Archive
Tag "flashlight"

cimg0387
…because hell just froze over! The loooooooooooooong awaited Surefire UB3T Invictus just showed up at GearScout HQ. I have to say it looks like it was worth the wait. We haven’t gotten any further than the unboxing, but it’ll get a good look shortly.

Here’s a peek and some specs to hold you over ’till we can do it up right for you:

  • 8 to 800 lumens in 7 steps.
  • Strobe.
  • SOS modes.
  • Runs for almost 2 hours on 3 CR123s.
  • Has a LED battery indicator.
  • Two stage switch, so full power is only a hard press of the tailcap away.
  • It’s damned expensive.
Read More

ORSM10
Surefire released a quartet of new lights at Outdoor Retailer that lowers the entry price of the marque brand’s 2 cell handhelds. The new additions are the polymer body G2X, and the aluminum body 6PX. Both come in two versions; choose from a “tactical”, momentary, single stage tailswitch, or a “pro” dual stage, clicky tailswitch (which is similar in operation to the E1B Backup). The tactical versions put out 200 lumens, while the pro versions do 15 and 200 lumens.

In order to lower the price, the new lights have redesigned heads that are fixed in place. They aren’t removable, as they are in the G2 and 6P. The lights do retain the lock-out tailcap, though.

The MSRP of the polymer body G2X Tactical/Pro is $55/$65 while the aluminum body 6PX Tacitcal/Pro is $69/$79.

Read More

Remix Pro
Details:

  • 1 white LED with high/low settings for the main light.
  • Secondary 3 LED array with high/low settings for wider (task) lighting. This secondary light LED is either red, green or white depending on the model.
  • Runs on 1 CR123; 4 hours on high using main LED, 5 hours on high using secondary LEDs.
  • 66 grams with battery
  • Water resistant
  • MSRP $60

Pros:

  • White and red light- great admin use light.
  • Rotating head- the head rotates up and down on its mount. We found the click stops held the orientation securely.
  • White light is bright and tight- high power plus the telescopic beam shape gives awesome range for it’s size.
  • Red light this bright is unusual- most red lights are barely usable for navigation. This one lights a path 3-5ft out in front of you.
  • Compact package- lightweight, too.
  • Durable.

Cons:

  • Soft touch switch design is an accidental activation nightmare.
  • Short battery life. In practical use, the battery life appeared shorter since the light was often found on when stored in a pocket or pouch.
  • Low setting is too bright- Low setting on the main LED is way too bright for many close-in uses. Know that if you buy the red or green models, you’re only going to get effective task/reading light in red or green.
  • Polymer lens-  The plastic lens scratches easily and will affect beam quality and range before too long.

Bottom line- We can’t recommend this light for tactical use. 2 out of 3 times I grabbed the light from a MOLLE pouch its was already on. This is a security issue, as well as a power management issue. Princeton Tec needs to add a far stiffer switch, alter the UI so its not activated by a single button press or add a mechanical lockout.

That’s a drag because the light is quite useful otherwise.

Read More

Surefire HL1 Ratchet Mount
Surefire addressed a key gripe users have voiced about their popular HL1 helmet light with the new “ratchet mount”. The new mount allows the light to be aimed up or down. Where the old mount only worked on the left side, the ratchet mount rotates 180 degrees so users can put the light on the right side of thier helmet.  The new mount replaced the low profile mount all all new lights that shipped out as of last week, 7/23/2010.

Guys that use the Surefire HL1 have been looking wistfully at the twisty Energizer Hard Case helmet light since it came out. The Hard Case made it on the Army’s family of flashlights list, while the Surefire didn’t, probably because it rotated and could mount righty/lefty.

Surefire is still mulling over what to do with the old mount. The new mount has a pretty chunky profile when compared to the original. Also, the original mount is jump certified, where the replacement is not. At least, not yet.

UPDATE: Video Added.

Read More

INOVA sale

We’ve heard from a couple of sources that Emissive Energy Corp. just sold its INOVA line of flashlights to Nite Ize. You’ve seen the little colored INOVA pinchlights on sale for $5 in every PX/BX/NEX/Trailer/HadjiShop on the planet.

Emissive seems to be keeping the military focused InForce flashlight line, though. We’re chasing the story down and will update when we get an official response from either of the players. UPDATE: It’s official. See the press release on the jump. Emissive released the original made-in-the-U.S. InForce lights in 2008 and followed up with the 6/9v models last year.

Read More