Are current Led lights considered pretty durable?

MrGatoMan

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Iv been a light junkie for quite a while but I'm only just now starting to learn in depth how they work. Please forgive me if this is a dumb question. The issue of durability with incan lights came from a jar or impact breaking the filament. Since there isnt a filament to break in LEDs the issue of something breaking isn't that much of a problem. So generally speaking most of the top LED light manufacturers I.E. (Fenix, 4Sevens, Sunwayman, Olight, Eagletac, ect.) make lights that can withstand a good deal of abuse. Is this a correct assumption? If this is a correct assumption, would it be safe to say that most lights from these manufacturers would be suitable for military, law enforcement or other industries requiring high durability? I ask this because I work in law enforcement and I really like the reasonable prices from the above manufacturers as well as the ability of many of their lights to use rechargeable lithium batteries.
 

awenta

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Yes most of their lights are reasonably durable. If you want something bomb proof get an HDS or Surefire.
 

MrGatoMan

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So are most of the lights are suitable for mounting to rifles to use as weapon lights?
 

TEEJ

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Some are more optimized for it than others, based upon the form factors.

Some have a more floody beam, or, a tighter more concentrated beam - IE: The light essentially makes it so you've walked into a room with all the lights on at once...or puts a small hot circle on a target, but everything else is dark...or somewhere in between those extremes.

Some have bodies/form factors that are conducive to various rails to weapon mount them, double ended battery springs and/or other feature to absorb recoil, accessories for pressure switches to allow control w/o releasing the weapon, etc.

Some have controls that work best for tactical situations, some have controls that are best for getting up to go pee w/o waking your spouse, etc.

So, the ones meant for weapon mounting can be extremely great choices over similarly purposed incans.

There are an enormous number of choices.

:D

I EDC a Klarus XT11 for example, which a lot of LEO's seem to love....as you can't kill it, its bright as heck, has super intuitive and useful controls, and a great combo beam that's both floody and long range, recoil absorption, etc.

Surefire used to be the gold standard, just like for the incans...but, they are too expensive for many especially considering they are a mere fraction of the brightness a similar sized light gives in that class now a days. I think they'll upgrade, but, right now, they charge ~ 3x as much for ~ 1/3 the lumens.

:D
 

mdocod

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On a larger generality, the answer is very roughly "yes." Most of these [mainstream here] options are going to be reasonably durable. In reality, the finest of builds can fail at the worst possible moment [it CAN happen]. If you rely on light for survival, in dark situations, then you should always enter a situation with a backup plan. There should always be a secondary source of light on your person, or even, a 3rd or 4th. I think the same could be said for firearms or any other device that has mechanical or electronic complexity that is being executed in life threatening scenario.
 

Sgt. LED

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Just to be safe I look for lights that the manufacturer or trusted fellow forum members say is good enough to take the recoil.
Then I test fire it many times, on several range sessions before I trust it. It's your life right, it's worth the extra time.

Can any led light be rigged into a mount, yes. Will it work, yes at least for a few shots. Is it a good idea, no.
You want potted electronics, you want stout springs on the positive and negative contacts inside the light too.
I prefer primary cells on weapon lights but I don't shoot regularly enough at night to bother with rechargeables.

But hey, I don't know nothin' more than my 2 cents worth of advice haha.
Buy quality the first time and you don't have to buy a second time.
 

StarHalo

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Search "abuse test" here on the forum and prepare for several hours of entertaining reading - flashlights frozen in giant blocks of ice, baked into a loaf of bread, stuck in an industrial press, shocked by Tesla coil lightning, shot by firearms, left outdoors over a season, etc. etc. etc...
 

MrGatoMan

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Abuse test, now thats right up my alley. How can I tell if the electronics have been potted?
 

TEEJ

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There has been some concern that the protection circuits on protected rechargeables might not take repeated recoil impacts. For single cell lights (One 18650 or one 26650, etc...) unprotected cells are a lower concern at least, and most weapon mounted lights tend to be single celled.

Frankly, most guys I know don't WANT the light mounted to the weapon, they'd rather control it independently....despite the cool factor on TV and in movies where the actors are sweeping the rooms with their weapons like giant flashlights.

In a situation where you are entering a dark space, and counting on the light to see if there's a bad guy aiming at you, etc...vs a victim being held hostage/hiding from said bad guys, you might not want to have to AIM AT what you want to see, as bringing the light to bear is faster w/o being attached to a rifle, etc....like if there are two subjects on opposite sides of a room, and you can only bear on one at a time...and one might be armed, but the other is likely to make a run for the window, etc.

This is also why for close quarters especially, some guys like a flood light to fill the room.

On the other hand, in a firefight, you might not want to even have a light that THEY can aim at...and if its on your rifle, etc...you're giving them a pretty likely idea of your center of mass, etc.

The most popular weapon mounted lights in real use are more for nocturnal varmint hunting, like taking out coyotes and wild hogs, etc.

(They rarely shoot back)

:D
 

purelite

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Yeah but holding a flashlight in one hand and a shotgun or AR-15 in the other hand is kinda cowboy isnt it? I can understand if you are using a handgun but dont most SWAT type assaults on buildings and such utilize some foorm of 2 handed weapon for most of the team?


I would go with the Malkoff dropins with either Surefire host or Elzetta. Go look at the tests on youtube on the Elzetta.

If you are on a super tight budget there is now a reasonably priced potted drop in on the dealers forum. Its a 3mode though which might not be desirable for LE?
 
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