GSAR Flashlight: Maglight or Surefire

[CAP.is.1337]

I'm revamping my SAR gear, and I need a flashlight. I currently have a 2D military-style light, but I want to upgrade. I currently have a Surefire G2 w/ both the 65 and 120 Lumens lamps. The only drawback I have with the G2 is that battery life is pretty bad: 1hr/65L, and 20min/120L.

I'd like some opinions on using a G2 or other compact CR123-based light for Ground SAR, rather than or in conjunction with the traditional 3D/4D Maglight.

[Al Sayre]

Remember that one definition of a flashlight is a metal or plastic tube used to hold dead batteries... 

I've done away with battery powered flashlights in my gear.  I replaced them with a small "shaker"  type LED  and a wind up 5 LED for when I need a really bright light.  They work fine, and I don't have to worry about the batteries going dead, and the LED's will probably last longer than I will.   I can also charge my cell phone with the wind up.

[a2capt]

You an buy AA batteries in many places by the "pallet"  ;-) Those 100 pack cubes for as low as $9.99 at times, on average $19.99 - all these flashlights that use boutique batteries are just a money hole.

What good is it when you have to keep a brinks truck worth of batteries in tow specifically for it, as well as batteries for the GPS and whatever else.

An armada of AA/AAA operated items is the best IMHO, power is plentiful, you can pass spent cells from the GPS to the LED lights. From Wally World to 7-Eleven, with a Home Despot in between, you can find AA, AAA and your typical battery varieties em mass.

Boutique batteries? Gotta mail order 'em, or hit up Fry's.

[jimmydeanno]

I recommend the battery powered LED lights, if you don't want to shake or wind your flashlight.  I bought a 6 LED headlamp for like $15 and have about 45 hours of use out of the 2 AAA batteries it takes.

[RRLE]

Aside from the boutique battery issue, I find my SureFire gets very hot after a short period of time. The Mini Maglight, which is the same size, stays cool to the touch. For short bursts of instant on, I use the SureFire. For sustained light, ie EmComm bag use, I use the Mini Maglight.

[Airrace]

I recommend the battery powered Mini Mag light with LED lights.

[Thom]

There are no simple answers here.  You've opened a real can of worms.

The good news:  We have more, and better, choices for flashlights now than at any moment in human history.

The bad news:  ditto.

I'll recommend that you pick a Battery Type, then work from there.  123 Lithium cells are far more readily available than they used to be, but AAs are King for 'backwoods middle of the night' procurement, with AAAs and 9 Volts coming in just behind.  Button Cell lights should be secondary, so not really a consideration.  I am carrying lights with different battery types currently, and it definitely makes it more difficult to carry enough spare batteries for each light.

You'll almost have to choose an LED based light to get enough runtime to last through a 24 or 72 hour deployment without excessive spare battery carriage.  There are even SureFire replacement LED Bulbs for your G2 now.  They work just fine, almost identical output as the old incandescent bulb, and much longer runtime.

There are literally HUNDREDS of LED flashlights to choose from, going from low output to OMG!!! and everything in between.

Here's what I'm carrying right now:

Utility:  Photon Freedom Covert - White LED Button Cell - On Lanyard around my Neck 24/7 (Unless I'm showering or, ummm, romantically, whatever...)  - Yes I even sleep with it on 365 days a year

Headlamp:  Princeton Tec Quad Tactical - AAA Cell Headlamp with Red Filter

Handheld:  SureFire 6P LED - 123 Cell Flashlight - Though I am considering replacing it with a SureFire G2D-FYL with multiple output settings - the FYL lights are designed for SAR, Firefighters, etc.

Backup:  SureFire E1B Backup - 123 Cell Flashlight - High and Low settings

Flying Backup:  Streamlight Sidewinder Tactical Flashlight - AA Cell Clip-On Flashlight with Red, Blue, Green, and White LEDs - I bring this instead of (or in addition to) the E1B for flying duties

For more than you Ever wanted to know about Flashlights and Batteries, here is the place:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/

That's just what I carry, you'll need to choose your own path...

Thom Hamilton

[airdale]

- Amen on LED and using AA batteries.

one definition of a flashlight is a metal or plastic tube used to hold dead batteries

Yahbut ... these days you can buy lithium cells with ten year life.  That's what I use for flight bag items where usage is low but I need to have reliable power:  flashlights, hand-held backup radio, etc.  For frequent usage the new "Eneloop" type rechargeables appear to be the way to go. 

- Re Surefire, Streamlight, etc.  I see no reason to buy the fancy branded lights any more.  The more pedestrian brands now have very good LED lights that are not expensive.

I have three or four of the Energizer single-AA lights bought at Target as discussed here: http://edcforums.com/index.php?topic=24963.0 and am very happy with them.  Home Depot also has a fairly wide selection of lights, including lots of flavors of Maglights.  They also sell a Coast branded white/red flashlight for about $25 that looks interesting.  AAA batts though, I think.

[Eclipse]

This was a Woot! on Aug 19th, and I passed.  Luckily my good buddy the Wing DC bought 3 of them and let me check his out.  Well worth $25.  I doubt I'll need a replacement anytime soon.

