LIGHTS FOR HUNTING

[watchmaker]

Hi guys,
I have a bunch of lights and this idea of taking beam shots so members can see how the lights compare with each other.
I did this piece for another forum, but I like to share.
Stop me if you think the subject is too boring.
Cheers

LIGHTS FOR HUNTING



This post will try to show how different lights used for hunting compare with each other, and will clarify the difference between the lumen ratings used in Luxeon (LED) lights and incandescent lights.
In short, I will show (through pictures) how Luxeons lack definition when used at increased distances.

I have maintained for a long time that LED Luxeons don’t have the range over the incandescent to really be helpful for general hunting. They are excellent lights to use inside the house; their beams are very clean, white and with substantial flood, and in the average house, that is all you need. However, when taken outside to the backyard, woods, or large structure and the distance to the target is 25 yards or more, they lack definition (as they lack the red spectrum of light), and their poor penetration of fog or rain makes them inefficient to clearly identify what you are seeing at that distance.
Moreover, when the subject being illuminated is an animal with a light-drinking fur (depth of texture), the blending effect of the LED’s (against the background) will cause the observer to lose perspective.


LOW LIGHT FOR WALKING IN THE WOODS


Hunters that have used the Fenix LOP (1 AAA) consider this light ideal (except for the lack of a clip). Another favorite is the ARC AAA. These lights can be held in the mouth without any discomfort.

Fenix has put out a bigger light (1 AA) with two stages output, and the lower output will be also ideal for projecting a soft LED beam that will aid in walking the woods in the pre-dawn blackness when going toward your stand, (perhaps following a trail of cat-eyes) at this time, it is necessary not to pollute the area with more light than what is absolutely needed.
Some hunters that know the terrain well, prefer to use a red filter over the light, as is well known that deer and others animals cannot see red light.


THE BELT LIGHT

Those same hunters want to have a good light on their belt. Some prefer the two cell 123’s lights like the Surefire 6P, G2, or C-2 for their better flood beam over the more tightly focused Streamlight Scorpion, TL-2 and Night Fighter II.
They look for a run time of one hour and an output of 65 lumens.
Some opt for more intense lights like the Surefire 9P or the C-3 with their 105 lumens and one hour run time.
The Streamlight TL-3 is a little too tightly focused for a belt light but it will do fine at the longer distances were the bigger lights shine.
In LED form (Luxeon V), the Surefire L-4 is a good contender due to the excellent flood light that it puts out at medium range, however it lacks the throw needed for more distance illumination.

The main thing is that the hunters want to avoid losing precious seconds by panning a light when in the woods. That is why the Surefires are preferred over the tightly focused others brands, because they have special reflectors that diffuse the light into a bigger flood pattern.


THE CAR LIGHT

Some hunters wear a light holder in their belt (a plastic and leather ring). On exiting their cars, they slip in the ring one of the powerful rechargeable lights, most commonly the Magcharger (200 lumens) or the Ultra Stinger (295 lumens) and some even a Borealis 1050 lumens mega light.

Those are ideal lights for search for wounded game, search and rescue of lost partner, signaling at long distances and using them as spotlights after the hunt. Being rechargeable, they are always used with a maximum run time (taken out of the charger at start of the day, a thing that you can not do with 123 batteries unless you are willing to dump half-used batteries at the start of every day of hunting.

Their large diameter (2 inches) reflectors put more light at a longer distance than any of the belt lights. Even though some of the belt lights approach 200 lumens, they do it with reduced run time and much reduced throw, due to their small diameter reflectors.
A Magcharger will put a spot of light at 150 yards, as will the Ultra Stinger and a Borealis has the capability of illuminating the whole road for 250 yards.


Lets start with the popular Surefire G-2 (or 6 P) at 65 lumens, the target is the 8 by 12 tool shed at 30 yards.
We are going to pit the Surefire G-2 65 lumens $35.00 against the Surefire Digital Lumamax L-4 (also 65 lumens and with a price tag of $160.00).

Surefire G-2 65 lumens



Surefire L-4 Luxeon V, LED, 65 lumens



And now we are going to pit the Surefire 6 P with the P-61 120 lumen lamp (20 minutes run time) against the best Luxeon LED thrower that I have (similar to the cree LED).
This is a Mc Gizmo PR T head with a TWOJ bin Luxeon doing 120 plus lumens.

