The Gen4 TigerLight lamp assembly

As many of you already know, I own, or have had the priviledge of playing with, some really powerful and excellent big gun incandescent light, such as the SureFire M6, modded Tigerlights with Welch Allyn lamps and Carley relfectors, the 2200+ lumen 100 watt USL, and stock TigerLights, as well as more common incans, such as the SL-20X and MagCharger. And I've gone through some interesting changes in preferences with increasing experience.

At first, of course, I had the brightness disease. I wanted lumens, lots and lots of lumens. The more the better, throw and focus were of secondary importance. Total ouput and beam smoothness on a white wall were of primary importance. My favorite light for a long time was a Tiger85 with a heavy orange peel reflector--800 smooth, white lumens. Runtime only 17 minutes, and beam was mostly a flood. But man o man it was lots of light. And that's what I wanted. Next came the USL work I did with bwaites--a 100 watt axial filament in an OP reflector must top the list of beams with massive total output and pleasing white-wall shape!

But then something happened. The novelty of massive output wore-off, and as I continued to need my flashlights for daily use out in the fields and barn yard, I found myself drifting away from the sophomoric obsession with massive output, and back to reality where a 12 or 17 minute runtime is simply not very practical for most illumination needs.

And where did I end up but right back where I started this whole amazing hotwire journey: the stock TigerLight!

I can, and will in a future post, go on at length about why this light is so great and why I believe that it is simply one of the very best lights in its size class regardless of price, and why it is unquestionably the best large incan bang for the buck out there. For now, let me just hit the high points: this light has the highest quality components and build. The light has a hard anodized finish, gold plated connectors, sealed low-resistance switch, shock isolating gasket around the lamp assembly, direct connected components, NiMH battery pack, and halogen lamp with xenon fill gas.

More importantly, --and this is something that as flashaholics we all tend to forget or dismiss-- the OC TL is more than a light, it is a weapons system. What sets the TigerLight apart is the pepper spray capability, and the way in which that is implemented. A great deal of thought and design went into that. It was not some patched on component. From the ground up it was made to be a serious and useful force option tool for a law enforcement officer. Because despite what we flashaholics would like to think a bright flashlight beam all by itself is useless for self-defense. It may give you a few extra seconds to run away, but unless you have some force option to go with it, a bright light alone is shockingly inadequate as a self-defense tool. Even my landlord's benign dog is undeterred when facing 500 or even 800 lumens.

In any case I'm not an LEO and I'm not here to talk about the pepper spray part of the light. I prefer the shorter FBOP TL without pepper spray, myself, but I just didn't want people to forget what the TigerLight really is in its full OC TL incarnation: a weapons system.

So back to my story: I came full circle to the stock TigerLight and to an appreciation of the long runtime, small size, and long-throwing, bright white beam of the stock lamp assembly.

However, while all of the TL LA's put out the same beautiful white light and the same total lumens output, some are more tightly focused than others. The Gen1, for example, is the least tight of the TL LA's. And certainly, a wider beam has its uses, but I believe that for any given lamp and reflector combination, there is a "sweet spot" which yeilds the most useful beam for the same number of lumens.

I believe that TigerLight has absolutely NAILED that sweet spot with the Gen4 LA. Even with all of the options at my disposal, the Gen4 TL LA is one of my very favorite flashlight beams. This LA will throw like crazy. It will throw as far as any of the modded WA lights: Mag85, Mag11, Mag74, MC-1160. Whatever. Bring them on, because I have never seen throw like this from a 2 inch reflector.

Now, yes, quick aside, the MagCharger will throw as far as the TL Gen4 LA, but will only thow a pencil thin, laser-like beam out, which doesn't give you the contextual information you need in order to actually make sense of what you are seeing, or search and find someone. The reason is that the MC has a tight parabolic reflector with almost no degree of divergence off of parabolic. This is why de-focusing the beam any significant amount causes a hole in the center. And this is also why the beam has too many artifacts for my taste, no matter what the focus.

