Best flashlight for a cop?
May 18, 2011 11:08 AM Subscribe
What is the best flashlight for a police officer?
I have checked out some of the online police bulletin boards, but I thought I'd poll the hivemind as well. What is the Cadillac of flashlights for a cop? Money is no object. I want it to be very powerful but not ridiculously heavy, since it needs to hang on a cop's flashlight loopy thing on his belt sometimes. Also not so small that it can't be hung on the loopy belt thing. So far the front runner seems to be the Streamlight Stinger LED HP DS rechargeable flashlight, but is there something even better or more popular among police? This is in the US. Anonymous because it will be a gift.
I have checked out some of the online police bulletin boards, but I thought I'd poll the hivemind as well. What is the Cadillac of flashlights for a cop? Money is no object. I want it to be very powerful but not ridiculously heavy, since it needs to hang on a cop's flashlight loopy thing on his belt sometimes. Also not so small that it can't be hung on the loopy belt thing. So far the front runner seems to be the Streamlight Stinger LED HP DS rechargeable flashlight, but is there something even better or more popular among police? This is in the US. Anonymous because it will be a gift.
I've heard good things about SureFire from my LEO friends. They have entire sections of tactical lights, built not just to be bright and light, but easy to grip when wet, easy to grip with a pistol in the other hand, and capable of bashing someone's skull in if you absolutely have to, which I'm sure has come up.
posted by disillusioned at 11:27 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by disillusioned at 11:27 AM on May 18, 2011
I don't know what a cop's flashlight loopy thing is, but the 4sevens maelstrom s12 is absurdly bright and almost fits in my pocket. it's 800 lumens on high (the stinger is 200). Feel free to memail me if you have questions or want me to measure anything etc.
posted by duckstab at 11:27 AM on May 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by duckstab at 11:27 AM on May 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
You might want to check with his department, there are some lights that are banned by some departments, i.e. the 6 D-cell Maglite is considered a weapon in places.
posted by Marky at 11:30 AM on May 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Marky at 11:30 AM on May 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm not a cop, but as an EMT we work side by side and carry a flashlight for a lot of the same reasons. I recently bought a Surefire E2D Defender - its tiny, powerful and generally awesome.
posted by blaneyphoto at 11:39 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by blaneyphoto at 11:39 AM on May 18, 2011
Here are the top 50 flashlights reviewed at FlashlightReviews. Some of those would be great candidates, I'd think.
posted by limeonaire at 11:57 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by limeonaire at 11:57 AM on May 18, 2011
My retired uncle from Detroit PD had a maglite and was considered the standard (back in the late 90s).
He did use it as a weapon as well as he had a racial slur associated with it.
I think the new maglites come with leds as well, but I am not sure.
posted by handbanana at 12:20 PM on May 18, 2011
He did use it as a weapon as well as he had a racial slur associated with it.
I think the new maglites come with leds as well, but I am not sure.
posted by handbanana at 12:20 PM on May 18, 2011
Decent selection at Brigade Quartermasters as well. I know they do a lot of business with LEOs in the Atlanta area (or they used to, anyway). Might be worth giving them a call to see if they have any recommendations.
posted by jquinby at 12:29 PM on May 18, 2011
posted by jquinby at 12:29 PM on May 18, 2011
I'd go with SureFire, specifically the 6P LED. If his department trains in the Rogers technique, maybe a C2 LED. Streamlight makes nice lights, but I'm not as intimately familiar with them.
Ignore the loop-hanger. To make it more special, get a nice leather flashlight holster for his duty belt. Every holster maker out there makes one for the ubiquitous 6P.
LEDs are the way to go, and the smaller, more powerful lights are the way to go. Usually the light will be used to just light things up, and the small lights work fine for that. Occasionally the light will be used with a handgun to clear buildings, hold suspects, etc, and the small lights are superior for that. However, 99% of the time, the light will be sitting on the belt. The small lights are *perfect* for that.
posted by graftole at 1:41 PM on May 18, 2011
Ignore the loop-hanger. To make it more special, get a nice leather flashlight holster for his duty belt. Every holster maker out there makes one for the ubiquitous 6P.
LEDs are the way to go, and the smaller, more powerful lights are the way to go. Usually the light will be used to just light things up, and the small lights work fine for that. Occasionally the light will be used with a handgun to clear buildings, hold suspects, etc, and the small lights are superior for that. However, 99% of the time, the light will be sitting on the belt. The small lights are *perfect* for that.
posted by graftole at 1:41 PM on May 18, 2011
I just want to point out the Firesword throws out 3,000 lumens.
Not 200. Not even 800. 3,000.
