What to look for in a tactical flashlight

[mloamiller]

I have seen a lot of features tossed around but really don't know what's useful and what's just "bells and whistles" that suck up dollars. For example, are these things needed, or are they just distractions:
* zoom
* momentary on
* high/med/low

* How many lumens are bright enough?

These things range in price from a few bucks to $200 or more, and I don't want to pay for more than is really necessary. It seems all you really need is it to be small enough to fit in one hand, reasonably bright and the on/off button on the end-cap.

Thoughts appreciated.

[TVGuy]

Do you not want to mount it on your gun? I can tell you it is very difficult to hold a flashlight and shoot accurately in blackout conditions, especially under stress.

[ELB]

My 2 cents:

Should have a momentary on-off tail cap switch that does NOTHING else except turn the light on and off. Press for on, release for off. That's all it should do.
-- For hunting bad guys, you will only use very short burst of light then move, so no need to click on. Just on/off, very quick. Very embarrassing to try for a quick on/off and instead activate the strobe.
-- If there are any other features, like high/med/low, strobe etc, they should be controlled with a different switch.


Super bright light can overpower your own eyes indoors, especially if it hits white walls. 400-500 lumens is probably the max for indoor use, and 200 can be quite adequate. Borrow somebody's and test it in your house. For outdoor use, I like as bright as I can get.

Gun mounted lights have a very specific role. They are not for looking for things. They are only for last milli-second identification that the target is really something you want to shoot. If you will be using flashlight to look for things, it should not be in your gun hand.

Them's my advice.

[joe817]

And them's good advice too, ELB! Spot on with the indoor brightness. Anything over 400 lmns, IMO is WAYYYYY to bright. 200-300 is more than enough. A momentary switch is a must.

I think the zoom feature is a marketing gimic, and has no benefit at all. But that's just me. And anything more than hi,med,low & strobe on a tactical flashlight is a waste. Especially the SOS feature. Good for camping but for EDC/tactical use, it is useless.

Some "tactical" flashlights have a screwy feature that when it's in the mode you like and it's on, when you turn it off it defaults to a different mode, some(or a lot) of the time the lower mode. And when you turn it on again it's in that lower mode. Not something I'd have in a condition red situation.

Battery life diminishes greatly with increased brightness. I rarely put my EDC flashlight on hi mode. I have a few cheaper 'tactical' flashlights that use AAA batteries, and on high power they usually last 1.5-2 hours. Something to keep in mind.

I'm sure there will be a lot of people chiming in with their opinions. So good luck!

[mloamiller]

Do you not want to mount it on your gun? I can tell you it is very difficult to hold a flashlight and shoot accurately in blackout conditions, especially under stress.

I've heard arguments both ways on that. The pros of having a flashlight in your hand rather than on the gun is you can point the flashlight where you need it without having to point the gun there, such as around a corner. It give more flexibility with the light without having to move gun into an awkward/vulnerable position. I've also heard it said that if you use a large metal flashlight, such as a large Maglite, holding it near your shoulder gives you another weapon you can deploy immediately at a close, unexpected target.

[Javier730]

My 2 cents:

Should have a momentary on-off tail cap switch that does NOTHING else except turn the light on and off. Press for on, release for off. That's all it should do.
-- For hunting bad guys, you will only use very short burst of light then move, so no need to click on. Just on/off, very quick. Very embarrassing to try for a quick on/off and instead activate the strobe.
-- If there are any other features, like high/med/low, strobe etc, they should be controlled with a different switch.


Super bright light can overpower your own eyes indoors, especially if it hits white walls. 400-500 lumens is probably the max for indoor use, and 200 can be quite adequate. Borrow somebody's and test it in your house. For outdoor use, I like as bright as I can get.

Gun mounted lights have a very specific role. They are not for looking for things. They are only for last milli-second identification that the target is really something you want to shoot. If you will be using flashlight to look for things, it should not be in your gun hand.

Them's my advice.

