Help a nightclub bouncer out?

Greetings
I am a nightclub bouncer in New York City. I carry a Maglite 3 C cell on my belt, as much for personal protection as a light source, but all that weight and hardly any light generated has me thinking. I was drooling over the Surefire E2D until I realized how tiny it is! I figure I need a light 7" long, which takes me to the C3 and the 8NX Commander. 150 bucks seems like a lot of money to me, but are there big advantages to rechargable over lithium batteries? I deal with drunks and people on drugs regularly and feel I need something with some "heft" in case my personal safety is in jeopardy and I need to wack someone (only as a last resort).
Thanks for your help,
ethan

The 3C mod sounds perfect for you. Search in the modified section, you can easily and cheaply soup up your 3C.

Check out the Tri-Star Phazer at www.elektrolumens.com , the light is a little smaller. The beam is rated at 217 lumens. Comes with a flashlight holder. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

As a former LEO, the real advantage to the Surefire incadesent lights and some of the new luxeon (L4) models that are coming out is the disorienting and blinding effect it has on perpretrator when shown in their eyes. I am not going to be using it as a blunt weapon. I would recommend getting certified by an ASP-approved instructor on their expandable baton for that purpose.

Popping someone with a flashlight could be a real liability situation for a professional such as yourself who will be held to a higher standard than the Joe on the street. Again, consider the ASP baton or pepper spray which are more defensible in court.

As far as lithium vs. rechargeable. If you are going to be using the light every night, I would recommend rechargeable for the battery cost savings. On the other hand, if the light is going to sit on a shelf for two months and be expected to perform every time, it is impossible to beat the lithium performance and reliability.

PM me if you want to discuss more options off board.

Best wishes.

Craig.

How about one of these?
http://elektrolumens.com/Tri_Star_Phazer/Tri-Star-Phazer.html
With a Tri-Star Phazer's 216 Lumens of Light, you can stunt a person without or before you wack someone... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif But it is a 4C not a 3C.
or
http://elektrolumens.com/FT-3C/FT-3C.html
An FT-3C as the name says, it is a 3C and rated at 72 Lumens. I have one, it is bright but compare to 216 Lumens... it is your choice.

The Streamlight Stinger, which may be more than you want to spend, sounds like it would do the job for you. It is rechargable and is the length dimensions that you specified as well as being extremely bright.

If you flash a drunk in the eyes with that thing, I am pretty sure it would give them a jolt.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

really though, i'd probably recommend the surefire m3. much smaller and brighter than your mag, and a lawyer would have a harder time using it as evidence if you were ever sued /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
the m3's also come with a crenelated bezel (means pointy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif ), which might be of use...

as far as lithium/rechargable, you can purchase "pila" rechargablie li-ion batteries from www.jsburlys.com, and they will work in many different flashlights. i believe you can use 2 150s and a spring inside a surefire m3.

i think if i were you, i'd probably go the m3+pila route

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif :whoopin

BAAAAD Roth!

If I were you, I will go the 5 watt LED route. 5 watt led modification for your mag 3C that is.LEDs light up a lot faster than incandescent (less than 25 millisec if I'm not wrong) and this gives the person's pupils alot less time to close and thus enhancing the "blinding" effect, when the person can't see, can't gauge his surroundings, I think he is more oblige to comply.

Just my humble opinion.

Aside from what was mentioned above,

www.tigerlight.net they offer a OC capable model at 11 inches of a 8 inch non-OC model.

The beam will be far brighter than you're 3C Mag and be in a smaller package that has some heft to it.

The beam quality of the Tigerlight isn't pretty in whtie wall tests against surefire's but in real world usage I find it acceptable.

I beleive you know the rules, jsut find ways to bend them. APS batons, baton classes, defense training, OC cans, and weight lifting (granted if you are a bouncer you are not small in height/weight.)

just a couple of quick replies
First, let me reitterate that I would only wack someone as a LAST resort- try to remember I could be defending myself with someone with a knife (or more).
ASP Batons are PRO SE weapons in New York State ie: deadly weapon.
Mace and pepper spray are illegal in New York State.
I guess I am looking for a bright light- the Tri Star Fazer looks good, but 4 C cells are more than I can drag around for 10 hours.
As far as rechargable vs. lithium, I work 2 or 3 nights a week.
Thanks for all your responses!
ethan

Hey Bouncer, welcome to CPF and stay awhile!

