Do you carry a tactical torch?

This month's Firearms Tactics column looks at flashlights. I had to convince our editor that an article on flashlights is relevant to firearms. Yeah, yeah, I know. I write the Firearms Tactics column. OK, this month, I'm testing light cannons. How's that?

Like the handgun, flashlights for law enforcement can be divided into three major categories: duty, off duty and special purpose. There is a little overlap, but for the most part flashlights are purpose-built. Off duty and special Purpose lights will be covered in the next article.

Duty flashlights

I define a duty light as one designed to be carried on the belt, suitable for a number of assignments. They must be able to provide intermittent light (momentary switch), and full output for a sustained two hours. Officers can go from searching an open field to a house and get reassigned to direct traffic or process a crime scene in the same shift. Their light must be portable enough for the officer to stuff it in a pocket or on the belt to get over that chain link fence.

Duty lights should be able to withstand a full immersion for a few minutes, about the equivalent to dropping the torch in the mud and rinsing it off. Every torch on my duty light list here is waterproof, which means they can handle a full immersion for a specified period.

The case of a duty light should be competently sealed by O rings or a similar mechanism, which is an important safety feature besides something that adds to the longevity of the product. Many of the products in a drug lab can be ignited by an errant spark, as well as some of the environments that an officer may stumble upon.

A duty light should be able to survive simple shocks, like rolling off the vehicle hood onto the pavement, and things that challenge its structural integrity, like being pinned between the driver seat and the console during a pursuit. There are various methods scientists use to measure the intensity or energy of a light source. The two common units are lumens and candelas. The candela is a measurement of intensity of a light source, measured at the source. The lumen measures the amount of light projected in a given area, measured at the projection. They really don't readily translate, except that most manufacturers provide the lumens and candelas of their products.

The lights here range around the 150-350 lumen output. This is bright enough for making a traffic stop, without blinding the officer when he opens a closet door and encounters a bright white wall.

I think the most useful information for a patrol light is the subjective test. That is, comparing one light against the other in an alley works best for most officers. I will do this in my reviews, but readers should know that form factors and features are most often going to trump light output. For example, the Pelican 7060 LED has a tail switch and a barrel switch.

There are two major form factor types for a duty light: mid-sized (about 7-12 inches long) and full-Sized (12-20 inches long). I like the midsized ones, because they make shooting easier. When I test flashlights, I take them to the range. You should, too. The flashlight is as essential as any other safety equipment item like the baton or handcuffs. One should be particular about its features, limitations and form factor. Not every flashlight works for every officer. It really depends on the officer's assignment and habits.

I have always preferred using a flashlight for shooting, rather than having a dedicated light. There are some good products out there, but some gun mounted lights change the shooting characteristics of the gun. Often, a deliberate method of marrying the light in one hand and the handgun in the other to create a stable, two-handed platform works better and adds flexibility.

Shooting

There are several ways to hold a flashlight and grip a handgun. This is a shooter preference thing, but I recommend methods that maintain isometric tension with the shooting and non shooting hand. Holds like the Harries Technique (back of wrist to back of wrist), are good ways to maintain tension. Bear in mind that almost every light technique is an assisted one-handed gun technique. I like the “Marine Corps Technique”, which I understand was used by the USMC Embassy Guards. This is a full grip technique where the fingertips of the shooting hand touch the light bezel, while the non firing hand actuates the side switch and palms come together.

One must practice using a light on the range. There are three desirable skills: Opening doors, changing magazines and manipulating the switch. Believe it or not, the biggest mistake the experts see out there is when officers use the light too much, too often. Tip: Cut a dowel that approximates the dimensions of the duty light.

Magazine reload

The magazine reload sequence goes like this: Communicate your reload. One should already be behind cover. Muzzle and eyes concentrate on greatest threat. Tuck light under shooting armpit, light output facing greatest threat. Gun elbow bends, retracting the gun a little. Eject magazine, extract fresh one. Pointer finger of non firing hand should be near tip of bullets in magazine.

Insert fresh magazine. Withdraw light from armpit and reassume full extension of shooting position. The magazine reload drill is modified for opening doors, extracting cuffs, etc.

