What is THE FLASHLIGHT TO CARRY ?

TIN BENDER · Post by **TIN BENDER** » Thu May 24, 2007 4:05 pm

A buddy went to Iraq last year to work for Halliburton. He just HAD to get an expensive flashlight to carry. 6 to 7 inches long the best I remember.
He spent over $100 for his light. Had to be bright!
Another friend saw his light and commented he had one just as bright if not brighter. His light came from Wal-Mart. The Brinkman Maxfire LX.
About $20 for the light and 2 ea. 123A lithium batteries.
Not to make the 1 st pal mad we did not do a side by side comparison, but compared the Brinkman the next day in a darkened room.
It did appear to do the Job! I used to sell the Scorpion lights at Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine to lots of LEO's.
Any comments ?

jbirds1210 · Post by **jbirds1210** » Thu May 24, 2007 4:38 pm

The little Brinkman light is as bright as my G2 Surefire. A friend recommended that I pick it up at Target.....it came with a free carry case and batteries. It is a great little light!
Jason

TIN BENDER · Post by **TIN BENDER** » Thu May 24, 2007 4:44 pm

Thanks jbrd,
That is just what I wanted to know. I buy these little lights all year long to give as Christmas presents to friends and family.
Now all I need is a good source for batteries by the dozen.
Thanks

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Thu May 24, 2007 4:54 pm

Surefire is the standard, but they are pricy.

There are a lot of Surefire clones out there now. Some are better than others.

I have a Digilight T6 on my AR-15 and Fenix P3D. Both are good lights. These particular models are bright with a good beam quality.

I will say that for tactical purposes, everyone in my force-on-force class last year liked Surefire. One guy brought a streamlight the first day... after a few lowlight searches... the second day he had a high dollar Surefire instead.

I put fresh batteries in my Surefire e2e after the first day. The 60 lumens it has is enough, but not by a lot.

txinvestigator · Post by **txinvestigator** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:04 pm

Those Brinkmans are fine, but they are not as bright as Surefire's 60 lumen and up lights. They also don't last like a Surefire under harsh conditions.

Also the SF are able to cut through smoke and such extremely well. Does Joe CHLer need a Surefire? Nah. Should someone going into harsh conditions or regularly exposed to dark conditions that could turn violent invest in SF? Heck yeah!

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:23 pm

Some reviews:

Brinkmann Maxfire LX

Cyclops

Surefire G2

KBCraig · Post by **KBCraig** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:25 pm

TIN BENDER wrote:
Now all I need is a good source for batteries by the dozen.

Get the "Titanium" brand here:

http://www.amondotech.com/

stroo · Post by **stroo** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:26 pm

I have both the Brinkman and the Surefire G2. They are about the same brightness but the switch on the Surefire works a lot better than the switch on the Brinkman.

Greybeard · Post by **Greybeard** » Thu May 24, 2007 6:05 pm

I got one of the $20 Brinkman's at Wally World late last year. Rode it hard and put it up wet from day one. Here a week or two ago the bulb (or something!) went bad. Then I discovered Wally World did not even sell 'em any more, much less replacement parts.

Coincidently, my bro wanted to meet at Bass Pro shop yesterday so I took the little Brinkman in with me. Since I'd mangled the bulb assembly trying to get it out (learned later it don't come out) at Radio Shack, I showed a clerk in the camping dept. at Bass Pro my problem. He said "No problem, I can fix you right up!".

He took me over to a display where they had a bunch of 'em just like mine. He said they'd bought out the line and were putting Bass Pro name on the same flashlight. And selling for $25. He took a new one out of the package and put my busted up one in the package to send back - to whoever. He shook my hand and said "Remember who fixed you up." I certainly will - cuz I never did tell him I got it at Wally World!

Greybeard · Post by **Greybeard** » Thu May 24, 2007 6:15 pm

Quote: "Now all I need is a good source for batteries by the dozen."

I run the 123s in several other flashlights as well, so I broke down last fall and chased down a charger and several recharageable batteries at Fry Wholesale. The things don't seem to have the longevity of the big brand name new ones, which I try to keep fresh in my seldom used "gun lights".

9mmGuy · Post by **9mmGuy** » Thu May 24, 2007 9:09 pm

i have a SureFire G2 Nitrolon with the "high output bulb" and i like it alot. Although i dont really like that you cant push or click the end button for constant ON you have to twist the end cap down. i would also say dont waste the money on the high output bulb, cause i didnt really notice a big difference between the 65 lumens (standard bulb with light) and the 120 lumens (high output bulb).

TIN BENDER · Post by **TIN BENDER** » Thu May 24, 2007 10:39 pm

Graybeard & 9MM

Thanks for your input. You saved me some m00-laa m00-laa.
I guess I'llk stick with my $20 Brinkman.

But I sure like those big o' honkin' lights they use on C S I.
What are those monsters?

BambooShoots · Post by **BambooShoots** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:58 pm

I like my E1L for daily carry.

The E2e and A2 aviator kinda wore holes in my pants.

Jacob Staff · Post by **Jacob Staff** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:38 am

This site is currently closed for maintenance but when it is back up and running, it has more information than you ever wanted to know about flashlights. Flashaholics of the world unite!!!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com

This is another good site. The reviews very detailed and there is plenty of them to keep you busy.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/

KBCraig · Post by **KBCraig** » Fri May 25, 2007 12:02 pm

Greybeard wrote:I run the 123s in several other flashlights as well, so I broke down last fall and chased down a charger and several recharageable batteries at Fry Wholesale.

Before going to rechargeable 123s, make sure your device is rated for them. Many of the rechargeables are ~3.5~3.7 volts, instead of the nominal 3.0 volts.