MY RESULTS-help me buy a long-throw light

I recently got a pewter SpaceNeedle II and LOVE not only the great amount of side spill light but the absolutely wonderful throwing power of this light as well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Now I'm hooked so I want to get another light with amazing throw. Give me some suggestions...

What about a Streamlight UltraStinger? My concern with this light is the "memory" that is native to NiCD batteries.

What about a Streamlight TL-3? How does this light compete in throw?

What about a turbohead for either a 2-cell or 3-cell SureFire? I can get a black KT1, N1, N2 & Z34 bezel/lanyard kit + free UPS ground for $97.01 from Strategos.

Am I missing a better option?

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

I'm not sure about this, once I get the funds (around December) I will make one of those 2C modded lights.

I recieved a PVC pipe and foam rings from theflashlightlens.com last week or so (don't remember when but recently) to put into the 2C maglite to hold 3 CR 123's. I thank you guys for that and will put up and Cheers in a little while.

I will then add a cammed perfect reflector made by a CPF member when he does a second run (Otokoyama)

Get a UCL lens from flashlightlens.com

Add a KPR112 bulb from RS.

That set-up should be a nice long throwing flashlight in a very seductive package (as stated by another CPF'er.)

I would doubt a 2 or 3 cell SF would throw far, they are more of a area light with perfect beams. I heard of a 12PM SF if you can find one to be the ultimate throw light.

Just some random thoughts,
Jason

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

Spotlight. :d

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

The three longest throw commercially available 2x123 lights are the ASP Taclite, TACM III and Pelican M6. The Streamlight TL-2 is also very long throw but less so than those three. I plan to test it against the others. The very inexpensive Dorcy Spyder is a surprisingly good "thrower", but less so than the TL-2.

The TL-3 is one of the furthest throwing small non-turbohead lights.

Among larger lights the Magcharger with standard "brighter" bulb will out throw many more powerful lights due to its focused beam and the presence of a smaller very intense hotspot within the "regular" hotspot. The use of Welch Allyn bulbs will provide more powerful output but, at least in one brief observation, the beam was wider and less focused than that from the bright standard bulb. I haven't yet compared them in an objective longest throw test. I'd be interested to see the capabilities of the perfect reflector mod mentioned by Jason.

Surprisingly to some, the SF M6 is one of the longest throwing lights despite its wide beam. The longest throw SF lights are those with turboheads and the 9NT. Although the D3 with SRTH and N2 produces "only" 105 lumens it is a very long throwing light and throws even further with the 3" turbohead. More powerful SF turboheads may throw even further if they can focus the beam as tightly as the SFRTH or 3" with N2. Al can tell you which SF has the very longest throw.

I plan to eventually retest the M6, Magcharger, Ultrastinger, Tigerlight, D3/SRTH/N2 and possibly others. Ikendu and others have posted beamshots and gone into great detail comparing longest throw lights.

Brightnorm

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
ChrisM said:

What about a Streamlight UltraStinger? My concern with this light is the "memory" that is native to NiCD batteries.

[/ QUOTE ]I had an US and wasn't impressed. Don't worry about the NiCd batteries. I've never had a memory problem, only heard of it. I think it's more of a myth or problem with early NiCd's.

[ QUOTE ]
What about a Streamlight TL-3? How does this light compete in throw?

[/ QUOTE ] You're talking apples and oranges with your choices here. For a 3-cell light it is awesome, nice throw and side spill. The switch feels good, has a pocket clip and the price makes it a real bargain. If you need a 3-cell lithium that's compact this is an excellent choice. It kicks the snot out of the M3, do a search it's been discussed before.

[ QUOTE ]
What about a turbohead for either a 2-cell or 3-cell SureFire? I can get a black KT1, N1, N2 & Z34 bezel/lanyard kit + free UPS ground for $97.01 from Strategos.

[/ QUOTE ] The TL-3 blows these away. I had a Turbo head/M3 w/hola and was not impressed. The beam was too narrow and didn't throw very far.

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

Get a TigerLight 8" for long throw. Best £100 I've ever spent on a non SureFire flashlight.

The best flashlight I've bought for beam throw is the 9NT. It's got one of the best beams in the business in my opinion.

Al

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

Brightnorm,

When you get the chance to do the comparisons with the SF M6, can you do both the 250lumens and 500 lumens LA? I believe you used the 500lumens in your last comparision, but i'm very curious about the 250lumens as that's porbably the one i would use. The 500lumens have too short a runtime battery-wise. I have the SRTH and i'm really curious how the 250Lumens M6 compare against it throw-wise.

Much thanks!

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

I got a TL-3 xenon yesterday. It is very bright. I almost got a SN-II a couple of months ago, but didn't. I think the TL-3 is better for me because it is fairly compact. It fits it my jacket pocket, a SN-II wouldn't. If I can't carry the light easily, I won't have it when I need it.

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
chumley said:
I got a TL-3 xenon yesterday. It is very bright. I almost got a SN-II a couple of months ago, but didn't. I think the TL-3 is better for me because it is fairly compact. It fits it my jacket pocket, a SN-II wouldn't. If I can't carry the light easily, I won't have it when I need it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got my TL-3 Xenon about a month ago and I concur with the above statement. The light is well made, very bright, a real thrower and compact. The price on this light is a real bargain!!!

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
ChrisM said:

What about a Streamlight UltraStinger? My concern with this light is the "memory" that is native to NiCD batteries.

What about a Streamlight TL-3? How does this light compete in throw?

