Boys and their Toys: Flashlights

I caught the flashlight bug a couple of years ago when a buddy of mine bought me a Surefire 6P LED tactical light for Christmas. This was a replacement for the 2AA Mini Maglite LED which died so prematurely (one of the bits of metal in the base cap which formed the electrical circuit snapped, kind of a pathetic way to go to be honest).
The sheer amount of win that the Surefire light was totally hooked me. I also got a FM35 Red Filter cap which was pretty neat – particularly so as I had a misconception about how “red light” was created. Sure it’s just a colored lens, but the difference between the FM35 and your run of the mill $5 “we can do red too” flash light is astounding.

There was a sale at the Canadian Tire so I bought a 3D Maglite LED, which, although I was a bit apprehensive after my recent loss of what I had thought to be a decent flashlight, was pleasantly surprised. Mind you, had I paid the full price for the 3D MagLite LED, I would have been underwhelmed. It was time for me to migrate from my “starter tactical” to a more focused light. For what I was using it for (inspections in tight quarters e.g. basements, computers etc.), I had a need for “sheer brightness”. Digging into the pre-purchase research was like stepping into a whole new world.

Quick Buyer’s Summary

• Wattage is irrelevant. I think this is the biggest load of marketing crap ever. The wattage ratings on flashlights are totally meaningless – it simply expresses how much power is being “spent”. As far as the user is concerned, this just means a flashlight with a higher wattage rating will just heat up faster (remember, brightness isn’t measured in watts, contrary to what your kitchen/bedroom light bulb might suggest!). That being said, with all things being relatively equal, a light with a higher wattage rating is likely to be brighter, although this isn’t always the case. If you want to read more into this subject, have a look here.
• The terms “rugged” and “tactical” are excessively exploited by marketing types. These terms are usually presented to express the abstract concept of “toughness” (although the latter may apply to any product that happens to be black).
  • Short version: for plastic/rubber “consumer/civilian” looking flashlights, your gut instinct is probably correct: pick it up, feel it, open it up, check if there is one (or more) O-rings. Most of the time, you can tell pretty easily which lights will live up to a bit of consumer rough-and-tumble.
  • Detailed Analysis: Generally if you’re looking for a real worklight that can take abuse you’re going to be interested in the IP Rating for the lights and possibly the IK Ratings. I don’t use my flashlights as portable mini-battering rams so I’ve not done a whole lot of research into IK ratings, so my uninformed advice here is to use your gut – if it feels solid, it’s likely to be. For the IP rating, only the water protection is of any significant concern (and often, there is no rating given for physical protection). Keep in  mind that even a water protection of 8 does not mean the light is dive-rated. Also worth having a look at the FL1 Standard. Also it is strongly advised that you take the water rating with a large grain of salt (your gut will often spot the difference between should-be-submersion-proof and is-submersion-proof) – the difference between the lab and the real world are things like static versus dynamic water pressure, how exposed the O-rings are etc.)
• Lighting technology. You can get traditional bulbs, LEDs, HIDs etc. For the most part, the market and need for traditional bulbs has been replaced by LEDs – they offer cleaner, more consistent light and don’t have impact concerns that filament bulbs do. I’ve not personally used a HID unit that isn’t built into a car, but from what I understand, the “filament” is actually pressurized gas, so there also isn’t the concern there. You will often find HID “tactical lights” in much higher intensity (approaching spot/search light level) applications.
• Don’t forget to take into consideration factors like how far the beam will reach, battery life, the spread of the beam etc.

My collection & Thoughts

Power Regulation. All the below lights, with the exception of the Generic/Noma/Garrison entry are regulated. A regulated power source/delivery ensures that, no matter how fresh the batteries are, the light output is consistent (obviously, within a very small tolerance). In short, the lights will run full bore until the batteries die. Flashlights that are non-regulated will have their brightness wane as the batteries drain.
Body Construction. You’ll find there are three common types of body materials: cheapo-plastic, ABS/nylon and “metal”. The first two are pretty straight forward. The metal bodies are anodized (to give it color and/or protection). In the spectrum of flashlight products you will see Types I, II and III anodizing – representing progressively higher build qualities. You can read more here.

Water-resistance. I mentioned it above but it’s worth mentioning again: just because a device is IPX8 rated, does not mean you should be reckless around water. It’s a good rule of thumb to treat IPX8 as “oops I dropped the flashlight in a bucket of water, but it’s ok”. This is particularly true if you are needing a light to go on serious dives. The higher quality tactical flashlights will almost certainly perform fine for snorkel dives but anything serious/longer you should consider dive-rated lights. Lastly, if you are going to subject your light to serious water treatment (and also as a general rule), make sure to take care of the seals! Have a look here for some suggestions on lube.

