LIGHTS FOR HUNTING

[black bear 84]

Hi guys,

I have a bunch of lights and this idea of taking beam shots, so members can see how they perform against each other.

Sorry if it sound American, it is.

LIGHTS FOR HUNTING

This post will try to show how different lights used for hunting 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 general hunting. 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 WALKING IN THE WOODS

Hunters that have used the 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 projecting a soft LED beam that will aid in walking the woods in the pre-dawn blackness when going toward your stand, (perhaps following a trail of cat-eyes) at this time, it is necessary not to pollute the area with more light than what is absolutely needed.

Some hunters that know the terrain well, prefer to use a red filter over the light, as is well known that deer and others animals cannot see red light.

THE BELT LIGHT

Those same hunters 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.

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 a belt light but it will do fine at the longer distances were the bigger lights shine.

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, however it lacks the throw needed for more distance illumination.

The main thing is that the hunters want to avoid losing precious seconds by panning a light when in the woods. That is why the Surefires are preferred over the tightly focused others brands, because they have special reflectors that diffuse the light into a bigger flood pattern.

THE CAR LIGHT

Some hunters 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 some even a Borealis 1050 lumens mega light.

Those are ideal lights for search for wounded game, search and rescue of lost partner, signaling at long distances and using them as spotlights after the hunt. Being rechargeable, they are always used with a maximum run time (taken out of the charger at start of the day, a thing that you can not do with 123 batteries unless you are willing to dump half-used batteries at the start of every day of hunting.

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

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

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

This is similar to a two million candlepower spotlight

As I have over 200 lights that I have used at one time or another in my hunting expeditions, I am well familiarized with distinct situations that call for different lights and method of using them.

I have encountered a new one lately, that calls for following a wounded wild boar at night with a powerful pistol like the S&W 500 or a 454 Casull and also a powerful light in the order of a Surefire M-6 (500 lumens) or a Borealis 1050 lumens.

For myself, I cannot think of another pursuit that could be more dangerous to life and limb, although I have a lot of respect for the young athletes that have tried it, I consider it too “Extreme” for my good health.

Hope I can do some more talking to the members about my second hobby after knife collecting, which is of course hunting at night and light usage.

Respectfully

black bear

[black bear 84]

MORE LIGHTS FOR HUNTING

As a continuation of the first post and for whatever value it has, I am going to do some more shoot outs of a mix of popular Luxeon lights and incandescent ones.

The first order of things is to change the target area, to make it a little more interesting to my viewers.

Consequently I replaced the tool shed target with a deer and bear mount.

The deer head mounted on the tree is exactly 26 yards from my second story window from where the lights are shinning.

The bear head in the fence is only six more feet further away from the tree.

In the summer I have plenty of bushy cover in the area, but this time I had to be creative and cut and nailed to the tree and fence, some branches from a pine tree, not to hide the animals from view, just to provide a natural blending effect, like they were coming from a natural habitat.

The camera was placed twelve foot away from the tree (and eighteen feet from the bear) in a solid tripod, and the night camera mode used (this mode shows in pictures the same light values that I am seeing with my own eyes).

The close proximity of the camera is for the viewer to see the target with clarity; if I were to place the camera 26 yards away the target will be awfully small.

Here it is the target area and how it looks in daylight.

And here are the contenders, but before I describe them, let me voice my opinion that some manufacturers of Luxeon lights label the output in lumens in quite a wild way.

From left to right: # 1 Fenix L1P at about 40 lumens, # 2 Nuwaii Q III at 75 lumens (yes, sure!) # 3 Surefire L-4 Digital Lumamax at 65 lumens (this is a Luxeon V which is quite a flood light but with little throw).

# 4 Streamlight Task-Light 2 L (two Lithium 3 volts batteries, high and low output,

Cost is about $77.00) This is billed at a High Flux Luxeon III. With 75 lumens, which I think is about right.

# 5 is the Streamlight Pro Polymer 4 AA with a Luxeon I, billed as 40 lumens (3,500 candlepower according to the advertising) which I think is quite wrong, as it appears to me to have about 70 lumens or more, this light has a bigger and deeper reflector than the others lights and the beam is concentrated more than the others. This is a great light for the price of about $40.00

# 6, this is a PR T Luxeon III head done for me by master modder McGizmo, it is set on a Surefire E2e body and I am using two rechargeable 123’s with a voltage of 4.2 volts in it.

