This is not my first post but it will be my official "Hello" to you folks in this forum. I am by no means an expert on anything flashlight related but have recently gotten back in to the hobby. Within about the last six months I have added the following to my collection:
Klarus P1C
Klarus XT11
Klarus XT2C
Klarus P2A
Jetbeam PA40
Nitecore TM11
Fenix LD20
Fenix E21
Terralux lightstar 300
4Sevens malestrom S12
Ultrafire C3
Ultrafire ?? zoomable
I am really thinking my next addition will be the Balder SE 2.
OK, so now for the question. Having been in law enforcement for almost 25 years I am wondering who else in this forum shares a similar job and what lights you carry on your duty belts? Right now I am using my Klarus XT11 and my Nitecore TM11. It's always interesting and useful to hear what others in the field are using and why.
Hello, welcome! I believe users CopperTop and Night Breaker are in law enforcement as well. See one of CopperTop's threads here and Night Breaker's collection and beamshots thread here. I know one type of light they (esp. CopperTop) use regularly is a "flooder". I myself am interested in a good "flooder" and had been following them closely. I was also watching the FandyFire HD2010 (prior to the Ultrafire HD2010 coming available) which Night Breaker has. Both of these guys have been away for awhile now though.
Welcome! Hopefully this is not a hijack, but I've always wondered what police departments policies are on what lights officers are able to carry. I was thinking it would be great to sell some customized lights to local departments (or at least assist them in finding a good one), but I didn't know if they are required to use a certain brand or something. I'm sure by now they have some pretty good lights, but I'm sure for a while there they were using underpowered lights compared to what people like us were using.
Welcome to the group, Luvbelly!! We have quite a few LEOs here that I'm sure will chime in. I also would like to know the same thing JonnyC asked. I imagine most still use the Surefire lights which, even in LED format, don't hold a candle to a good Solarforce with a well driven and heatsinked XM-L.
We can carry any light we wish but the agency only issues a incan 3D maglite. Same lights they were giving us when I started but now very few officers draw them. I am sure policy varies by department. My requirements for duty belt carry are simple U.I., must be small enough to be comfortable when on the duty belt, and they have to have rock solid durability. I prefer a floody beam or something with a decent mix of flood to throw. I would have to admit although I carry the TM-11 the U.I. is not exactly LEO friendly. I have gotten used to it though and this is my go to light for anything that involves a very large area or longer distance. The XT-11 is my primary light and has served me well so far. The U.I. is outstanding for what I do and the light itself has a nice flood to throw ratio. I treat the Nitecore with a bit more respect but have been downright hard on the Klarus without a single problem. I am always on the hunt for other lights though so your input is appreciated.
Like JohnnyMac said, I was just thinking a Solarforce L2P with a solidly built XM-L drop-in. I imagine all you would need is a low (checking driver's license) and a high mode.
My non-LEO speculation would make me think that a reliable single-mode(for simplicity of operation in stressful situations) XPG (for good mix of flood and throw) 2x 18650 (for runtime) P60-sized light would be ideal...
My pastor/friend is LEO and he belt-carries a tactical Streamlight(?) incan that is :tired:
He has a second light in his truck that is an incan light with a low mode that uses ~4 5mm LEDs.
I used a Maglite and a Streamlight for 24 years. I really did not know that many of these other lights existed until a year ago. I personally would go with an L2P also, due to the host accepting an 18650 battery. I also like the L2T. I am partial to Malkoffs, as I feel they are well worth the money seeing that your life is on the line. Plus the simple tactical on/off user interface for when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan. But a good 3 mode XM-L will also do just fine. The hosts are simple to change the batteries in and out, and the 18650's are much cheaper than the proprietary battery sticks that you must buy for the Maglites and Streamlights. And it comes in a small package as compared to the older, larger Maglites and Streamlights.
You might wanna consider the Jetbeam BC40. Minimalist two-mode (H and L) with a head twist, forward clickie, grip ring, a good all around thrower, solid, no blinky modes, available in cool and neutral, double O-rings on the tail, perfect fit and finish and a beautiful, smooth beam with an intense hotspot. No tricks-just on/off with no BS.
I'm not a single emitter guy and I love these lights... bought one from Hill here on the forum and liked it so much I went and got a neutral. Takes two 18650's so it would easily do a shift. And it's ~$60.
If I were a LEO, I'd use the neutral-it's as bright as the cool with much better color rendering. So if the scumbag you're chasing has a brown, navy, or black jacket you could tell as opposed to a cool which would gray everything out and you couldn't distinguish those colors-they'd all look gray.
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Here's a link: http://www.lightjunction.com/JETBeam-BC40W-XML-flashlight.html
Ordered mine on Friday, had it on Monday and if you grab it by the 10th, they have 15% off for Mother's Day. No affiliation here-I'm just pleased with the service and price!
Much respect to you guys... I could never do it. Just the thought of doing a MV stop, not knowing what I'd be walking into is enough to scare me off!
secondly..I am a security officer at a large area college/university..it consists of everything..4 campuses across town..town house res complexes, apartment style residences (5 of them each housing +/- 500 students), the main campus is situated on 500+ acres of land with trails/wildlife/parking lots etc..it's pretty much the same as a LEO job and I have been here 12 years..my love of lights started because of this job and the need for good lighting..now for lights I keep an ultrafire 980l on my belt and I recently added a sunwayman t20cs..these 2 lights give me options of incredible output (980l) and sensible output with reliability (t20cs)..I always carry an ITP A1 in my pocket with a spare 16340 as a backup (twisties have less components to fail)..I also have a few other small lights on me just because I like to..I carry a uniquefire uf-v2 in my bag if I need to sweep parking lots or if someone gets lost in the woods (happens all the time)..it's nice to have a long runtime larger light if needed..
I think there are a lot of bad lights out there in use ..I think it just goes to show you that an old streamlight or mag still does the job even though better lights are available .My friend said they can't use metal flashlights at all . that slowed me down as to what light i'd recommend
True about the metal lights. Many cities have banned the big mags for LEO use due to their image as night sticks and only allow small tactical lights to be carried. I would think a Solarforce L2T XM-L with 2 modes, high & low would be ideal.