Surefire Centurion C-2 (same as the 6P) with the P-61 lamp, 120 lumens.



And the PR T with TWOJ bin Luxeon, (LED) @ 120 lumens



And now we are going to show a belt light of 200 lumens (The Surefire Centurion III with the P-91 lamp, 200 lumens, 20 minutes run) and three cars' lights of 200 lumens plus and beyond.

Surefire Centurion C-III, 200 lumens P-91 lamp.



And here the Magcharger also 200 lumens, with its bigger reflector and tighter focus will throw the light at 150 yards, while the Centurion III range will stop at 45 or 50 yards.

Magcharger 200 lumens (40,000 candlepowers)





And here is the Ultra Stinger, the most powerful of the rechargeable from Streamlight with 295 lumens and 75,000 candlepower.



And now the BOREALIS, the light that has the format of a 3 D (12 1/2 inches long) outputting 1050 lumens for 50 minutes.
This is similar to a two million candlepower spotlight





As I have over 200 lights that I have used at one time or another in my hunting expeditions, I am well familiarized with distinct situations that call for different lights and method of using them.
I have encountered a new one lately, that calls for following a wounded wild boar at night with a powerful pistol like the S&W 500 or a 454 Casull and also a powerful light in the order of a Surefire M-6 (500 lumens) or a Borealis 1050 lumens.
For myself, I cannot think of another pursuit that could be more dangerous to life and limb, although I have a lot of respect for the young athletes that have tried it, I consider it too “Extreme” for my good health.

Hope I can do some more talking to the members about my second hobby after knife collecting, which is of course hunting at night and light usage.

Respectfully
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

MORE LIGHTS FOR HUNTING


As a continuation of the first post and for whatever value it has, I am going to do some more shoot outs of a mix of popular Luxeon lights and incandescent ones.

The first order of things is to change the target area, to make it a little more interesting to my viewers.
Consequently I replaced the tool shed target with a deer and bear mount.
The deer head mounted on the tree is exactly 26 yards from my second story window from where the lights are shinning.
The bear head in the fence is only six more feet further away from the tree.

In the summer I have plenty of bushy cover in the area, but this time I had to be creative and cut and nailed to the tree and fence, some branches from a pine tree, not to hide the animals from view, just to provide a natural blending effect, like they were coming from a natural habitat.

The camera was placed twelve foot away from the tree (and eighteen feet from the bear) in a solid tripod, and the night camera mode used (this mode shows in pictures the same light values that I am seeing with my own eyes).

The close proximity of the camera is for the viewer to see the target with clarity; if I were to place the camera 26 yards away the target will be awfully small.

Here it is the target area and how it looks in daylight.



And here are the contenders, but before I describe them, let me voice my opinion that some manufacturers of Luxeon lights label the output in lumens in quite a wild way.




From left to right: # 1 Fenix L1P at about 40 lumens, # 2 Nuwaii Q III at 75 lumens (yes, sure!) # 3 Surefire L-4 Digital Lumamax at 65 lumens (this is a Luxeon V which is quite a flood light but with little throw).

# 4 Streamlight Task-Light 2 L (two Lithium 3 volts batteries, high and low output,
Cost is about $77.00) This is billed at a High Flux Luxeon III. With 75 lumens, which I think is about right.

# 5 is the Streamlight Pro Polymer 4 AA with a Luxeon I, billed as 40 lumens (3,500 candlepower according to the advertising) which I think is quite wrong, as it appears to me to have about 70 lumens or more, this light has a bigger and deeper reflector than the others lights and the beam is concentrated more than the others. This is a great light for the price of about $40.00

# 6, this is a PR T Luxeon III head done for me by master modder McGizmo, it is set on a Surefire E2e body and I am using two rechargeable 123’s with a voltage of 4.2 volts in it.
This light is my best Luxeon III light and up to two years ago it was pretty HOT STUFF, today the cree LED’s are approaching it in intensity, although it has not been overpower by any other Luxeon, yet.
My friends told me I have two of the Integrated Sphere Spectotometers just above my nose, those spheres are telling me that this light makes 120 to 130 “real” lumens.

# 7, this is A Surefire Centurion II in black with the P-60 lamp (65 lumens) this represents all the others Surefires lights that use this lamp, G-2, 6P. Z-2. etc.

# 8, this is another Surefire Centurion II, but in Hard anodized, it wears the HOLA lamp. The P-61 with the output of 120 lumens for 20 minutes.