This light is my best Luxeon III light and up to two years ago it was pretty HOT STUFF, today the cree LED’s are approaching it in intensity, although it has not been overpower by any other Luxeon, yet.

My friends told me I have two of the Integrated Sphere Spectotometers just above my nose, those spheres are telling me that this light makes 120 to 130 “real” lumens.

# 7, this is A Surefire Centurion II in black with the P-60 lamp (65 lumens) this represents all the others Surefires lights that use this lamp, G-2, 6P. Z-2. etc.

# 8, this is another Surefire Centurion II, but in Hard anodized, it wears the HOLA lamp. The P-61 with the output of 120 lumens for 20 minutes.

# 9 this is a Surefire Centurion III (3 cells) this is usually sold with the P-90 lamp that makes 105 lumens for one hour, but in this case is set up with the P-91 lamp for 200 lumens for 20 minutes, as you will see in the picture later, the floodlight effect is great at 26 yards. All those P’s lamps start to lose range at about 45 to 50 yards, this is because the reflectors are fabricated to produce a good flood so police officers can clear houses with them.

I took this particular light out of my Remington 742 rifle, where it sits in the special quick detach mount in a Picattiny rail.

# 10, this is the BEAR CUB, this light weights 13 oz and measures 9 inches long, it works with two Lithium Ion computer batteries, and produces 220 plus lumens for 90 minutes. Thanks to the big and deep 2 inch mirror-like reflector, this light concentrates the beam like a laser and has a throw of 120 to 150 yards.

So the 26 yards distance is like child play for the Bear Cub and the light is so intense at the target that they had to close their eyes!

# 11, (last on the left lying in horizontal position next to the Bear Cub) this light is a KL-1 head Luxeon I of three years ago, it is set up in a Surefire Outdoorsman body and the lumens output is no more than 20, consequently I decided to strike it out from the competition, there is no room in my stable for weaklings and I will present it to my nephew on his birthday quite soon.

And now let’s go to the pictures:

Fenix L1P (40 lumens) Luxeon I

Nuwaii Q III (advertised at 75 lumens in a website, which I don’t believe) Luxeon III.

Surefire L-4 Digital Lumamax (65 lumens) this is very flood light and the lumens spread in a very wide area, so it cannot be expected to have a good throw at 26 yards. (Luxeon V ~which are 4 of the one watt together)

Streamlight Task Light 2 L about 75 lumens on high, works on two 123’s batteries and has two levels of illumination. High Flux Luxeon III. About $77.00

Streamlight Poly Pro 4 AA Luxeon. This light has a deep and bigger reflector, the Luxeon is I, according to the manufacturer, is listed at 40 lumens, but to my eyes is doing about 75 lumens.

For the price of $40.00 this is a great light, and very battery friendly as it uses regulars AA.

I feed this light, rechargeable Nimhs AA of high current (Powerex 2700 mah) that hovers around 1.4 volts for weeks consequently it costs me nothing to operate it.

CONTINUE IN NEXT POST

[black bear 84]

Mc Gizmo PR T head on Surefire body, Luxeon III, TWOJ bin,

My best Luxeon light putting out 120 to 130 lumens. This is a collector’s item and was state of the art, less than two years ago.

I have found nothing new that can approach its power, except the new cree 7090 that is getting close.

Surefire Centurion II in black with the P-60 lamp (65 lumens for one hour)

Surefire Centurion II in Hard anodized with the P-61 lamp (120 lumens for 20 minutes)

Surefire Centurion III in hard anodized, with the P-91 lamp (200 lumens for 20 minutes) as you can see it is a great flood at 26 yards.

BEAR CUB running for 90 minutes on two computer Lithium Ion batteries, driving a Xenon Magnum Star bulb for 5 cells pretty hard at 8.4 volts at 220 lumens (which make it a very white light) with a reach of 120 to 150 yards, even surpassing the Ultra Stinger.

Best regards

Black bear

[Maxx]

Impressive roundup...

