Who'd you choose for your backup?

I have a friend who came to me for suggestions on flashlights for night security at a rural campground. They were using Maglites and a handful of cheap LED lights, but after lending them a 24w Boxer 168R and a Dereelight DBS V3 they are sold upgrading. (My DBS V3 has the extension tube with two 18650's and the MCE option, but it cannot take continuous duty at full power due to heat)

* The campground is fairly large and pitch black at night, so a thrower is obvious, but some floody characteristics are a plus, as well.

* Multiple batteries are probably not a good idea as there are several folks using these lights which would complicate any accountability, and they would not want to worry about the batteries becoming unbalanced.

* The lightwould have to be durable and able to withstand rough handling and different weather conditions.

* They'd want extra batteries in the chargers at all times.

My question is this- If you could choose two lights to use in a similar environment, what would you go with?

Thanks~

Roadstir VA

ROADSTIR said:

* Multiple batteries are probably not a good idea as there are several folks using these lights which would complicate any accountability, and they would not want to worry about the batteries becoming unbalanced.

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I'm surprised no one has responded with advice
I'm not really sure I understand this part.... could you elaborate?

Mmm...no accountability and no idea how to use batteries.

I would suggest they stick with their mags and get some Malkoff drop-ins for them.

Non-flashaholics are a real problem when it comes to suggesting powerful yet user friendly lights, "how many twists to do what?"

Stick to rechargeable solutions:
Pelican 7060
Tigerlight
Streamlight Strion/Stinger series LED
Magcharger

Well, you did say 'what I would choose' rather than 'what I would suggest for other people', so...:nana:

I would use my current 'high rollers', the Malkoff Wildcat V2 and the Hound Dog. For this application MD4 bodies with two 18650s in each would be the best.

On the other hand not only are these practically impossible to buy in quantity but not exactly wall chargers either. I'm not sure what I'd suggest for these guys.

I guess maybe one of the HIDs with proprietary battery packs and charger inlets on the body itself? I can't recommend anything here personally though.

Imon said:

I'm surprised no one has responded with advice
I'm not really sure I understand this part.... could you elaborate?

Click to expand...

I *think* he means that single cell lights are preferred. It'd be bad if some they had 2x 2 cell lights, 1 that had been cycled twice and 1 that had been cycled 25 times and then they mixed up the batteries from the 2 lights.

I too would choose something quite different to what I would recommend for others.

I would use:
Mag 2D ROP low with 2" deep reflector and powered by 2 x 32650 cells. All the light & throw & spill that I would need and 2 hour run-time.
But others may not want to learn about charging 32650 cells (I use a hobby charger for this).

I would recommend:
1 x 18650 lights + a good quality, simple & reliable charger like the Pila (this is VERY important when using Li-ion cells). 18650 cells provide a lot of watt-hours of power for a single cell light.
Lights like the Jetbeam Jet-IIIM would be good - simple 2 mode interface, reliable, tough, etc. Maybe program the custom (head loosened) setting to a useful medium output that would have over twice the runtime of the max (head tightened) setting.

Kraid,

You're exactly right about mixing batteries. I'm thinking about one of those generic HID's you see on eBay so often. It wouldn't be my choice, but with one cell and a lot of light they appear idiot-proof.

However, there is so much knowledge on this forum that I'm open to suggestions from the collective flashaholic "genius pool." :thanks:

You might want to try out the MG P-Rocket, runs off 1x18650 so you can get a few and switch them out, has 3 modes, low-med-hi with memory, check them out at shiningbeam

I would say for for these guys;
Main light the Olight SR50 with two battery packs, one on light and the other on charge.

For backup, the RaLight clicky 170 tactical, with 17670 body and 17670 protected cell.

i was just given an insight hc150r and have been pleased with it. it comes with 1 18650 and charger. looked up the price and was even more pleased when i found out that they cost about $65.00, you can probably find them cheaper. you could pick up a few extra batts to go along with it. i would suggest this as a inexpensive option as part of your setup.

If your not looking to spend over more than 250 bucks, then I say get a shiningbeam P-rocket and/or X-thrower, Pila charger and 4 AW 18650 2900mAh Batteries.

I would suggest the same that I always suggest for people that don't necessarily want to read an instruction manual to use their flashlight... Streamlight any of em there great!

EagleTac T20C2 MKII. Nice charger plus several 18650 cells. You could get two lights, 4 batteries, and a charger for 200 bucks I suspect.

Honestly though, since they aren't flashahaulics. I think you'd be better off with a P20A2 MKII and eneloops.

Mismatched eneloops = whoopty doooo. As long as they change the batteries in pairs, the worst case scenario is barbecuing a good eneloop sometime a couple years down the road when another cell finally goes belly up.