# 9 this is a Surefire Centurion III (3 cells) this is usually sold with the P-90 lamp that makes 105 lumens for one hour, but in this case is set up with the P-91 lamp for 200 lumens for 20 minutes, as you will see in the picture later, the floodlight effect is great at 26 yards. All those P’s lamps start to lose range at about 45 to 50 yards, this is because the reflectors are fabricated to produce a good flood so police officers can clear houses with them.
I took this particular light out of my Remington 742 rifle, where it sits in the special quick detach mount in a Picattiny rail.

# 10, this is the BEAR CUB, this light weights 13 oz and measures 9 inches long, it works with two Lithium Ion computer batteries, and produces 220 plus lumens for 90 minutes. Thanks to the big and deep 2 inch mirror-like reflector, this light concentrates the beam like a laser and has a throw of 120 to 150 yards.
So the 26 yards distance is like child play for the Bear Cub and the light is so intense at the target that they had to close their eyes!

# 11, (last on the left lying in horizontal position next to the Bear Cub) this light is a KL-1 head Luxeon I of three years ago, it is set up in a Surefire Outdoorsman body and the lumens output is no more than 20, consequently I decided to strike it out from the competition, there is no room in my stable for weaklings and I will present it to my nephew on his birthday quite soon.

And now let’s go to the pictures:

Fenix L1P (40 lumens) Luxeon I



Nuwaii Q III (advertised at 75 lumens in a website, which I don’t believe) Luxeon III.




Surefire L-4 Digital Lumamax (65 lumens) this is very flood light and the lumens spread in a very wide area, so it cannot be expected to have a good throw at 26 yards. (Luxeon V ~which are 4 of the one watt together)




Streamlight Task Light 2 L about 75 lumens on high, works on two 123’s batteries and has two levels of illumination. High Flux Luxeon III. About $77.00



Streamlight Poly Pro 4 AA Luxeon. This light has a deep and bigger reflector, the Luxeon is I, according to the manufacturer, is listed at 40 lumens, but to my eyes is doing about 75 lumens.
For the price of $40.00 this is a great light, and very battery friendly as it uses regulars AA.
I feed this light, rechargeable Nimhs AA of high current (Powerex 2700 mah) that hovers around 1.4 volts for weeks consequently it costs me nothing to operate it.





Mc Gizmo PR T head on Surefire body, Luxeon III, TWOJ bin,
My best Luxeon light putting out 120 to 130 lumens. This is a collector’s item and was state of the art, less than two years ago.
I have found nothing new that can approach its power, except the new cree 7090 that is getting close.



Surefire Centurion II in black with the P-60 lamp (65 lumens for one hour)





Surefire Centurion II in Hard anodized with the P-61 lamp (120 lumens for 20 minutes)



Surefire Centurion III in hard anodized, with the P-91 lamp (200 lumens for 20 minutes) as you can see it is a great flood at 26 yards.





BEAR CUB running for 90 minutes on two computer Lithium Ion batteries, driving a Xenon Magnum Star bulb for 5 cells pretty hard at 8.4 volts at 220 lumens (which make it a very white light) with a reach of 120 to 150 yards, even surpassing the Ultra Stinger.



Best regards
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE SUREFIRE E2E
here is one more:
As the Surefire E2e is a very common light in the bow hunting and gun hunting scene and also for law enforcement, here it is.


The little MN03 lamp (60 lumens for 75 minutes) in the E2e is a big performer, I like myself this little light a lot, and I think it qualifies as a tactical light to be used at close to medium range if the need arose.
The MN02 lamp can be substituted for more run time, as it is 25 lumens for 2 1/2 hours, I actually prefer this lamp for hiking in the trails and other general chores, but I will use the 60 lumens lamp for blood trailing a deer or bear.

Red, blue and infrared filters are available from Surefire and vendors such as Cabela's. The red is used to walk in the trails or follow the cat-eye tacks when you go toward the stand in the pre-dawn darkness and don’t want to pollute the woods with light, and the blue to bring up the blood drops in the leaves.

The E2e is 4 1/2 inches long and weighs at 3 .1 oz., is available in hard anodized type III and will not scratch easily, but it can be rough on your pocket liner. Other finishes are available sometimes. A tear drop bezel model is done in nickel plated and the wine light in regular anodized with a wine burgundy color.

