Need light for duty carry

tigerlight FBOP?

The FBOP Tigerlight (a shorter non-pepper-spray version originally launched for the Federal Bureau of Prisons) sounds like what you're looking for at 8" long.

The place to get them is Tactical Warehouse. You can't beat Dan's service. The price on his web site is $125.99 right now, but see if there's a promotion for CPF going on in the Dealer's area.

Both Dan and Randy (TigerLight guy) post here regularly. Randy has answered quite a few questions and details on the light can be found by searching the forums.

I think the TL is the brightest of the lights mentioned here and has a nice hot-spot (not as small as the UltraStinger's). Randy is changing lamps so you'll have to see the recent threads on this to see what the lumen rating is.

The run-time is about an hour.

Ok, here is my criteria:

Rechargable
not too big (I think the Ultrastinger is a bit long)
durable
brighter than a 6 volt lithium light.

Ok, so I have the following I'm looking at:

Stinger (standard, or XT)
Surefire rechargables (8NX, 8AX, and 9AN)

I like the 8AX better than the 8NX, and maybe I should get a 9AN to match my M2. Would like a Pyrex lens over Lexan.

Has surefire worked out the quirks over their rechargable batteries that I remember they had a few months back?

Any beam shots comparing the 8NX, 8AX, 9AN, and Stinger, Stinger XT?

Botach Pricing:

Stinger - $59.00
Stinger XT - $69.00

8NX - $109.00
8AX - $139.00
9AN - $169.00

The surefires come with a charger and two batteries...How long does the 140 lumen lamp assembly last on a standard B90 battery on the 9AN? I like the 8AX's 110 lumens for 50 minutes.

btw, I already have an Ultrastinger.

Is there anyone here who uses the Tigerlight 8" for duty use? I've heard the lens is not very good, but that is supposed to be resolved. Also, who makes a wide enough basketweave holster? I prefer Safariland.

Any pictures of the TL 8" on a duty belt in a holster?

the lens is polycarbonate, it seems a little thin but should be just fine for duty. on tigerlight's site they have holster carriers listed. or a ring holder for a D cell gaglight will work.

I was thinking that maybe the Stinger XT would be a good choice considering I have a Ultrastinger charger...but I'll have to wait for more Tigerlight reviews...especially considering I'll be working morning watch with it.

I would recommend that you physically look at whatever light you decide on before purchasing, if possible.

That said, the Streamlight XT HP would be ideal.

40,000 CP, VERY WHITE COLOR FOR AN INCANDECENT, and has a tailcap, and is lightweight, and the stinger is the de-facto standard of LEO's all over the place.

I would go with a stinger xt hp. Most everyone has a stinger of some sort in LE. I am gonna get a stinger xt hp from a shop on monday if they are a reasonable price. Otherwise I am gonna get it from someone on ebay. If I would you I would stay away from botach

The Tigerlight FBOP is one of my favorite lights and is MUCH brighter than the Stinger HP. But the HP has at least two things going for it**: its light weight 11.8oz vs the FBOP's 19.3oz, and the ability to slap in a new battery in less than 30 seconds. Field changing a Tlight battery is cumbersome and time consuming.

Since you'll want a backup light, alternatives could include a Tlight plus an HP, or two HP's, or either one plus a SF (bearing in mind SF's short bright burn time).

I'm old enough to think of "duty" as cops walking the beat rather than prowling, so perhaps my emphasis on burntime is irrelevant.

** Focus adjust is not high on my list of assets

Brightnorm

The M*gcharger, SL and Surefires are all battle proven with tens of thousands of LEOs carrying them. The M*gs are built like a tank, unfortunately it's huge and most likely can't be worn while driving. The SL Stinger and SF 9AN can be comfortably worn while driving. I chose the 9AN for the low output LA when typing up reports in the unit. All 4 brands are excellent, you'll have to narrow down your requirements, like size, charging options, etc.

narrowed requirements:

Size: that of a Stinger or 8AX/9AN.
charging: quick charge is nice, house or vehicle

Basicly I've narrowed it down to either the 8AX, 9AN, or Stinger XT.

I already have an ultrastinger for brighter purposes. What is the difference between the 8AX, and 9AN? If I get a surefire, I'd want the type III HA. I need the tail cap switch, so the Stinger XT would be the only Stinger that would work.

Anything bigger than the SF or Stinger would fit uncomfortably on the duty belt.

So between the SF 8AX, 9AN, and Stinger XT, which would it be?

I like not having to remove the battery from the light to charger it. Is the B90 issue important enough to forget about SF rechargeables for now? Not to mention the ridiculous price...

9AN, 8AX, or Stinger XT? any beam shot comparisons?

The battery situation could be bad, if my light goes out on me, especially during morning watch (which is what I will use it for), then a failed light could mean the difference between life and death.

btw, for backup light: Scorpion, and M2 are good.

When you say Stinger XT, do you really mean the Stinger XT HP? If not, check it out:

http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.tpl?&sku=STR75513

I'm not an LEO, but my observation is that the Streamlight rechargables and the Magcharger are pretty much the proven lights for this line of work.

It seems that the SF rechargables have had a bumpy start. Personally, the only SF rechargable that looks interesting is the 10X (have two) and that doesn't really fit your specs. It almost looks like SF until recently (10X) only provided rechargables as an after thought because they figured they needed them to fill out their product line.

I'd say the Stinger XT HP w/ SF M2 as backup.

-john

I don't need a XT HP because I already have a Ultrastinger, and I don't like the way the turbo head fits on my belt. Thats why I was just considering the XT, but thanks for that thought. Who knows, maybe one day i'll decide I need a bit more light and step up to a XT HP.