Lights For Law Enforcement / Tactical Flashlight Review

black bear 84 · February 21st, 2007, 09:14 PM

LIGHTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT:

This post will try to show how different lights used in law enforcement 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 law enforcement. 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 WRITING

As the maker of Black Bear Flashlights, I have had the input of hundred of police officers that tell me what they really need to perform their functions at night.
What those experienced officers want are three lights that will cover specific illumination chores.
First, when writing a ticket at night, or looking for a dropped pencil in the floor of their own car or any other close up chore, they want a flood light in LED form: small and with an output of 20 lumens or less (LED lumens), and preferably with a clip incorporated to free both hands for holding the pad and writing.

LEO’s that have used my 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 these chores.

THE BELT LIGHT

Those same officers 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 (it is important for them to be able to cover an average room with the light, without the need of panning it).
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 clearing rooms, but it will do fine in an average backyard.
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 inside a house.

The main thing is that the officers want to avoid losing precious seconds by panning a light when entering a room. That is why the Surefires are preferred over the tightly focused others brands.

THE CAR LIGHT

These police officers 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 those that favor my products, a BOREALIS 1050 lumens.

Those are ideal lights for search, clearing houses, backyards, warehouses etc. Being rechargeable, they are always used with a maximum run time (taken out of the charger at start of the shift), a thing that you can not do with 123 batteries unless you are willing to dump half-used batteries at the start of a shift.

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, which has the capability of illuminating the whole road for 250 yards.

Those lights are ideal for traffic stops, accident sites and the ones with major lumen output can even illuminate through heavily tinted windows.

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 rechargeables from Streamlight with 295 lumens and 75,000 candlepower.

And now the BOREALIS, the light that I provide my customers, with the format of a 3 D (12 1/2 inches long) outputting 1050 lumens for 50 minutes.

And even that they have been there all along thru the shootout of the lights, you can see them for the first time. My assistant is at the left of the tool shed, leaning on the second tree, and the Bear's head is hanging from the tree to the right of the shed.
Do I need to say anything about the importance of a powerful light when clearing a backyard or wooded area?

Best regards,
black bear

blacksan · February 21st, 2007, 11:56 PM

Wow, I need BOREALIS for night patrol! Would I need to hard wire the charger, or can it be moved from car to car?

P95Carry · February 22nd, 2007, 12:05 AM

Love the comparison pics - most informative.

The most famous barn door on the net

TwistedMonkey · February 22nd, 2007, 12:17 AM

Excellent post....most informative!
Thanks for the leg work and time put in....it is appreciated!

Bryan · February 22nd, 2007, 01:12 AM

Next you should take on spot lights. The led lights have there place but when you need some candle power it sure is nice to have it. I use a 4-C cell led mag light for work. It is impervious to shock but the beam is real tight (almost like a laser) and dose not throw much peripheral light. Any chance of making a bicycle light or there ordinances against too much light on a non motor vehicle.

Tom G · February 22nd, 2007, 07:57 AM

I never knew that chooseing a light could be so complicated.The compaeison pictures are great. Thanks for your input.

black bear 84 · February 22nd, 2007, 03:58 PM

Hi guys, thank you for your appreciation of my efforts.

blacksan,
A inexpensive power invertor ($15 to $30) can be used to plug the charger in any car, it will convert electricity to 110 volts and the charger will charge the batteries in 1 1/2 hours.

Bryan,
I did a comparison shoot out between spotlights and the BOREALIS.
I used the regular setting on the camera not to overpower it.
But it is great for comparisons.
Here is the thread in combat carry.
http://www.combatcarry.com/vbulletin...ersus+borealis

Best regards to all
black bear

Bryan · February 23rd, 2007, 12:00 AM

DOH! forgot about that one lol.

clipse · February 23rd, 2007, 10:59 AM

I think you have written this very well and its a great read. A few things I would like to note though. The Streamlight Scorpion has an adjustable beam so you can get a very similar beam profile to the P60 lamp assembly. Also, I think its a bit unfair to pit the L4 (all flood) against the G2/p60 LA. Also, according to Surefires website and reports from those at CPF the L4 is now rated at 100 lumens. Still all flood.(still a great light for certain instances).

With the latest advent of the cree and seoul LED's I have a feeling that LED's will definitely beat the P60 lamp assembly on brightness and intensity. It will take the right reflector to get an optimum beam profile though. There are several lights I'm excited about that looks like it will out due even my Streamlight Scorpion in performance.(brighter for longer on less one cell and more robust) There are some lights coming out that claim to be twice the brightness of a P60 LA with the same runtime except they only use one cell instead of 2 like the G2 or Scorpion.

I will agree that the LED's are lacking in the color rendition and depth perception field. The pure white (sunlight like) color they produce doesn't work the best with night adapted eyes. The more yellow tint LED's are better with this but still not as good as Incan lights.

