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SHOT Show 2007 Report - LED Flashlights - EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm)
SHOT Show 2007 Report - LED Flashlights
by
ETS Contributing Editor Alan Romania
Click on photos and links for larger image and additonal detail shots.
All prices MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail pricing) as of February, 2007
Proton
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| Manufacturer: Photon |
Model: Proton |
| Body Material: Type III Anodized Aluminium |
Body Color(s): Black |
| Length: 3.5" |
Body Dia: 0.5" |
Bezel Dia: 0.75" |
Weight1: 42.3gm. |
| Battery Qty: 1 |
Type: AA |
Runtime2: 1.5 - 250 hours |
| LED: |
LED Colors avail: White/Red |
| Lumens Max: 50 |
Lumens Min: 1 |
Brightness Levels: infinite |
| Switch Type: Push button |
Location: body |
| In Production?: Avalible |
MSRP: $70 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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LRI/Photon introduced last year a light that is the quintessential everyday carry light. Small, light, and bright with adjustable output, the Proton LED light is the ideal size light for many everyday carry users. The Proton’s 5 white LEDs produce a reported 50 lumens for 90 minutes on a single “AA” Lithium battery . Once on, the white light can be ramped down through a seemingly infinite number of levels until the perfect setting is achieved for the task at hand. Similarly, push and hold the on switch and a single Red LED can be ramped up until the appropriate level of light is achieved. For both colors, should the button remain depressed once the final output setting is reached you can set the light to 4 different flash patterns (slow, medium, fast and S.O.S.). For 2007, LRI has improved on the battery contacts for the Proton, increased the thread body length for the tail cap and improved the hard anodizing, making the light more durable.
For 2007 Surefire introduced only a few new personal lighting products, but they made some significant improvements in most of their LED lights. Utilizing Cree LEDs, Surefire was able to greatly increase run-time in some models and light output in others. The new LED lights no longer have the somewhat square-shaped beam of previous versions—the new beam is a more organic round shape.
G3
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: G3 |
| Body Material: Nitrolon |
Body Color(s): Black |
| Length: 6.5" |
Body Dia: 1" |
Bezel Dia: 1.25" |
Weight1: 5.5 oz |
| Battery Qty: 3 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 20 - 60 min |
| LED:Incandencent/Xenon |
LED Colors avail: White |
| Lumens Max:200-105 |
Lumens Min:? |
Brightness Levels:1 |
| Switch Type: Momentary Push/Constant Twist |
Location: Tailcap |
| In Production?: Avalible |
MSRP: $60 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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BEAST HID
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: BEAST HID |
| Body Material: Anodized Aircraft Grade Aluminium |
Body Color(s): Black |
| Length: 15.5" |
Body Dia: 2" |
Bezel Dia: 4.5" |
Weight1: 4.5 lbs. |
| Battery Qty: 20 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 80min-2hrs(HID) - 20-32hrs (LED) |
| LED:HID & LED |
LED Colors avail: White/UV |
| Lumens Max:2,300 |
Lumens Min:12 |
Brightness Levels:2 |
| Switch Type: Rotary Switch |
Location: Body |
| In Production?: Avalible |
MSRP: $4,800 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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If you wanted to, you could buy a 2,300 lumen HID flashlight from Surefire. The 5.5 pound, 19” long Beast HID light produces a blinding 2,300 lumens for an amazing 80 minutes utilizing 20 CR123 batteries, or a full 120 minutes utilizing the lithium ion rechargeable battery. The Beast includes 6 white LEDs and 6 UV LEDs which produce 12 Lumens for applications where 2,300 lumens may be a little much.
