Flashlight buying advice for Neighbourhood Watch program

This is for a Neighbourhood Watch patrol car - I'm aware of similar programs around the world however I don't believe these are common (actual marked patrol cars w/emergency lights) outside New Zealand and Australia.

In short, we have our own patrol vehicle (late model SUV) which is were the flashlights are kept. Two patrollers go out during the day or night on most days of the year. We work with Police in order to prevent crime and patrol certain areas so that the Police don't have to, which frees up their time. We don't have the power to arrest however Police can asks us assist them in an arrest - this is not unprecedented however very rare.

The whole operation is 100% volunteer run and funded.

Currently we have an incandescent Maglite (ex Police hand-me-down) and a Led Lenser, not sure the model but it's a similar size to the 3D Maglite.
I've been assigned to suggest a suitable replacement of these two and I really want to get this right - hence why I'm here.

Ideally, it would be great to have a flashlight which can be charged via the USB port in the patrol car as an option. It doesn't necessarily have to be of the same size of the 3D Maglite. It would need to be at least rainproof.

Open to all suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Well M would likely reccomend you check out the Streamlight catalog, possibly a Stinger or ProTac USB but Q might tell you to check out Maglite products at your local box store and carry spare batteries (because MI6 took away his flashlight building tools when LED became king over hot-wired light bulb'd flashlights).

Welcome to the site. (Oops, I see 2009 join date.)

Maglite Mag Charger LED or ML150 or possibly a Streamlight Ultra Stinger. Each person on patrol should also have a smaller personal light that they carry with them.

Did I miss the budget for this ?

Eagtac's D25A2 and/or Lumintop's Tool 2.0.

New Zealand Is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Hard to believe that anyone comments crimes there. But honestly you want a decent size light the presence of a big club looking light could very well deter crime.the new mag lights are plenty bright and can be used to persuade someone from doing any wrong.

ThruNite TC20 3800 Lumen Flashlight

Turbo (3800 lumen; 130 minutes)
-High (1800 lumen; 145 minutes)
-Medium (320 lumen; 10.2 hrs)
-Low (38 lumen; 46 hrs)
-Firefly (0.5 lumen; 37 days)


Peak Beam Intensity: 25580 cd. (max).
Max beam distance: 320m (max).
Impact resistant: 1.5 meters.
Waterproof to IPX-8 Standard (2meters)


2A charging by USB port.

Who provides New Zealand Police with their duty lights? They might be able to put you on to a distributor to get a better price.

On a budget I'd say Wowtac A1...

Not too worried about budget at the moment. Sub $100 would be ideal however.

xxo said:

Maglite Mag Charger LED or ML150 or possibly a Streamlight Ultra Stinger. Each person on patrol should also have a smaller personal light that they carry with them.

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Thanks. Good point about a second light.

XR6Toggie said:

Who provides New Zealand Police with their duty lights? They might be able to put you on to a distributor to get a better price.

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Unsure who the supplier is but they all carry Led Lenser P7Rs. Would they go directly to Led Lenser?

bykfixer said:

Well M would likely reccomend you check out the Streamlight catalog, possibly a Stinger or ProTac USB but Q might tell you to check out Maglite products at your local box store and carry spare batteries (because MI6 took away his flashlight building tools when LED became king over hot-wired light bulb'd flashlights).

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Those two can never agree on anything!!

The ole P7R don't get much respect in the US. But thinking about it for a few ticks, they do make pretty good 'cop lights'. And rechargeable is a good thing. They're pretty pricey over here compared to more modernistic lights for a lot less. So we kinda take things for granted being the choices are so vast.

I'd speculate that local police forces go through a led lensers dealer such as a police supply store, or perhaps they do have a direct line to corparate.

In their US page if you click on support it reveals a "contact us" link. Perhaps you can send them an email asking what you asked us. And possibly look up local police supply stores and ask them too.

The P7 was one many of us flashaholics started out with.

I'm kinda surprised the LL P7R is only rated for 210 M of beam distance - not much throw for a zoomable light.

Two lower cost lights that I would recommend would be the Lumintop GT Mini and the GT Micro. The Mini is a single 18650 cell light with a max of 1200 lumens and 700+ meters of throw. There is no in-light recharging, but one could pick up a 12v auto charger and always have a couple cells on charge. You might want to get a plastic case and carry one or two extra cells on your person just in case. For a personal light the Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 is a nice light, it will run on either an AA cell or a 14500 Li-Ion rechargeable cell. Obviously, one gets more output with a 14500 cell, but performance with an AA cell is adequate for closer use. My recommendation would be the GT Micro. It uses a single 14500 cell, and puts out up to 900 lumens to 400+ meters. Both the GT Mini and the GT Micro have larger reflectors, which give a longer throw and larger spill area than other lights their size. Either light will fit comfortably on a belt. Again, use a car charger for recharging, and carry one or two additional cells in a plastic case in case of need. Both lights and a car charger should be somewhere around your $100usd budget. A little bit more for a couple of extra cells.

I really like the surefire g2x pro LE edition. It comes on hi which is 400 lumens and the second press is a 20 lumens low. Batteries seem to last quite a long time. Well within your budget. Dan
Edit to add that mine runs good on sanyo 16650 for the rechargeable option.

Rubicon1000 said:

I really like the surefire g2x pro LE edition. It comes on hi which is 400 lumens and the second press is a 20 lumens low. Batteries seem to last quite a long time. Well within your budget. Dan
Edit to add that mine runs good on sanyo 16650 for the rechargeable option.

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I too would vote for the Streamlight Stinger solution. I had an old incan version and it was a pretty decent patrol light. A newer LED version would likely meet your needs and not be any trouble at all with the charging cradle. Might need to direct wire it into the vehicle though to have two cradles in the car.

If you have multiple users of the lights, simple and tough will be best. Mag and Streamlight seem good choices, and some of the medium to large Eagletac lights would be worth a look (SX25L2 or similar come to mind).

I'd use a 12V spotlight that plugs into the cigarette plug for in car use. Bright as all get out and no batteries needed.

Then a rechargeable Streamlight LED of some flavor in the car, and a single 18650 light on the belt in a holster of the patrol officers.