LIGHTS FOR HUNTING

[watchmaker]

DEAL XTREME LAMP, AGAIN

HI GUYS, THIS IS A COLLABORATION FROM
CHEVROFREAK

The problem with the Deal Extreme modules is that none of them use thermal regulation to reduce the drive current to the LED to control the temperature of the lamp. LED's do not like high heat. It reduces their efficiency, shortens their lives, and can cause the tint of the light output to change.

The Nitrolon body of the G2 acts as an insulator rather than a conductor, so that heat just stays inside of the lamp and cooks the LED. These modules are better suited for use in aluminum bodied flashlights like the 6P. They'll work alright for short bursts in the G2 (I'd say a max of 5 minutes) but extended use is not recommended outside of an emergency.

Surefire recently released a G2L and 6PL that uses their P60L LED module. It has a sensor under the LED to cut the current back when the LED gets hot, in order to prolong life. Well, the G2L has only been out for a few months now and Surefire has already made a change in it. They swapped the Nitrolon bezel out for an aluminum one in order to help dissipate heat.

Since they did this with a light that uses a thermally regulated module, it makes you wonder just how incredibly hot the non-thermally regulated modules actually get. Actually, I don't have to wonder since I tested a Deal Extreme 4068 module in a G2 and after just a few minutes it was too hot to hold in my hand, and the tint of the beam had shifted blue. It was perfectly fine in an aluminum bodied flashlight, though.

[watchmaker]

THE BOREALIS FLASHLIGHT
1050 LUMENS

Three years ago the Borealis flashlight was conceived to be the most powerful military/police flashlight in the world. At 1050 lumens the beam of light is very similar to a two million candlepower spotlight, all that power cased in a 12 ½ inches long, 28 oz. light, that will run for 50 minutes before needing a recharge. Then the light uses a fast RC charger that does the job of recharging the high current batteries in 90 minutes.

Three years ago everybody was in awe of the Surefire M-6, a military/police light that makes 500 lumens for 20 minutes run time on six disposable 123’s batteries, at a cost of almost $12 per twenty minutes run.
When the agency pays for the batteries, all is well, but for the civilians that wanted to have those mega lumens of light, there was no option. Black Bear Flashlights wanted to produce a rechargeable light that surpassed the M-6 and still be affordable for those with mortgages and families, and the result was the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight.

The light was conceived to make use of a well known flashlight shell that is available anywhere, that way after years of hard use, the shell can be replaced for less than $20 USD and in ten minutes of the owner’s time.
The super-bulb that is almost 3 ½ amps needs some very powerful batteries; those nine AA batteries of high current are housed inside a Rolls Royce battery carrier that has also a charging port on the negative side. Plugging the RC fast charger in this port for 90 minutes, will recharge the powerful AA Nimh batteries.

THE ROLLS ROYCE BATTERY CARRIER AND THE RC FAST CHARGER





The Borealis also has some especial components to cope with the increased heat from the bulb. A ceramic switch/bulb holder, a solid aluminum reflector and a Pyrex lens, take care of the high temperature issue.


The BOREALIS is the highest intensity incandescent flashlight available in the market. Some HID’s lights throw more lumens, but those are considered searchlights and not flashlights; as a HID can take as much as 30 seconds to start up, they are NOT instantaneous as the incandescent flashlights are.

HERE ARE SOME COMPARISON BEAM SHOTS AT 35 YARDS WITH THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY/POLICE FLASHLIGHTS.
THE CONTENDERS FROM LEFT;
MAGLITE 3 D, MAGCHARGER, ULTRA STINGER, SUREFIRE M-6, AND BOREALIS




MAGLITE 3 D (the most popular police flashlight)




MAGCHARGER




ULTRA STINGER




SUREFIRE M-6




BOREALIS  RECHARGEABLE








Black Bear Flashlights spends several hours on each light working on fixing all the internal resistance issues and pro-gold all contacts and components for an increased conductivity. This results in their trademark of intense WHITE light as more voltage reaches the super-bulb. This bulb is not a flashlight bulb, but one made for powerful medical instruments.