The TL reflector is also a fairly tight parabola, but this is combined with some divergence. Not as much as the SureFire orange peel reflectors have, but more than the MagCharger or Mag2D or 3D or etc. The result is a beam that throws very well, but is also relatively free of artifacts and which has a very nice amount of spill light to boot.

I find that the Gen4 TL LA is hands down one of the most useful beams I have ever experienced. When I was first out testing this LA, it was in rain and fog and cold, and I felt the exact same sense of command and capability as with MUCH more powerful lights, but with the wonderful security of knowing that I had a full 66+ minutes of runtime at my disposal. When shined out at distant objects, the light hitting the ground at my feet was just perfect for avoiding rocks and holes and other obstacles, and looking down did not temporarily blind me, as it would if I were using an 800 lumen 1185 based light. And while the beam doesn't look as pretty on a white wall as a SureFire M6 beam, for example, in use there are absolutely NO ARTIFACTS which impair illumination effectiveness.

Quite simply, this is one of the most useful and superlative beams out there, and it brings the TigerLight to near perfection, to the fullness of what it was meant to be.

And things get even better when you add the new premium battery pack to the package.

Now, don't get me wrong! If you have a TL already and you are happy with the throw of your current lamp assembly, then don't feel as if you have a second rate TigerLight. Not at all! You may even prefer the LA you already have for close up work around the house or indoors or for doing block searches, or what not. But if you appreciate a tight-beam and the best throw possbile, together with a big enough hot-spot for context and with a nice amount of spill light, then the Gen4 LA is for you.

They will be available very soon. I will post here with details when I have the appropriate info.

Again, as I mentioned in the thread on the premium battery pack, I want to say upfront that, yes, as a consultant for TigerLight I do get paid. I always try to be fair and unbaised and honest no matter what, and I feel that I am so in this situation. This is a really great light and a really great lamp assembly! But in case you have any doubts, I sent sample Gen4 LA's to SilverFox, bwaites, and Phaserburn, and they will be reporting on it as well. (As soon as they get a chance, of course). If you don't believe me, believe them. I will also be sending a complete TL equiped with a premium pack and Gen4 LA to Ginseng, but I don't have any packs at the moment, so that will happen a bit later.

OK! Thanks everyone!

My Tigerlight FBOP with Gen3 lamp threw FAR. It is also very robust. Now you are saying an even tighter beam with sidespill! I want! I WANT!

I still love my SF M6 due to being able to swap out the primary batteries and having a good medium/short range capabilities. BUT my Tigerlight needs some TLC. Its not a well treated light like my SF M6, this light has marks and gouges and has been dropped/thrown numerous times. A new pack and new lamp with a tighter beam and more run time!!! My TL has been neglected due to not having many long range applications (I live in the city) but when I go down to the boondocks, this is where the TL shines, and long, then people freak when the light gets shown some cold hearted love and still shines.

If the lamp is under $25, put me on the list.

PS. Thanks for making all these improvements js! (plus I wasn't egging you to do the second run of M6R packs, was being sarcastic.)

Hello Jim,

About the only thing I can add is that I have seen the light... and it is good.

It seems to me that this lamp is focused for the mid to long range, whereas the other lamps seem to be more focused for the near range. The nice thing about this lamp is that for close work, you simply use the spill portion of the beam...

I took some light meter measurements. Please take these with a grain of salt as our light meter benchmarking is revealing that there "appears" to be some differences between the various meters.

With the premium battery pack, hot off the charger, and the Gen 4 lamp, I am getting about 35000 lux. After a few minutes of running, the light settled down in the 31000 lux range.

With the stock battery pack, hot off the charger, and a Gen 2 lamp, I am getting about 20000 lux. After a few minutes of running, the light settled down in the 17000 lux range.