[FOGGED]

Nice wright up mate

I've got a couple of surefire's myself, aswell as a Maglight and the ever reliable and well used Dolphin

[black bear 84]

THE SUREFIRE E2E

here is one more:

As the Surefire E2e is a very common light in the bow hunting and gun hunting scene and also for law enforcement, here it is.

The little MN03 lamp (60 lumens for 75 minutes) in the E2e is a big performer, I like myself this little light a lot, and I think it qualifies as a tactical light to be used at close to medium range if the need arose.

The MN02 lamp can be substituted for more run time, as it is 25 lumens for 2 1/2 hours, I actually prefer this lamp for hiking in the trails and other general chores, but I will use the 60 lumens lamp for blood trailing a deer or bear.

Red, blue and infrared filters are available from Surefire and vendors such as Cabela's. The red is used to walk in the trails or follow the cat-eye tacks when you go toward the stand in the pre-dawn darkness and don’t want to pollute the woods with light, and the blue to bring up the blood drops in the leaves.

The E2e is 4 1/2 inches long and weighs at 3 .1 oz., is available in hard anodized type III and will not scratch easily, but it can be rough on your pocket liner. Other finishes are available sometimes. A tear drop bezel model is done in nickel plated and the wine light in regular anodized with a wine burgundy color.

Here is a picture of a few of the versions of the E2e.

And here is the beam shot at the same distance as the others above (26 yards) and the camera placed at the same distance (12 feet to the Deer head and 18 to the Bear head).

I can tell you that the light is fairly waterproof. I don’t have a pool to try it at a few feet, but it survived quite well in my 3 ½ gallon beer glass for several hours.

Kind regards,

Black Bear

[hazedog]

WOW

bet you have no problems when the power goes out

[black bear 84]

Here is one more

THE STREAMLIGHT SCORPION

I like the little Scorpion a lot, to be honest; it is a powerful (at 6,500 candle powers) light (at 4.4 oz), not too long at 4.9 inches, and with a great feel in the hand thanks to the rubber boot that covers the body.

This rubber boot can be especially beneficial in the winter when others lights left in the trunk are too cold to hold without gloves.

The switch is momentary and click on, exactly as I want my switches; it is located in the back of the light and protected by the rubber boot.

The momentary works well. The click is in my case, though, is too difficult to operate with my big thumb and I have to click it with my index finger.

But rarely do I use the click, as this light can be used as a “tactical” light and the momentary mode is preferred when using it with a gun. (You don’t want to drop the light “on” and that it will illuminate you or your partner, which is the reason to use the momentary).

The light uses two 123’s batteries and run a xenon bulb for one hour. This xenon bulb is quite small (a spare is located in the bulb holder inside the head). I will hate to have to change it in less than normal conditions; for starters you have to pry a cover from the bulb holder to access the spare, you will have a few small parts in your hands, and you will need calm conditions and plenty of light to do the job properly.

For those situations I really prefer the big bulbs with reflector included of the Surefires’ or even the smaller but easy to handle bulb of the E2e’s.

Why I consider this so important? Well, the bulb is rated for 5 hours of life, which is extremely short.

I say I like this light, but it is really not rational because we have much better designs for a tactical light. The little Scorpion will roll out on a table that is not perfectly flat, for lack of an anti-roll bezel. Surefires are much better in this department.

The beam can be adjusted by rotating the head (the filament of the bulb will go lower or higher inside the reflector), in reality I have the light set to maximum throw that will not show any artifacts and I don’t twist the head at all because the quality of the beam will be spoiled by artifacts and black spots.

This light is good for throw (considering the small reflector), and the quality of the beam, when set at near maximum throw, is good, producing a nice round circle due to the short filament.

The lens is polycarbonate. I would like to see it changed to Pyrex, but that is only my personal feeling that this light should deserve a better lens.

I bought mine two years ago from Cabela’s and it cost me $38.00; I think that the price is right for a quality made American product.

The bulbs run about $6.00 each and I also consider them in price, they are so bright because they are overdriven (hence their short life of 5 hours).

I have seen a holster for the light made out of Cordura Nylon, but I haven’t tried it and I don’t know if is any issues in removing the light quickly, the rubber boot cause me trouble when removing the light from tight pockets (read Jean’s) but is okay when the pocket is from s dress pants.