THE BOREALIS ROYAL MODEL, WITH THE NEW LOW PROFILE STAINLESS STEEL CRENELLATED BEZEL AND QUICK DETACH SWIVEL.




Police officers have adopted the Borealis for its tremendous throw and flood capabilities; hunters have abandoned their spotlights for the easy carrying of the Borealis, and civilians looking for a powerful light for the car or for home defense are flocking to the Borealis flashlight.
Respectfully
Watchmaker

[sisu]

This "little" post is incredible. THANK YOU very much. WOW! I'll be using this information when I buy my next flash light or head lamp.

[Houndhunter]

wow how much money did you spend getting all them flashlights, i know surefire is not cheap

[watchmaker]

ULTRA FIRE FMR1 REBEL LUXEON
200 LUMENS
ONE CR 123 A BATTERY

I bought this light from Deal Extreme for $23.24 shipped. I was very curious to try one of the Rebel 200 lumen new Luxeons and I think this is the best way to try one inexpensively.

The light has a click on, click off switch and five modes of intensities.  The low mode is 30 lumens and is said to last for 24 hours.  Another is 100 lumens for six hours, and the 200 lumens mode is three hours; then you have a strobe mode and an SOS mode.

I used a new Battery Station 123 and in the high 200 mode it lasted for ½ an hour, and it gets hot very quick. I don’t know if the poor run time is the fault of the battery that was under-charged, or if the light will perform the same with others 123’s, but that is the results I got.




Due to the small head, the flood effect is quite pronounced and the throw is poor for a 200 lumen light, but I was expecting it to be that way based on experience with other small headed keychain-type lights.




Two hundred lumens in a two inch head of an incandescent will put a level of illumination that is tremendous in comparison to the small head of the Rebel 200 lumens. So we are in a time when we can no longer make an assessment based on the lumens figure, that is when the comparison pictures that I have been taken show the value, as the viewer can see for himself how the different lights with the same value in lumens output perform in real life.

If I consider the low price I like the little light in general, excepting the side switch that can be a little hard to find in a rush, as it is kind of recessed in the head of the light and difficult to find by feel alone. I will have preferred a tail switch such as I have in my Fenix L1D, but it is a tremendous price difference between the two lights, so all things considered I think that the Ultra fire is a great value, and I can put up with the side switch.

After trying to like the clip for a couple of weeks, I ended throwing it away, it is too flimsy and I will not trust it to keep the light in my pocket. The light is regular anodized, but had stood well the use in my pocket with keys and coins.

Here is my usual 26-yard beam shot against my deer head with the Ultra Fire 200 lumens




And here is a beam shot with the 220 lumens Bear Cub rechargeable that sport a two inch head and have a range of 150 yards.




All the best,
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY FRIENDS AND FORUM STAFF

WATCHMAKER

[watchmaker]

STREAMLIGHT TWIN TASK 2 L

It is easy for me to do an objective review of this light. I have been using a couple of them for two years, quite often (not exclusively because I own other lights also for everyday use).

The light has performed extremely well for me. The Twin Task uses for power two lithium 3 volts, 123 batteries, and it have two light sources, one xenon bulb of 72 lumens and three Nichia 5mm LED’s of about 7 lumens each.
The LED mode will last for 28 hours (I have to take the word of the manufacturer for this, because I haven’t done a run time that long). And the Xenon bulb’s run time will last for 2 ½ hours.
The light is quite comfortable in the hand and similar to others 123’s lights, measuring 1.34” wide and 5.43“ long, and weighing at 3.37 oz.

Due to the micro-faceted reflector, the flood with the three LED’s or the Xenon bulb is ample.  If you don’t have to illuminate things at a distance the light is useful for chores inside the house or in the campsite or trail.
I have used it mostly with the three LED’s and I have come to believe the run time of 28 hours claimed by the manufacturer because after two years of sporadic use the light is still going in the same battery set.

