Flashlights?

[Fifty150]

Your Miranda warning cards aren't issued?

You would think that it would be simple to print and laminate a couple of thousand little cards. The resources aren't there. Just like business cards. Something so cheap, adds up, when you have thousands of employees.



Like I said, it's a world of politics when it comes to what is issued, and what is not issued. There are different committees such as civilian oversight boards, community advocacy groups, lawyers, various elected officials at City Hall, etc., etc.,........ They hold hearings, board meetings, public forums......... all in the interest of the public's safety. They are trying to protect the citizens from the police.

I get it. Nobody wants to live under marshal law. And then, there's the budget. The money just isn't there. 25 year old cars are still in service. Built Ford Tough? Or just no money? We may be the only large city in the nation that does not have Tasers, because we can't afford them. The equipment is a few thousand dollars per unit, times a few thousand officers, plus the cost of training....... That quickly adds up to millions.


Notice item f. Department approved impact weapon. Not department issued. That's like a lot of other items that the employees have to furnish. They say we have to have it, and we have to pay for it. And I'm crying over things like flashlight batteries, dry cleaning, socks, t-shirts, and tattoo inspections.

 

[Fifty150]

Maybe I am spoiled. I want the employer to provide everything. Every piece of uniform and work equipment.



A nearby agency generously "allows" their officers to buy their own ***s. I can't believe that. In this day and age, they want cops to pay for their own ***s.

Where I work, you cannot carry your own ***. You must carry a department issued firearm, magazines, ammunition......... I can distinctly remember when the policy was first put in place. It was for officer safety. You want everyone using the same *******, *******, & *****. Standardized. So that everyone can use the same ammunition and magazines. In the event of an incident, we can all share magazines and ammunition. You can't have 10 people, with 10 different ***s, with different ammunition. If I run out of ******s, I need to be able to use yours.


The lawyers at City Hall were all for it. They no longer worried about guys carrying all sorts of crazy ***s and ammunition, that The City would be liable for. There were a few guys who carried .44 Magnums like Dirty Harry, 50 caliber Desert Eagles, and whatever crazy things that you can imagine.

 

[Fifty150]

I really like my Mini MagLites. Maybe it's the sense of nostalgia. I've always had them and used them. Keep 1 in the coffee cup full of pens on my desk. There's one in my camp bag. I keep one on my nightstand for those middle of the night urges. There's one tucked under the sink in the bathroom in case I need to check the plumbing or there's a power outage while I'm using the bathroom.


Thanks to this thread, I've started carrying them again. Which quickly reminded me of why I don't carry them. I dropped them several times. They fall out of my chest pocket and that little clip is nowhere near strong enough to hold the light in place. On a belt holster, the tailcap switch kept turning the light on without my will or consent. The few times that I actually needed a flashlight, it was anemic at best. Even with an LED lamp. I found myself turning it off, putting it away, and reaching for a brighter flashlight. Not ideal in a tactical situation. I can't imagine pulling out the Mini Maglite as shots are being fired.​

 

[大馬伕]

dropped them

Mine are always dropping.

 

[Fifty150]

Crime happens every minute in The USA. Television stations have their own helicopters in the sky, at all times, waiting to capture it live. It gives a pretty view of how the flashlights perform.​

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[Fifty150]

Surely there are applications for the smallest flashlights using a single AAA battery. I haven't found it myself. I've always owned a Mag-Lite Solitaire. I never used it. I always had one, with the mindset that in an emergency, it's better than nothing. Maybe it will be enough light for me to go find a better flashlight.

Then the LED Solitaire Mag-Lite came on the market. Big difference in performance. I bought one. I've never used it. My intent was to have it in the little bag of roadmaps, in case I needed to read a map in the middle of the night. Of course, nobody uses roadmaps anymore. We all have GPS navigation tools on our phones.

In my life, a Mini Mag-Lite does all of the work that I need a small light to do. In today's world, the Mini-Mag-Lite is bright enough that I can do most things with it.

Like a fool, I bought another single AAA battery flashlight. More money wasted. I will never use it. It will now sit in the same desk drawer as my Solitaire Mag-Lite. Waiting for that one power outage where I'm sitting at my desk, and it's the only thing within reach. Why did I do it? Because it was on sale. The price was so low, that I just couldn't resist.


Olight. What do you guys know about this brand? Any experiences?

 

[Fifty150]

I have seen some of the LED upgrades available for Mag-Lite flashlights. I didn't want to do anything extreme where I would have to modify the light or use special batteries.

I have tried "cheap" units under $20. They seem to be okay. Some are priced about as low as buying a replacement Krypton or Xenon lightbulb, and all that you do is replace the lightbulb. Most are about the same. Rated at a few hundred lumen. Bright enough that it is better than incandescent. But not quite a modern "tactical" flashlight .