I also have seen filters made for this light in red, blue and yellow for those that would like to penetrate the deer’s woods with a minimum of light pollution.

As always the beam shots are coming from 26 yards away and my camera tripod is in the same position, 12 feet from the deer and 18 from the bear.

I have also included as way of comparison the beam shot with the P-60 lamp out of a Surefire Centurion C-2 (read it also Surefire 6P, Z-2, G-2 D-2 etc).

SCORPION’S BEAM

P-60 LAMP FROM a Surefire Centurion II

You will notice that the beam of the Scorpion is more concentrated than the P-60 lamp, making the target clearer at this distance, for tactical situations at short range the P-60 lamp is better for the extra flood, it will be easier to clear a room with a Surefire without the need to pan the light to cover it all.

Cheers,

Black Bear

[Bushy.243]

Nice collection Black Bear, Can you post some of your knife collection, especially your choice for EDC's ?

Cheers Bushy

[black bear 84]

Nice collection Black Bear, Can you post some of your knife collection, especially your choice for EDC's ?

Cheers Bushy

Hi Bushy,

My EDC knife collection is very short, I have use for years a Blackhawk Mamba and in the last three years I have replaced it for a SOG Flash II and a Ken Onion Leek.

My hunting knife collection is very extensive but it is in a vault right now, but I do have individuals pictures of them.

Theme for another posting

Black Bear

[allan]

WOW

bet you have no problems when the power goes out

Either scared of the dark or too much money I'd say!

Still good write up.

[black bear 84]

Hi guys,

I did this piece for a hiking club I belong to. Thought you guys could be interested. Just forgive me the hiking flavor.

THE MOST POWERFUL FLASHLIGHTS

LIGHTS FOR TRUCK OR CAR

Hi guys,

Yes, I know that this has nothing to do with hiking, but most of us use car or truck transportation to get to the trail head and usually carry some form of a flashlight in the vehicle.

A powerful light can be a life saver in many instances, I well remember when driving up to the Adirondacks at 2 am in an empty 87 North at a point between exit 28 and 29 (North Hudson) some wild people in a truck tried to run us over into the shoulder of the road, my wife shinned a powerful light into their windshield and they desisted in the intent and actually braked hard and disappeared.

Maybe they though that only police cars would have such a powerful light and that it was better to look for their kicks somewhere else; the case was that the light resolved the situation for us.

Then it was the time when we used it to illuminate the scene of and accident involving a deer and a poor woman in a compact car in a dark lonely side road, where blood and the insides of the deer were everywhere and the car was inoperable.

Calling by phone from New York City to a local in the Adirondacks to get our weather information I was told of a new ruse some bad guys were using to rob and hi jack cars in roads with poor traffic in the area.

The information came handy a few weeks later when in Boreas road near the junction with Tahawus road we were flagged by a guy in a truck with the head lights illuminating a dead dog in the middle of the road. at the time I was using a car I had bought from my neighbor the cop, it had a PA system and blue lights mounted in the vicinity of the radiator; we stopped short, illuminated the area with the two million candlepower of a Borealis flashlight and hit the blue lights and PA system telling them over the mike to stay were they where and to show their hands. The guy in the truck jumped inside and did a burning tire escape even running over the body of the dog, while his confederate in the bushes at the side of the road had just barely time to dive head first into the bed of the truck.

So I though that I will show the guys in the forums what a powerful light is since I have several of them with me.

HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE LIGHTS, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Maglite 3 D, Magcharger, Ultra Stinger, Surefire M-6 Guardian, and Borealis.

AND HERE A PICTURE OF THE BATTERY STICKS AND CARRIERS FROM LEFT: The 6 volts battery stick of the Magcharger, the skinny 6 volts battery stick of the Ultra Stinger, the plastic carrier for the six 123’s batteries of the Surefire M-6 and last the aluminum and Delryn 12 volts carrier of the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight.

The Maglite 3 D is the most popular light carried by almost everybody in a truck or car. The 12 ½ inches of length and the thirty one ounces of weight make also a good impact weapon for emergencies, moreover, is the affordability of the light that can be obtained almost anywhere for less than $20, and, by the way, it is a quality instrument with tight tolerances and proudly still made in the USA.

