ensure a good grip.

if you're looking for a 123 cell powered light, i would advise the G2Z by surefire. basically the same as the Z2 combatlight, but its made of surefire's polymer and it has a pyrex lens and lock-out tailcap. the former would prevent warped or bubbled lenses caused by overheating and the latter would prevent accidental dischage of the light.

i hope this helps

As to the voltage for recharge on a Streamlight Ultra Stinger, it is available for most countries supplied form of current.
Brin, this would make a great patrol car light. It can light up objects over 100m easy.

Well I finally found a store that sells some high end flashlight around here. They had a wide selection of Streamlights but no surefire lights.
I had a hard time deciding between the Scorpion and the Stinger. The scorpion with it's small body, or the rechargable stinger.
Well at the end I just bought both of them, and these are not the last flashLights Im buying.

Man I can't believe the brightness from these lights amazing.
Thank you all for your suggestions, I have much research todo before my next light purchase.

Well at the end I just bought both of them, and these are not the last flashLights Im buying.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Thats the spirit! Good choice.

I highly recommend you get an Arc AAA LE for your key chain.

Congrats, I bought 3 Streamlight when I finally found 'em. Looks like you a flasaholic, bwahahaha. MORE POWER RULES.

Congrats, nice choices, I bought 3 Streamlight'S when I finally found 'em. Looks like you a flasaholic, bwahahaha. MORE POWER RULES.

http://www.geocities.com/ice5339/lights

My small but growing collection..
Mag AA, Scorpion, Stinger.

And yes, the word on the Mag "Logreglan" is the Icelandic word for police. Translated it is something like
the Laworder (log=Law) (Reglan=order. Quite natural to me, but probably sounds strange you guys.

good job brin...handled like a true flasholic

now hurry up with those posts to make it official...