Here is a picture of a few of the versions of the E2e.





And here is the beam shot at the same distance as the others above (26 yards) and the camera placed at the same distance (12 feet to the Deer head and 18 to the Bear head).




I can tell you that the light is fairly waterproof. I don’t have a pool to try it at a few feet, but it survived quite well in my 3 ½ gallon beer glass for several hours.



Kind regards,

Watchmaker

[duckhuntingdogstand]

Thanks for the education! What is your opinion of the Maglite with the luxeon bulb? It seems to give you options for spot to flood. I wonder how it would do with your deer/bear test? I suspect it would be something close to the Streamlight Task Light 2 L. I have a 3 D cell Maglite with a K2 bulb that seems to do fairly well. It's not the brightest thing, but one set of batteries lasted me all season last year. It is certainly more bulky than carrying one of the little lights that uses the 123 batteries.
I replaced the bulb in my daughter's 3 C cell Maglite with the replacement Luxeon bulb sold in Wal Mart. It seems to do a pretty good job also, but I don't think it is quite as bright as my K2 bulb.
I would love to see a comparison like the one you did for headlights. Wearing a headlight is important to me as we wade in a fairly long way and need hands free for a walking stick and grabbing trees while falling!

[grnheadhunter85]

thanks for the compare and contrast watchmaker and welcome to hunters central......DHDS i have a regular 4D mag lite.....last year i found a land mark in the dark and was able to get within 20 yds of my blind before i would need a lite.....that 4d was all i needed

[QuakKillz]

awesome! thanks!

I personally use the streamlight poly pro 4aa, have 2, and love them(well, one is "lost" and both need new bulb housings ) they were only about $25 at my local gun shop, I like them due to the tailcap switch, and waterproof(I've actually tested it, it is true! ) and, they are hazardous location classified for you construction/industrial/commercial guys.....

I also have a 4d MagLite with the cheapo led's for more of an area light(flood)

[watchmaker]

Thank you all guys for the appreciation of my post.

QuakKillz,
If you don't need the throw of the incandescent Poly Pro 4 AA, try the Luxeon version of the Poly Pro, you never need a bulb again, and as you see in the beam shot it compares quite well with the incandescent lights.

I run the Streamlight Poly Pro 4 AA with rechargeable Nimhs and don't cost me a dime, they are really great lights for the money.

Cheers
Watchmaker

[QuakKillz]

QuakKillz,
If you don't need the throw of the incandescent Poly Pro 4 AA, try the Luxeon version of the Poly Pro, you never need a bulb again, and as you see in the beam shot it compares quite well with the incandescent lights.

I run the Streamlight Poly Pro 4 AA with rechargeable Nimhs and don't cost me a dime, they are really great lights for the money.

Cheers
Watchmaker

what is the part# for that bulb housing?

[watchmaker]

The lamp?reflector assembly cost $9.75 here:
http://www.brightguy.com/images/bgimages/str4aa.jpg

[watchmaker]

THE SUREFIRE M-6, 500 LUMENS TACTICAL LIGHT

Hi guys,
Here is another of my tactical lights. This beauty is light, relatively small and VERY powerful, and it comes with two lamps; 250 lumens for one hour and 500 lumens for 20 minutes.
THE GOOD NEWS:
In reality, when using fresh 123’s batteries of Surefire brand this light puts out 650 lumens for the first 6 minutes, this is really an outstanding performance as at 650 lumens the light is very white.
After that, the small 123’s start feeling the problem of coping with the high amperage lamp and settle to the 500 lumens output for a little more time, but you can see in the beam how the sag on the little batteries affects the output.

I have had three of the M-6’s and I am very familiar with them, they are very sensitive to what batteries they like, performing quite well with the Surefire brand, but dropping down and with reduced run time with the Battery Station brand, (at least in my experience).

THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS:
Sometimes in a warm summer night when I use the light, I can expect it to shut down after about 11 to 12 minutes of running due to the overheat protection of the batteries.
Yes the batteries will shut down the juice when very hot to avoid reaching the melting point, it is very disconcerting to have the light going full blast and all of a sudden you find yourself in complete dark.
It will no happen often but it had happened to me three times last summer (I am an above average user of powerful lights).

The light that I use for the beam shot is not my own but one that a neighbor of mine received in the mail the day I was delivering to him a Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight.

