I am generally intrigued by the technical aspects of things that are the best at what they do. In the last few years, flashlights in general have dramatically improved. The technology has improved by leaps and bounds with regard to almost every aspect from basic construction and power supply to the reflector and bulbs.
Being from the Gulf coast, I liked flashlights before Katrina… afterwards, I have to say I consider them second only to guns and gasoline in an emergency situation. A light that is exceptionally bright AND rechargeable is essential.
I started playing with a Surefire 6P about 15 years ago. At the time it was by far the most amazing flashlight I had used. Since then I’ve owned a bunch of Surefires, Streamlights, etc etc – and I’ve also spent almost as much on CR123A lithium batteries as the lights themselves.
Being a flashlight nut, I took notice of a gentleman doing high performance conversions to factory lights a couple years ago. He is on a number of forums and people that bought the lights seemed satisfied. They caught my interest but I like to play with things before I shell out that kind of money, so I never got around to buying one. It turns out writing reviews about everything I find interesting has a fringe benefit – I was given the opportunity to play with not only one but two of these conversions.
"Black Bear" is the man behind the “Borealis” (previously known as the MAG 951) and the “Bear Cub” along with a number of other lights. People have been tinkering with off the shelf lights for a while but Black Bear offers a turn-key light like I’ve never seen. The Borealis offers 1050 lumens for 45 minutes in a rechargeable package.
A decked out, polished Borealis with a custom bezel and lanyard
There isn’t a direct comparison to the various 2 and 3 cell lights because of the size difference – but there is no comparison in performance, either. 1050 lumens is tremendous. It will light up the entire side of a two story commercial building on the other side of a highway with enough light to see EVERYTHING. It is as bright as a headlight on my car. It is retina searingly bright. You can’t appreciate how bright it is until you have witnessed that even if your eyes are closed it will make you turn away.
Size comparison to the M6
The general quality and construction of the lights is fantastic. The Borealis strips the original host Mag down to the aluminum shell – everything is replaced, including the reflector, switch, bulb, power delivery system... The quality of the components is impressive – the reflector is a milled aluminum unit, the switch a ceramic insulated number, etc etc. It makes good use of the host aluminum shell and is a “sleeper” until you hit the switch, at which point it is obvious this isn’t your average light.
The Bear Cub is based on a shorter, lighter and thinner C cell light and maintains a little more original hardware, but the battery system and bulb come together to provide 220 rechargeable lumens. The Bear Cub is also a great buy at $120.
I had thought always thought the Surefire M6 was a pretty cool light but would never have bought one. MSRP is $399, street price $320+, and $10 in 123A batteries for every 20 minutes of 500 lumens. The Borealis is a little longer, but less expensive up front and tremendously more “fuel efficient” with regard to both run time and being rechargeable.
Overall the Borealis the brightest portable light I’ve seen in a rechargeable package. There are other hand held lights out there that cost more but in my experience, the Mag 951 is an exceptional value.
Options – You can get a number of different reflectors depending on if you want more “throw” for spotting at a distance, or a reflector better suited to “flood” at which point it is brighter than patio floodlights… Black Baer offers three different reflectors to suit your needs.
Some beamshots -
Borealis on the left, Surefire 120 lumen P61 on the right
Borealis on the left, Streamlight TL-2 LED on the right
Standard 3D maglight
Borealis
Pros:
A) Bright – to the point of being able to use it as an emergency headlight. There is nothing I’ve held in my hand that was anywhere NEAR this price that is nearly as bright.
B) Rechargeable – Normally batteries on very bright lights eat your lunch. This uses a cradle with NiMH AA batteries. You can also recharge in a car with a 12V adapter or an inverter.
C) Built like a tank – solid aluminum construction, top quality components.
D) Run time – 45 minutes of 1000+ lumens is unlike anything else I’m aware of.
E) Total cost with everything you need as far as the charger, etc, ranges from $235-$308, which is less than lights that aren’t as bright with shorter run times.
