Tactical Flashlights

[Overload]

During the production of season one of The Best Defense, I did a presentation on the basics of choosing a tactical flashlight, as well as a crash course in defensive tactics using the light as an impact weapon. I'm not sure if it will all make it on the air (we shot a lot more material than the format of the show allows), but if it does, it's a nice primer.

If it doesn't make it, this would be perfect for Best Defense Uncut!

[Hottrockin]

7/8 for the NovaTac 120T!  80mm long may be a wee short for some folk!

http://www.novatac.com/edc-t.html

 

[Ping]

Was in at Sam's club and picked up a package of 2 "Element K2" LED Flashlights. Pretty neat and really bright. A buddy of mine showed me a "Inova" and a Surefire. They were smaller than the K2 but the K2 was brighter. I would not trust the K2 outside the house and am looking into the two other lights I mentioned and willing to pay for quality. I want something I know will not fail me or my family if need be. Thanks for all the responses.

[CZShooter]

Okay, so I splurged a little bit and bought a SureFire E2D LED Defender a couple of days ago. I have a regular G2, and I know a couple of people who have the G2 LED...which those things are stinkin' bright...but, HOLY CRAP!! This thing is insane. It's just about bright enough to x-ray the cat. Just for giggles...I flashed myself in the eyes with it. I won't do that again.   As an added bonus...it makes a heck of an impact weapon.

Here's an article I found on using a SureFire flashlight as a self-defense weapon: http://www.karate-shotokan-kata.com/surefire-flashlight.html

[tombogan03884]

"It's just about bright enough to x-ray the cat. Just for giggles...I flashed myself in the eyes with it. I won't do that again."

ROFL 
Reminds me of the story about the Guy who bought his wife a stun gun, It's ONLY 2 aa batteries, how bad can THAT be ? 

[Sponsor]

[metamurph]

Insight has the new HX series the 150 and the 200 http://www.insightlights.com/products-hx150.htm...200 will definitely give you the ability to look for hairballs in the cat.  In general this is the market of a lot of private labeled exact same thing items.  I was looking at some in the gun shop yesterday and saw models from 3 different "manufacturers" that were only different in the silk screening or anodizing.  I ended up buying a new Benchmade 943 instead.

[ultima ratio]

...flashlights with LED and which is the best light for the price on the market?

Have a look at the Fenix TK10. I'm generally not too keen on products made in China but like it or not, the Fenix lights have an outstanding price-performance ratio. It sells for something about $70,-.

    * Cree Premium Q5 LED
    * Two modes of output, selected by turning the bezel
      Turbo mode: Constant 225 lumens, 1.5 hours
      General Mode: Constant 60 lumens, 10 hours
    * Highly efficient focusing head- throws beam over 200 meters
    * Digitally regulated output - maintains constant brightness
    * Low battery indication
    * Uses two 3V CR123 Lithium batteries
    * 135mm (length) x34mm (diameter)
    * Waterproof to IPX-8 standard
    * Ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
    * Tailcap switch with momentary-on function
    * Removable grip ring
    * Removable pocket clip
    * Included accessories: holster, pocket clip, lanyard, two spare o-rings, and a spare rubber switch boot (orange)

 

[WaltGraham]

+ 1 on the Fenix lights - I have several. They have replaced my Surefires for daily carry and weapons mount duties.

https://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=22

[D-Man]

I just bought an Ultrafire, and an MTE SSC P7 900 lumen flashlight.  Both of them were just over $30 and use the 18650 Li-Ion battery.  Doing run time tests on them right now to see how long the battery lasts.  All of the items were bought off of http://www.dealextreme.com/

The http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ is a great place to learn about all those different types of flashlights.

[metamurph]

Have a look at the Fenix TK10. I'm generally not too keen on products made in China but like it or not, the Fenix lights have an outstanding price-performance ratio. It sells for something about $70,-.

Nice pointer.  I question how many real "manufacturers" as opposed to packagers there are in this market.  You find a producer in China, you order a container full of gear and off you go.  You can line up a number of units from different "manufacturers" and they are identical.  I haven't really done any deep digging but flashlights don't have "lasting" designs like an 1911 or a CZ etc.  So, all I am really saying is while some portion of a company may be US it is not always clear now what that exactly means.  After all, we continue to regulate most of the US manufacturers out of business otherwise so we ship it to China then of course the environmentalists get all up in arms about China and lack of regulation.