1st Post: Need light for detective work and gift ideas

Hi,

Uh oh, I can see how this can get spendy. I've been lurking for a few days and need some help in selecting some lights.

Lights to make work easier:

I take care of people with dementia. Accidents happen and it can be hard to find the exact location of urine. Once urine dries a black light can be used to locate it. Here's a cheap black light. Do you guys have any ideas for a super bad black light that could do some serious detection.
http://www.sitstay.com/cgi-bin/sdisp.cgi/HBUOC.lg.jpg

Terds are easy to find. Well, diarrhea splatter can be a challenge. I'm constantly looking at the carpet trying to determine if areas are stained (usually not BM). Is there a particular color of light that can help identify carpet stains from foods, proteins and other foreign matters? I know law enforcement uses something to spot blood. Maybe a colored light would help with our housekeeping?

Help with Gift Ideas:

I have a 13 year old nephew who is into ultimate frisbee. Has anyone used this Frisbee? Would it be a cool gift?http://www.pocketlights.com/flashflight.asp

I'm in charge of Christmas shopping for man gifts. What do non flashlight people appreciate the most? A usable key chain light (like a Peak Matterhorn) or larger light in the $30 to $50 price range.

Could I please have a recommendation on a cool rechargeable light that would be good to keep around the house ($50 +/-)?

Being in Hawaii I need a keychain light that really is waterproof. Is the ARC AAA premium about the best choice for something that will be getting wet pretty often? I wouldn't mind spending more for power. Would you take a shower with your Jil or Peak key chain lights?

I know some of these questions may sound nuts, but they are all real needs.

Thank you,

Dave

Indeed WELCOME aboard Dave!!

Start out with an ARC AAA and a Berkeley mini-clip on it for your keys - YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!

Plenty other opinions & suggestions "on the way for sure"! Hold on to your wallet and be a wise consumer!!

I just ordered two of these discs... one for my kids and I and one for the artists that work for me at the studio. Everyone loves them! the Red lasts the longest I am told, it is really bright and alot of fun, as soon as we start playing in the street in front of the house, it never fails that 3 or 4 neighbors end up joining us in the fun..so far it has held up great..no issues at all..Steve

I use a Tigerlight FBOP flashlight around the house and in the car. It is probably the best bang for the buck rechargeable flashlight out there. Little bright for the house, but excellent in the car or around the house situations where you need a really bright light.

Thank you for the ideas

I appreciate the help.

I picked up one of the Dorcey AAA lights and I'm really impressed. I can't wait to see how some of the higher end stuff functions.

Thanks again,
Dave

Re: Thank you for the ideas

I've used the light up frisbee before, its really cool. The one I had was the one that would change colors!! It works pretty well for a frisbee too, not too light weight.

The arc would work pretty good, the only problem is that they are a little hard to come by now, there is a long waitiong period. I would check out the arc section of the forums to see if you could get them by Christmas time.(I haven't looked at arc a lot, but I would check to make sure) As you mentioned before the peak matterhorn could also work. Peak doesnt seem to have as good of regulation though, but run pretty well off of lithiums. But they do have a nicer tint(color), more white. TIN(thisisnascar) had some great runtime graphs of these.

For gifts I'm thinking of getting my brother a streamlight 4AA propolymer luxeon. Its going for $22, check out the dealers section. here is a review http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_propolyluxeon.htm

If you want something cheaper for gifts, check out some of the 8 led xnovas. They run off of 1 AA battery and the new ones are supposd to be pretty bright. They cost around $5 online.

Super Dave said:

...shopping for man gifts. What do non flashlight people appreciate the most?...

Click to expand...

Personally I think the best gift light is the Fenix L1 ($30) & L1P ($45). Comes in nice gift box, uses one AA battery (either alkaline, NiMH or e2 lithium), very powerful, very compact, nice beam pattern, good run time, water resistant:

http://www.lighthound.com/sales/fenix_l1.php
http://www.fenixlight.com/

There's only one way to find out...

I'm going to buy them all. And give away the ones that I don't want. No guilt there.

I just purchased the ARC AAA Premium off ebay for a premium.

For a gift light, is there a big difference between the Fenix L1 ($30) & L1P ($45)? Would your average guy appreciate the difference?

I tried to order the $22 Streamlight 4AA propolymer luxeon, but they wanted more for shipping than the light. I'll call on Monday and see if they will send it US Mail.

What about those Jil lites? There's so many models. Can someone suggest a good model that is ready to ship? Also, are they too large for a key chain light? I do find the Dorcey AAA a little bulky on my keychain.

The other light I'm interested in is the Streamlight TL3 (not LED).

Thanks,
Dave

Re: There's only one way to find out...

Welcome to CPF, Dave. My hat is off to you for taking care of those people. :bow:

Goldengadgets.com has some inexpensive UV led lamps. This might be a good way to get your feet wet with them. Brightguy.com also has some UV LED flashlights.

Good luck with your search!

Re: There's only one way to find out...

Super Dave said:

I'm going to buy them all. And give away the ones that I don't want. No guilt there.

I just purchased the ARC AAA Premium off ebay for a premium.

For a gift light, is there a big difference between the Fenix L1 ($30) & L1P ($45)? Would your average guy appreciate the difference?

I tried to order the $22 Streamlight 4AA propolymer luxeon, but they wanted more for shipping than the light. I'll call on Monday and see if they will send it US Mail.

What about those Jil lites? There's so many models. Can someone suggest a good model that is ready to ship? Also, are they too large for a key chain light? I do find the Dorcey AAA a little bulky on my keychain.

The other light I'm interested in is the Streamlight TL3 (not LED).

Thanks,
Dave

Click to expand...

Not sure about the jil lights, but the TL3 has gotten good reviews. It is supposed to be a good thrower. It can be had for around $50+ (I think there was a sight that had it for 40 something, you'll have to search for it)

Thanks for the replies.

Fenix L1P on the way. If I like- it I'll keep it. If not, it's a Christmas gift for some lucky guy.

Would the UV lights be better for finding spots on the carpet than something with like a red or black light? On the GoldenGadgets.com site one of the UV lights said that you could spot urine with it. That's pretty cool. I didn't realize other types of light could do the job...maybe even better than a black light.

Thanks again for all the help. Great forum.

Aloha,
Dave