Importance of light reliability

I got a bit spooked so I felt I should share this. I don't normally make threads like this. I feel geared more towards the importance of light reliability.

I went to Marin yesterday, I often go there for finding old bunkers/hiking, some bunkers fer few even know about them, there locations, or even that they exist even when they are standing on them. It was dark out and I noticed they were doing a restoration project for the habitat. There is a tiny hole in the ground hidden that leads down a ladder to a 100 foot ventilation shaft I know about as entrance to a huge complex. This may sound odd going into these places, but it's my side hobby. It leads to a 85,000sq' bunker. I went down for the hell of it since it might be covered up for good since the tiny hole was now exposed and forest and foliage that was once around around it cleared for restoration.

The hole is very tiny. And I banged my PA40 on a concrete pour and the light shutoff. Not sure if I hit the button, thought I hit it on the head. It shutoff and I was in th dark, I forgot I took out my backup in a light rearrangement as I sold some of my 2AAs the same day, my P100A2 and Energizer e2. The first thought that came to my mind was this, not kidding. "Now I believe in what I hear about Surefire". I thought about surefire right away lol. I owned a G2X before but sold it soon after, no reason for the sell just wanted to try something else.

Not sure what caused it to shut off but it turned back on. I could have hit the button I don't really remember but now I know the importance of having a reliable light. And backup, even if it's just a single simple AA.

Now I want a really reliable long, lasting, tough light in the AA form. Feel free to recommend it to me, I am all ears.
Thanks guys.

Animalmother,

That must have been a scary moment - I am glad your Jetbeam came on again. It brings back to mind that CPF saying two is one and one is none! Just pure bad luck you had sold your normal back up lights.

In terms of back up there are only really two or three I trust and the most trusted is ironically the cheapest.

The first light is the Surefire E2L AA Outdoorsman,. Very robust light with a nice beam and excellent runtimes on Lithium AAs but does well on eneloops as well. Stick a FO4 diffuser on and it becomes a nice floodlight as well.

The second one is a Zebralight H51 or SC51 in whatever variant you like - cool, warm or HCRI and normal or floody. The new SC80 seems beefier and thus possibly more durable but I am waiting for the SC80w to come out so I can get it and experience it before I can comment on that point - at this stage for me that is untested but a possible future contender.

My absolute back up is the Gerber AA Recon light - 5mm led single aa light with a dial at the front so you can select the normal white or three different colours - red, green or blue. This is a twisty light and also a battery vampire. I have carried one with me at least everyday for the last seven years. Stick a Lithium AA L91 in and it has in my experience been an absolutely flawless back up. This light has survived everything I have put it through.

Being honest now I always carry the Zebralights and a Gerber Recon AA with me. I would add my E2L AA if I was travelling away from home for a few days.

There are other AA lights I like but the above are the ones I prefer and I would always have at least two different AA lights. I would also carry a Fenix E01 or two as a AAA back up because you never know and that light has proved it worthiness as a backup in many tests on CPF - ask Scount24! With an Energiser Lithium AAA L92 you will get a minimum of 21 hours and probably a bit longer.

That is my two UK pence anyway. Good luck in your choices - I am sure others will have suggestions as well.

Yeah it was pretty scary because I was about to get onto a ladder with a 100' drop down the vent shaft.
I really like my PA40, I am hoping I just hit the switch without noticing. I can't remember if I clicked it once to turn it on or clicked the button 2 times to rest it and turn it on. I hope it was the first because it meant I must have hit it.

Looking for small, affordable, tough, single AA backup light with long runtimes. Don't mind lumens much. I am happy with 45ANSI

Well if you trust Surefire, then sell your other lights to buy all Surefires.

Take pictures next time and post them.
My surefire 6p with malkoff drop in is my go to light. It has never failed me.
I use my nitecore EZAA as a backup.