F) Very high “wow” factor. When you hit the switch, everyone involved will be nothing short of amazed.
G) The “host” is a $20 Maglite. If something happens, you can swap the parts into a new shell in a few minutes.
Cons:
A) They aren’t the smallest lights out there – being based on the Mags, it is what it is…
B) You have to do things like charge the batteries then let them “rest” for a couple hours to let the voltage drop, or use a bleeding lamp for 40 seconds, etc etc. Not completely plug and play – certainly not a big deal, but they aren’t idiot proof.
C) For the Borealis the total cost with everything you need ranges from $235 to $308. That said, it is worth that and more in an emergency.
D) If you use a max throw reflector, there is still a little of the need to adjust the beam due to hot spots, etc.
Black Baer 84 also offers a number of other lights…
The Black Bear 678 (actually 720 lumens now with the Pro-Gold system)
This is based on the Maglite 2 D (10 inches long) the Rolls Royce battery carrier and 6 Nimhs cells. Same high quality as the MAG 951 II but in a shorter format with 720 lumens. 35 minutes run time. This is $250.00 and can be used also with the RC chargers for fast charging.
The Polar Bear is made on the Maglite 3 C and all the high quality components are included, reflector, Pyrex lens, switch etc. except that the Polar Bear do not use battery carriers but 3 Lithium Ion protected batteries. 426 lumens for 75 minutes.
The Polar Bear includes the charger and is $250.00
The EXP 852 lumens is similar to the Borealis, but with a over bore body and a special carrier for 12 batteries (actually 11 and one dummy). It will give 852 lumens of light for one hour. It is specially made for those people that asked for extra run time. And runs around $300.
The Bear Cub: It is made on the Maglite 2 C. (9 inches long and lightweight at 13 oz.)
It make 220 lumens for one hour and a half This light will outperform the Magchager and the Stingers lights. This light does not need the special switch or reflector. It uses Lithium Ion batteries and the charger is included. $120.00
Edited to add... contact info for the creator.
Black Bear can be reached for information about the BOREALIS and his others lights, at
jcharles11784(at)yahoo(dot)com
Being from the Gulf coast, I liked flashlights before Katrina… afterwards, I have to say I consider them second only to guns and gasoline in an emergency situation. A light that is exceptionally bright AND rechargeable is essential.
I started playing with a Surefire 6P about 15 years ago. At the time it was by far the most amazing flashlight I had used. Since then I’ve owned a bunch of Surefires, Streamlights, etc etc – and I’ve also spent almost as much on CR123A lithium batteries as the lights themselves.
Being a flashlight nut, I took notice of a gentleman doing high performance conversions to factory lights a couple years ago. He is on a number of forums and people that bought the lights seemed satisfied. They caught my interest but I like to play with things before I shell out that kind of money, so I never got around to buying one. It turns out writing reviews about everything I find interesting has a fringe benefit – I was given the opportunity to play with not only one but two of these conversions.
"Black Bear" is the man behind the “Borealis” (previously known as the MAG 951) and the “Bear Cub” along with a number of other lights. People have been tinkering with off the shelf lights for a while but Black Bear offers a turn-key light like I’ve never seen. The Borealis offers 1050 lumens for 45 minutes in a rechargeable package.
A decked out, polished Borealis with a custom bezel and lanyard
There isn’t a direct comparison to the various 2 and 3 cell lights because of the size difference – but there is no comparison in performance, either. 1050 lumens is tremendous. It will light up the entire side of a two story commercial building on the other side of a highway with enough light to see EVERYTHING. It is as bright as a headlight on my car. It is retina searingly bright. You can’t appreciate how bright it is until you have witnessed that even if your eyes are closed it will make you turn away.
Size comparison to the M6
The general quality and construction of the lights is fantastic. The Borealis strips the original host Mag down to the aluminum shell – everything is replaced, including the reflector, switch, bulb, power delivery system... The quality of the components is impressive – the reflector is a milled aluminum unit, the switch a ceramic insulated number, etc etc. It makes good use of the host aluminum shell and is a “sleeper” until you hit the switch, at which point it is obvious this isn’t your average light.