Another note which I would think would be detrimental to law enforcement and to anyone who puts any trust into thier light. Incans burn out. The P60 lasts about 20 hours I've read (unless your me and then they last 2-3 for some reason) and cost close to $20 to replace. The Scorpions bulb last about 8 hours but only cost about $5 to replace. Still, the bulb will go out and the saying goes, what can go wrong will go wrong at the wrong time. Maybe its because I had a horrible experience with my G2 but I love the fact that I never have to replace my LED bulb.

All that being said, I carry an LED light or two with me daily. But, when the ball drops at midnight and I hear a bump in the house or outside and my adrenaline is kicking in, its my Borealis that I grab.

When it comes down to the 0-150 lumens marker I feel the LED works best for me. Not being in law enforcement I generally don't have a need for a high intensity light all day everyday. Alot of people don't like LED's, alot do. You just have to try out a quality LED against a similar Incan and decide for yourself. Still my HDS EDC is capable of 60 lumes on high. I'm really looking forward to the new Amilite Neo T5 and Novatac edc 120.

clipse

black bear 84 · February 23rd, 2007, 10:03 PM

Hi Clipse,
Yes I agree with you, the Scorpion can be adjusted to a wider beam.
And yes the Surefire L-4 is all flood and is GREAT inside the house, I have a big basement and it covers it very well, I showed in the pictures how two lights rated at 65 lumens can be so different at a distance of 30 yards, and that lumens of an incandescent are different from lumens from an LED.

I also like the new LED's coming in now, a friend brought a Fenix L2D CE with the 7090 cree VR-E LED and we compared it with my most powerful LED light, a PR T made by Mac Gizmo with a TWOJ bin Luxeon III, I was very impresed that the $55.00 Fenix was so close to my PR T in intensity.

Best regards
Juan C.

February 21st, 2007, 09:14 PM	#1
black bear 84 Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New York Posts: 159	Lights For Law Enforcement / Tactical Flashlight Review LIGHTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT: This post will try to show how different lights used in law enforcement 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 law enforcement. 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 WRITING As the maker of Black Bear Flashlights, I have had the input of hundred of police officers that tell me what they really need to perform their functions at night. What those experienced officers want are three lights that will cover specific illumination chores. First, when writing a ticket at night, or looking for a dropped pencil in the floor of their own car or any other close up chore, they want a flood light in LED form: small and with an output of 20 lumens or less (LED lumens), and preferably with a clip incorporated to free both hands for holding the pad and writing. LEO’s that have used my 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 these chores. THE BELT LIGHT Those same officers 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 (it is important for them to be able to cover an average room with the light, without the need of panning it). 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 clearing rooms, but it will do fine in an average backyard. 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 inside a house. The main thing is that the officers want to avoid losing precious seconds by panning a light when entering a room. That is why the Surefires are preferred over the tightly focused others brands. THE CAR LIGHT These police officers 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 those that favor my products, a BOREALIS 1050 lumens. Those are ideal lights for search, clearing houses, backyards, warehouses etc. Being rechargeable, they are always used with a maximum run time (taken out of the charger at start of the shift), a thing that you can not do with 123 batteries unless you are willing to dump half-used batteries at the start of a shift. 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, which has the capability of illuminating the whole road for 250 yards. Those lights are ideal for traffic stops, accident sites and the ones with major lumen output can even illuminate through heavily tinted windows. 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 rechargeables from Streamlight with 295 lumens and 75,000 candlepower. And now the BOREALIS, the light that I provide my customers, with the format of a 3 D (12 1/2 inches long) outputting 1050 lumens for 50 minutes. And even that they have been there all along thru the shootout of the lights, you can see them for the first time. My assistant is at the left of the tool shed, leaning on the second tree, and the Bear's head is hanging from the tree to the right of the shed. Do I need to say anything about the importance of a powerful light when clearing a backyard or wooded area? Best regards, black bear __________________ Builder of the BOREALIS 1050 lumens flashlight and www.blackbearflashlights.com E-Mail admin@blackbearflashlights.com

February 22nd, 2007, 12:05 AM	#3
P95Carry Assistant Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South West PA Posts: 25,339	Love the comparison pics - most informative. The most famous barn door on the net __________________ Chris - P95 NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member. "To own a gun and assume that you are armed is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!." If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

February 22nd, 2007, 01:12 AM	#5
Bryan Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 334	Next you should take on spot lights. The led lights have there place but when you need some candle power it sure is nice to have it. I use a 4-C cell led mag light for work. It is impervious to shock but the beam is real tight (almost like a laser) and dose not throw much peripheral light. Any chance of making a bicycle light or there ordinances against too much light on a non motor vehicle. __________________ -Diplomacy: The art of saying nice dogie until you can find a rock. -The truth is a three edged sword. -Your brain is your primary weapon everything else is just a tool. -When the only tool you have is a hammer then everything starts to look like a nail.