This great guy will start a conversation with, hi, I am Effie and I am a flashaholic, the day I visited him we spend hours talking and looking at his lights.
The batteries in the Surefire box, were fresh, I am sure because I deflowered the tough plastic wrapping with my trusty Ken Onion’s knife.
The guy have a one room house with garage in his big back yard, (for his teenage son’s to have his privacy) and that is what we used as a target, it been 27 yards away from the end of the porch where we shoot the beams of the lights and placed the tripod and camera.

As we needed another light to test it against, we used the Borealis 1050 lumens light, this being a top of the line model with the Quick Detach Swivel and the black hard anodized bezel with the glow dots.
Of course the Borealis been a bigger light made in the 3 D format and weighting at 28 oz. and with 12 ½ inches in length, overpower physically and in lumens output the M-6, but we didn’t have anything closer to the 650 lumens of the HOLA lamp of the M-6.
And here are the beam shots

SUREFIRE M-6 HOLA lamp (650 lumens on fresh batteries, 20 minutes run time)





BOREALIS 1050 LUMENS RECHARGEABLE (50 minutes run time)



And here the lights side by side before the shoot out.






THE ONLY REAL PROBLEM:
It is the cost of the batteries, Surefires are close to a couple dollars now with shipping, it hurts my pocket to pay that much when the light uses six of them every twenty minutes and I don’t use the light as much as when the batteries where going for a dollar each.
For the law enforcement sector, when the Agency pays for the batteries, it is not problem, but for us simple civilians like me, even that I don’t have a mortgage anymore, I have a kid with a foot in College and I have to watch out my wallet, paying $36.00 per hour to run a powerful light it is not longer fun.

It is the top of the line of the portable Surefires and at $400 it is well worth the money due to the great and precise machining and finish and the good design specially made for tactical situations.

Cheers,
Watchmaker

[duckhuntingdogstand]

What do your Integrated Sphere Spectotometers tell you that the Luxeon K2 bulb will do in a 3 cell Maglite? I am curious where my light fits in your picture. If it's low enough on the totem pole, I may need to go pick up one of those neat little Streamlight Pro Polymer's.

Thanks,
paulv

[watchmaker]

What do your Integrated Sphere Spectotometers tell you that the Luxeon K2 bulb will do in a 3 cell Maglite? I am curious where my light fits in your picture. If it's low enough on the totem pole, I may need to go pick up one of those neat little Streamlight Pro Polymer's.

Thanks,
paulv

I don't have a K2 or a Sphere, but you will be ahead of the game if you get the inexpensive Streamlight Poly Pro to switch over your heavy Maglite.

The only reason to carry a 3 D Maglite (39 lumens in incandescent) these days of small powerful lights, is if it is modified into a super-light like the BOREALIS 1050 lumens.


Most people that don't need the range can get by with a key chain light like the Fenix, that provide plenty of floodlight for most chores inside the house and around the car.


Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

Hi guys,
I did this piece for a hiking club I belong to. I thought you guys could be interested.
Just forgive me for the hiking flavor.

THE MOST POWERFUL FLASHLIGHTS
LIGHTS FOR TRUCK OR CAR


Hi guys,
Yes, I know that this has nothing to do with hiking, but most of us use car or truck transportation to get to the trail head and usually carry some form of a flashlight in the vehicle.
A powerful light can be a life saver in many instances, I well remember when driving up to the Adirondacks at 2 am in an empty 87 North at a point between exit 28 and 29 (North Hudson) some wild people in a truck tried to run us over into the shoulder of the road, my wife shinned a powerful light into their windshield and they desisted in the intent and actually braked hard and disappeared.
Maybe they though that only police cars would have such a powerful light and that it was better to look for their kicks somewhere else; the case was that the light resolved the situation for us.

Then it was the time when we used it to illuminate the scene of and accident involving a deer and a poor woman in a compact car in a dark lonely side road, where blood and the insides of the deer were everywhere and the car was inoperable.

Calling by phone from New York City to a local in the Adirondacks to get our weather information I was told of a new ruse some bad guys were using to rob and hi jack cars in roads with poor traffic in the area.
The information came handy a few weeks later when in Boreas road near the junction with Tahawus road we were flagged by a guy in a truck with the head lights illuminating a dead dog in the middle of the road. at the time I was using a car I had bought from my neighbor the cop, it had a PA system and blue lights mounted in the vicinity of the radiator; we stopped short, illuminated the area with the two million candlepower of a Borealis flashlight and hit the blue lights and PA system telling them over the mike to stay were they where and to show their hands. The guy in the truck jumped inside and did a burning tire escape even running over the body of the dog, while his confederate in the bushes at the side of the road had just barely time to dive head first into the bed of the truck.