E1L Outdoorsman
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: E1L Outdoorsman |
| Body Material: Anodized Aircraft Grade Aluminium |
Body Color(s): Dark Grey |
| Length: 4" |
Body Dia: 0.75 |
Bezel Dia: 1" |
Weight1: 2.6 oz. |
| Battery Qty: 1 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 17 hours |
| LED:CREE |
LED Colors avail: White |
| Lumens Max:30 |
Lumens Min: |
Brightness Levels:1 |
| Switch Type: Click on/off |
Location: Tailcap |
| In Production?: March 2007 |
MSRP: $99 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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E2L Outdoorsman
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: E2L Outdoorsman |
| Body Material: Anodized Aircraft Grade Aluminium |
Body Color(s): Dark Grey |
| Length: 5.25" |
Body Dia: 0.75 |
Bezel Dia: 1" |
Weight1: 3.5 oz. |
| Battery Qty: 2 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 18 hours |
| LED:CREE |
LED Colors avail: White |
| Lumens Max:45 |
Lumens Min: |
Brightness Levels:1 |
| Switch Type: Click on/off |
Location: Tailcap |
| In Production?: March 2007 |
MSRP: $129 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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While a 2,300 lumen light is impressive, in my opinion, Surefire’s upgrades to the E1L, E2L and the L1 were more so. New for 2007, the E1L improved on the previous version’s 4 hours of operation at 25 lumens with 30 lumens of light for 17 hours. Similarly the 2007 E2L performance was upgraded from 30 lumens to 45 lumens with 18 hours of run-time versus the 4 hours of the 2006 version. The ExL series truly live up to Surefire’s description as “Extended Runtime LED flashlights.”
L1 Lumamax
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: L1 Lumamax |
| Body Material: Anodized Aircraft Grade Aluminium |
Body Color(s): Dark Grey |
| Length: 4.95" |
Body Dia: 0.75 |
Bezel Dia: 1" |
Weight1: 2.9 oz. |
| Battery Qty: 1 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 1.5-16 hours |
| LED:CREE |
LED Colors avail: White |
| Lumens Max:65 |
Lumens Min:10 |
Brightness Levels:2 |
| Switch Type: Bi-level momentary push/constant twist |
Location: Tailcap |
| In Production?: March 2007 |
MSRP: $135 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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Surefire improved on the dual output L1’s performance by increasing output rather then run-time. The 2007 L1 produces10 lumens (low)/65 lumens (high) while the 2006 produces L1 1.1 lumens (low)/22 lumens (high). The L1 run-time decreased to achieve this output advancement—16 hours at low power and 90 minutes at high power.
L5 Lumamax
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: L5 Lumamax |
| Body Material: Anodized Aircraft Grade Aluminium |
Body Color(s): Dark Grey |
| Length: 6.1" |
Body Dia: 1" |
Bezel Dia: 1.47" |
Weight1: 7.2 oz. |
| Battery Qty: 2 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 4.5 hours |
| LED:CREE |
LED Colors avail: White |
| Lumens Max:120 |
Lumens Min: |
Brightness Levels:1 |
| Switch Type: Click on/off |
Location: Tailcap |
| In Production?: March 2007 |
MSRP: $189 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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Surefire also improved the L5, their larger LED “Combat Light.” Similar to the xenon Z2 in body shape, the L5 is a larger LED flashlight, too big for everyday carry in my opinion, but a 120-lumen LED with 4.5 hour run-time is worth mentioning.
Titan
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: Titan |
| Body Material: titanium |
Body Color(s): satin finish, natural |
| Length: 3.15" |
Bezel Dia.: 0.75" |
Body Dia.: N/A |
Weight1: 1.9 oz. |
| Battery Qty: 1 |
Type: CR2 |
Runtime2: 50 hours |
| LED:CREE |
LED Colors avail: White |
| Lumens Max:30? |
Lumens Min:0.1 |
Brightness Levels:unlimited |
| Switch Type: Rotating bezel |
Location: bezel |
In Production?: March/April 2007 |
MSRP: $499 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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If you have a few hundred extra dollars lying around and are a LED light fanatic Surefire has a light for you. The Surefire Titan is an ideal everyday carry light, small, light and super bright. The only drawback I can see, and it is a big drawback, is the $500 price tag! Surefire rates the Titan at 30 Lumens currently but advise that the final product may push 70+ Lumens once they finish tweaking the LED module. The Titan uses a rotating bezel switch that adjusts through over a thousand output settings. The Titan has an integral tail cap treaded to fit most standard tri-pods so it can be used as temporary stationary lighting. The titanium body makes the light very durable and corrosion resistant.
