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  1. #61
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    After carrying it for a couple of weeks, I am really liking the Zebralight SC64w. I have 2 quality 18650 Sanyo NCR18650GA batteries. I keep one in the charger at home, and simply swap them once a month, or as needed.

    I carry a Zebralight AA torch in my bag, and some extra Energizer Lithium AA's. If my primary runs out, I have a backup that can use inexpensive, widely-available batteries.

    An 18650 battery has roughly the capacity of 4 AA's, in a package that's only a little bit bigger.

    To me, this beats all: EDC a good quality rechargeable with replaceable cells, and keep a backup AA for emergencies.

  2. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by SINNER View Post
    Not sure where the idea of parasitic loss was attributed to the light but that’s a baseless, incorrect assumption. No issues with normal batteries for 6-7 months that light has sat idle. It’s directly attributed to the known issues with rechargeable batteries. Even the older Elzettas that use the inferior Malkoff LED’S have never shown an issue.
    That was *meant* to read "battery quality AND/OR apparent parasitic discharge...". I was typing faster than reading, and glossed right over the omission. If it sat with 123s that didn't discharge, then the light is fine and I'll still go with poor quality or malfunctioning 18650s. Apologies for the error.

  3. #63
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    I have a feeling that preference on lights is kind of like preference on holsters. I just need to buy something and work with it.

  4. #64
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    Hehehe... It only took you 5 pages to see the light. Stay out of dark alleys and you wont need one. I have a surefire in my truck and maybe only need it once a year. Personally I think the whole flashlight thing is over rated...
    The best way to survive a violent encounter is to be the one inflicting the most violence.

  5. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stone View Post
    Hehehe... It only took you 5 pages to see the light. Stay out of dark alleys and you wont need one. I have a surefire in my truck and maybe only need it once a year. Personally I think the whole flashlight thing is over rated...
    Honestly I have been extremely busy with stuff to stay fully engaged on the forum (or any other forum) (even lurking) like I otherwise would.

    Admittedly I am a goof sometimes but at least I know it. LOL!

    I did learn a lot. The list is as follows (not comprehensive):

    1. Lumens is only part of the story.
    2. Candela is another good thing to know and talk about.
    3. How the flashlight is shaped matters in relation to how you will carry it.
    4. The controls matter. Clicky? Pressure? Twist? How do you turn it on or in some cases off matters a lot.
    5. How many modes are there and how do you get through them all?
    6. What is your goal? Is your wife looking for lost keys in her purse or are you trying to track down bad guys? In other words 5 lumens might be perfect for some things but in other situations you want all 1500.
    7. What kind of batteries, charging, etc all can matter if you want it to. Same with construction etc.
    8. HOW the light shines can make a big difference. Some lights are more 'broad' so you can see all around your area, and other lights are more concentrated in one spot.

    This is all stuff I never put much thought into. Those are just a few things. The tint of the light, the color of the light, how long it runs, etc... most of the 5 pages was other people talking to each other, but just being a fly on the wall in such a conversation among people who know more than I do is beneficial.

    If I am going to spend $200+ bucks on a light (or lights) it actually all matters to some degree. If you are putting together a kit for dark alleys and catching bad guys in the 5th ward or if you are preparing for hurricane season when the lights will inevitably go out (sometimes for days or longer) it makes a difference to know and think about the truth of your situation.

  6. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stone View Post
    Stay out of dark alleys and you wont need one. I have a surefire in my truck and maybe only need it once a year. Personally I think the whole flashlight thing is over rated...
    I live about 14 miles away from the closest street light btw. The whole thing is one big dark alley. It's unavoidable.

    I also don't think the light thing is over rated (yet). Once I get my light(s) and run with it a while I will let you know. I've gone this long with only a minimal light but I have long wanted to invest in something better. Honestly I have gone through like 7 or 8 cheap lights. I've tried carrying them in my truck and after that my car, so I am coming from about 7 or 8 years worth of dead batteries worth of experience.

    I want to round out a good emergency kit primarily for non tactical use. For me using it for gun fighting is a secondary use. More like 3rd or 4th place hopefully. Buying a cheap 10 pack of $1 lights and then when you really need it all the batteries are dead, that sucks. It's better to have one or two good ones near you (always) that are well maintained.

  7. #67
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    My only additional comment is don't get too caught up in the whole variable brightness "one press for high, two for low and three for strobe" or whatever. I set mine so all they do is "High". If I need lower power, I cup my hand over the lens. Trying to use quick bursts of light to get a momentary image of an area will inevitably result in your pressing the switch two times in too quickly a fashion and the light will go to Low mode, and then you'll have to cycle thru everything again to get back to High.

  8. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by PJD642 View Post
    My only additional comment is don't get too caught up in the whole variable brightness "one press for high, two for low and three for strobe" or whatever. I set mine so all they do is "High". If I need lower power, I cup my hand over the lens. Trying to use quick bursts of light to get a momentary image of an area will inevitably result in your pressing the switch two times in too quickly a fashion and the light will go to Low mode, and then you'll have to cycle thru everything again to get back to High.
    At the end of the day I decided on lights based on several factors.

    One of the lights I picked was the Surefire Titan Plus. The reason for this is it uses AAA batteries, and I have a ton of good rechargeables already that I thought I would use for some camera gear (remote flash triggers that I never use).

