Newb police officer

Hello,
I'm revenuer, greetings from the Republic of Texas. The flashlight bug has bitten and i'm here to read and get a bit more educated. Couldn't find the "hello" thread, so i used this one.

I'm not here to advertise, i'm here cause i'm a peace officer and i've grown quite interested in flashlights and there effect on crowd control at night (when my local bars let out).

Have three flashlights, a led stinger, an ultrafire (surefire knockoff i believe) and a cheap no name led light.

A little explanation....my shift consists of myself and another officer (small town). I have a ginormous amount of bars vs the number of officers on the street. I noticed that my stinger when in strobe, helped clear folks out a bit quicker, thus lowering the chance of fights. Then i found the ultra-fire and it is even more intense than the stinger. I realize that my ulta-fire may be a cheapy, but it works.

Now i want more a intense light/strobe for work and for the simple reason, flashlights are now like guns....i need more!

thanks, glad to be here,
revenuer

:welcome:
Good luck in your search .

I'd say for 1-handed activation of strobe the Eagletac T20C2 Mark II is great!

For 2-handed activation 4sevens Maelstrom G5.

1st one is a thrower - but you can switch out the OEM drop-in module (XP-G LED) for one (XR-E LED) that retains the throw.
2nd one is a thrower.

There ya go: T20C2 Mark II review
Maelstrom review

T20C2 Mark II XP-G beamshot
T20C2 Mark II XR-E beamshot (comparison with Mark I)
Maelstrom G5 beamshot


In all fairness you won't go wrong with either. Don't stress too much about getting the "perfect" one.

Already by eyeing that EagleTac. Looks like it would be blinding (kinda what i'm looking for). Without using tech terms, this thing is extremely bright? I guess from reading here, you measure with lumens?

thanks for any help,
revenuer

Personally, I would go with a JetBeam Jet-IIIM or M1X, or both. The simple UI is critical for LE IMHO. Set the user adjustable setting to the strobe freq you want, then a simple twist of the head and you go from max to strobe. Power them with IMR18500/18650's and carry CR123's for back up.

I don't think it has anything to do with the stobe, but rather that illiminating a person reduces the effects of deindividuation. By shining a light on someone it reduces their sense of anonymity. This makes them feel as if they might be held accountable for their actions and less likely to misbehave.

RyanA said:

I don't think it has anything to do with the stobe, but rather that illiminating a person reduces the effects of deindividuation. By shining a light on someone it reduces their sense of anonymity. This makes them feel as if they might be held accountable for their actions and less likely to misbehave.

Click to expand...

I've been "babysitting" drunks for ten years now, and i don't disagree with you, flashlights have been singling people out for quite sometime now, thus they are less likely (hopefully) to commit crime individually or in groups, riots, etc.

But, i noted a marked "cooperation" with crowds with the strobe from the Stinger first, which in turn brought me to my UltraFire and now here. I'm no expert, but the strobe has an effect. It definitely has an affect when i hit them in the face with the strobe. "They" want to get away (from the strobe generally) and i want them to get in there car and GO!

On a bit of different subject matter, i sure like that EagleTac P2o MkII, but the twisty is sort of a deal-breaker for me. It seems that it would be slower than the tailcap clicky selection. I cycle through those settings with both of my flashlights when i need too.

Has anyone used one of the EagleTac or other "twisty" style in tense situations? I'm curious, is it fast? I know i can "click" faster than i can "twist", lol.

revenuer

I don't know much about Sunwayled, but they do have interesting lights. This may work for you. http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showpost.php?p=2521405&postcount=111

There might also be some association between strobe and police.

I actually prefer a momentary tail, like that on the 6p. But it usually rules out the use of strobe. Or else would make for a very impractical light. That's pretty much the issue. Practicality vs overspecialization. If you really wanted to you could make a light that is closer to 555nm as it appears brighter to the eyes. However it would be extremely impractical and any gains in effectiveness would likely be marginal.

revenuer said:

Has anyone used one of the EagleTac or other "twisty" style in tense situations? I'm curious, is it fast? I know i can "click" faster than i can "twist", lol.

Click to expand...