On and off. No strobe or anything fancy. I now carry a surefire p2x fury at night and have some brighter lights like a fenix tk51 thats 1800 lumens but I got a tlr3, which is only 120 lumens on my glock 21 for home defense. On and off that's it. A light too bright will blind you indoors, which is no good in a self defense situation. My tlr3 is bright enough to light up my target, room, maybe even temporarily blind or disorient someone who eyes are adjusted to the darkness and not blind me if I point the light at a wall.

[thatguy]

I love my Streamlight Polytac which I carry in a light pouch from Comp-tac.

275 lumen

Strobe capable

Affordable

Momentary switch

http://streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=159" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Javier730]

Do you not want to mount it on your gun? I can tell you it is very difficult to hold a flashlight and shoot accurately in blackout conditions, especially under stress.

I've heard arguments both ways on that. The pros of having a flashlight in your hand rather than on the gun is you can point the flashlight where you need it without having to point the gun there, such as around a corner. It give more flexibility with the light without having to move gun into an awkward/vulnerable position. I've also heard it said that if you use a large metal flashlight, such as a large Maglite, holding it near your shoulder gives you another weapon you can deploy immediately at a close, unexpected target.

a maglight would make a good offensive weapon. It also lets you see your sights. The only thing I would do different is hold the light little higher than my head that way you could use it the light as a weapon and you also have your forearm blocking a side of your head and face.

[ELB]

As to holding a light...two more pennies.

Consider:

I have not had to go hunt a real bad guy with a real gun while holding a light.

I have had some opportunities to hunt mock bad guys using airsofts.

There are some ways to hold a flashlight that keeps it close to the centerline of your body, or close to your head. There are others that keep it as far away as possible.

After air-softing it, I vote for number 2.

Remember how it comes up regularly that people get shot in the hands and arms and gun because
"people are so focused on their opponent's gun that's what they shoot at" ? Well, when it's dark and all they see is a light, what do you suppose they focus on and shoot at?

That's why I try to use it at arms-length, above and away from my head and body, and for turn it on only for the briefest time possible. Then MOVE from wherever I was when I flashed the light.

Also why I would recommend if this is new to you, start with a hand light, then after you get used to it and have some experience chasing around in the dark consider whether you want/need on your handgun.

But you can't hold the gun and keep the light away from your body with a two-handed grip? As one of my favorite instructors says: "it's a handgun, not a hands-gun."

[Javier730]

I see that we've moved onto tactics already...

Yes sir we sure have, and it would be nice if you can enlighten us on what kind of tactics you might have up your sleeve.

[FL450]

Thats a whole nother forum.
I am on candle power forum and have collected a few flashlights.
After you figure out the features you want the hunt begins.
There are some great resources on that forum as well as links sellers.
I have a few Four-Sevens lights including a Tac Light.
Previous posters have mentioned some tatical features desirable but also consider the user interface and quality of the LED (hate those cheap blue tint lights)and lens as well as tint of light. Cool, Neutral and warm white. Many good made in USA lights but dont discount Chinese lights. Believe it or not most of the highest quality lights are made in China. These are small manufactors that are distributed through on line specialty flashlight stores.
Candle Power Forum has links to most of those. Warning- Like firearms it hard to stop at just one.
Edit- Also need to look at type of LED which effects beam pattern. XML Crees put out wider less intense Hot spot and wider flood and the XPG is a more narrow hot spot with a longer throw. I prefer the XML for greater parriphial vision(Hope I spelled that right). Also I find a very low light selection(Moon light) 1 luman or less to be very usfull in all sorts of situations at night when your eyes are adjusted so you dont ruin your night vision, This is probably my most used mode at night in the car and bed side. In addition this mode can provide light in power outages for a week or two. My non tatical tail caps tail stand so the light reflects offthe ceiling and provides enough light to navigate a room at night.

[ELB]

I see that we've moved onto tactics already...

Yes, asking what features a good tactical light should have kind of begs the question "Why that feature?"