Thanks a lot
Does it need to be intrinsically safe? (I assume it does, and furthermore might be a department requirement). Most lights discussed on BLF are not.
The safe choice (literally) would be the proven manufacturers like Pelican, streamlight or Dorcy.
Don’t most departments issue lights, or have a list of recommended lights?… I’d start with that. Some departments also issue batteries, might also look into it from that perspective.
Yes it´s a good point. Most of the already have flashlights that comply with the safe requirements. But as I stated I want to gift them a budget one that maybe have some similar functionality. I mean in form, lumen output, etc.
Thanks
I have sold dozens of lights to firemen locally and I have confirmed multiple times there is NOT an intrinsically safe requirement. Of course some departments might be different. I live in California where everybody wants to sue everybody and if there isn’t a requirement here, well……
I could see a fire department for a refinery wanting intrinsically safe lights as is all the rest of their gear but a city or county fire department likely not.
What’s your budget per light and what size are we talking about? Compact every day carry size or larger C8/c8.2 or even bigger?
Don’t you have trouble setting to Turbo? It took me about 10 tries for Turbo.
I second the Zanflare F1. I have several that I got for $9.99 - $14. They are excellent lights. the switching to Turbo issue BLightSam mentioned is just familiarity. It requires a very fast double click but it works perfectly.
There are also many C8s that are quite good straight out of the factory. I am really enjoying the KDLitker (Kaidomain) c8.2 in XHP35 HI. It has smoking good performance for a stock light. DRAMATICALLY brighter than any stock C8 I’ve even seen and I have convoys, xtin td, sofirn, etc. The KD is NICE!
I also see Jetbeam IIM for $28 with a coupon code on FIN’s link. That’s a hell of a deal for an EDC light of that quality with on-board charging! 1100 lumen XP-L emitter and very nice controls
Budget is less than $20. Maybe something compactright angled?
I see the Rofis units around the deals pages and they have a rotating head to right angle or straight. They get good reviews but I can’t speak to them personally. They are a bit more, like $27.
Sofirn is a good brand. What’s makes the SP31 especially appealing for gifting, is that it’s $24.50 AND includes a 18650 cell and charger.
It seems a nice combo! Thanks a lot
I’m only allowed to carry the one they issue, others aren’t intrinsically safe
Hey Max,
I second the Sofirn line. I can’t talk to the smaller lights, but the C8 lights from Sofirn and KDLitker I do own (recently) have impressed me (and many others here the last few months). They might be useful to present after all things are considered:
The SOLID Sofirn C8A is a steal at about $17 compared to a lot out there. But any of their lights in a smaller package would probably do for many requirements you might have. They are very well made and for your budget, you’d do well at $18 or below shipped from Sofirns AliExpress store taking about 2-3 weeks (on my last three orders).
If the budget allowed… The KDlitker C8.2 in the XHP50.2 is a VERY durable light (I know as I mounted it on my AR-15 SPC 6.8 and put it through the paces with approx 50 rounds through it). The brightness is VERY usable out to about 50 yards with lots of spill- lighting up a wide area up close, but still throwing deep enough to penetrate fog, (smoke?), and other atmospheric distractions. The design is efficient and it STAYS on TURBO (no drop down like a lot of higher powered lights). A lot on BLF like the throw of the XHP-35 HI, but for a closer field of view— the XHP-50.2 trumps at 50 yards and in. For size/output I haven’t seen a lot of production C8 sized lights that do as well as this light does for UNDER $30 shipped.
But if you can go $33… go back to Sofirn and look at the C8F — it IS the NEW bomb around here lately for a C8 sized light. It can output over 3k lumen on ONE 18650 battery and for it’s size… it’s about the brightest light in the market (that I’ve seen lately) for anywhere near it’s price point.
After getting here (and meeting the wizards who KNOW) I really thought through what I wanted the light TO DO. YES… I WANT MORE light for my gun (I pig hunt at night), but there is a weight/size limit I had to come to terms with with a light on a gun. I ALSO wanted to standardize on ONE battery (the 18650) as it is VERY available and affordable with competition keeping prices decent (and for lesser “hot rod” lights my dead laptop and drill batteries are FREE) 
Of course you know this, but food for thought as you prep for your presentation.