So I though that I will show the guys in the forums what a powerful light is since I have several of them with me.

HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE LIGHTS, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Maglite 3 D, Magcharger, Ultra Stinger, Surefire M-6 Guardian, and Borealis.



AND HERE A PICTURE OF THE BATTERY STICKS AND CARRIERS FROM LEFT: The 6 volts battery stick of the Magcharger, the skinny 6 volts battery stick of the Ultra Stinger, the plastic carrier for the six 123’s batteries of the Surefire M-6 and last the aluminum and Delryn 12 volts carrier of the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight.





The Maglite 3 D is the most popular light carried by almost everybody in a truck or car. The 12 ½ inches of length and the thirty one ounces of weight make also a good impact weapon for emergencies, moreover, is the affordability of the light that can be obtained almost anywhere for less than $20, and, by the way, it is a quality instrument with tight tolerances and proudly still made in the USA.
So the Maglite 3 D is going to be our first test and beam shot, the light is quite waterproof to a good extend, my neighbor’s kids use one to collect coins from the bottom of the pool in a game they have.
The Maglite 3 D output 39 lumens and runs on three of the popular D size alkaline batteries; it will run for an hour before the output drops to 20 lumens due to the sag that alkaline batteries exhibit under load.

BEAM SHOT OF THE MAGLITE 3 D (39 LUMENS)



MAG Instruments also produce a powerful rechargeable police light called the Magcharger, www.maglite.com this light is used by many police departments in the states and abroad; this light is the size and shape of a regular Maglite 3 D but with 2 rings of steel where the contacts for the charger are.
This light will output 200 lumens (40,000 candlepower) and I think that the price is about $120.00 a well built quality light of 12 ½ inch and a weight of thirty one ounces, it works with a 6 volt system on a stick of Ni Cads batteries; the charger will charge the light in 12 hours and as the Ni Cad batteries sometimes acquire memory, it is necessary to discharge it full and recharge to erase the memory in the batteries after using it for a couple of weeks.

BEAM SHOT OF THE MAGCHARGER (200 LUMENS)



The Streamlight Ultra Stinger is the most powerful offering from Streamlight, a well known police flashlight provider, The Ultra Stinger will output 75,000 candlepower, lumens figure is 295 lumens, it also works with a 6 volt system of rechargeable Ni Cad batteries, formed in a stick, the light is very popular with many police agencies and also recharges in 12 hours.
Police station across America have racks of Ultra Stingers in chargers waiting for the night shift to arrive, the light is a lightweight at 12 inches and 15 ounces, I think that the price is around $130 in the street as some lights can be bought at discount from the web.
The address for Streamlight is www.streamlight.com there they have the whole line of Stingers and other police and emergency services lights.

BEAM SHOT OF THE ULTRA STINGER (295 LUMENS)




Our SWAT teams and Special Forces use for entry and to blind suspects a powerful military type flashlight called the Surefire M-6 Guardian. This light works with those powerful 3 volts Lithium batteries that are sometimes used in cameras, the flashlight uses six of them disposables batteries to run the light at 500 lumens for 20 minutes; after the 20 minutes you have to dump the batteries and get another six fresh batteries in the carrier, which is of not importance when the agency pay for the batteries, but to us civilians, dumping $12.00 worth of batteries after a 20 minutes run can get to be expensive.
This light was until recently the most powerful in the world, and Surefire sells a good quantity of them despite the tag of $400 USD.
I used one for a while in my car because it fits my glove compartment, as the light is shorter and lighter than the ones we have been discussing so far.
At 8 inches 14 ounces it is quite compact, but it will make a poor strike weapon although the powerful beam of 500 lumens will blind men or animal.
If you want more information on this light the address of Surefire is www.surefire.com


BEAM SHOT OF THE SUREFIRE M-6 (500 LUMENS)



