What light do you carry on your belt?

[scottyb]

Fenix LD20

Super Bright with adjustable brightness and runs on AA's. No more stupid expensive CR123's.

http://www.fenixlight.com/viewnproduct.asp?id=52

 

[medichopeful]

As of about an hour and a half ago, a Surefire 6P LED.

 

[MedicSqrl]

walmart LED light...works awesome and it was free.

 

[tactics]

A Leatherman Wave mult-tool and a super bright LED light on my key chain. You'd be suprised at how many time the mult-tool comes in handy. Especially when you must break in to a home for code, because no one is there to open the door and the pt. obviously can't. This done only after getting permission from a deputy and dipatch.

 

[tactics]

Sorry the S key and I key were sticking on my keyboard, bad spelling kills me.

 

[MIkePrekopa]

I have a few lights.
One I got as a gift, its one of those 10 for $5 lights, runs on 3 AAA batteries, its a mediocre little light good for simple things.
One I got from walmart on a late night "I'm bored" trip there with some college buddies. 1AA and a decent beam at house hold/ under hood distances, but once you go down the road the beam gets weak.
One is a light I got on clearance from K-mart for $5, 3AAA, decently bright and it has a red LED on it as well as 5 white LEDs. pretty decent light, when I can remember where I put it.
I also have an assortment of MagLights that includes 2 2AA Mini-Mag, 1 1AAA mini-mag they is attached to my keys, and a 3D MagLight that stays in my vehicle.

All of these are in various stages of "known locations"... I know where my D cell is (kinda hard to misplace) and I can normally find 2 or 3 of the others when need be.

I just purchased a SureFire E2D LED. saved $15 by getting one that said "NRA" on the side, (yes im an NRA member) but $150 is a lot... I figured it isn't just some el cheapo and will be one I take care of and should last for a while, plus I hear great things about them.

I almost always have my Kmart or walmart light with me, if not both because they fit in my pocket well. Both are small and fit in the palm of your hand.

 

[Cake]

just curious why more folks don't seem to carry/wear headlamps? sure they kinda make you look goofy, but hands free light has to count for something

 

[adamjh3]

Day shift gets my Eagletac P10A, nights/24s get my Olight M20.

 

[clibb]

I have been through all of the cheap $10 flashlights and I'm sick of it. I decided to invest in this light tonight.
http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=124

Hopefully, this one will do the trick. I'm not going to spend $100 on a flashlight which I know I will drop somewhere

I was also looking into the XL100 maglite, but I don't think I need 5 different selections on my light.

 

[Bullets]

Carry a LED AA maglite in my leg pocket, and i have a Stinger LED also. Our ambulances used to have laptops mounted on post bu they got rid of them and left the post. The stinger slides perfectly into the hole, so its right there when i get out of the truck.

My other squad i carry a Pelican 7060 which is a better light by far. Brighter, same size, lighter, and has a dual switch

 

[HotelCo]

I use the 'just light' app on my iPhone.

 

[socalmedic]

i use my pelican 7060, when it works. It is by far the brightest compact light on the market. but be weary that they do have some internal issues that pelican does not deny. good thing they have a lifetime warranty, i have gone through about 5 in the year that I have had mine. Streamlights are good to but i cant afford the 3v battery's to run it.

 

[Bullets]

i use my pelican 7060, when it works. It is by far the brightest compact light on the market. but be weary that they do have some internal issues that pelican does not deny. good thing they have a lifetime warranty, i have gone through about 5 in the year that I have had mine. Streamlights are good to but i cant afford the 3v battery's to run it.

really? ive had my 7060 for almost 2 years now, use it practically every day and ive never had a problem outside of exterior cosmetic scratches

 

[DesertMedic66]

i have a streamlight that i use for camping but its big so i only use it for camping. for work i use a cheapy. $5 for 2 at autozone. and then a waterproof light from Kmart that was $30. they easly fit in a small pocket and are bright enough for me.

 

[325Medic]

Streamlight Polytac L.E.D. / 120 lumens on my belt.

325.

 

[dixie_flatline]

I will somewhat shamefully admit that I still carry a surefire 6PX in my right hip/thigh pocket.

Yes, we do have several torches on board the unit, but they are all approximately this size and shape:

No one ever grabs them unless they absolutely know they're going to be looking in the dark for something. Even on most highway accidents at night, they will rely on the responding engine or borrow a light from a trooper. With the surefire I always have a bright light on me, and it is small enough that it's not a bother to carry all the time.