The first 1000 of these lights will be made with a titanium body and numbered, which should be available in late March/early April. After those are gone, Surefire will start making these lights with aluminum bodies, which should drop the price, but by how much was not available. Vendors are taking pre-orders now, so if you want one, you better order one before they are gone.
Helmet Light
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| Manufacturer: Surefire |
Model: Helmet Light |
| Body Material: glass-filled nylon polymer and neoprene |
Body Color(s): Tan |
| Length: 2.6" |
Width: 1.3" |
Height: 2.2 |
Weight1: 3.1 oz. |
| Battery Qty: 1 |
Type: CR123A |
Runtime2: 6-96 hours |
| LED: |
LED Colors avail: White/Blue/LED |
| Lumens Max:19.2 |
Lumens Min:0.3 |
Brightness Levels:6 |
| Switch Type: Toggle Switch & push button |
Location: top |
| In Production?: Avalible |
MSRP: $132 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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Also worth mentioning is Surefire HL-1. Designed as a helmet light for soldiers, the HL-1 can also be adapted to be worn on a MOLLE or similar tactical vest. The HL-1 has three white LEDs and two blue secondary LEDs. I find this light to be the perfect substitute for a headlamp when I need a light to read, write or work on a patient. An IR LED on the front is a nice feature for SAR for marking your location without a blinding light interfering with patient care.
eLED Mini-Pocket Light
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| Manufacturer: UK International |
Model: eLED Mini-Pocket Light |
| Body Material: Plastic |
Body Color(s): Black, Blue, and Yellow |
| Length: 2.9" |
Width: 1.1" |
Height 0.74" |
Weight1: 1.3oz |
| Battery Qty: 2 |
Type: AAA |
Runtime2: 10-15 hours |
| LED: |
LED Colors avail: white |
| Lumenx Max:4 |
Lumens Min: |
Brightness Levels: |
| Switch Type: Twist |
Location: Bezel |
| In Production?: Avalible now |
MSRP: $20 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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UK International (formaerly known as Underwater Kinetics) has been known for their line of quality dive lights. Three upgrades of lights that could be called legacy products for UK caught my attention this year. UK International’s eLED Mini-Pocket Light and eLED Pen Light S are the same light in different packages. Both lights run on two “AAA” batteries for 14+ hours at 4 lumens. I have been using an eLED Mini-Pocket Light for about a year now at work and have found it to be a light and durable light prefect for patient care. The one feature I did not like was the clear plastic bezel, it was difficult to rotate when wet and wearing gloves. UK International has fixed this problem by covering the bezel with rubber.
eLED Zoom
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| Manufacturer: UK International |
Model: eLED Zoom |
| Body Material: Plastic |
Body Color(s): Blue, Black, Yellow |
| Length: 6.7" |
Body Dia: 1.4" |
Bezel Dia: 1.7"(approx) |
Weight1: 6.2 oz |
| Battery Qty: 4 |
Type: AA |
Runtime2: 5-25 |
| LED:2 Watt |
LED Colors avail: white |
| Lumenx Max: 40 |
Lumens Min: 13 |
Brightness Levels: 2 |
| Switch Type: push button or Bezel twist |
Location: body |
| In Production?: Avalible now |
MSRP: $50 |
| 1 with batteries 2 @ max setting / @ min setting |
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UK International has also added rubber covered bezels to the 40 lumen, 4 “AA” battery eLED Zoom and Right Angle eLED Zoom lights. Both of these lights allow the uses to adjust the beam from a narrow spot to a wide angle flood and two power settings These UL listed lights were designed for the emergency services and seem to be built suitably. The eLED Zoom is available in a Fire Light version that removes the push button on/off switch making it easier to operate while wearing heavy gloves.
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SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site. |
Contributing Editor: Alan Romania
Email: Alan Romania
Publisher and Editor: Doug Ritter
Email: Doug Ritter
URL:
http://www.equipped.org/shot_show_2007_LED_flashlights-2.htm
First Published: February 10, 2007
Email to: info@pulvertech.com
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