I believe that if you powered the stock lamp with the premium battery pack, the readings would be higher, but I was interested in the total package improvement.

I am really impressed with this new lamp. My only concern has to do with the variability from lamp to lamp. I believe Brightnorm or This is Nascar commented that there was a wide variation in the Gen 2 lamps. It took several to find one that was really good. I guess my question for you, Jim, is have you been successful in influencing the lamp to lamp consistency with this new lamp?

The lamp you sent me is great and I hope consistency is a non issue.

Tom

Tom,

The lamp to lamp consistency is one of the very issues that we addressed with the Gen4 lamp assembly. We have established different and far more precise parameters for the potting of the lamps into the reflectors, and I am confident that the lamp to lamp consistency will be quite good. Nailing this LA down has been the work of many months (Is there a "headache" graemlin? ) but it was worth it. I think people will be quite pleased with it.

Jason,

Wow! I forgot to mention the price. This is the really great part! Cost of a Gen4 LA is exactly the same as the cost of the previous Gen3 LA. Isn't it like $15 or $16? I can't remember off the top of my head. It's a steal, in my opinion. I have 5 samples left, and they are like gold to me. I really hope that Michael Teig doesn't ask for them back. hehe. :devil:

I'll get the easy stuff out of the way.

Tigerlight has a home run with this lamp assembly! It's bright, it's white, and for a semismooth reflector, it looks really good!

This is the best LA yet from any maker besides Surefire.

It has great throw, decent spill, and really matches up well with any stock assembly out there.

There is definitely a difference in the amount of light produced by the MC and the TL, and with this assembly and it's good throw, that difference becomes more apparent. Before it was hard to compare the two, because the spill seemed to be the most important aspect of the Tigerlight, while the MagCharger was all about throw. This assembly gives a great blend of both.

While I don't think it throws as well as the MagMods, (Jim is being a little hyperbolic there!), it certainly throws as far as the stock MagCharger and compares pretty favorably with the 1160 MagCharger Mod. I run an 1160 in a MOP in my MC and though I like the beam of the MC a little better, in outside use there is minimal difference in throw and beam quality. On a white wall, I like the MC better, but in the real world, there are minimal differences to choose from.

Jim won't like this, but if you push it to 8.4 volts, it is REALLY awesome!! (I only did it for a minute, Jim, but it is awesome!!)

I think a regulated version of this lamp, running at 8.0 volts with soft start might be THE ticket to easily replaceable and affordable LA's in a regulated system. (But hey, that's me and I'm a hotwire nut!)

Because of my burglary yesterday, I spent about 40 minutes checking one of my friends houses who was out of town. The TL was the perfect light for it! After checking it with one of the stock white packs, mine is now running off of one of Jim's KAN packs, and if the new pack is better than the KAN, WOW!!

I have it on the charger right now, and I'll run a check on it tonite while I'm working on USL's and see how my numbers match up with SilverFox's.

Bill

Ok, a little different opinion on the Gen4 LA.

I did an hour burn in real world use the other night. Well, other world use, anyway; it was Halloween! My children and I did 60 minutes of trick or treating, and I kept my TL with Gen4 LA burning the entire time.

Well, it performed very, very well! The tight beam of this LA was just right as there was considerable ambient light from decorative displays, streetlights, headlights, etc. I used the TL to light the path for my son; over curbs, lawns, around rocks and trees, etc. He is 7 yrs old, and wanted to go to the door himself without Dad. I could light his way each time no matter how far the house was from the street (where I was standing) because of the Gen4. I got the expected oohs and aahs from passersby with flashlight envy (they were toting plastic 2 cell lights predominantly). It's funny, in a CPF kind of way, how a guy can be happy with his Neveready 2D until he gets blown away by 275 lumens! Really; it's only 12-15x brighter! Even a couple of police officers took note of my light with it's very visible, very smooth and tight beam and asked me what it was.

