Are Incandescent Flashlights Dead?

Just a quick question I'd like to pose to all.

I have an old Surefire Nitrolen G2 with a P90 incandescent. I really liked throw and bright light, but it was also the first "tactical" lights I'd ever bought. Perhaps it's for sentimental reasons that I still carry the light.
Do you think that incandescent flashlights are a thing of the past? Is there still a place and use for them, or shall I retire the G2 to an honored place in my watch display?

Ummm ... get an A2, and :rock: :rock: :rock:

Keep the G2, get a Malkoff low low variant dropin & u are good to go.
U can use either primary or rechargeables for that dropin & you still get to keep your G2 host

Oh, i still keep some spare incan dropins for old time sake. [emoji1]

I am quite fond of LED and haven't bought an incandescent flashlight in some time ... yet my answer is still no, the incandescent flashlight isn't dead. Availability, selection, and stocking retailers may dwindle but so long as there are users and use cases for the incandescent, the markets will continue to provide.

Lumens Factory also makes a very nice D26 (the real name of P60 drop ins) drop in in Neutral White or 90+ CRI. It puts out about 400 lumens and looks great. It can run on two primary cells or one 16650. It sells for $28 USD. Mark @ LF is a member here and pops in from time to time. He has promised to continue making incandescent lamps as long as someone wants to buy them, so he plans for them to be around for awhile.

If you want to stay incan, they have a nice HO-6 drop-in that is brighter with longer run time as well. Really nice light.

I do want to keep using an incandescent as my primary, but I do have to say, I am shopping for a good LED with 100-300 lumens that has a run time of over 8 hours.

That said, I am looking into the 90+CRI recommended by TimothyBil and the Nitecore SRT3 as my secondary light.

I dont mind the tint and CRI of incan lights at all. In fact, my first "real" light was the same as the OP. A surefire G2 with the P60 module. I now have a drop in from DX in there wrapped in metal foil. I keep CR123's in it and stuffed it in a nylon holster in my BOB. I'd be fine still using the incan module if it were not for the short runtimes and the susceptibility to damage from impact. I mean, it IS still a glass bulb after all.

I would tend to think that incan lights are still USEFUL, but I do not know that they have their place anymore either.

Great host for a Malkoff dropin. The real difference with LED is in runtime. If you have the nitrolon bezel, you can safely run an M61L (175lm at 5+ hrs), or the M61LL mentioned above, which runs 100lm at 10+ hours. If I remember, the G2 incan is about 90 lumens or so, with an hour runtime? If the G2 has an aluminum bezel, you can run the M61 dropin, at 325lm for 1.5+ hours.

It's like having a new light all over again...

Here's my answer, please see my signature below :twothumbs

I use my e2e stock.

It will be a long time before the incandescent flashlight is truly dead. There will always be those few who think the Sun is a big incandescent! And want likewise for themselves. Look at the stereo buffs that still use tube amps and vinyl (although vinyl is making a comeback in some genres). Yes, most of us have moved on to LED for one reason or another, usually output and runtime. But I still have by P60s in case I ever want to use them again (I'll have to buy some primaries, cause they don't do well on 16650s). To each his own. If it turns someone's crank to burn through six primaries in ten minutes starting pieces of paper on fire, more power to'em.

Although it will be a long time before incandescents are completely obsolete (if they ever do become completely obsolete), I think they are largely done as a mainstream technology. They will exist as a specialty product. But given the advantages of LED lights in terms of size, output, and efficiency, they are an endangered species when it comes to the kinds of lights most people use on a daily basis.

A good way to think of incandescents is like film photography. Almost NOBODY uses film anymore. And large manufacturers of film (like Kodak) are leaving the market. But there will always be a few people out there that like to shoot film. And film will continue to exist as a small, niche, specialty market for the few people out there who like to shoot film.

A few years ago I picked up a Surefire A2 here. Despite being a huge fan of LED lighting technology for its low power consumption and interesting technology, I really enjoyed the high CRI and warm light from a real incandescent. Sadly, even I have now made a complete transition to LED.

Why?

More models available: New incandescent flashlights are not really released any more due to low consumer demand.
Lower power consumption: LED flashlights are much more efficient.
More battery options: The best incandescent flashlights use CR123A cells. I no longer want to use CR123A cells so I have migrated completely to lights that use lithium ion cells and NiMH cells. It is very difficult to get a working rechargeable setup for most incandescent flashlights. Running Surefire incandescent lights from lithium ion cells usually requires you to buy a special lamp assembly and/or rebore the light. Too much hassle for me.
Lower cost of ownership: I don't mind buying lamp assemblies (although sometimes they are too expensive in my opinion), but I do mind being forced to buy primary CR123A cells. A decent rechargeable setup is expensive but will save you money in the long run - plus after your initial investment in a charger you can buy additional cells for additional lights more cheaply.
Neutral white tint: It is possible to get some very nice high power LED flashlights with a neutral white emitter. This mostly satisfies my desire for light quality - although I look forward to high CRI emitters becoming mainstream.

My A2 has been retired, and I am quite upset about that

What we need is a quality, affordable incandescent light that can run from a single 18650 (probably IMR chemistry) cell with regulated output like the surefire A2. I'd buy one!

edcdad said:

Is there still a place and use for them

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I still take my 4D Maglite to work with me at night. But I don't tend use it for light. It's nice to have a sturdy baton-shaped implement on your person as well as a backup light. Even though I actually do take an incan to work, I'd still say they are dead technology which belongs in museums or bins if they're not to be upgraded or kept as relics. Even cheap Chinese torches that sell for peanuts end up mocking an incan's output. Apart from some specialist uses, they're dinosaur technology, bit like a gas lamp really.

Fleetwood said:

Apart from some specialist uses, they're dinosaur technology, bit like a gas lamp really.

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I hate to say it. But aside from specialist uses, a gas lamp might actually find MORE use today than an incandescent flashlight. Gas lamps are still often the lighting source of choice while camping or otherwise in the boondocks (in the form of the common propane or gasoline camping lantern) due to the fact that they can provide LOTS of floody light to light an area for hours on end.

I hardly see any incan lights in stores, they pretty much have been replaced by LEDs. I still have some incan lights around but if you take good care of your LED light it could probably last a lifetime, you'll probably have to repair something else on the light but since i have been finding a few lights with low lumens (looking for some that are only 3 lumens) i don't really need incans too much, but i just use them because they still work.

I am still collecting a few incandescent lights because I like the fact that the lamp can be swapped out easily - either for a new incandescent unit or for an LED drop-in. This makes them modular and easily upgradeable as new drop-ins become available. For example, I picked up a new (old stock) Surefire M3T the other day and I have put a Malkoff MD60 in it. If someone brings out a drop-in with a higher output in future then I may upgrade. In the meantime, I still have the option of reverting to the stock incandescent lamp when I want to.

I have a 6P and two G2s. One G2 still has it's original incan bulb (with 2 spares .. ..), and the rest have Malkoff M61LL drop ins.

I most likely don't have the number of lights or the knowledge of 99 % per cent of the folks here but I still use my Incan's & enjoy them.