So the Maglite 3 D is going to be our first test and beam shot, the light is quite waterproof to a good extend, my neighbor’s kids use one to collect coins from the bottom of the pool in a game they have.

The Maglite 3 D output 39 lumens and runs on three of the popular D size alkaline batteries; it will run for an hour before the output drops to 20 lumens due to the sag that alkaline batteries exhibit under load.

BEAM SHOT OF THE MAGLITE 3 D (39 LUMENS)

MAG Instruments also produce a powerful rechargeable police light called the Magcharger, www.maglite.com this light is used by many police departments in the states and abroad; this light is the size and shape of a regular Maglite 3 D but with 2 rings of steel where the contacts for the charger are.

This light will output 200 lumens (40,000 candlepower) and I think that the price is about $120.00 a well built quality light of 12 ½ inch and a weight of thirty one ounces, it works with a 6 volt system on a stick of Ni Cads batteries; the charger will charge the light in 12 hours and as the Ni Cad batteries sometimes acquire memory, it is necessary to discharge it full and recharge to erase the memory in the batteries after using it for a couple of weeks.

BEAM SHOT OF THE MAGCHARGER (200 LUMENS)

The Streamlight Ultra Stinger is the most powerful offering from Streamlight, a well known police flashlight provider, The Ultra Stinger will output 75,000 candlepower, lumens figure is 295 lumens, it also works with a 6 volt system of rechargeable Ni Cad batteries, formed in a stick, the light is very popular with many police agencies and also recharges in 12 hours.

Police station across America have racks of Ultra Stingers in chargers waiting for the night shift to arrive, the light is a lightweight at 12 inches and 15 ounces, I think that the price is around $130 in the street as some lights can be bought at discount from the web.

The address for Streamlight is www.streamlight.com there they have the whole line of Stingers and other police and emergency services lights.

BEAM SHOT OF THE ULTRA STINGER (295 LUMENS)

Our SWAT teams and Special Forces use for entry and to blind suspects a powerful military type flashlight called the Surefire M-6 Guardian. This light works with those powerful 3 volts Lithium batteries that are sometimes used in cameras, the flashlight uses six of them disposables batteries to run the light at 500 lumens for 20 minutes; after the 20 minutes you have to dump the batteries and get another six fresh batteries in the carrier, which is of not importance when the agency pay for the batteries, but to us civilians, dumping $12.00 worth of batteries after a 20 minutes run can get to be expensive.

This light was until recently the most powerful in the world, and Surefire sells a good quantity of them despite the tag of $400 USD.

I used one for a while in my car because it fits my glove compartment, as the light is shorter and lighter than the ones we have been discussing so far.

At 8 inches 14 ounces it is quite compact, but it will make a poor strike weapon although the powerful beam of 500 lumens will blind men or animal.

If you want more information on this light the address of Surefire is www.surefire.com

BEAM SHOT OF THE SUREFIRE M-6 (500 LUMENS)

My red rechargeable Borealis flashlight at 1050 lumens (two million candlepower) is the king of all the powerful lights and the most powerful flashlight in the world at this time.

It is made on the “host” of 3D, so replacement shells are easy available and inexpensive and the owner can replace a shell that have been scratched or dented for a mere $20 if he wishes, and in only 10 minutes transfer the special parts, (some of us take pride in good looking equipment).

This light is seen deployment with some members of the border patrol to illuminate the frontier in their quest for illegal immigration. The light can throw a powerful beam for hundred of yards and in a pinch it can be used as headlights or a landing light.

Police officers are acquiring the Borealis to use the same way that they have been using the Maglite and Magcharger, the tremendous light output makes it ideal for accident sites and traffic stops.

It uses a 12 volt system of rechargeable high current NINH batteries in a beautifully made Rolls Royce carrier, the batteries don’t have any problem with memory and the new type of batteries used in this light can be away from the charger for more than a month before it needs to be topped off, and the recharging time of the light is only 90 minutes.

The run time of this light is 50 continuous minutes; it is 12 ½ inches long and weights 28 ounces. In test ran by the maker, the light was tortured and even shot with a .22 rifle without stopping emitting light. (As a video shows in the web site).