February 22nd, 2007, 03:58 PM	#7
black bear 84 Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New York Posts: 159	Hi guys, thank you for your appreciation of my efforts. blacksan, A inexpensive power invertor ($15 to $30) can be used to plug the charger in any car, it will convert electricity to 110 volts and the charger will charge the batteries in 1 1/2 hours. Bryan, I did a comparison shoot out between spotlights and the BOREALIS. I used the regular setting on the camera not to overpower it. But it is great for comparisons. Here is the thread in combat carry. http://www.combatcarry.com/vbulletin...ersus+borealis Best regards to all black bear __________________ Builder of the BOREALIS 1050 lumens flashlight and www.blackbearflashlights.com E-Mail admin@blackbearflashlights.com

February 23rd, 2007, 12:00 AM	#8
Bryan Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 334	DOH! forgot about that one lol. __________________ -Diplomacy: The art of saying nice dogie until you can find a rock. -The truth is a three edged sword. -Your brain is your primary weapon everything else is just a tool. -When the only tool you have is a hammer then everything starts to look like a nail.

February 21st, 2007, 11:56 PM	#2
blacksan Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA Posts: 260	Wow, I need BOREALIS for night patrol! Would I need to hard wire the charger, or can it be moved from car to car?

February 22nd, 2007, 12:17 AM	#4
TwistedMonkey Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Minneapolis, Mn Posts: 109	Excellent post....most informative! Thanks for the leg work and time put in....it is appreciated!

February 22nd, 2007, 07:57 AM	#6
Tom G Distinguished Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orlando Fl. Posts: 1,309	I never knew that chooseing a light could be so complicated.The compaeison pictures are great. Thanks for your input.

February 23rd, 2007, 10:59 AM	#9
clipse Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 451	I think you have written this very well and its a great read. A few things I would like to note though. The Streamlight Scorpion has an adjustable beam so you can get a very similar beam profile to the P60 lamp assembly. Also, I think its a bit unfair to pit the L4 (all flood) against the G2/p60 LA. Also, according to Surefires website and reports from those at CPF the L4 is now rated at 100 lumens. Still all flood.(still a great light for certain instances). With the latest advent of the cree and seoul LED's I have a feeling that LED's will definitely beat the P60 lamp assembly on brightness and intensity. It will take the right reflector to get an optimum beam profile though. There are several lights I'm excited about that looks like it will out due even my Streamlight Scorpion in performance.(brighter for longer on less one cell and more robust) There are some lights coming out that claim to be twice the brightness of a P60 LA with the same runtime except they only use one cell instead of 2 like the G2 or Scorpion. I will agree that the LED's are lacking in the color rendition and depth perception field. The pure white (sunlight like) color they produce doesn't work the best with night adapted eyes. The more yellow tint LED's are better with this but still not as good as Incan lights. Another note which I would think would be detrimental to law enforcement and to anyone who puts any trust into thier light. Incans burn out. The P60 lasts about 20 hours I've read (unless your me and then they last 2-3 for some reason) and cost close to $20 to replace. The Scorpions bulb last about 8 hours but only cost about $5 to replace. Still, the bulb will go out and the saying goes, what can go wrong will go wrong at the wrong time. Maybe its because I had a horrible experience with my G2 but I love the fact that I never have to replace my LED bulb. All that being said, I carry an LED light or two with me daily. But, when the ball drops at midnight and I hear a bump in the house or outside and my adrenaline is kicking in, its my Borealis that I grab. When it comes down to the 0-150 lumens marker I feel the LED works best for me. Not being in law enforcement I generally don't have a need for a high intensity light all day everyday. Alot of people don't like LED's, alot do. You just have to try out a quality LED against a similar Incan and decide for yourself. Still my HDS EDC is capable of 60 lumes on high. I'm really looking forward to the new Amilite Neo T5 and Novatac edc 120. clipse __________________ AlwaysSafe.org <----A work in progress. MOΛΩN ΛABÉ

February 23rd, 2007, 10:03 PM	#10
black bear 84 Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New York Posts: 159	Hi Clipse, Yes I agree with you, the Scorpion can be adjusted to a wider beam. And yes the Surefire L-4 is all flood and is GREAT inside the house, I have a big basement and it covers it very well, I showed in the pictures how two lights rated at 65 lumens can be so different at a distance of 30 yards, and that lumens of an incandescent are different from lumens from an LED. I also like the new LED's coming in now, a friend brought a Fenix L2D CE with the 7090 cree VR-E LED and we compared it with my most powerful LED light, a PR T made by Mac Gizmo with a TWOJ bin Luxeon III, I was very impresed that the $55.00 Fenix was so close to my PR T in intensity. Best regards Juan C. __________________ Builder of the BOREALIS 1050 lumens flashlight and www.blackbearflashlights.com E-Mail admin@blackbearflashlights.com

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