My parent's neighborhood where I grew up is great for trick or treating. Lots of participating homes, all decorated and in close proximity. Lots of costumes, too, which I nicely illuminated with my TL when they were at a reasonable distance so as not to blind the owners. With the Gen4, that means half way down the street. I could hear people comment from down the street about the bright flashlight that was illuminating them at distance. I heard kids say stuff like, "that guy must have a spotlight!".

I never realized it before, but the TL OC is considerably lighter than the SL-20X and definitely the MC. Made carrying it for that length of time quite easy and very enjoyable.

I was going to go for longer, but my son was getting tired, and already had a plastic pumpkin swollen with loot. Sigh. Ok, I guess we can go home now... (even though I was eager to continue the test burn.)

BTW, for a stock LA that isn't being overdriven, the Gen4 is nicely white. Well done and well met, Jim and Tigerlight! (I don't work for TL either, unfortunately. I'm one of you!)

I will disagree a bit with bwaites by saying I like the TL Gen4 beam a better than the MC. I happen to be a fan of fixed focus, but that's just me. Then again, he is using a MOP modded reflector, not the stocker. The stock MC reflector produces major artifacts. I will agree though that the MC will ultimately at long range outthrow the TL. The TL beam is fatter, and as it travels, must open up more than the MC does. But, I judge lights on what they let me see, not what the beam itself looks like. To Jim's point, true vision is established in context to an objects surroundings. So, a super thin but incredibly long throwing beam isn't the best to me. Ever try to navigate a path or identify objects at distance with a laser?

Having said that, let me make clear this point: you will be happy with the Gen4 LA. If you're going to be disappointed about something (which I doubt), it won't be it's lack of throw!

Between Streamlight, Tigerlight and Magcharger (the big 3 of rechargeables), the Gen4 is easily the best available stock lamp of them all. No comparison in my book. Brighter and better beam than the Mag or SL, not counting mods of bulb or reflectors.

Phaserburn and SilverFox,

Nicely done guys.

I agree with everything they say!

I should point out that when I say I like the MC beam better, it is my MODDED MC with MOP and WA 1160 that I am speaking of. My stock MC is nowhere near as close to the Gen4 lamp as it should be, and makes me wonder why Mag hasn't gotten around to an orange peeled reflector for their lights.

Mr. Maglica obviously is a throw fan, not a "useable" beam fan!!

As I stated early in my review:

This is the best lamp assembly I have seen outside of Surefire.

It whoops up on the SL20 and SL35, though the '35 MIGHT put out a little more light, it is nowhere near the thrower that the Gen4 is.

One thing to note:

You could run the Gen 4 in a Bipin configured Maglite with HO AA or SubC cells as well!

Bill

Very good writeup indeed. I gave up my JS modded tigerlight in anticipation of the USL. I ended up never getting the USL and regretted my sale of the TL. I have purchased 2 700L 1D 3x168s MagMod from fivemega. I am extremely curious to know how the TL will compare to that light in output/throw/runtime etc before I go and put the light up for sale and then purchase the TL combo with Gen4 again.

Any feedback will be helpful.

Curtis

Bill and Phaserburn,

Thanks so much for your comments! I appreciate the time and effort you took to test and post!

Bill, as for the throw issue, I was quite honestly NOT being hyperbolic in the sense of exaggerating. In my outdoor testing, my TL Gen4 LA with premium pack did indeed throw as far as, or farther than, any of the Welch Allyn halogen lamps and Carley 1940 based lights I have tested (the 1160 on 5 cells, 1111 on 6 cells, 1274 on 6 cells, and 1185 on 9 cells, in smooth and OP 1940's). Those are my findings out in the field. I'm not trying to doubt your findings, though, Bill. Only to insist that I am NOT--I repeat NOT exaggerating. As they say, "your mileage may vary". Were these mag mods of yours using 1940's, or a reflector with tighter geometry?