The light sells for $320 shipped directly from the maker, which is www.BlackBearFlashlights.com

BEAM SHOT OF THE BOREALIS (1050 LUMENS)

I thought you guys will be interested to see all these lights in action, and I pointed them to a point in the fence next to the tree with the beams and camera shooting from a 35 yards distance, this is the longest distance that I have in the back yard

Although you can not take them in your night hikes (because of the extra weight) any of them will make a good addition to your car or truck gear, who knows, maybe they can really help you out of a tight situation like they did for me.

Respectfully

Black Bear

[black bear 84]

Here is another:

THE FENIX L1D

AA KEY CHAIN LIGHT

WITH CREE EMITTER

I finally remembered to order one of them, as I am not in any sense keychain-light poor, having several of them from the ARC AAA passing through the CMG (Course Made Good) to the Streamlight key mate and Fenix’s L1P and LOP AAA.

Not long ago, I reviewed the Jet beam II Mark VIII, which is a very similar light to the Fenix L1D. Any of the two can be considered revolutionary, and it is hard not to get excited about them.

I opted to have the Fenix L1D that works with 1 AA battery, as I like the size and shape which is the same as the Fenix L1P that I have been using for the last 18 months.

The L1P is a 40 lumen light that runs on one AA battery. I never did a timed run test because I always carry a couple of extra batteries in my pocket anyway to get extra run time from my lights, but wherever it is, it can never equal the multi-functional powers of the Fenix L1D.

The extreme power is achieved by a Cree 7090 XR-E LED emitter with a life of 50,000 hours- the little torch has two models of output selected by turning the bezel.

The first mode (as you click the light on) is 9 lumens and will last for 25 hours in the AA battery. The second mode (as you soft-press the switch) is 40 lumens and will last for 5 hours, and another soft press on the switch will access the 80 lumen power and your battery will last for 2 hours.

There is also an SOS mode (with another soft press) using the 80 lumens power.

Here are some of the lights, at top is a McGizmo modification (a collector’s item light worth $250 USD) it outputs 135 lumens and the big 32 mm reflector throws the light well at the 26 yards distance.

Next is the Fenix L1D which shows it is a tad longer than the Fenix L1P , below.

Next is the ARC AAA and the Fenix LOP, great keychain lights, all.

The second mode of the light system is accessed by turning the bezel ½ a turn. It is a steady 90 lumens that will last for 1 ½ hours and with a soft press of the switch the 90 lumens becomes a very quick strobe, that can disorient people or help in disco dancing.

Most chores inside the house can be handled with the 9 lumen mode. For walking the dog or hiking a trail at night I will use the 40 lumen mode; in fact, I can see that attaching it to my cap with Velcro will beat all the head lights in the market, as it is so light and so convenient without the restricting head band around my head- and anyway, I always wear a cap to shade my eyes or protect my glasses from rain, branches, etc.

The SOS or the strobe mode will always be there if I need to attract attention in an emergency. It is even useable in the suburbs, like recently, when a member of my family fell and broke her arm in the rear entrance of a church, she landed between two pine trees and the pain was so strong that she was unable to move, or even scream for help, and a key chain light used as a signal called the attention of people nearby and she was able to summon help that way.

Here are beam shots with the L1P on left and the L1D on right both at 40 lumens, the L1P is more yellow in the corona, but at the center are of the same intensity

The 80 lumen mode or the 90 lumen mode puts a tremendous amount of light NEARBY. Yes, I emphasize the word because due to the small reflector (that will diffuse the light into a flood), the reach of this little light even at that power is very restricted. Oh yes, it will serve to illuminate a big room well, but when tested at the 26 yards distance where I have my deer and bear it was just as the poor results that I got before with the Jet beam, so you can check that post if you are curious about the amount of light reaching there.

For that long distance you just need a bigger reflector of a bigger flashlight. My PR Turbo head by McGizmo running two Lithium Ion 123’s is much more efficient in putting illumination in the 26 yard spot just because the Pelican reflector of 32 mm is so much more efficient in canalizing the light.

So, a long distance light it is not, but all the other common chores can be handled very easily with the new Fenix L1D light. The battery will last a long time on the nine lumen mode (25 hours) and will probably be my choice for hanging from the ceiling of the tent all night long, in replacement of the CMG LED that I was using until now.