I looked at the higher end options. I found a drop-in which claims 1000 lumen. And it's a fairly simple installation that is almost as simple as replacing the light bulb. It's a unit which replaces the lightbulb and reflector. A glass lens is an option, because the plastic lens will not hold up to the increased heat if you leave the light on.. In a working situation, you could have that light on for 30 minutes, 90 minutes, or more. Nobody actually addresses how hot the head of the flashlight gets. That's par for the course. They don't want you to know about things like that. You may not buy it.


Then I priced it out. It made no sense. If I want a 1000 lumen Mag-Lite, it would be better to just buy a new one from Mag-Lite. Then I get OEM performance, with an OEM warranty. No risk of damaging the old light with aftermarket parts. In either case, a big, heavy 3, 4, 5, or 6 cell is too awkward to be tactical. You're really not going to try to use a 6 D battery flashlight with a *******.

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[Fifty150]

Amazon has a listing for an aftermarket tailcap switch, for Mini Mag-Lite.

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Two sellers were listed. One was fulfilled by Amazon. A few pennies more expensive. You get Amazon shipping. The second listing is sold by Torch Upgrades. I bought both. Torch Upgrades took a month to ship from The UK. Torch Upgrades offers upgrades and accessories on their own website https://www.torchupgrades.com/

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What I got was 2 different items. The Lite Xpress version fulfilled by Amazon Prime has a protruding tab with a hole. The Torch Upgrades version has a machined slot for keyrings and lanyards.​

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Both work. The protruding tab helps prevent the flashlight from rolling away. It will not slide in and out of holsters. Both work with the modern generation of LED Mini-Mag-Lite. They will not work with the older generation of Mini Mag-Lite which have a different tailcap design.​

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[Fifty150]

More flashlights in action. This just occurred.

 

[Fifty150]

This guy jumped from the car while it was still moving. You can see the officer's light beam during the foot pursuit.

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In the meanwhile, his car was burning and blowing up. Other cops had to use flashlights to direct traffic.

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[Fifty150]

The view from a different helicopter. Notice how the guy is struck by a police car, then takes off running. Most interesting is the "night sun" from the police helicopter. That light is really bright. Just be glad that where you live, crime isn't so bad that the police need a "ghetto bird". And in case anyone is wondering.......... there are at least a half dozen helicopters hovering at any given time. Police, sheriff, highway patrol, and all of the media companies. Whenever an incident occurs, they broadcast live. Everyone is in real time. No editing. You get to see the car crashes and shootings in real time. It's better than watching a movie.​

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[Fifty150]

I don't remember this level of brightness with old incandescent lights.

 

[Fifty150]

Another night of flashlights in action.

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[Fifty150]

 

[Trenchfriend]

@Fifty150
What's the point of showing that?

 

[Goel]

I got a AAA maglight as a keychain light, in addition to my coin powered photon proton (highly recommend those by the way). I used to think expensive lights weren't really worthwhile, but the other day I found myself needing to look through a poorly illuminated basement and found my maglight didn't have great illumination for penetrating stacks of junk in the dark. On the other hand, I have a similar Surefire light that was far more expensive but had a nice bright hotspot and would have been perfect for that situation.

I will say I'm not a fan of all the "features" that many modern flashlights often have. Usually they're pointed out as an advantage compared to relatively simpler flashlights like Surefire and Malkoff, but they're just more things that can fail.

 

[Adam-Five-Five]

What's the point of showing that?

It shows what those flashlights can do in the dark.

a AAA maglight

my maglight didn't have great illumination for penetrating stacks of junk in the dark

Those little AAA battery lights on a keychain don't do much.

 

[Fifty150]

I got a AAA maglight as a keychain light, in addition to my coin powered photon proton (highly recommend those by the way). I used to think expensive lights weren't really worthwhile, but the other day I found myself needing to look through a poorly illuminated basement and found my maglight didn't have great illumination for penetrating stacks of junk in the dark. On the other hand, I have a similar Surefire light that was far more expensive but had a nice bright hotspot and would have been perfect for that situation.

I will say I'm not a fan of all the "features" that many modern flashlights often have. Usually they're pointed out as an advantage compared to relatively simpler flashlights like Surefire and Malkoff, but they're just more things that can fail.

Is that little Mag-Lite incandescent?

 

[Fifty150]

@Fifty150
What's the point of showing that?

Context. It shows the light beams in real life. It's better than just shining the light on a wall. An aerial view allows you to see the brightness, beam pattern, and how far the beam actually throws the light.

When flashlight makers publish and advertise specifications, you wonder if those are realistic. It may say 100 meters. But does that mean that you actually have an effective light beam at 100 meters? Or does that mean that someone standing 100 meters away, can see that your flashlight is on?

 

[Fifty150]

Old guys like me still walk around with the big heavy lights. I use the Streamlight SL-20. This guy has a Mag-Charger. Obvious disadvantages are size, weight, bulk. Just clumsy and awkward. In the wrong set of circumstances, someone could pick it up and hit you with it.​