2AA Mini MagLite LED [Pic]

• Bulb Technology: LED, unknown manufacturer (probably Mag International)
• Body Technology: Type II Anodized
• Power Source: 2x AA
• Projection: 101m (at 0.25 lux)
• Lumens: unspecified sadly, the current (improved) generation pushes 69 lumens however
• Drop Test: 1m
• IP: unspecified (Mag International is a registered IP-X8 manufacturer however)

I wouldn’t buy this again unless it was $15 or less and even then it would be delegated as a gift-light or a secondary-spare-drawer light. Just looking at the design of the light (now, in hind-sight) I can see the issue of the tail end of the light: the battery cap section is simply too small. Mag had to cram, water sealing, a spring, power connectors etc. in there. Bottom line: 4/10


3D MagLite LED [Pic]

• Bulb Technology: LED, unknown manufacturer (probably Mag International)
• Body Technology: Type II Anodized
• Power Source: 3x D
• Projection: 289m (at 0.25 lux)
• Lumens: 104
• Drop Test: 1m
• IP: unspecified (Mag International is a registered IP-X8 manufacturer however)

It’s a bit amusing, the 2D version of this light offers superior lighting performance (slightly increased range and candela output) however the 3D completely blows it away in lifespan (8x longer lifespan). This is a pretty solid flashlight all around. I consider this light to represent my ‘minimum requirements’ for light output: it’s not going to necessarily dazzle someone senseless but it’s enough to work with. Note that, as the unit has an entirely metal construction, it’s ridiculously cold to hold onto bare in extreme cold. I remedied this by wrapping a layer or two of black duct tape over the grippy area (a standard width duct tape covers about 40% of the grip area). Bottom line: 6.5/10.

Generic/Noma/Garrison Rugged Light [Pic]

• Bulb Technology: LED, Cree XRE
• Body Technology: ABS/Nylon + Rubber
• Power Source: 3x AAA (Non-regulated)
• Projection: 115m (at 0.25 lux)
• Lumens: 140
• Drop Test: Unspecified
• IP: Unspecified (by feel, this has got to be at the very least, IP-X4, probably closer to IP-X6)

I cannot, for the light of me, find a company website for this product. This is retarded. I think this light is a generic one that is rebranded by a half a dozen companies (NOMA, Garrison, Brinkman are three that I’m aware of). See the attached picture if you want to see what I’m talking about, this is definitively the best bang for buck flashlight out there, bar none. The non-regulated power delivery means that the light intensity will deteriorate as the batteries drain, and the raw intensity of the light output coupled with the 3AA power source are things to consider). I don’t use my flashlights for durations exceeding 20 minutes at a time very often (and when I do, I generally make use of my more intense flashlights). But for a price of $25, it’s a no-brainer. Bottom line: 7.5/10.

Surefire 6P LED [Pic]

• Bulb Technology: LED, Cree
• Body Technology: Type III Anodized (I’m guessing, this product tier tends to be of this type)
• Power Source: 2x CR123A
• Projection: Unspecified, I’d conservatively estimate 90m (at 0.25 lux)
• Lumens: 80
• Drop Test: Unspecified
• IP: Unspecified (I’m guessing IP-X6 or IP-X7, Surefire’s comments explicitly stating it is weatherproof and not waterproof)

I’m a bit disappointed they couldn’t get an IP-X8 rating – even if that rating needs to be taken with a grain of salt. From my personal experience, this flashlight can handle a quick drop in a bucket of water, a shower, rainstorm, etc. without a problem. Note that, the stock housing does not feature one-click on, just tactical-on. To turn on the light without having to hold the button down, you need to twist the cap. Bottom line: 7.5/10.

Fenix TK11 [Pic]

• Bulb Technology: LED, Cree XP-G R5
• Body Technology: Type III Anodized
• Power Source: 2x CR123A or 1x 18650
• Projection: 188m (at 0.25 lux)
• Lumens: 258
• Drop Test: 1.5m
• IP: IPX8, 2m submersion

This is a phenomenal flashlight, then and even now, as I consider moving on. This is my go-to flashlight for when I need a light I can count on. My only gripe about it is toggling between turbo and general mode is done by twisting the head slightly – which can be difficult in colder weather as the grease becomes more viscous. Also, for my non-military use of the light, the tactical grip is more of a slight annoyance than a feature (and for some reason, my light didn’t come with the usual ring you can swap with the tactical grip). Oh well. Bottom line: 9/10.

Looking Ahead

• I definitely want to switch to 18650 batteries and rechargeable too! I might get a collection of non-rechargeable for real emergency use. CR12/CR123A batteries are expensive to buy at the run of the mill electronics store.
• I might consider getting a Surefire SC1 holder. This way, I can keep the red lens filter with the batteries all in one spot.
• Fenix HP10 Headlamp. Don’t quite have a use for this, but it’s so damn neat….
• Fenix TK35. Pushing over 800 lumens over 330 meters on two batteries on a flashlight a bit bigger than my current, is just so damn wonderful. That and surprisingly enough, there have been scenarios where the 250 lumens on my TK11 just doesn’t cut it (gasp)
• Fenix TK15. The successor to my TK11, this pushes 330 lumens is a nice jump over what I have now for what is essentially the same form-factor.

Who am I kidding, I’ll probably buy the TK35 first then the TK15.