The Bear Cub is based on a shorter, lighter and thinner C cell light and maintains a little more original hardware, but the battery system and bulb come together to provide 220 rechargeable lumens. The Bear Cub is also a great buy at $120.
I had thought always thought the Surefire M6 was a pretty cool light but would never have bought one. MSRP is $399, street price $320+, and $10 in 123A batteries for every 20 minutes of 500 lumens. The Borealis is a little longer, but less expensive up front and tremendously more “fuel efficient” with regard to both run time and being rechargeable.
Overall the Borealis the brightest portable light I’ve seen in a rechargeable package. There are other hand held lights out there that cost more but in my experience, the Mag 951 is an exceptional value.
Options – You can get a number of different reflectors depending on if you want more “throw” for spotting at a distance, or a reflector better suited to “flood” at which point it is brighter than patio floodlights… Black Baer offers three different reflectors to suit your needs.
Some beamshots -
Borealis on the left, Surefire 120 lumen P61 on the right
Borealis on the left, Streamlight TL-2 LED on the right
Standard 3D maglight
Borealis
Pros:
A) Bright – to the point of being able to use it as an emergency headlight. There is nothing I’ve held in my hand that was anywhere NEAR this price that is nearly as bright.
B) Rechargeable – Normally batteries on very bright lights eat your lunch. This uses a cradle with NiMH AA batteries. You can also recharge in a car with a 12V adapter or an inverter.
C) Built like a tank – solid aluminum construction, top quality components.
D) Run time – 45 minutes of 1000+ lumens is unlike anything else I’m aware of.
E) Total cost with everything you need as far as the charger, etc, ranges from $235-$308, which is less than lights that aren’t as bright with shorter run times.
F) Very high “wow” factor. When you hit the switch, everyone involved will be nothing short of amazed.
G) The “host” is a $20 Maglite. If something happens, you can swap the parts into a new shell in a few minutes.
Cons:
A) They aren’t the smallest lights out there – being based on the Mags, it is what it is…
B) You have to do things like charge the batteries then let them “rest” for a couple hours to let the voltage drop, or use a bleeding lamp for 40 seconds, etc etc. Not completely plug and play – certainly not a big deal, but they aren’t idiot proof.
C) For the Borealis the total cost with everything you need ranges from $235 to $308. That said, it is worth that and more in an emergency.
D) If you use a max throw reflector, there is still a little of the need to adjust the beam due to hot spots, etc.
Black Baer 84 also offers a number of other lights…
The Black Bear 678 (actually 720 lumens now with the Pro-Gold system)
This is based on the Maglite 2 D (10 inches long) the Rolls Royce battery carrier and 6 Nimhs cells. Same high quality as the MAG 951 II but in a shorter format with 720 lumens. 35 minutes run time. This is $250.00 and can be used also with the RC chargers for fast charging.
The Polar Bear is made on the Maglite 3 C and all the high quality components are included, reflector, Pyrex lens, switch etc. except that the Polar Bear do not use battery carriers but 3 Lithium Ion protected batteries. 426 lumens for 75 minutes.
The Polar Bear includes the charger and is $250.00
The EXP 852 lumens is similar to the Borealis, but with a over bore body and a special carrier for 12 batteries (actually 11 and one dummy). It will give 852 lumens of light for one hour. It is specially made for those people that asked for extra run time. And runs around $300.
The Bear Cub: It is made on the Maglite 2 C. (9 inches long and lightweight at 13 oz.)
It make 220 lumens for one hour and a half This light will outperform the Magchager and the Stingers lights. This light does not need the special switch or reflector. It uses Lithium Ion batteries and the charger is included. $120.00
Edited to add... contact info for the creator.
Black Bear can be reached for information about the BOREALIS and his others lights, at
jcharles11784(at)yahoo(dot)com