And BTW this isn't a case of lamp to lamp difference, either, because I field tested all the lamps I sent out to the testers.

So, I guess the question is what differs in our testing? What makes you say that the Gen4 TL LA won't throw as far as the Mag mods? Is it meter readings? Or is it field testing? And at what distances? Because the Gen4 LA will surpise you. You compare two beams at 50 feet, say, and you might think that the other light will throw farther. But take your test out to the ultimate limits of throw, and for whatever reasons, that Gen4 LA beam just reaches out there and stays together. It's almost uncanny. I have one throw test location that is about 750 feet away, and the Gen4 LA will hit it.

Anyway, Bill, let me know what your test conditions were. I'm curious about this. I would call you but I know your cell phone got stolen. Sorry about that again, and again, thanks so much for taking the time to post in the midst of all the stuff I know you have to do.

A shoot-out between the Fivemega mod running a WA1306 bulb and the Tigerlight with Gen4 LA would be very interesting. Do you need another field tester JS?
I think they will be very equal in output and runtime. Curtis, I think you will have to ask yourself what other parts of the lights matter the most to you. At least I would not sell one before getting the other, hard to do a side by side comparision that way

Sigbjoern

Curtis,

I have no experience with the FM light you are talking about so I can't comment on how the two compare, but what I CAN do at some point is send you a TL with Gen4 LA and premium pack to field test, and you can compare them for yourself.

Runtime should be easy to compare though: 66 minutes for the TL and whatever it is for the FM mod. Total output should also be a simple comparison. The TL with premium pack is probably about 275 lumens. But it does a LOT with those 275 lumens.

In any case, PM me if you're interested.

And that can go for everyone else, actually. Perhaps we could do a group passaround. Let me consider that possibility. Any interest?

Jim, PM sent.

Curtis

Jim,

I have a tree that I can light from my back yard that is lasered at 168 yards. It is my gold standard distance measurement.

The MagCharger60 with MOP will put a spot on it with some spill around the spot. It is a faint spot, but identifiable as such. A stock MC will put a tiny, faint spot with virtually NO spill.

The Gen4 will throw a light on the the tree, but it is evenly spread and about the same density as the spill from the MC60 with MOP, no spot at all.

The Mag11, Mag74, and Mag85 will all put a definite spot, progressively larger, on the tree with the Carley MOP.

But look at the light output differences. 275 lumens from the TL Gen4, and lots more as you go up the scale with the WA lamps.

You can make the argument that they throw further than the Gen4 because they put out more light, but that is the point, they DO put out more light.

Bill

Thanks Bill. Got it. I think the main difference here is simply a semantic one. When I say "throw" I am mainly thinking of the maximum distance at which one can light up an object enough to see it just well enough to identify it. This is why I qualified my statement that the stock MC will throw as far as the TL by pointing out exactly the sort of thing you pointed out above: amount of light and size of hot spot and so on.

I prefer to use this concept of throw, because it seems strange to me to say that a light throws farther because it puts more light around an object. So what I am saying is that if you stand back another 100 yards from your tree, for a total distance of 268 yards, what happens then? And if you just keep backing up until none of the lights can make the distance, what was the situation just before that point?

Obviously a Mag85 will put a larger spot on a tree than a stock TL! But will it THROW farther?

In fact, as I recall, I heard you use this same language once when comparing the M6 LOLA and HOLA beams. You said that the LOLA will "throw just as far as the HOLA" but that the HOLA just makes the hotspot bigger. The same can be said of the SF P60 and P61 LA's.

Of course, using the word "throw" in this way is a narrower definition, but it is more precise and less subjective than one that combines average intensity and hotspot size together.

But semantics and academic discussions are not my concern here. I have only been trying to convey the experience I had out in the field using this LA over 5 or 6 hours. I was astounded by how useful and long throwing it was considering its total output. I went all around my usual route and testing places (and then some) and it kept getting the job done. I could see whatever I wanted with relative ease, although it didn't light up massive areas like an 1185 or 1111 based light would have.