Streamlight duty lights

My agency issued Streamlight SL-20s. These machined aluminum bodied full sized lights really haven’t changed in dimension for at least 15 years. When Streamlight offered to send me an SL-20L for this article, I reluctantly agreed. I was thinking “boring”; I didn't expect it to be a completely different light. Let me give you a hint: don't be on the receiving end—this product has been taking its vitamins.

The Streamlight SL-20L shares the same form factor as the one I had as a rookie, except it puts out a full 350 lumens, almost too abrupt for close-up work. The trademark bright, uninterrupted center with a healthy spillbeam excels in the alley test. I found a steady illumination for almost a full city block.

Like several models of the Streamlight Stinger series, one can dim the brightest beam by holding the switch down and strobe it by clicking the switch twice. The SL-20L throws a beam that can produce a moderate amount of backscatter, reflection of light back to its source. This is not a consideration for a patrol light, unless one patrols in an area that tends to be foggy. One thing that most LED lights with dimmer switches do: When one uses less than the full output of the LED light, it strobes right about the same frequency of those high efficiency street lights. It's unnoticeable, unless one is recording a scene by the light of the torch.

TerraLUX InfiniStar

TerraLUX is the company that makes conversion kits for popular tactical flashlights. TerraLUX has saved many officers a lot of money by providing simple LED conversion units for their outdated lights. Until this time, they didn't make a tactical light of their own. This product is quite a splash.

TerraLUX bills the 300 lumen InfiniStar CR as the last flashlight you'll ever need. This light is a complete package, but the core of the product is the modular LED light engine. Individual components of the light can be replaced for new innovations or performance upgrades.

I'm not sure how much upgrading this light is going to get. It uses a 3000 mAh power stick and has a run time of 2+ hours. The InfiniStar throws a beam that saturates the target center with three separate parts, a focused center with soft edges, a floodlight halo and a relatively narrow spillbeam. At the range, it allows for quick target identification and a view of adjacent targets, but I like a little more spillbeam.

The InfiniStar CR charges by plugging in a cord to the barrel, which is simple and makes the charger more portable.

There are a couple of things I would change about this product. First, it needs to have a tailcap switch. That's a pretty simple thing and I expect that to be one of the modular improvements. The lanyard hole in the existing tail cap should be larger and have a little more meat surrounding it. Second, it needs to strobe and dim. Again, that's why this flashlight was designed the way it was in the first place. Officers should be able to purchase upgrades eventually.

The InfiStar Design is typical of machined aluminum flashlights. The barrel is a mite thicker than most, and is covered with a grippy rubber sleeve. It has excellent ergonomics for shooters and a lot of thought went into this design. This is a superior product and with inherent quality.

The InfinStar and the Streamlight SL-20L are the two brightest products, tested subjectively, in this review.

Pelican 7060 and 8060LED

No one even raised an eyebrow when LAPD adopted the 7060 as a patrol light. When I tested it, I found the dual switches and strategic gripping surfaces were perfect for controlling this light, even when patrolling in a downpour. The design allows for almost any type of shooting technique, and it is easy to orient it by feel. Although the switch modes should include dimming and strobe capabilities, one can overlook this, considering the lightweight case and great handling.

There are two things that one should know about the 7060 LED. First, it uses cooling fins to dissipate heat. It never gets too hot to the touch, but the warm feel of the bezel area may surprise a user. Second, my experience of using this light for over a year suggests that it charges a little faster than advertised. Its 160 lumen output spec is a little surprising for me, too. It seems much brighter than that.

The 8060 LED is larger and heavier, but still has the sleek handling of its smaller brother. Its 179-lumen output can hold steady for several hours. The beam on both lights concentrates well and has enough spillbeam to cover a large portion of the periphery. The 8060 LED actually will take C batteries when the power pack runs out. I don't think officers will ever have a problem here; this light can be left on for almost a whole shift, which few others can do.