 

[CANMAN]

I also have been using the Streamlight Polytac while on duty. The area I work in can be fairly shady at times, alot of the house we run into either don't have electricity at all or minimal amount of lamps etc. I work in two other jurisdictions and have never really ran into a ton of situations that warrented always having a flashlight on my person but my full-time county most definately does just because of the type of area I think. I don't carry it the entire shift, just on all calls at nighttime.

I just upgraded today as a matter of fact. Not sure if any of you have heard about them but just purchased a Rigid Industries light. Its 99 bucks and packs 700 lumens of light. Full re-chargeable, this was the problem with my Streamlight it takes non-chargeable lithium batteries.

Check them out:
http://www.rigidindustries.com/product-p/rgdfllp.htm

Pretty impressive video"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG4Sc0aKtHY

 

[JJR512]

For a long time, I carried the Surefire 6P original black aluminum xenon light.

http://www.thefirestore.com/store/product.cfm/pid_5635_surefire_6p_led_high_output_flashlight_black/

This one at the link is LED but mine is xenon, and was less expensive. They look identical. I still have it and it still works fine. I've moved it over to a flashlight holder on my radio holder strap.

What I replaced it with on my belt is the Surefire G2LF. It's the same form factor as the 6P.

http://www.thefirestore.com/store/p...f_fire_rescue_2_cell_nitrolon_led_flashlight/

What I like about it over the 6P are that it's lighter (due to the yellow polymer body), it's brighter (due to being LED), the batteries will last longer (again due to being LED), and it has a cool-looking yellow body with little Scotchlite reflective bits on it. Actually, the reflective bits come pre-cut on a sheet and it's up to the user to apply them. I applied mine just like in the picture, but there were twice as many as were needed, so I took the extras and put them on a yellow Surefire G2 (http://www.thefirestore.com/store/p...ackjack_helmet_mount_flashlight_holder_combo/) that I have on my helmet!

When it comes to lighting, I believe in being over-prepared. All three lights I've mentioned are either the original Surefire 6P or a variation of it. They all use the same kind of battery (two per light), the CR-123. I have six extra batteries in a sort of canister designed expressly for that purpose (http://www.thefirestore.com/store/product.cfm/pid_2158_surefire_spares_carrier/), which when I do EMS I do not have on my person but in a personal bag on the ambulance. When I do fire (still only in training), I will be bringing that spare battery can in a turnout pocket. In general, I always have at least two lights on me, including the G2LF on my belt and a penlight, with the possibility of having up to four including the G2 on my helmet and the 6P on the radio strap.

 

[dixie_flatline]

....
In general, I always have at least two lights on me, including the G2LF on my belt and a penlight, with the possibility of having up to four including the G2 on my helmet and the 6P on the radio strap.

Seriously though that is a lot of light. Can you even open that canister with fire gloves on, change the batteries, and keep going in any reasonable amount of time? The batteries in those lights (all of them) should last a lot longer than any air you'll be on. I guess I'm failing to see the need for 3 extra sets of batts on your person (let alone possibly 4 lights).

 

[JJR512]

Seriously though that is a lot of light. Can you even open that canister with fire gloves on, change the batteries, and keep going in any reasonable amount of time? The batteries in those lights (all of them) should last a lot longer than any air you'll be on. I guess I'm failing to see the need for 3 extra sets of batts on your person (let alone possibly 4 lights).

In general I'm not afraid of the dark any more than the average person. I've had to find my way out of unfamiliar, zero-light structures three times. All were training scenarios in which I knew my life was safe. I understand the need to learn how to do it in total darkness, and I support that kind of training. But would turning on a light have made it easier to get out? Absolutely! If it was a real-world situation and I had at least one working light on me, would I decide to not use it just because I've training on how to get out in total darkness? Hell no!

My gloves do not impede dexterity as much as most cheap structural gloves do. I have never tried changing the batteries on any of these flashlights with my gloves on, but based on some other things I've done while wearing them, I believe it's at least possible. Thanks for mentioning that, though; maybe it's something I should try and practice. Is it a particular skill I'm likely to need often? No, but perhaps having something specific to try as a drill will help me improve my dexterity while wearing those gloves. But as you said, the air in my SCBA will most likely run out before the batteries do, which means maybe I can change them when I'm not in an IDLH atmosphere and can take the gloves off. On the other hand, this assumes the batteries are fresh when I first go into the IDLH atmosphere.

Is it more than I need? Most likely. But as I said, that's my intent. It's easier to function in a lit environment than a dark environment.

And I haven't even mentioned my Streamlight Survivor yet...