My red rechargeable Borealis flashlight at 1050 lumens (two million candlepower) is the king of all the powerful lights and the most powerful flashlight in the world at this time.
It is made on the “host” of 3D, so replacement shells are easy available and inexpensive and the owner can replace a shell that have been scratched or dented for a mere $20 if he wishes, and in only 10 minutes transfer the special parts, (some of us take pride in good looking equipment).
This light is seen deployment with some members of the border patrol to illuminate the frontier in their quest for illegal immigration. The light can throw a powerful beam for hundred of yards and in a pinch it can be used as headlights or a landing light.
Police officers are acquiring the Borealis to use the same way that they have been using the Maglite and Magcharger, the tremendous light output makes it ideal for accident sites and traffic stops.
It uses a 12 volt system of rechargeable high current NINH batteries in a beautifully made Rolls Royce carrier, the batteries don’t have any problem with memory and the new type of batteries used in this light can be away from the charger for more than a month before it needs to be topped off, and the recharging time of the light is only 90 minutes.
The run time of this light is 50 continuous minutes; it is 12 ½ inches long and weights 28 ounces. In test ran by the maker, the light was tortured and even shot with a .22 rifle without stopping emitting light. (As a video shows in the web site).
The light sells for $320 shipped directly from the maker, which is www.BlackBearFlashlights.com


BEAM SHOT OF THE BOREALIS (1050 LUMENS)




I thought you guys will be interested to see all these lights in action, and I pointed them to a point in the fence next to the tree with the beams and camera shooting from a 35 yards distance, this is the longest distance that I have in the back yard

Although you can not take them in your night hikes (because of the extra weight) any of them will make a good addition to your car or truck gear, who knows, maybe they can really help you out of a tight situation like they did for me.

Respectfully
Watchmaker

[Zanzan]

Dang, I just noticed these post by watchmaker, very interesting. You don't have any info on headlights(lightweight) with a good tight beam that gets out there. Bought the Trident by Streamlight, just wasn't bright enough. If you have any info bout a light along the same size as the Trident but with a good throw I'd appreciate it.

Keep coming with the informational posts.

[watchmaker]

Zanzan,
I don't have a Trident, so I don't know how much it throws, when I want throw in a headlight I use the
Princeton Tec Predator II (28 lumens) I have the old smooth reflector that thows much farther than the new Stippled one.(8 hours run time).

But this is an incandescent light and is not lightweight, as is drived by 4 AA batteries.
I would say ideal to put out duck decoys in the predawn.

I just bought in Home Depot a HUSKY headlamp, it is a LED but have a good throw for been an LED, compared with others I have.

I will be concentrating on head lamps a little more now, as I have three new ones that I haven't even opened yet.

Next post will be about the Husky.

Cheers
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

HUSKY HEADLAMP
TWO LED’S

I found this one in Home Depot for $9.95, like others it uses three AAA batteries to power the two LED’s and it have only one setting.
I don’t know what class of LED’s it have, they are not the regular Nichias 5 mm, these are very powerful and behave more like 3 watts Luxeons, but they can’t not be at this low price.



The case is that this inexpensive headlamp is very good at throwing a nice round focused beam a certain distance, the beam is as perfect and free of shadows and artifacts as the best lights that I have tested.



The light is very straightforward, click on click off switch, one setting, and full power. Nothing fancy, just a good beam of light in a lightweight case, I will take this one hiking with no problems.

I tested at 20 feet against my deer head because that is how I tested other similar lights, but this beam can reach farther and provide good illumination for walking a marked trail.



Cheers

Watchmaker

[Zanzan]

Not bad for $10. Thanks for the info.

[duckhuntingdogstand]

That looks to be possibly brighter than the Streamlight Poly Pro 4 AA Luxeon!!! Is that possible for $10?

[Zanzan]

I don't know, but good info I'll put to use since i have so many lights that have not lived up to the hype. I hate buying things I can't try out.

[watchmaker]

duckhuntingdogstand,
No, it is not brigther or throw as far as the GREAT Streamlight Poly pro 4 AA.

You miss the part where I said that the range was 20 feet for the LED's headlights.


I have found that LED's can't compete in throw with incandescents, I have bought another LED head light that had a little more throw, I probably will have to make a new standad for the overdriven 1 watt and 3 watts headlamps, say about 10 yards.

Overdriving a Luxeon I or III will produce a lot of heat, since the lamps are in your head for a considerable amount of time, I don't think that a light that can heat your brain is practical, no matter how good is the throw.
cheers
Watchmaker