Compared SF L4 vs Inova T3

Overall I am not impressed by the Inova T3, compared to my SureFire L4. Like many people said, the T3 is mainly designed for "throw". But it lacks so much "spill" it's almost useless for most applications. Almost like trying to use a laser to see a target. I think for them to market it as a tactical police light is troublesome. Especially for a LED light.

The L4, while it does not have the intense hot spot like the T3, it makes up with the beautiful flood of spill light. Overall I feel it is more useful in short to medium range. There is enough light for most jobs.

Side note: Surefire claims 65 lumens for the L4, and Inova claims 85 lumens for the T3.

My 2 cents, cost not a factor.

Of course the L4 is better at short/medium range. It's a flood light. But the throw is very, very lacking... especially when compared to the T3.

The T3 is not useless, IMHO. I find it very useful as a penetrating beam in semi-foggy weather. But even on clear nights, it's the light I carry.

You're really comparing apples to oranges. The L4 uses a stippled reflector; the T3 uses optics. The whole point of the T3 is throw; the point of the L4 is to create a "wall of light."

Both are fantastic lights (I own a T3 and E2e/KL4), but each has it's own application.

Why exactly do you say the T3 is lacking as a tactical police light? Personally, I would rather have a T3 than a Mag-Lite. But I'm not a peace officer, so I'm not really qualified to answer.

Hey WallaceD,
Good points, and I did the comparison mainly cause I just bought the T3. It's all for fun. But I personally think a cop would like to see a wall of light, then a hot spot on a small area. The hot spot may blind their night vision from seeing more of the "whole picture" at night. Really scary especially if he/she needs to make split second decisions on to fire or not to fire.

When I'm hiking around at night, following a trail of reflective markers, the T3's throw is really useful. I think it's a great little light, and I find it has enough spill so that I can walk around in the woods with it.

Having said that, I actually like my L6 better - it's brighter, it has plenty of throw, and it does have a lot better spill than the T3. So in fact, for following trails I'm finding the L6 is a whole lot better than the T3. Of course, for the price, I *better* love the L6! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The T3 is more pocketable, though. (Although that's not it's strong suit, either!)

The L6 is the better looking of the two - my teenage sons *immediately* decided upon seeing it that it looked like a lightsabre! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

i would image L4 is better suited for everyday normal use

but of course, everything depends /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

to me, the L4 lacks throw, the T3 lacks spill ... so my hunt for THE light continues ...

[ QUOTE ]
WallaceD said:
Why exactly do you say the T3 is lacking as a tactical police light? Personally, I would rather have a T3 than a Mag-Lite. But I'm not a peace officer, so I'm not really qualified to answer.

[/ QUOTE ]

The point of a Lithium powered police light is to back up a typically larger and/or longer running duty light, usually rechargeable. IMHO, the use of light to blind someone is overrated. While a highly intense light can temporarily stun someone, a more important purpose of the light is to illuminate a large area, so any threats can be identified. A light without sidespill is like having 'tunnel vision.' A reflector gives the optimal combination of spill and a long range spot. I'm not an LEO, but these are just my thoughts on lights for self defense.

I don't own an L4, but I do have an L5 and L6, with which I'm impressed. But I also carry a T3 as my current "preflight" flashlight. I'm a First Officer on the 737 aircraft, and the T3 has the perfect throw to illuminate the tail section from the ground. The "hot spot" diffuses enough at a distance to make illuminating the wings (underside and leading edge) just about perfect for such a small light. For info, the tail of the 737 is about 40 feet off the ground at its highest point. I really like the T3 for this purpose. The L4 would not be as well suited, from what I hear. I also carry an L2. . . it does a good job as well, and from this I assume the L4 would still be adequate. So I guess it depends on what purpose the light is to serve.