And that brings me to another thought I have recently had on the subject of throw: if the light you are using puts out massive spill and near field light, I think that the eye adjusts and that the pupil contracts so that even though a light meter at a far distance away might report the same intensity as a tighter beam light, the subjective experience would be that the tighter beam light was "throwing farther" because the eye doesn't need to adjust to the greater brightness near to it. So in some ways, massive total output could actually be counter-productive if throw is what is desired. Or such was the thought I had, and I suspect that there is some merit to it.

More importantly, though, if you can get the job done with less power consumption, then you have a longer running light for the given size.

***

OK. Enough of that. New subject.

I want to stress that if you are looking for a light that will put out the same amount of light as one of the Welch Allyn "super-light" mods, don't bother getting the Gen4 LA. You will be disappointed. It is not a brute force lamp. If you are looking for a lamp assembly that will look really great on a white wall, this is not the LA for you.

This LA in a TL makes a long-throwing, long-running light with decent spill and a tight but non-narrow beam, and its virtues over other flashlight beams may not be immediately apparent. All I can tell you is that it is one of my favorite beams, one of my favorite lights, for the reasons I have already discussed.

For anyone who has never experienced a really high powered incandescent, though, the TigerLight with ANY of the various TL lamp assemblies will blow you away. It's bright. Very bright. It will make your average 2 or 3 D cell light look like a convalescent glow worm.

js said:

Curtis,

I have no experience with the FM light you are talking about so I can't comment on how the two compare, but what I CAN do at some point is send you a TL with Gen4 LA and premium pack to field test, and you can compare them for yourself.

Runtime should be easy to compare though: 66 minutes for the TL and whatever it is for the FM mod. Total output should also be a simple comparison. The TL with premium pack is probably about 275 lumens. But it does a LOT with those 275 lumens.

In any case, PM me if you're interested.

And that can go for everyone else, actually. Perhaps we could do a group passaround. Let me consider that possibility. Any interest?

Click to expand...

Hmm... a group passaround sounds great to me.
Now this 4Gen TL LA. Do all of the new TL's sold have these already on them? As well as the extended battery pack? Or is the standard going to remain standard while these things remain exclusively an upgrade?

But at any rate, i would love to test this one at as well.

Have orderd the new combo; I have an FBOP that I bought B/S/T that is as new, but I believe several years old.

How do you determine Gen 1 to 4, please?

Thank You,

jeffb

Alin10123,

I will have to check with TigerLight on exactly how they plan to do this, but I suspect that at some point all new TL's will have the Gen4 LA in them, and that between then and now that you could specify that you want a Gen4 LA in your TL when you order it. Keep in mind, though, that at this very moment, 2 Nov 05, we only have a handful of sample Gen4 LA, but we expect to get the first installment from the production run very soon. I will post details as I get them.

The premium pack will always be an option, but one which you can get in place of the standard pack rather than in addition to it. In other words, you won't have to pay for two packs in order to get the premium pack.

Jeff,

It's easy to tell the difference between a Gen1 and all others. The Gen1 LA has no lip around the rim, and the nub on the rear end is 7/16" in diameter instead of 1/2". But the Gen2, 3 and 4 are only distinguishable by their different focuses. Gen2 is tighter than Gen3 but not as tight as Gen4. Total output is the same for all (for a given voltage) as they all use the same lamp.

That's good to hear Jim. The reason why I have a TL is the same as yours, the combinaton of output, throw, runtime, and the Pepperspray function. I can't wait to get my hands on the 4th generation model....

Nick

Interesting! Apparently my TL is a Gen1 (7/16 nub and no rim) serial 001009107.

I like the beam and seem to use it often, have been carrying it in the car, lately.................

so it will be very interesting to see, which I prefer, when I get the new Gen4!?

jeffb