I'm a big fan of SureFires and have EDC'd my SureFire L1 quite a bit over the years. Although I've carried a 2xAAA penlight as a single backup light for the most part, recently I've been carrying a pair of 1xAAA lights (Fenix LD01 & Preon 1) to accompany the penlight. I'd definitely trust any of my SureFire L1's over either of the 1xAAA lights, but against both of them as a pair, now that's a tough competition. :shrug:

The E2L AA is a good light with very long run time and I love mine. Do yourself a favor as well by getting a headlamp. Can you imagine dropping your light all the way down halfway on the 100' climb up the ladder? At least you have a headlamp turned on to provide the illumination that you would need. An L1 secured to your neck via the supplied lanyard is good too so in case you drop the light it is hanging on your neck.

I tend to like the idea of using an E01 as a backup (or even as a secondary backup). They're reliable, long-lasting, tough, and cheap as hell.

UpstandingCitizen said:

I tend to like the idea of using an E01 as a backup (or even as a secondary backup). They're reliable, long-lasting, tough, and cheap as hell.

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Yes, never underestimate a keychain light. I don't have an E01 but I do have a neutral white stainless steel Preon ReVO which I depend on a lot even though I carry at least two other lights with me.

Hmm, so what are peoples opinions on the most reliable manufacturers? Sounds like Surefire could be number one?

(Any thoughts on sunwayman?)

I have a vague recollection of someone abseiling off the end of a rope in the dark, their light gave up the ghost earlier. Don't quote me on that though...

My ARC-AAA has never failed, but, sample sizes of 1 suck. Would be neat if it was feasible to do reliability testing, but that would require unreasonable resources. (Like 100 ARC-AAAs, and a concrete walled washing machine.). Instead we have to rely on anecdotal evidence, which is ironically unreliable.

Two is one, one is none, awesome saying!

You need to start writing stories,I know all about your lights now but you never finished the story about the bunker and I was enjoying that part.

cold,

I think you have hit on a key point here in that the reliability of lights can be somewhat anecdotal. The ones people tend to rely on are those they personally trust through experience. Here on CPF we also have the resource of the evidence of torture testing by various individuals of certain lights to such a degree that we are convinced by that evidence of the durability and reliability of a light. I attach a link below but just do a search of torture tests:

run4jc's Zebralight torture test
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...light-Torture-Test&highlight=EO1+Torture+test

I also second pjandyho's comment about having a headlamp or the suggestion about having a light on a neck lanyard. If you don't like the idea of carrying a headlamp then carry a head band that can fit your edc lights. I always have a nite ize headband with me and any of my lights will fit into that and become a headlamp if necessary.

I guess the key point to note is that like any tool a light can fail so it is best to always have at least three if not more. With the availability of reliable AAA lights that is not difficult.

For things like your adventure in the bunker, I would have had a Surefire with me for certain, maybe two ( Who I am I kidding, it would have been three, I have that many to go to Target on a shopping mission from my wife). I may have a custom or two on me for an event, or venture such as yours, however, I always have a surefire with me no matter.

I would pick out a couple of Surefire lights that work for what you do, and then you could carry others you have as back-up's. Now, keep in mind, even your back up lights need to be kept up, and maintained just in case.

I feel Surefire is the gold standard for flashlights worldwide. There are many other lights that are excellent, both custom and production, and while I own many wonderful lights from other companies and makers, Surefire is my flagship brand.

A SF L1, 6PX or your old G2X would have been perfect to get you out of something like this. Also, a Titan on a lanyard around your neck would be great for this kind of thing.

Was this one on the WWII big gun bunkers? Or an old nuke missile silo?

Glad you made it out OK, sounds like fun.

Good luck in the future,

All the best,

RL

mcnair55 said:

You need to start writing stories,I know all about your lights now but you never finished the story about the bunker and I was enjoying that part.

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I agree...85,000 Sq feet, that is massive! Do you have any photos of this place?