The Diamond drop in is a quick fix for your 3C Mag:
Diamond LED drop in

I like the Stinger, and particularly the Stinger XT HP, but that may be a little unwieldy for fast deployment. THey are rechargeable, and you could have an extra battery handy to swap out.

I also recommend the Pila GL3R, which I recently handled in the Pila passaround from JSBurlys. It's rechargeable, but also runs on 3x123 cells, real bright incan and you can get an LED tailcap for lower light and to save battery power. It's built real well, like a Surefire.

Mace is illegal, but pepper spray is not. I don't know if you would be under more severe constraints since you would be using it professionally, but I commented on the NY law here:
pepper spray thread

But the baton, that would definitely be a no-no. They are excellent impact weapons, though, sigh...

Welcome again,
daloosh

If you got the money, Get an M6 SureFire and put the bright bulb in it. You will not have to touch the guy. Its so bright, it will knock out his vision for 5 minites. You can the KINDLY escort him out. No violence. No court. No police. No problem. It does cost over $300 but my life is worth more than that as yours probable is to you. M6 Sure fire's are small and short too. Not a Billy Club! Check out their stuff: www.surefire.com I have an L6 which is LED powered but not that bright. It is so strong I can't look directly into it with out seeing spots for 5 or more minites. It is small too but longer than the M6. But the LED's don't burn out either. Only takes 3 batteries too. M6 uses a whopping 6 123's but it is the King of Flashlights.

That Stinger XT/HP is nice too and only $130 with 2 rechargeable batteries and AC/DC quick charger. Also smaller than MAG lites. I get better than 1 hour of run with one charge. Not as bright as SureFire but a darn good light for less $$$$$$$

NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--

My Lights:

http://www.tjtech.org/gallery/NikolaTesla

Just keep poking around here bouncer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
There has got to be a light here that can meet your needs.
Tristar Phazer for nimh batteries looks good. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
A Tigerlight with, or without built in pepperspray dispenser in it may also work well if allowable. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
Too heavy, but a 2 million candlepower rechargeable gelcell spotlight from Target,Walmart or a Home Depot Husky with a 100 watt h3 halogen bulb in it, is a good manstopper. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
He'll be blindly throwing punches at anything but you after you show him that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif

oh yeah one more thing

Probably should've included this earlier (sorry!)
99% of the time I am using my light to point out a person (Up to 50' away) to other security guards, so I guess a "tight" beam would be helpful. thanks,
ethan

Re: oh yeah one more thing

1. The Phazer is supposed to be focusable according to the latest info from Wayne.

2. Since you mentioned that the Phazer might be too large, I have a SureFire D3 that sounds about right. They are discontinued but if you poke around the WWW you could probably find one for under $100.00. A little cheaper than the C3.

Here are some deals from one WWW site Site

Re: oh yeah one more thing

I don't recommend using pepper spray in a night club... One blast in the club and you have panic and people flooding for the door causing more injuries than you would want... I also wouldn't recommend a Surefire M6... it's way too powerful and expensive..

Re: oh yeah one more thing

man id bet that is one tough job.i worked at a very poplaer bar for a while man i saw so much crazy stuff there.my freind was a bouncer there and he was like a black belt and very big and people still would fight him

Re: oh yeah one more thing

I carry two lights with me when I'm working clubs and shows. The first is a SF 9P with a P91 Lamp. Plenty bright if I need to light up a far corner or blind a drunk. The second is an ARC LSH for IDs and general illumination. Tired of blinding myself reading IDs with the 9P.

A friend of mine has a Streamlight Stinger. He loves the rechargables. I've seen him give an unruly drunk a shot to the ribs with the exposed tail of his light. They go down and stop making trouble.

Peace...

Fern

Re: oh yeah one more thing

[ QUOTE ]
Bouncer212 said:
Probably should've included this earlier (sorry!)
99% of the time I am using my light to point out a person (Up to 50' away) to other security guards, so I guess a "tight" beam would be helpful. thanks,
ethan

[/ QUOTE ]

Wanna talk a tight beam...

Some of our guys use those little lasers to point out perps. Most of the time we are looking for folks with cameras or recording equipment. One of our guys can hang on a balcony and give us a quick flash with his light. We then follow the laser dot into the guilty party and they don't even know we're coming in on them.

-F

Re: oh yeah one more thing

I think the perfect light for you (as mentioned before) would be the M3 with crenelated bezel, high output MN11 lamp and a pair of pilas 158S. Now you have impact power, brightness and running cost concerns all solved! Well it's gonna set you back a bit for the initial buy, but how much is your life worth?