The switch is on top of the head, as this is not a “tactical” light I found the switch convenient, so does my wife, that have the same model but in Titanium finish.
The focus is adjustable, but even in the tight setting the light have a lot of flood. I have lend my second light to my hunting pal Frank, that left it on the three stand for a week, on returning the light it was just the same in finish having weathered the week without any mark or discoloration. So, I didn’t have any problem dunking it for a couple of hours in a big glass of water to see if it really was waterproof, and yes, it was, so far at this depth.



The beam shot at 26 yards using the xenon bulb doesn’t look impressive at all, and that is because the reflector is designed for extreme flood, but that is okay, this light is mostly for using indoors, walking the dog or for hiking a trail at the most.




In this picture one of my Twin Task have a Velcro tape, this match with the Velcro in my baseball cap, and allow me to have my hands free for doing any chores while directing the illumination where I am looking.



The street price is about $32 USD and I think that it is quite reasonable for the quality of the product, based on my experience with it I can recommend it highly.

Best regards

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE BLACK BEAR 720 LUMENS
RECHARGEABLE FLASHLIGHT

The Black Bear 720 lumens flashlight is 10 inch long and weights 23 oz. It has all the same high quality state of the art components as its bigger sister the Borealis 1050 lumens.

The Black Bear is made on the “host” of the Maglite 2 D., which is one of the advantages of the Black Bear System, as when after hard use, if the light is scratched or dented, a new host can be replaced inexpensively available almost anywhere, and the transfer of parts takes only ten minutes of the owner’s time.

The only difference between the Borealis and the Black Bear 720 (beside the shorter length) is in the shorter Rolls Royce battery carrier (for six batteries) and the reduced voltage super-bulbs.
The light has a 40 minutes run time and outputs an incredible 720 lumens, all this with rechargeable Nimh in the Rolls Royce battery carrier. This unit plugs into the charger for a 4 ½ hours charge.

THE BLACK BEAR 720,  ROLLS ROYCE BATTERY CARRIER AND CHARGER




It is almost impossible to talk about the Black Bear 720 without mention its closest competition, the Surefire M-6.
The Surefire M-6 is well known in the tactical circles as the light used by SWAT teams and Special Forces, This light that cost close to $400, is 500 lumens for a run time of 20 minutes, running on six disposable 123 batteries, yes that is right! it uses six batteries, a value of $12 for a 20 minutes run time.

THE BB720 IS NOT MUCH LARGER THAN THE M-6, AND IT HAS A BETTER BATTERY CARRIER




Clearly, the Black Bear 720 lumens is a better value as the batteries are rechargeable, with a life of 1.000 recharges and the run time is of 40 minutes.
When the BB 720 needs new batteries after 666 hours of running, a new set costs only $30.
While the M-6 has only one choice in reflector finish, the light stippled, the BB720 has a choice of four reflector finish, to customize the light to your work. Wildlife officers doing deer census in the field will want the long throw capabilities of the Smooth (mirror finish) reflector, same as firefighters that need to punch a hole in the smoke. Others can use the Orange Peel for a little more flood, and the law enforcement officers will like the capabilities of illuminating an entire warehouse with the extra flood provided by the Light Stippled and Medium Stippled reflectors.



None of the other incandescent flashlights used for military/police work will get near the lumens output of the BB720, the Magcharger is 200 lumens and the most powerful of the Streamlights, the Ultra Stinger, is 295 lumens.
The shorter size of the Black Bear 720 makes it a natural to store in the car, inside the glove compartment, and it is not too heavy to be carried in a trench coat or overcoat pocket and the power in lumens compares to a car’s headlights or to a one and a half million candlepower spotlight, really an amazing performance for a light of this size.

