tac light fascination and legalities questions...

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EricN

New member
Ok I admit it. Tac lights are cool and I want one, but heres the deal.... If Im going to spend that kind of money it has to be something Ill carry. It wont do me any good if it stays on my desk. I tend not to carry anything that makes me feel like I need the bat belt just to go to the store. Id love a nice griptillian but I know Ill only carry a leatherman micra, so I have a micra. If Im going to spend the money on something thats going to protect me I dont wish to scrimp. I carry a glock not a raven. (no comments please...) The Surefire website suggests a light of not less than 65 lumens.

All that said, here are my questions:

I can justify the $130+ tab of a top of the line surefire (or its like) if it works and Ill carry it.... What should I look at?

Anyone know of the legalities of tac lights? I dont mean can I have one I mean what happens when I hit someone late at night with 120 lumens and the cops come?

Thanks again gang

ericn
 
The cops will say thanks for finding him, nice light. But get the LED version, if you go with Surefire. I have several, and if I had to choose just one it would be the L4.
 
thank you Bravo... the L4 is an interesting choice I hadnt thought about leds...

anyone else???

eric
 
I've carried a Stramlight Scorpion in my front pocket daily since they came out and still like it better than the Surefires. I use it all the time and the price is right. The rubber coated barrel is great for when you need two hands and want to hold it in your teeth. The LED's dont compare when you want a light that will see far, at least none that I've seen. The Scorpion puts more light out than my big 5 cell MAG light. Of course, its not as handy as a club. :)
 
A tac light by definition is not something that will light up 100 yards away. It is something that will be used to clear a room or office, or hall way. The SF L4 does this very well, and the led is less prone to shock malfunction. You don't want a tight spot with long throw, as the side spill provides good lighting for peripheral objects. I collect flashlights, and I am always in search of the one that will throw the most light, the furthest distance, in the smallest package. If something goes bump in the middle of the night I will grab a small room filling light, and of course the firearm.
 
thank you all

Thank you all for your help.

Does anyone have any more knowledge of the legal aspects to tactical lights? or doesnt it have enough power to worry about?

thanks eric
 
I cant imagine that they could be deemed illegal, unless use against LEO's is considered a crime. Then again, it will be illegal to breath soon enough, so you never know. Its not like your using a laser that would cause permanent damage.
 
I have a Surefire E2e that I carry with me EVERYWHERE. It's small enough to easily pack away (and remain unnoticed) and has a lot of power. And you can carry a gang of spare batts and a spare bulb in Surefire's nifty spares holder.

My E2e's not an LED model. I would love to have an LED, but the E2e had what I wanted (hard ano, Pyrex lens) and was affordable. Probably the best $75 piece of mall ninja gear I have, because I actually carry and use it a lot.
 
Ok I admit it. Tac lights are cool and I want one, but heres the deal.... If Im going to spend that kind of money it has to be something Ill carry. It wont do me any good if it stays on my desk.
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You would only need it at night, right?
 
You would only need it at night, right?
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I use mine all the time, day and night. You'd be surprised at how often you need it during the day. The brighter lights like the standard Surefire and Scorpion allow you to see into the dark spots when you are in bright sunlight. Most flashlights wont. I use mine to look into open manholes and inlets and up drain pipes. When you come from the bright outside into a building, especially one with no lights or windows, they are an absolute must.
 
A tac light by definition is not something that will light up 100 yards away.
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My ninja class didn't cover definitions of tac lights relative to distance. Can you enlighten me as to where to find this definition?

Anyone know of the legalities of tac lights? I dont mean can I have one I mean what happens when I hit someone late at night with 120 lumens and the cops come?
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Generally speaking, nothing should happen if you 'hit' somebody with 120 lumens unless you do it in a malicious manner, such as trying to blind vehicle drivers as they drive by your house. If you use the light as you would a regular flashlight, then the number of lumens doesn't matter in regard to any sort of legalities. Ever heard of a bad guy suing because somebody hit him in the face with 2,000,000 candle power from a Q-Beam?

I think you have been putting too much stock into Surefire's ads that claim that the brightness of a Surefire can be used as a weapon unto itself.
 