12 batteries, a charger, and 3 EagleTac P20A2 lights would be about 2 C-bills and a MAJOR upgrade from maglites of any sort. They will provide a superb balance of throw and spill in a very convenient, durable, and easy to understand package.

Simple UI and 230 lumens. Medium mode is ideal for anything out to 20 yds and high mode will light up a miscreant enough at 100 yds to dissuade them from miscreantizing.

btw..What's the rough budget anyway?

If it's high enough, you could go with something like the Polestar, TK40 and 45, SunwayLED's multiple AA light, etc.

Dead simple and safe battery chemistry and 500 plus OTF lumens. Other than the polestar though, those are gonna approach $150 per light.

ROADSTIR said:

Who'd you choose for your backup?

Click to expand...

Chuck Norris.

Budget is up to $300 per security person. $600 total. That means one light, at least two batteries, and a charger for each. BTW, they had a borrowed HID for a while and were crazy about the amount of light.

Knowing human nature, these guys will probably have the lights on high all the time, so heat will be an issue. The light must be able to disapate heat without parboiling the persons hand. lol

With that budget, you should be able to find excellent Li-ion options, and AA is not gonna cut it.

I'd go with the T20C2 MKII I think. Very simple, pocketable, and tough. In utility terms, I think I'd prefer it's size if I was stomping about a campground regularly (which I actually do, just not for money).

Perhaps a 3 light solution is in order?

2x T20C2 lights for constant carry on the job, and a single big *** thrower for "emergencies" in the office?

SR90...FTW

IMHO you should be looking for rugged durability, and a CPF history of survival in those conditions.... Fenix TK20 comes to mind immediately.

Personally I use an L1T-V2 and LSD NiMH cells as my backup in that kind of scenario. IMHO its an oldie but a goodie.

Ok, we finally decided on a generic 50w/35w HID club. Er, I mean flashlight. You've all seen them, the ones with the flashy looking "custom" case with cutouts for the amber filter, car charger, home charger, shoulder sling, etc. Someone made a suggestion here about a FL dealer (the caller ID says Xeray) with a cheap 50w. Their website had them for $279, but there was a Labor Day sale for $179. We ordered three with two extra batteries. They are supposed to be 6600mah and at $99/each they should have gold contacts, IMHO.

However, upon arrival I was underwhelmed fairly quickly. The flashlight itself seemed a bit cheesy. It appears to be a cast metal, but with acceptable knurling on the handle and good balance. The o-ring on the tail cap was VERY thin and was missing on one of the lights.

The batteries were very disappointing in their construction. Basically, it's an 8.75" by 1.5" cylinder with, I'm guessing, 18650's inside. There's a rubber pushbutton on the end the protrudes through a hole in the tail cap. It looks like it mates ok, but I wouldn't be confident in a wet environment. The real rub came when I went to install the first battery. As I went to insert it into the light I felt the batteries inside the tube slide from one end to the other. It surprised me so much I almost dropped the %#$ thing. It feels as though the battery cylinder is only 50-60% full and the rest is air. Three of the five cylinders had loose batteries inside. One battery does not work at all.

When you click the light on it starts in 50w mode, shows a blue LED ring at the tail end, and reaches full brightness in about 10 seconds. Touch it again and it's supposed to drop to 35w and the ring turns green. To tell the truth I can tell a very small difference in brightness. Specs say that you should get 100 minutes on low and 85 on high.

As for the light itself, it is a cannon for $179! :thumbsup: Oh yeah, it's bright. A big fat hotspot and plenty of flood. I lit up several friend's yards roadtesting this thing. My friend has turned it over to the security guys, so we'll see how durable it turns out to be soon. I also have to mention that the folks I dealt with on the phone were very friendly, helpful, and professed to back up their products. They stated that there was a 1 year warranty and to contact them with any problems. I'll be calling them tomorrow after I finish jury duty.

One last beef is that I just don't understand why these Asian mfr's don't pay someone a few bucks to FULLY TRANSLATE THEIR MANUALS! How much would you have to pay a college student to smooth it out? This is especially critical when you are dealing with issues like charging li-ion batteries.

* "After long time lightening, don't touch the glass in order to avoiding hurt by high temperature"

* "b. First current changeless, then voltage changeless." WTH?

* Finally- "If you don't use it for a long time,it will be made it's performance down. So you have to recharge and discharge completely several times before you use it again in order to recover it's performance"

Again, it's a $279/$179 light. But a little better quality control "make me love it long time."

Sorry for the low level evaluation of this light. But after reading some of the incredibly thorough reviews on this site I don't think I'd come close. Thank you to everyone who so generously shared their advice and experience! I'm always learning something on CPF.