Surefire M-6



Black Bear 720




Like its bigger sister the Borealis 1050 lumens, (12 ½ inches 28 oz.),  the BB720 is hand made one by one on a semi-custom basis, using state of the art components and lots of hand labor to reduce internal resistance to make the white light that is the trademark of the Black Bear Flashlights.

All the best
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE FENIX T-1
TACTICAL LIGHT
Fenix has come out with a new LED tactical light. It runs on two 123 batteries and outputs in the high setting 225 lumens for 1.5 hours. In the low setting of sixty lumens it lasts, according to the instructions, 10 hours.
This new light uses a Cree Premium Q-5 7090 XR-E that is said to make 225 lumens.  It could very well be as it trounces every other LED light that I have in the stables, including my darling E2e modded with MacGizmo PR T head.

The light output is really impressive for an LED; it even has a very decent throw that is sufficient for tactical use inside and even outside.
I have tested it against other tactical lights like my Surefire Centurion III with P-91 lamp (200 lumens) and it really compares very well, to the point that I will carry from now on the new T-1 instead of the Centurion III.

My neighbor’s door is 50 yards away and the light illuminates the target quite well. The package says that the range is 200 yards, which is an exaggeration, and I can’t see any illumination at a target placed 200 yards away. My regular testing for long distance is a hydrant at 88 yards and a group of trees at 111 yards. This light will illuminate the hydrant, barely. I can see that the outline of the hydrant is there (The same with the Centurion III) but I can’t make out any detail or see it sharply. If the target were a human at that distance, I will be not able to tell if it is a bad guy with a gun or a nun with a cell phone.

My incandescent rechargeable Bear Cub light at 220 lumens can illuminate the hydrant and the group of trees at 111 yards and go beyond, It is well known that incandescent provide longer range and better definition. Granted the Bear Cub has a bigger reflector and the light itself is longer at 9 inches.

THE BEAR CUB 220 LUMENS, THE FENIX 225 AND THE SUREFIRE CENTURION III WITH P-91, 200 LUMENS




The T-1 has a massive head with a wall of 4.5 mm thickness, and the light is quite heavy in comparison with other tactical lights. But it is the price you pay for running an LED at 225 lumens, as all this mass of metal is needed to divert the heat away from the batteries.
You may know that the LED’s unlikely incandescent that throw the heat forward as infrared, accumulate heat near the source of light, that is why they have to have a heavy heat sink, this heavy head act as one.
Otherwise the heat will reach the batteries and when a certain point is reached the internal protection that the 123’s batteries have, will cut down the juice, and stop the light.
So, they advertise the light as been built like a tank, but now you know what is the real reason behind all that metal at the head.
The light is say to be waterproof and it passed my four hour test in a BIG glass filled with water. Now in winter is no way that I am going to test it further by doing some diving.
I love the switch; it is just have the right feel for the momentary action, so good that it can be strobe as fast as you want if that is your cup of tea for tactical encounters. It is permanent on by clicking it, and can be unscrewed to put it in safe mode for when you carry the light in luggage or back pack.

The tail cap of the switch has a hole for a lanyard that is included and you can stand the light on its tail cap on a flat surface for a candle mode. What you cannot do is use this light with the Roger-Surefire or cigar grip because the rubber button is recessed flat with the tail cap.
Inside the package I found a spare button and O rings, I applaud that move by Fenix, and it is appreciated as some of us use the lights hard.

The T-1 comes with a holster, which is okay, but it also have a sturdy clip that grasp my belt very well and lower the profile on your waist in comparison with the holster. The only thing about the clip is that it rubs on the body of the light when you want to access the low mode of 60 lumens. We will see how good is the hard anodized type III as the clip is rubbing against the light with a good pressure and I suspect will be soon marked by a line.
BEAM SHOT OF THE THREE LIGHTS ABOVE, 26 YARDS RANGE, CAMERA AT 12 FEET

FENIX T-1



SUREFIRE CENTURION III WITH P-91 LAMP



BEAR CUB 220 LUMENS



Anyway I think that the Fenix T-1 is one of the better lights that have hit the market lately, it is very rugged and is very well made, and well worth the price of 76 USD that I have paid for it.
Regards

Watchmaker

[Slider]

Watchmaker you did an Awesome job on this post!!! I use a Tikka XP Headlamp and have a Surefire E2E second from the left in your photo for a backup in my backpack. That little thing will flat out blind ya!!! Love them them both.