So in my unique weapon light requirements, I needed to assessed not just weight/cost/size but also quality, battery form factor, portability, mod-ability, and finally the ruggedness factor. And with the three above— I’d say for the price range I couldn’t find anything better these last three months. Here is the “6.8SPC with the KDLitker C8.2 mounted”
- it’s being replace by the Sofirn C8F (custom builds) I’m working on now (for longer throw AND more light). :smiling_imp:
My experiences lately and my opinion and hope your presentation goes well! :+1:
PS. if these are to be gifts and you aren’t needing the 18650 (larger lights), Sofirn (again) has the NICE SP10A that fits in the palm of the hand (I just order one with charger and battery here). Perhaps with a coupon code you could buy these for about $15 and have a decent battery (as far as I’ve read here re. their 14500 battery they sell) and USB charger— all for that price. The LED is the XP-G2 so it is bright… and it can run on AA or 14500 batteries- a great gift for well under the $20 budget (with a side switch too- so easy one handed control).
Hello Zappaman, I am really impressed by your detailed and dedicated advice. Thanks a lot for this. :laughing:
Have you decided for or against any battery type?
In the AA / EDC size stay away from the UT01 and EDC05. Great designs but poor QC, and way too many faulty switch issues. I am shopping around for replacement candidates for mine. I find it troubling as a scout coordinator not knowing when/if my switches are going to fail. My UT01 and EDC05 have the unscrew tailcap power interrupt flaw, and my EDC05 doesn’t fully work with eneloops.
I think I will get a pair of sofirn SP10B… since I prefer the 1AA form.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0778H7VPK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2LRZV29F1JQ87&psc=1
I think generally its going to be hard to beat sofirn and thorfire in the $20 price range if you like the side button UI.
One thing I always look for is some sort of mechanical lock out to avoid accidental turn on. Usually a simple quarter turn on the tailcap is sufficient. Most thorfire and Sofirn lights have this function.
I guess that I will go with the Sofirn Line. I found pretty good deals at Aliexpress store and they do ship to Argentina. 
I got my C8T this week . Throws very well . Good CS if needed.
Glad to help. We (all) love it when a good plan comes together, eh? :+1: 
You may wish to consider an EDC made especially for professionals like him.
While they are still in stock, at an attractive price…….
Illumination Supply has the smaller Sunwayman Falcon Series lights on closeout, with their version of police/emergency - rescue strobes.
$22.30 for the F20C at 62% discount (18650)
$15 for the F10R at 73% discount (16340-CR123)
https://www.illumn.com/special-deals/sunwayman-f20c-xm-l2-red-blue-780lumens.html
I have two on the way.
Selfbuilt posted an excellent review on the lights, pro and con, concluding who the intended market should have been at the time.
Wow $22, thats a really good deal… $58 on amazon.
Thanks!!!
Seems the Sunwayman Falcon F20C emitters must have come from the same reel as the larger Falcon series lights.
The best XM-L2 CREE emitters (instead of CREEn) I have found snuck up on me from behind in a closeout batch of Sunwayman Falcon Series F40A lights built years ago.
CREE’s binning often provides surprisingly foolish consistencies regarding tint, and tint shift, so I never expected a batch of XM-L2 emitters to look as nice. At first I said nothing to BLFs preeminent Tint Snob/Gadfly and CREEn Critic, who after further photographic comparisons, begrudgingly admitted “There’s no green”.
Andy Xie, ‘Father Falcon’ referred to the larger version as ‘Little Colonel’, he might have squirreled away, high graded, or cunningly saved emitters for his pet Falcon project. Andy is an alchemist of deep dish reflectors, delivering throw and blended beams. Openings in the reflectors of the F10/20 Falcons keep them from looking as good as their bigger brother, but you still get one of the better looking XML2 Neutral tints you will find, sleeping in a ‘tricked out’ emergency light.