Bushnell HD Torch

This is a bizarre light with an even more bizarre output. It runs on two CR123 cells and shines a perfectly square 165-lumen beam (there is a 200-lumen model for hunters), so everybody thus illuminated appears as if on TV. It also has a “find me” LED illuminated tailcap, which should be taped over if it's going on patrol. It has an advantage for patrol use, which is why it is mentioned here: The square beam’s defined edge gives clear vision everywhere within the beam, which makes suspects appear literally as if they were on stage. There are no irregularities, cold spots or deceptive shadows in this beam. This square, by the way, does not blind the officer searching a bedroom, and it renders more accurate colors than most models. I played with this one a little and it's intimidating.

Streamlight Stinger LED

The Singer LED has it all. It puts out 180 lumens and can be dimmed or strobed for longer runtime. Its reflector has a deep dish design, which does a great job in fog or when cops wish to play firefighter (not recommended) or when firefighters wish to play cops (I've heard they do— also not recommended). The Stinger LED has dual switches and the kind of design that allows the officer to quickly put the light into play.

If you tried the magazine changing instructional with your light, you'll know why many shooters appreciate the form factor of the Stinger LED. It also loans itself rather well for writing citations.

The Stinger LED does not get very warm at all during use. Like the Pelican 7060, it charges most easily in a charger that can be vehicle- or office-mounted. I recommend mounting the charger (a pretty sturdy product in its own right) in the patrol car where it can't be overcharged or affected by earlier generations of “battery memory”.

I've used both the Pelican 7060 and the Stinger LED during a night pistol match. It would be hard for me to choose between the two. I brough the Bushnell HD to the same torch. Everyone wanted to try it out, but it’s not rechargeable, so its BYOB (you know, Bring Your Own Batteries) to use it.

4sevens Quark X AA² Tactical

What if I told you that the light I'm talking about has a maximum output of 280 lumens and runs on AA batteries? What if I told you it has a momentary switch, programmable output and IPX-8 waterproofing? What if I told you that this is one of the least expensive lights to own and operate?

When David Chow of 4sevens handed me a Quark during SHOT 2011, I thought I was going to test it as a backup light. I did. However, this light has all of the desirable features of a full sized duty light in a compact form factor. In fact, this is one of the few duty lights that can be carried in a shirt pocket. It is 5.8 inches long and weighs 2.2 ounces

You should know that there are dozens of lights that fall under the Quark trademark with various qualities and aspects that distinguish them. All of the Quark models are compact and designed for tactical use. I will leave it up to the officer to pick one.

The beam on the Quark emanates from a textured, deep dish reflector. The center beam is a wide splash of light with undefined edges and a generous spillbeam. This light allows for a syringe grip, where the user holds the light at the web between the 2nd and 3rd (or 3rd and 4th fingers) and presses with the palm of the non-trigger hand. This is a method normally reserved for compact lights which don't usually have this kind of light output.

The Quark Series of flashlights have rewritten the paradigm. They even come with a hand grip accessory for opening doors and changing magazines. I've had a year to play with this light and I can't find anything that doesn't announce “swear me in”.

Leupold MX Modular Flashlights: The MX 431

Someone at Leupold R&D was sitting at a board meeting one day and asked the question, “I know that we build some of the most durable rifle schools in the world. What if we applied what we knew to making flashlights? What would they look like?”

Let me answer this question: These flashlights would look like a thing right out of Modern Marvels. It has a sapphire lens, which is recessed twice in the head. You know, sapphire, the stuff that Rolex uses for their watch crystals. The bezel switch, where one can select strobing, dimmed output and even SOS, uses a magnetic switch. It goes “snick, snick” in the hand, like the sound of wing doors on a Lamborghini. It is threaded for optically correct Alumina filters. These lights have replaceable modular bezels, tail caps, main-tubes and accept an array of accessories. The 6061 aluminum used in the products is hard anodized and they are waterproofed to four atmospheres. Leupold uses the word “obsessed”. I agree.

The MX-431 has a 180-lumen output using an efficient regulated circuit. The beam is, as one might have guessed, flawless and huge. It has a terrific feel, if not a little bezel heavy. The price is amazingly affordable, considering this one will last a career.

There are many suitable lights not on this list. However, these particular lights boast very unusual features. BOL for the follow up article on off duty and special purpose lights.