I know the inside of my house very well. Better than any intruder ever will. I see darkness as a tactical advantage inside my house. If I want to illuminate someone to see what they look like before I shoot them, any old flashlight would do for that, and I have several of those handy. For in-home tactical lights I just can't see spening more than $10.

For outside my home tactical lighting what would be a good light for under $50?
 
My only experience with the Surefire LED lights is an X200, and I must say that I am not terribly impressed.

The X200 is rated at the same 65 lumens that my 6P puts out, but look at the difference in output:

X200:
x200.jpg


6P:
6p.jpg


Same camera, same settings, same location.

I usually carry my 6P. I only wish it had a belt clip - I understand there's a model that is a 6P with a belt clip, but I haven't got around to buying it yet.
 
Old thread, but I just noticed it....

Sometime in the last century, my training advisors suggested that a flashlight that was extremely bright, while your antagonist may have vision problems after you hit 'em with the Q-Beam, you probably won't be in much better shape.

This doesn't help peripheral vision issues, other folks hiding in doorways, etc.

The monster lights are great for after-action lighting, inspecting the territory, etc., but for tactical use something that's good enough to identify the target as a target (and held a ways from your COM) may be a better choice. The other guy's still going to get more in his eyes than you will, but you won't be as blind.

I keep a little bitty LED Streamlight "Stylus" in my shirt pocket when "dressed", or a slightly larger 3-LED noname on my belt when in grubbies. (The "Stylus" is kind of long. I was using a $10-ish all-metal penlight from Radio Shack, but they appear to have stopped carrying them. Wore out three.....)

There's a rechargeable Q-Beam style light in the trunk, along with a nice halogen hand-spotlight that plugs into the car, for major scenes, and a big old Maglite in the center console for little scenes, too.

None of those are for tactical use....

Foxy: Either those lights aren't really the same output as their specs, or there's some special sensitivity to your camera (or film if it's not digital). The camera's auto-exposure, if used, could be doing that, too. If that's what you're seeing, though, it does mean something.

(If I had that much open space in the house, the dog would shred some newspaper to cover it, or the wife would fill it with "stuff"....

Regards,
 
For outside my home tactical lighting what would be a good light for under $50?
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I'd check out the Streamlight Stinger $40-45 ish. It's bright and has a rubber grip that comes in handy when you need to put it between the teeth (easy folks). I've got one in each of my cars and they're great.

side note- anyone else find it humorous on the smaller Surefire that they have that "Defensive Bezel"? I'm all about not going down with out a fight, but if it comes to a hands on type deal, I want to do more than give them strange half moon shaped cuts all over- and a sun burn. :D
 
Or the Streamlight Scorpion. VERY bright, very even, well diffused light, well built, and cheap. You can find 'em occasionally on sale online for around $20. a pop. The 3 volt lithium batteries can also be found online in 10-packs for a buck apiece.
 
Recently picked up a Brinkman Maxfire at Target for less than $20. Really impressive for the price.

I have a bunch of Surefires, but the crenellated bezel as a defensive tool has to be one of the dumber ideas I've seen. "Stop or I'll scratch" just dont get it.

I carry a light 24/7. It gets a lot more use than my gun ;)
 
Foxi is right!! LED's don't output the same kind of lumens than the incandescents lights, and you will see a big difference when the range is longer than just a few yards.

Here is a picture of a target set at 20 meters, the first light is the Surefire 6P 60 lumens lamp
and the second picture is the Surefire L-4 Digital Lumamax also rated at 60 lumens!!

Surefire 6P 60 lumens lamp

P-60lamp20meters.jpg


Surefire L-4 (60 lumens)

L-4at20meters.jpg


And now let me show you why at 20 meters you better have something better than 60 lumens if you hope to blind somebody.

Surefire M-6 500 lumens

SurefireM-6at20meters.jpg


Now we are cooking!!

I have a modification of a Maglite 3 D that I do myself that is putting out 951 lumens, yes!! almost twice the lumens of the Surefire M-6.
Here are two pictures that shows the difference.

Surefire M-6 500 lumens lamp

M-6beamshot2.jpg


MAG 951 rechargeable for 951 lumens

MAG951bas2.jpg


No LED's and Luxeon's I III or V don't have the range than the incandescent have, besides they perform very bad in FOG, RAIN, SNOW AND SMOKE, that is why you don't see firefighters using them.


black bear
 
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