Thanks.

cold said:

Hmm, so what are peoples opinions on the most reliable manufacturers? Sounds like Surefire could be number one?

(Any thoughts on sunwayman?)

I have a vague recollection of someone abseiling off the end of a rope in the dark, their light gave up the ghost earlier. Don't quote me on that though...

My ARC-AAA has never failed, but, sample sizes of 1 suck. Would be neat if it was feasible to do reliability testing, but that would require unreasonable resources. (Like 100 ARC-AAAs, and a concrete walled washing machine.). Instead we have to rely on anecdotal evidence, which is ironically unreliable.

Two is one, one is none, awesome saying!

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The thing about Surefire is they have by default designed, engineered, built and tested their lights to meet Mil. Spec standards, after which, they have the absolute most demanding customers in the world, bar none, using their lights by way of the US Military, and LE from the highest levels on down.

When you buy a Surefire...The testing has been done for you by the best of the best. You open the package, take out a Surefire, and you are good to go!

RedLed said:

The thing about Surefire is they have by default designed, engineered, built and tested their lights to meet Mil. Spec standards, after which, they have the absolute most demanding customers in the world, bar none, using their lights by way of the US Military, and LE from the highest levels on down.

When you buy a Surefire...The testing has been done for you by the best of the best. You open the package, take out a Surefire, and you are good to go!

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Oh, what are the mil spec standards with regards to flashlights?

(Some pretty reliable products do show up from foreign places, the AK-47 being a famous one. I wouldn't want to fall into the logical fallacy of USA made/designed is best, or that having military customers automatically makes something good. History is full of crappy procurements in the military, it is also full of the cost-benefit trade-offs they had to make.)

I agree, wont leave home without the Surefire(s).. Carry one on my duty belt at work (a Z2 with cryos cooling bezel, mclicky, and a vinh XML single level). Carry a backup or 2.. I like the streamlight micrstream with a rechargeable lithium cell in it, super bright and plenty of throw, also love my preon 2 which is my primary back up at work, stays clipped in the molle on my vest.. and when working night shift i carry a nitecore extreme infinty in a cargo pocket.. so always have at the bare minimum 2 lights.. knives? same with them! at least 2! haha

Surefire's are my go to lights. C2 with a M61W and a McClicky on my belt and a L1 in my pocket. I also have an A2 near me at all times as well with a Calipsoii's LED ring.

I also carry a number of other brand lights that I do like alot but Surefire is the one constant with me for over 10 years now.

A new find for me is Elemtrolumens. I have only one example of Wayne's lights but I don't see what could fail in his design and I swear you could drive a post I to the ground with it and have no adverse effect on it.

Here's another vote for hearing more about your adventures in the bunker. I love exploring old abounded buildings and structures.

Edit; P.S. a good reliable backup light would be an Arc AAA GS. 10.5 lumens for 5 hours. Not a bright light but reliable as hell, small and bright enough to get you out of a tight spot.

There is quite a list of documentation available from the US Department of Defense on that subject - found through Google search. I did look out of interest but can not spare the time to survey it in detail. Perhaps another member who may already have carried out that exercise can post the key details which I suspect will be based around reliability, toughness and specifications of build or perhaps if you have any spare time you could extract the key details and share them with us interested parties.

From a personal perspective I have had several Surefire Lights and currently use an E2DL, an E2L AA Outdoorsman and occasionally an LX2. They have met my personal standards for toughness, reliability and quality. They were expensive to purchase in the UK but I do not regret the cost because of the confidence I have in the product. That is a personal judgement call you have to make with regard to any product.

cold said:

Oh, what are the mil spec standards with regards to flashlights?

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RedLed said:

When you buy a Surefire...The testing has been done for you by the best of the best. You open the package, take out a Surefire, and you are good to go!

Click to expand...

Just google "surefire +fail" or "surefire +doa" here on cpf, and ull know that it might not be 100% true.