[Coasthunterjay]

great post. thanks...........

[watchmaker]

Guys,
Thank you for your appreciation of my thread.


THE FENIX P3D
FLASHLIGHT

I have purchased yet another light of the Fenix line. The new torch is the Fenix P3D, a multi-level light running on two 123 batteries.
The P3D I bought uses a premium (Q5) Cree 7090 XR-E LED. The light is digitally regulated and has six levels of illumination.

There are two modes of output that are selected by turning the bezel.  The general mode is: 12 lumens for 65 hours, by softly pressing the switch; the second mode will be 53 lumens for 13 hours; pressing again will put you in the 120 lumen mode for 4.8 hours; and again will access the SOS mode (also 120 lumens).

By turning the bezel you can access the turbo mode at 205 lumens, and pressing again softly on the switch will put you in the strobe mode of 205 lumens.

The light has a low battery indicator.  The indicator will strobe the light in low, very fast light; I had opportunity to test this when I put two inexpensive 123 batteries that I thought were both fully charged.
It seems that one of them was with a very low charge, even though it was a new purchase. I had learned to use only the best 123 batteries that I believe are the Surefire brand.
Putting the Surefire batteries in the P3D allowed the light to operate without a hitch.

The light is 4.5” long and 0.8 in diameter.  The anodizing is type III finish and the lens has an anti-reflective coating similar to what is put in eyeglasses.



As like the other models of Fenix lights, the P3D also can be used in candle mode, as the rubber button doesn’t protrude like in other lights that are uses as tactical.

A word of advice; use the 205 lumen mode very sparingly. The light gets hot very quickly in this mode and the excessive heat can damage the Cree emitter if used for a long time. If you need a light that can be used without damaging the LED in the higher setting for a long run, you have to purchase the Fenix T-1 that has a massive heat sink and bulky head that will draw the heat away from the Cree.

As the LED’s lack the infrared spectrum of light, the heat is concentrated near the head, instead of been thrown forward as the incandescent lights do.
The light comes with a handy holster.  This is one torch that I don’t mind not having a clip, as the holster is very flat and comfortable to wear.

This light is so handy that it has replaced my Surefire E2e that was the light I used to wear for years when I went out of the house. I also have another light on my key chain, another Fenix product, the L1D, a one AA battery light with multiple levels.

Carrying now the two Fenixes, I will have light for a long time if I am involved in a situation that I need to use them.

The P3D can be used as a tactical light if the distance involved is short, like in an interior house situation. However, if the light were to be used to illuminate somebody in the back yard, the brightness of the 205 lumens at say, my usual distance of 26 yards, will be not be sufficient to blind a person as the tactical lights are supposed to do. I know because I tested it on myself at that distance, and the blinding effect was not present.

To illustrate the point I use another light that is also in the 220 lumens bracket, the Bear Cub incandescent, 220 lumens for 90 minutes.  If you look at the pictures you will notice how strong the concentrated white beam of the Bear Cub is in comparison to the flood light of the P3D.

Also notice to the right of the subject how the incandescent light reveals leaves that are not shown in the beam of the Fenix. This is the famous lack of definition that I often talk in my posts; it can be translated as lack of detail from the LED beam.

For that reason I think that the 26 yards to the fence is the maximum range of the little reflector of the P3D. Bigger reflectors like in the Fenix T-1 with the same Cree Q,5 can reach as far as 50 yards. A word of advice, don’t try to make the little, svelte P3D do the job that is designed for the T-1, just confine the P3D for the house and other places with short range.