It runs on regular AA's, but purports 160 hours of use with the included Lithium.  This won't be near as effective as a whack...er..."persuasion" device as my 5 cell (C) Mag lights, but will likely see a lot more use and hold up better if it falls into a stream, etc.

Plus the IR illuminator is useless in my universe but way cool!!

[IceNine]

Dung beetle.

You didn't say it was a woot.  I would have snagged one, that must be the only day I have missed in the last month at least.

At least they still have a gem on there once in a while, its been going down hill as of late.

[IceNine]

As for battery life, I carry a ton of rechargables with me almost everywhere.

I have 2 USB powered chargers from walmart for around 10 bucks.

a larger battery charging station, powered through my cig lighter in the truck.

There are just as many charging options as there are battery types now, and with options like that who needs throw away's?

[Thom]

As for battery life, I carry a ton of rechargables with me almost everywhere.

I have 2 USB powered chargers from walmart for around 10 bucks.

a larger battery charging station, powered through my cig lighter in the truck.

There are just as many charging options as there are battery types now, and with options like that who needs throw away's?

For regular camping and hiking and day-to-day use, I agree.  There are even a number of affordable (not cheap, but affordable...) options for Solar recharging to allow you to 'soak up' the free power that Sol sends us for several hours a day.  Some of the rollable solar chargers are quite convenient even in the wilderness.

That said, SAR and Emergency Services are the only functions where I insist on using Primary cells, whether Lithium or Alkaline.  When I grab a flashlight on a SAR mission, I don't want to have to remember when was the last time I charged this set of batteries, and I don't want to have to partition and keep them separate when I change batteries.

Using Primary cells I just dump the dead ones in the appropriate place, insert new ones, and go on with business.  The predictability of Primary cells is the driving force for me in ES and SAR usage.

Thom Hamilton

[pixelwonk]

This was a Woot! on Aug 19th, and I passed.  Luckily my good buddy the Wing DC bought 3 of them and let me check his out.  Well worth $25.  I doubt I'll need a replacement anytime soon.

It runs on regular AA's, but purports 160 hours of use with the included Lithium.  This won't be near as effective as a whack...er..."persuasion" device as my 5 cell (C) Mag lights, but will likely see a lot more use and hold up better if it falls into a stream, etc.

Plus the IR illuminator is useless in my universe but way cool!!

Got mine. Concur!

[JC004]

This was a Woot! on Aug 19th, and I passed.  Luckily my good buddy the Wing DC bought 3 of them and let me check his out.  Well worth $25.  I doubt I'll need a replacement anytime soon.

It runs on regular AA's, but purports 160 hours of use with the included Lithium.  This won't be near as effective as a whack...er..."persuasion" device as my 5 cell (C) Mag lights, but will likely see a lot more use and hold up better if it falls into a stream, etc.

Plus the IR illuminator is useless in my universe but way cool!!

Got mine. Concur!

me too! w00t!

[N Harmon]

This was a Woot! on Aug 19th, and I passed.  Luckily my good buddy the Wing DC bought 3 of them and let me check his out.  Well worth $25.  I doubt I'll need a replacement anytime soon.

It runs on regular AA's, but purports 160 hours of use with the included Lithium.  This won't be near as effective as a whack...er..."persuasion" device as my 5 cell (C) Mag lights, but will likely see a lot more use and hold up better if it falls into a stream, etc.

Plus the IR illuminator is useless in my universe but way cool!!

Got mine. Concur!

me too! w00t!

Got mine in the mail yesterday as well. At first I thought it was broken because it would not turn on, but it turns out the battery cap is a bit fickle in how it is lined up. In all, it is a pretty good light, except the red isn't bright enough.

[Eclipse]

I actually read the instructions last night and found that 1/4-turn of the IR selector switch is a lockout for
all the lights.  Neat.

[N Harmon]

The following is from the Night Vision equipment in SAR thread:

Useless from the air, and on the rare occasion we're doing a night search, those lost generally want to be found and you'd be much better off with a really bright flashlight.

Can we expand on this here? A really bright flashlight will ruin your night-adapted vision to the point where it may take you hours to get it back. But then why do you need night-adapted vision if you have a really bright flashlight? If the answer is we do not, then of what use is it to carry the red and blue filters for our flashlights?

This web page makes an interesting argument that the use of red light in preserving night-adapted vision is overrated: http://stlplaces.com/night_vision_red_myth/

And the NASAR fundamentals book has a short section on night time searching (page 214) and they suggest a diffuse lantern, perhaps like maybe this:



The importance of night-adapted vision to GSAR is what would dictate our equipment decisions, so I think it's an issue worth hashing out.

[Lancer]

Got mine. Concur!

me too! w00t!

Oh, sure guys...and where's the 'Thanks, Mark, for posting about this on Facebook so we can own this wonderful flashlight?' I see how you are...LOL 

[pixelwonk]

Thanks, Mark, for posting about this on Facebook so we can own this wonderful flashlight.
But where were you when I had to justify the flashlight to CINC-House?

huh? huh?

[Lancer]

Thanks, Mark, for posting about this on Facebook so we can own this wonderful flashlight.
But where were you when I had to justify the flashlight to CINC-House?

huh? huh?

I'm just a phone call away brother...I'm your wingman, you've got to let me know when I need to go in 'Guns - Hot' in support of the mission.