I've got the EagleTac P20C2 Mark II and it's a great little light. It spits out a very bright 300 lumens OTF (out-the-front) that's been measured by a couple CPF'ers and other sites, BUT I don't think the UI (user interface) of twisting the head back and forth to change modes suits your need to instantly access the strobe feature. Sometimes I find myself twisting the head over and over again hunting for the mode I'm looking for.

The Fenix PD30 R4 has instant access to strobe by half-pressing the clicky from turbo/max.

The JetBeam RRT-2 Raptor has a control ring which will require 2-handed operation, but at least you know exactly what mode your light will turn on in since the control ring is labeled with the various modes.

The 4Sevens Maelstrom can be programmed to go from Max brightness to Strobe by simply loosening the head.

As you see, the list can go on and on and on....best of luck in your search.

Oh, and :welcome:

Deleted.

I'm also rather new to these forums and I don't know a great deal about flashlights, but the first light that I got was the Fenix LD20. This is a light that I got my father for a gift, I tried it out myself and was very impressed. It has a very simple to use strobe feature as well, it can be done with one finger in less then a second. The light is just over 200 lumens, it takes two AA batteries and is also waterproof to IPX-8 standard.
Does that sound good enough?

Surefire Z2-S . Surefire quality with strobe. Press the momentary 3times to activate the strobe.



Cheers
Thorsten

I see some of these flashlights can be customized, upgraded and generally improved. Just be reading posts, i see one member posted that a person could put a "Malkoff M31 on a Surefire C3", what does that do? I'm looking through the posts, but haven't seen this explained.

Is there a post/thread that explains what lights are customizable and upgradable? I see some flashlights are (i guess) upgraded with parts from diff companies.

thanks,
revenuer

Malkoffs are drop in Light engines for Hosts- often Bored out Surefires and others. There is one from oveready dot com that is a triple CREE and is said to put out 1100 Lumens.
Not sure if it would stobe- but it would be EXTEMELY bright.

RAGE CAGE said:

Malkoffs are drop in Light engines for Hosts- often Bored out Surefires and others. There is one from oveready dot com that is a triple CREE and is said to put out 1100 Lumens.
Not sure if it would stobe- but it would be EXTEMELY bright.

Click to expand...

Now that is a cool idea, i'm looking at the site now. Lol, not sure what i'm looking at, but learning. Don't see the site listing lumens or modes tho.
thanks,
revenuer

For quick access to strobe, check out the Olight M30. You can press the side button when the light is off and have momentary strobe, or you can turn the light on and cycle through the levels and have constant strobe. Might be worth a look.

Fenix TK30, TK40 or TK45 well priced, over 600 lumens and they have strobe.

With the T20C2 mk.II you can enable the hidden strobe mode. You can then use the tailswitch to activate the strobe with one finger. To set the light on bright or dim, you turn the bezel independently of any strobe operation.

However, I don't think the strobe is a high enough flash rate to be really disturbing. Now, if you want a real seizure starting strobe, get the Fenix TK45. That can be set up to activate with the left button but the buttons are on the side, like a Maglight.

Rich

revenuer said:

Now that is a cool idea, i'm looking at the site now. Lol, not sure what i'm looking at, but learning. Don't see the site listing lumens or modes tho.
thanks,
revenuer

Click to expand...

I've got a single mode that I use in my 6p, there's also a three mode (low/medium/high) version. I'd recommend the single mode with a momentary switch for law enforcement use. The cool white version will be brighter. They are stupid bright.

They do require the use of specialized batteries though. You'd need to use two IMR 16340 cells.

As far as strobe goes, if I remember correctly there's a certain range where it is most effective. I think its somewhere between 10 - 14 hertz (10 - 14 flashes per second).

RyanA said:

I've got a single mode that I use in my 6p, there's also a three mode (low/medium/high) version. I'd recommend the single mode with a momentary switch for law enforcement use. The cool white version will be brighter. They are stupid bright.

They do require the use of specialized batteries though. You'd need to use two IMR 16340 cells.

Click to expand...

So, just for kicks, if i had bought a used or new 6p and dropped a malkoff m60 (i think that's the correct title/model)....it would smoke my little ultrafire wf-502b, which kills most of my co-workers lights, tho none have anything fancy.

May be a stupid question, but i'm trying to get a point of reference before i drop some change on this. Just sucks that it doesn't have a strobe, but i think i can deal with that.

thanks,
revenuer