home defense flashlight

[ecd1211]

I have two of the Surefire weapons lights -- an X300A on my Glock 22 and a 618FA forend for my Remington 870 shotgun. The X300A is incredibly bright and very compact.

I recently purchased a Streamlight Twin Task flashlight, which I mainly use for my early morning dogwalks. I keep it next to the bed at night, and also have a big Mag 3D with the LED bulb in a drawer underneath.

[ELB]

My $0.02,

I don't like the idea of having different guns and flashlights and knives for different purposes stashed everywhere, so my daily carry gun and carry light are also my home defense tools. (I break my own rule in the car - I often have a snubby within easy reach to repel boarders, but that's another thread).

Anywho, I have a G-2 nitrolon and it has worked out just dandy, and it was only about $35. I gave my wife the $80 NRA-logo'd combat light, which has the ring or ridge so you can clamp it between your fingers and push the tail cap button with the heel of your hand (I forget what the name of that technique is). However the two are functionally identical, and I don't like the whatsit technique anyway, so the G-2 turned out to be the far better deal (other than I guess the NRA got a contribution out of buying the logo light).

The G-2 has been very rugged -- I use it for pretty much everything (hate burning up the batteries, but hate having multiple lights, too). I carry it daily and have trained with using it with my gun of course. I also use it on volunteer firefighter calls, and it has been very handy - lately I've been almost exclusively to brush fires, several at night, and I REALLY like having a small light that can reach out a LONG way in the dark, so I can find my way around. I also use it around my little ranchette, and again it is nice to be able to scout the far tree line at night when I am out feeding the horses or whatever. I do have a handheld rechargeable spot for these duties, but it is a cheap chinese thing, winks out at odd moments, so I always have my G-2 with me. Besides, I can hold the G-2 in my mouth if I need both hands AND illumination.

Run time seems to be about what Surefire advertised, about an hour, maybe more. Hard to measure this exactly, I generally use it for short flashes.

So things I like about the G-2:

- rugged,
- reaches a long way,
- bright,
- reasonably priced
- reasonably small. I like Mag lights too, but especially when I am using my handgun, I like the much smaller G-2.

Things I don't like:
- Doesn't have a tail-cap lockout to prevent inadvertent illumination. Several times I have felt my thigh burning and realized that it got crossways in my pocket and something is pushing on the tailcap button, thus wasting battery time. I could solve this with a belt holster, but with all the other crap I have on my belt (phone, pager, gun, sometimes radio) I am loath to add another gadget.
- Seldom any indication of when the batteries are about to run out. One of the features of Surefire lights is they maintain constant brightness right to the end. The down side is the lack of fading means I only have a rough guess as to when I will have no light.
- Is just a little bulky for a pocket light, especially if I am wearing jeans.

All in all it is a great light. I will break down at some point and buy a smaller (probably Surefire) light, perhaps with an LED option for when I don't need a blinding light, but right now those run close to $300. Ouch. In the mean time I am very happy with my G-2 Nitrolon.

Hope this assist you.

elb

[Skiprr]

I don't like the idea of having different guns and flashlights and knives for different purposes stashed everywhere, so my daily carry gun and carry light are also my home defense tools.

I agree. I have a D-cell Mag-lite but about the only duty it gets is when I need to look into crannies in the garage. Not only are modern tactical lights brighter and designed to activate with an end-cap button, but I can't change pistol mags with that Mag-lite club in my left hand.

I personally believe you should be able to do (and practice) most normal pistol manipulations with your flashlight in your support hand. With my small SureFires, I can perform speed reloads and adequately handle stoppages with the light staying in my hand. I agree with Clint Smith that lanyards on lights are probably not a good thing, and if you're in an emergency situation, I can't fathom adding extra steps to pistol-handling functions by placing the flashlight between your legs or into your strong-side elbow or in a pocket while you handle the mags and slide. (Clint says a rubber "O"-ring is an option to replace the lanyard, but I've never tried that trick.)

On the subject of lights, when I took Farnam's course last October and he was talking about equipment, he reached inside his shirt and pulled out one of these tiny little things (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006I4Y2/). Think of it as a BUF, a Back-Up Flashlight. They're inexpensive, relatively bright...certainly considering they're size, can be activated either constant-on or pressure-on, and are available in various colors (like red, for instance, which provides some illumination without degrading night vision). I picked up a few of 'em: one for the keychain, one for the car, and a red one for good measure.

[Keith B]

I know many of you are die-hard 'Made in the USA' folks, but if you are not against buying a good knock-off Chinese light, check here http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.941

I have one of the rechargable tactical lights with a 3W CREE LED. It is extremely bright and has low, high and strobe settings. Mine uses an 18650 cell, but I would recommend the 2 cell CR123A lights.