    Also it has a LOT of power for a small light even if I don't use all of it all the time. It also can't be 'accidentally' turned on in my pocket. The twist the bezel thing is actually good in this case.

    All of that plus the idea of it being so small means much less hassle to carry it around. I already have a small keychain light (that sucks) in my pocket so with that it's a matter of replacing that one with something better. No big alterations in how I carry EDC but I will have a lot more light in my pocket at all times.

    The other light I plan to buy is the EDCL1 from Surefire. It has enough light for my needs. "Sufficient" is good enough. It also uses ONE CR123 battery. Standard stuff for what I use in other things.

    I have a little pack that I take everywhere I go and that I store my stuff in at night. If I go somewhere where I am not allowed to conceal, it's my stash pouch. I guess you can call it a man purse sort of but I can put my gun, holster whatever in there and lock it out of sight so it's safe. It's almost like my bug out bag. If something goes wrong, I need to grab ONE BAG. If I am on a trip that is the first thing that I will NOT forget. It keeps me organized.

    The selling point on the second light (for me) is more power for when I need it and different functionality than the Titan. Back up lights are good and it won't be a hassle to carry around. I can put it in my pocket if I want to, or I can put it in my stash pouch. I am literally in my stash pouch every single day so I can check batteries etc no problem, but odds are between two lights one will have a working battery.

    The biggest other thing is the functional tail cap. Medium pressure or hard pressure. Simple. No clicky clicky. It's all momentary until I want to twist it to on. It's got simple functions.

    Anyway between those two (I already ordered the first one) I should be covered. If in the future I decide I need something bigger or more fancy I can adjust from there.

  9. #69
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stone View Post
    Hehehe... It only took you 5 pages to see the light. Stay out of dark alleys and you wont need one. I have a surefire in my truck and maybe only need it once a year. Personally I think the whole flashlight thing is over rated...
    100%
    There's no "Team" in F**K YOU!

  10. #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stone View Post
    Hehehe... It only took you 5 pages to see the light. Stay out of dark alleys and you wont need one. I have a surefire in my truck and maybe only need it once a year. Personally I think the whole flashlight thing is over rated...
    True story...

    Fresh boot out of the academy gets assigned to me (poor kid) and our first week is a day shift week. I check his equipment and see he doesn't have a flashlight (we get issued decent streamlight LED stingers). I ask him why not and he looks at me with a smug face "well it's daytime, it's bright outside, what am I possibly going to need a light for?" I smile, and tell him to get his light and make sure he has all of his equipment on him when he comes on shift. He gets it out of his locker, I make sure its charged up, which it is. Fifth call of the day we are in a sub basement with a 3.5ft ceiling fighting with a dude who has a felony warrant in total darkness. I literally took out my light, turned it on and tossed it so I can have some kind of light. Boot never gets his light out at all. Once we get him cuffed I get my light and ask him why he doesn't have his light on, he forget he even had it.

    After we get out and back in the car I told him there is a reason we have all of our gear and we carry it with us all the time. We, as humans, cannot make light without a tool. We cannot cut things without a tool. We cannot poke 9mm holes in people at 1300fps without a tool, and we cannot restrain people without tools for long periods of time. To this day, I've never seen him without a flashlight on his belt.

  11. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by voodoo_man View Post
    We, as humans, cannot make light without a tool. We cannot cut things without a tool. We cannot poke 9mm holes in people at 1300fps without a tool, and we cannot restrain people without tools for long periods of time. To this day, I've never seen him without a flashlight on his belt.
    Amen! Also constantly amazed at the number of coworkers who only carry one set of cuffs....

  12. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by PJD642 View Post
    Amen! Also constantly amazed at the number of coworkers who only carry one set of cuffs....
    If you are a veteran LEO and do not carry 2x cuffs and have a pair of shackles in the car, you are lacking forethought.

  13. #73
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    Quote Originally Posted by SINNER View Post
    I’ve never seen a quality light with a USB port so are you guys using a stand alone charger or such light duty use the toys with USB’s are holding up?
    My Fenix has held up and I’m starting to like the USB charging lights. I spend a lot of the time tracking at night and I’m in the desert. One charged battery usually will carry me with constant on for most of the evening. I’ll usually drop an extra battery in my pocket for just in case the night runs a little long or how much I use a higher setting and I need a quick battery change.

  14. #74
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    Surefire Titan Plus arrived today.

    I will obviously be testing this out more but first impressions are good. It has very impressive power for such a small light, and it uses a single AAA battery. I have half a dozen or more almost brand new good rechargeable AAA's and a charger already. When it gets dark outside I will give it more tests but so far for a tiny pocket light it seems pretty good.

    It's a little longer than the light I had on my keychain... not quite an inch longer. It's heavier too but it's a %$^#ing key chain light. It's not that bad. The on/off function happens when you turn the bezzle. You turn the bezzle a little and it's the first mode, turn it back (off) and then twist again for the next power level, turn it back AGAIN (to off position) and twist it for full power. Kind of a weird control method but I will get used to it.

    The other light I ordered should be here next week.

  15. #75
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    After a month of carry.... what's your verdict on the T+?


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