P3D beam from 26 yards,



Bear Cub beam from 26 yards




Coming back to the P3D, it has a strobe effect in the 205 lumens setting; it will not do anything different to my eyes than the actual steady 205 lumens light can do. Must be all my disco dancing in the ’70 had me accustomed to the strobe effect.

The little torch is good, that is why it is my new light over the E2e.  Placed in the holster or in your pants pocket, you hardly know that the light is there and a lot of cool features and power are just at your fingertips.
I recommend it highly.
Regards
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

HUSKY 2D 3 WATT LED LIGHT

I was at Home Depot and I spied a new light in the flashlight section. The new torch is a HUSKY brand, which is a brand name of Home Depot. I have used some of their inexpensive lights; they are made in China and represent a good value in some models.

The new light uses two D batteries (that are included in the package) and the source of light is a three watt LED. The difference in this torch is that the switch activates three different levels of illumination.
The package lacks any instructions and doesn’t even mention the output of the light or the run time. So I am guessing that the first mode (the first click) is a 12 lumens light, second click at 40 lumens and the last click about 80 lumens.

The idea of having three different levels is good, it will conserve battery juice when you just need a little light for illumination, and at the same time, the other two settings are there for more lumens when you need to reach farther or put out more intensity.
As this thread is all about comparisons, I decided to pit the new HUSKY against a Maglite 2D LED 3 watt that I bought a few months ago. I purchased the Maglite from Wal Mart for $24 USD, but I think that it was on sale at the time, still price wise the two lights. Compare.

The HUSKY is ½” shorter, otherwise they compare physically to each other and they weight the same, although the HUKY have a slightly smaller head.
The outside of the Husky is finished in a slightly duller anodizing than the Maglite; both lights look handsome on the outside.
In the inside the Husky shows the threads of the tail-cap, body and head very rough. Removing the head I found an adequate heat sink, although the mounting of the LED looks a little lousy. I wanted to take a look at the reflector and plastic lens, but it was not possible to remove the bezel despite my superhuman and my weight-lifter friend efforts - the bezel seems to have been super-glued in place.

The tail-cap sports a flimsy lanyard that I will not trust to hold the light for long, and looking inside at the switch, I found it very cheesy looking, more appropriate for a toy than for a flashlight. The little strip of metal where the battery makes contact with the switch, it doesn’t look good either.

The Maglite 2D on the other hand, is a high quality product with butter smooth threads, a switch that will last forever and a lot of well thought-out features (cam action, self cleaning switch, etc).
The Maglite is an American product that should cost much more of what it does now. Old timers may recall that when they first show up in the 1980’s the price tag was $60 USD and that they were selling like hot cakes, the engineering of the Maglite was at that time well above any of the existing lights, including the Kel-Lite.

In the picture you can see the Maglite 2D LED on left, the Husky light in the middle, and the red one on right is a Black Bear 720 lumens, (1 ½ million candlepower) a custom made light that shows how much illumination we can put into a Maglite “host” 2D, with a little ingenuity, and if the people are willing to pay the price of a custom product.




Here are the beam shots for comparison, 35 yards to the fence.

HUSKY 3 watt



MAGLITE 3 watt



BLACK BEAR 720 LUMENS




My impression is that the Maglite has a much better beam, in color rendition and in intensity. Also, I can throw the beam of the Maglite much further than the Husky, even that both lights are 3 watt, the Maglite is better in quality of LED and power.
Granted - the Maglite has a 2” full reflector, while the Husky could be only 1 ¾ “  that could account for the better throw, but the Maglite definitely has a whiter beam and it is more intense.

All the best
Watchmaker

[Coasthunterjay]

dude how long does the battery life last on that black bear again??

I think i am going to start saving up money for that thing...I love flashlights that work and DAMN!

[Alchase]

Great article, tons of information here.
I love my Angelfire G2. toughest light I have ever owned.

FYI, for the price I paid for the G2, I have put a mini-mag light in every pocket and pouch of my three packs. Sometimes cost "is" prohibitive.