Is the Surefire 9AN Commander a good torch?

Dear all,

I'm looking at buying a Surefire 9AN Commander and I would appreciate the opinion of the experts on whether its the best option for police work. I like the idea of the choice between two strengths of light and the fact that it's rechargeble. One problem though, I work in Britain and the mains electricity is 240 whilst the chargers are 110.

Your thoughts please

ps my colleagues think I'm mad to spend £200 on a torch!

The 9AN is a perfect Flashlight for police, better than some streamlight in my opinion.
Some german user can speak about better than me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif (Mohr ?)
No worry about the AC/DC adapter, surefire make 220V/240V adapter too /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

You are not mad, or all flashaholic here are mad /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif

hi,
i work as a german police officer in a town near frankfurt.
the 9an is a great light but i dont use it anymore as dutylight. my normal dutylight is a surefire L4 with pila battery and for the nightshift a magcharger MC60 (magcharger with WA01160 bulb and UCL lens and 4ah batterystick) + L4.
i think the 9an is too big for everyday carry on the dutybelt. the 9an does not have a clicky tailcap like the L4 and the 9an is too much power for closeup work (on high) and not enough power for longrange work. i dont like the beam on low. i use my two 9an`s as general houselights and for walking the dogs at night. its a great light if you buy or build an extra 3.3ah batterystick for it. the runtime with these sticks is over 1 hour on high. if you need more information or pictures of the 9an or other surefire or streamlights just send me a pm. there is another cpf member from germany, he is a leo too and a surefirefreak ( /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gifhoko71).
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif greetings from germany christian

I second what Mohr says! I find it too large on the duty Belt for EDC. I prefer the L4 with PILA's as Duty EDC (soon to be redeemed by a L5 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif). My Nightshift/(always in my Bag) light varies depending on my mood. A Magcharger with WA01160 and stronger Batteries is a very good option. Sometimes a carry a M3/HOLA/PILA/SW02. I find the clickie-Tailcap rather important in a non-tactical-police-duty-light. (NTPDL /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif). However when it comes to typical handgun distances/self-defense situations I grap my sooperdooper-tactical-LED lights with momentary Tailcap and hunt the bad boys down /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/xyxgun.gif

I do not have a 9AN. I do have a 9N however. Equipped with a Turbo-Head it is a great thrower but not very well balanced for carry on a duty belt and the beam is just too narrow for most applications. So it seems more like an interesting variation than like a really useful Duty light.
Just my experience. Your Mileage may vary /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
Holger

edited because of a typo

isnt the 9AN a similar size to the stinger ?
i was looking at getting a 8AN or Strion to replace my stinger - any opinions ?

The 9AN was similar to the discontinued SuperStinger.
The 8AX is similar to the StingerXT
The 8NX is similar to the PolyStinger.

I have a 9AN-HA, a 9AN+KT3 TurboHead (in HA Black), a 9N(T) and an 8NX-BK. I also have two 10X's, a 7Z and a G2R.

On the non-SureFire side I have a TigerLight 8" and an UltraStinger.

The way I see it, for a "duty" flashlight you either need a small flashlight you can carry all the time in which case you have two main options:
LED: SureFire L4 with Pila LiIon rechargeable battery kit
Incand: Streamlight Strion
There are others I guess but these two are top of my list.

Or, you have a large flashlight you carry for night-shift etc. LED's don't do this very well yet. Especially if you use light outside or near ambient lighting.
Your major choices as I see it are:
SureFire 10X
TigerLight 8" (FBOP)
Pila GL4 (I think that's the one - the most powerful they make).
Streamlight have their SL20X and Maglite have their MagCharger but I consider those too heavy and long. They are very popular though.

I think it's important to have a dedicated "Tactical" light such as SureFire G2Z, L5 or M3 for use with a firearm.

I'm not a Police Officer so my opinions on what the best lights are and what the best lights for Polices Officers are may be very different.

Al

Al I dont think you have to be a Police Officer in order to suggest the type of lights you have highlighted. IMHO the thing that most police officers seem to carry (particularly in the UK) are powerful, robust and cheap. Although it pains me to say it most of the police officers I know and have experience of working with dont really give a damn about the quality of the lights they use and are quite happy with ordinary Maglites. Whilst I have shown many officers (including my 2 brothers who are both in the police) better and higher quality lights than they would usually see only a couple have bought something better.

I think your assessment of what is required is common sense and particularly for American police officers who require a dedicated weapon light.

Doug

I'm not a LEO, but I second Al's recommendation of the Strion. It is as bright if not brighter than a Stinger, comes with a 1 hour rapid charger, and is a little bigger than a Surefire 6P. I have a 9N(T), and used if for a long time as an around the house light w/o the turbo head, but currently the 9N has been "replaced" with other lights and only gets use as a 9NT now. You can find more info and a lot of pictures of the Strion here. One thing to note about the Strion is that it is very important to carry a backup light. As the battery runs down, the lamp will shut off with very little warning.

-Mike

I think it's very important to have a backup light(s).

As a "Flashaholic" flashlight "duty" user I think it's part of the 'job' to try out a variety of different lights. And I'm serious about not being brand specific because I'd want to a Pila light, the Strion and the Inova T3/T4 as well as a SureFire L4 or L5 with Pila kit.

Al

One thing to note if you are not familiar with Surefires is the differences between the L series lights and others like a Strion. The Surefire L4 puts out a bright flood of light, but doesn't have great throw. The L5 (and L6) both have a bit more throw, but incandescents will usually still out throw them (depending on the specific light). Size is also a consideration, as the L5, L6, and L7 use deep reflectors.

As for a backup, many people prefer to use ones that are powered by 123s, not rechargeable batteries. Many times this is due to the fact that 123s have a 10 year shelf life, self discharge very slowly, and work in extreme temperatures. Another option (although I don't believe it comes close to a second light) is to have a light a rechargeable light (say an L4 w/ Pilas) that can use 123s, and carry a pair of 123s.

-Mike