I paid $52 USD for the light and I consider the cost a bargain. With one in my pocket I just need two or three more powerful lights to cover all lightning situations that I can possible think of; for example, I will use a 200 lumen light in my belt for animal control (in the wild and in the street- and I mean two and four-legged animals) this could be a Surefire Centurion III with the optional P-91 lamp, or even better the rechargeable Bear Cub 220 lumen 90 minutes run time.

For my truck or cars, I am never too far away from a Borealis flashlight, 1050 lumens and 50 minute run time, the most powerful flashlight in the world with the power of a two million candlepower spotlight.

With that I am in control of riots, accident sites, search and rescue, and WWIII.

Coming back to the Fenix L1D, yes I am very happy with this light. Hopefully it will give me even better service than the Fenix L1P and the LOP that I have been using until now -lights that are very good and I have nothing but praise for them.

Respectfully

Black Bear

[black bear 84]

TORTURE TEST OF THE BOREALIS 1050 LUMENS TORCH, VIDEO.

http://blackbearflashlights.com/torture_test.htm

Cheers

Black Bear

[len]

I have a small torch which puts out heaps of light, bullet proof, totally waterproof and light in weight

Its my backup dive torch

Have a look at the range of small dive torches if you are looking for good light output in a small torch

Cheers

Len

[gryphon]

i reckon that you have earnt yourself a tee shirt mate ha ha

[black bear 84]

I have a small torch which puts out heaps of light, bullet proof, totally waterproof and light in weight

Its my backup dive torch

Have a look at the range of small dive torches if you are looking for good light output in a small torch

Cheers

Len

Hi Len,

By any chance is this the one?

PRINCETON TEC 40

This light is very popular with divers, inexpensive at about $19 it run on four AA batteries (included) for about five hours (in my experience it is more like 4 hours).

It uses a 4 watts halogen bulb and will output 28 lumens; the life of the bulb is about 30 hours.

You can substitute a Krypton bulb for 4 cells and the run time will almost double.

The body of the light is very light as is injection molded in one piece with the head screwing into the body to cap the light.

The switch is activated by turning the head, so two hands are needed to switch the light on, unless you have a very strong grip and fingers and can turn the tight bezel/switch with them.

Because the body have two flat surfaces it stay very well on any surface and have an advantage over conventional round flashlights that tend to roll off from inclined surfaces.

Those flat surfaces was that gave me the idea of putting a self stick length of Velcro in it and sew the matching male part to a baseball cap, it is a handy place to stick your light when you want your hands free.

I have a few of those caps in the cars and lights to go with them, just in case I have a flat tire or I need to work under the hood with my two hands, it come handy recently when I had to hook the buster cables on my battery and the other car’s battery.

My lights are about two years old; the new Princeton Tec 40 is somehow different in that it comes with a rubber over-coat, still a very handsome light.

They are a class 3 light, so waterproof to 100 meters, one of mine was used by my brother in law to look for the lost engine of his boat in 100 feet of water.

Some of my Tec 40’s have a smooth reflector (mirror finish) that is a good thrower, others newer Tec 40’s come with a stippled reflector that have a very pleasant beam and are more flood light and less throw.

Here is a beam shot to my deer and bear target set up at 26 yards and with the camera at 12 feet from the deer and 18 feet from the bear.

This was taken with the light that have the smooth reflector, the intensity at the target is not that much with the Stippled reflector.

I like the little Tec 40 and I have given a few away to family and friends that were in need of a reliable light for carry in a pocket or keeping in a glove compartment.

I put one of the PT 40 in a BIG glass of water for several hours, without any issues, and this is a light that have 4 years old gaskets.

Kind regards

Black Bear

[black bear 84]

i reckon that you have earnt yourself a tee shirt mate ha ha

Thank you mate, it is just what I need

Here in the states is mostly prohibited to shoot with the aid of a light, unless is in the coyote or raccoon season.

A trip to Australia is in the Dr's orders!

Black Bear

[len]

Hey Black bear 84

The velcro on the cap idea is brilliant

Cheers

Len

[soopy]

i bet ur scared of the dark ol m8