[/ QUOTE ]

The below quote can be found @ http://www.streamlight.com/pdf/stinger.pdf

5. To obtain the safest and longest service from your rechargeable products, Streamlight, in conjunction
with the leading manufacturers of nickel-cadmium batteries, offers the following recommendations:

A. Do not periodically "condition" or "exercise" your flashlight battery despite what you may have been told about nickel-cadmium "memory." According to the most recent technical manuals of battery manufacturers, the actual existence of "memory" in a battery used under the conditions of flashlight service is extremely unlikely. Streamlight specifically discourages a regular ritual of deep discharging, which is not only unnecessary, but will greatly shorten lamp and battery life.

B. If the battery is overdischarged, there may be a small leakage of alkaline electrolyte from the safety vent on top of the cell. It appears as a powdery substance and can affect the integrity of the electrical contact. We recommend that your battery be periodically inspected and the contact area wiped clean should any electrolyte be present. Use caution when handling a battery that has leaked. The electrolyte is a strong caustic and can burn or irritate the skin and eyes.

The TL-3 would make for a fine choice...

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
ChrisM said:
My concern with this light is the "memory" that is native to NiCD batteries.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've also read that this is mostly myth. The memory phenomena was observed on a satellite that discharged batteries to the exact same level and then recharged on a very precise schedule.

The special conditions that produced the memory condition on the satellite would not likely occur with NiCd's used in a flashlight, camera, phone, etc...

Quote: "The real meaning of memory effect comes from precisely repeated charge/ discharges (without overcharging) of sintered-plate nickel-cadmium cells where the cell seems to remember the point of discharge depth. The effect is exceedingly difficult to reproduce ..."

The entire post.

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

Long-throw?

You might want to wait for the SF L6. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

The Streamlight 4AA propolymer Xenon version has a real long throw and is only about $20.00.
You can also get the 7led head for it.

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

I did some perfunctory testing of the Streamlight Ultrastinger and Tigerlight (among several others in the same category). Both these products will throw that projected spot well over 100 yards.

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

It's tough to describe "Long Throw" because it can mean many things to many people.

I've been thinking about how to codify it. Here's one thought: The distance at which the light will provide 1fc of illumination, based on measurements at 10+ feet.

Here are some rough estimates of that distance:

Vector CO137 (aka "Banana") 300'
Streamlight Ultra Stinger 125'
Surefire 9P with N2/SRTH: 120' (broader than US)
Streamlight T3 90' (broader than SL6)
Underwater Kinetics SL6 90'
Surefire 9P/P90 60' (oval)
Surefire G2/P60 40'
Surefire E2e 35'
Surefire L4 LED 25' (very broad)
Streamlight 4AA LED 10' (very broad)
Arc AAA LE 4'

Numbers were reduced slightly from new-battery peaks, especially on the SL6 as the alkalines fall rapidly. Beamwidths vary widely among these lights.

I just received the SL TL-3 for use in my car. It is very impressive. I actually received two of them. Sadly, one was in a factory package marked SL TL-3LED, but it was a second incandescent one.

I am quite impressed by the SL TL-3, by the way. It's price-performance point is great. It does not give me the feeling of a great piece of machining like the SureFires, but as a utility light, I am thinking it's one of the best options out there.

The cost to go from 90-120 feet approximately doubles. I like the idea that in an emergency that I can keep feeding 123 cells rather than having a dead light after an hour. Your applications might vary. If you want a rechargeable, then the US would be a good choice.

Past 100 feet or so, things get really out of hand to maintain that 1 fc illumination. Although 1fc is arbitrary, it's not a lot of light. It's what you get from an Arc AAA at 4~4.5 feet.

Remember, the Banana is only providing 1fc at 300 feet.

At 300 feet, the SRTH and the US are providing about 0.2fc. Yes you can see something there, but it's not bright.

For really long throws see the spotlights section. The Banana is only the beginning /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cheers,

Richard

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
tkl said:
[ QUOTE ]
ChrisM said:

...[ QUOTE ]
...[ QUOTE ]
What about a turbohead for either a 2-cell or 3-cell SureFire? I can get a black KT1, N1, N2 & Z34 bezel/lanyard kit + free UPS ground for $97.01 from Strategos.

[/ QUOTE ] The TL-3 blows these away. I had a Turbo head/M3 w/hola and was not impressed. The beam was too narrow and didn't throw very far.



[/ QUOTE ]

tkl,

I found that the D3 (9P) with SRTH and N2 noticeably out throws the TL-3, though with a thinner beam, but the TL-3 is still one of the longest throwing, most compact, non- turbohead 3x123s.

Brightnorm

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
rlhess said:
It's tough to describe "Long Throw" because it can mean many things to many people.

I've been thinking about how to codify it. Here's one thought: The distance at which the light will provide 1fc of illumination, based on measurements at 10+ feet....


[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Richard,

Good to see you back. Excellent informative and useful post!

Brightnorm

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

[ QUOTE ]
brightnorm said:

Hi Richard,

Good to see you back. Excellent informative and useful post!

Brightnorm

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi, Brightnorm,

It's good to be back--I need to go away from time to time, but it seems that some good things have happened in the last nine months or so.

Thanks for the kind words.

Cheers,

Richard

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

That SNII threw farther than my US Chris. Go with a TL

Re: help me buy a long-throw light

Want long throw? Better get a MaxaBeam then! Okay, random useless post, as the purchase price is just silly...sorry, I'm bored! Would be interesting to see a review on TRS of one though!