If you think 200 lumens is blinding, 3,000 is going to go all Ark of the Covenant on the bad guys.
posted by GuyZero at 3:37 PM on May 18, 2011
Not 200. Not even 800. 3,000.
If you think 200 lumens is blinding, 3,000 is going to go all Ark of the Covenant on the bad guys.
posted by GuyZero at 3:37 PM on May 18, 2011
Law enforcement not my field - but here is a thought: I would think the ideal solution would use rechargeable batteries that are more or less "standard", so that spares could be easily carried or borrowed if needed. Don't want to run low in the middle of a tricky situation.
posted by Kevin S at 4:00 PM on May 18, 2011
posted by Kevin S at 4:00 PM on May 18, 2011
I have a SureFire G2 Nitrolon. It's small, solid, and absurdly bright. The batteries don't last too long, though it is one of the incandescent models. The LED models are supposed to have a longer battery life. I imagine they also give off less heat, which is a plus, because purportedly these flashlights can set things on fire if they accidentally come on inside a bag.
posted by dephlogisticated at 4:24 PM on May 18, 2011
posted by dephlogisticated at 4:24 PM on May 18, 2011
A few years ago, friends in law enforcement carried this. Don't know what the current state of the art is.
posted by gjc at 5:16 PM on May 18, 2011
posted by gjc at 5:16 PM on May 18, 2011
This question is often discussed over at candlepowerforums.com, and I recommend you ask it there.
posted by fake at 6:32 PM on May 18, 2011
posted by fake at 6:32 PM on May 18, 2011
I'll second fake's comment. There's an unbelievable number of non-police-officers who put an insane amount of effort into geeking out over which flashlights are best.
Some quick notes: You want LED because it is much brighter and lasts longer per charge. The brightest LEDs are rated at 700 lumens, BUT they are "binned" by quality: a manufacturer might buy grade-D 700-lumen LEDs, which actually only put out 350 lumens. Of course they won't mention this fact on the package, and it's not easy to estimate a light's brightness so reviews etc are unreliable.
Most of the good LED lights use standard-size 18650 lithium ion batteries. These are the same across many manufacturers, and are used inside things like laptop battery packs and electric cars. If you get a flashlight that uses these, get a couple of extra sets of batteries and a charger too.
The shape of the lens and mirror behind the bulb has a huge impact on how the light appears. A better-made light will look much brighter just by having a narrower projection pattern.
Dealextreme.com sells lots of flashlights straight from manufacturers in China, so they may be a bit ahead of US retailers. Then again, they aren't exactly known for their high-quality service. The customer reviews on the site may be worthwhile.
Finally: if you have serious money to blow on this, get an HID flashlight. These have much more complicated electronics than LEDs, and in addition use bulbs that are fragile and can burn out. But they are insanely, ridiculously bright. Here's an example one.
posted by miyabo at 7:44 PM on May 18, 2011
Some quick notes: You want LED because it is much brighter and lasts longer per charge. The brightest LEDs are rated at 700 lumens, BUT they are "binned" by quality: a manufacturer might buy grade-D 700-lumen LEDs, which actually only put out 350 lumens. Of course they won't mention this fact on the package, and it's not easy to estimate a light's brightness so reviews etc are unreliable.
Most of the good LED lights use standard-size 18650 lithium ion batteries. These are the same across many manufacturers, and are used inside things like laptop battery packs and electric cars. If you get a flashlight that uses these, get a couple of extra sets of batteries and a charger too.
The shape of the lens and mirror behind the bulb has a huge impact on how the light appears. A better-made light will look much brighter just by having a narrower projection pattern.
Dealextreme.com sells lots of flashlights straight from manufacturers in China, so they may be a bit ahead of US retailers. Then again, they aren't exactly known for their high-quality service. The customer reviews on the site may be worthwhile.
Finally: if you have serious money to blow on this, get an HID flashlight. These have much more complicated electronics than LEDs, and in addition use bulbs that are fragile and can burn out. But they are insanely, ridiculously bright. Here's an example one.
posted by miyabo at 7:44 PM on May 18, 2011
Dunno how heavy you want it, but my local thugs cops used to pack around 6-D Maglite flashlights. I myself pack a 4-D in my car, for emergencies and/or the zombie apocalypse.
posted by Heretical at 10:31 PM on May 18, 2011
posted by Heretical at 10:31 PM on May 18, 2011
Check Fenix or Surefire. Both those companies make amazing flashlight, every forum gives raves about them and a comparable maglite pales in comparison. I have a pocket fenix that outshines and lasts longer than maglites several times its size.
posted by radsqd at 12:09 PM on May 19, 2011
posted by radsqd at 12:09 PM on May 19, 2011
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posted by GuyZero at 11:12 AM on May 18, 2011 [1 favorite]