A good duty light should be easily carried on a duty belt, provide adequate illumination up to 50 yards away, and be long enough that it protrudes from both sides of a fist so the light can act as a last-ditch impact weapon. The light should also be able to be used in conjunction with a sidearm in the Harries or Rogers technique. Xenon bulbs put out a tight beam and mega amounts of lumens; but they eat batteries and the lamp assemblies are expensive when you need a new bulb. LEDs, on the other hand, are rapidly approaching the light output of xenon at 50 yards or so. These models became available in 2009.
Duty Flashlights: 2009
Brite-Strike may be a fairly young flashlight company, but the founders are former cops. These guys took their knowledge from the time they spent on the street and built lights to fill the vacancies that they feel other manufacturers have. Brite-Strike's lights are designed to give officers a multi-purpose light. They are sized small enough to fit in the palm of your hand or comfortably in a pants pocket, yet they are long enough to be a last resort impact weapon. The Blue Dot 198 Series of lights offers a couple of versions of end caps: hi/lo/strobe, or momentary/hi output, both with an output of up to 198 lumens. This allows you to decide what will best serve your needs.
PentagonLight's Porcupine is a handheld tactical-style light that runs on two CR-123A and puts out 70 lumens. It's made from military-grade aluminum with the light and battery compartments O-ring sealed so you can safely operate it in the wettest of conditions. What sets this light apart and gives it its name is a retractable lamp bezel that has several sharp serrations which are quickly and easily exposed, and just as quickly retracted, allowing you to use the Porcupine as an impact weapon. While it may sound mean, this light will mark the person you use it on, helping ID the perpetrator. PentagonLight's Porcupine has a clip that secures the light where you put it. It's also roll-proof, thanks to its pentagon-shaped tail cap.
The newest player in the market is 5.11 Tactical with the Light for Life. This fl ashlight is a radical departure from your everyday light in that it has no batteries. Ivus Energy Innovations developed Flashpoint Power Technology, a way to allow a capacitor to "bleed" off its energy and run a light. It operates through the use of computerized digital circuitry and ultra capacitors, allowing the light to go from no charge to full charge in about 90 seconds. Because it can be recharged 500,000 cycles and has a bulb life of 50,000 hours, this could be the ideal light for your cruiser, station, or anywhere you want to ensure you have a light for daily or emergency use.
BlackHawk Products Group's Gladius Maximis offers good anti-roll capability. A cross-finger grip on the tail cap keeps the light from rolling and works well when holding the light for the Rogers technique. But what makes the Gladius truly versatile is its end cap. Not only is it the on/off switch, but rotating the cap gives you a low beam, high beam, or a strobe light depending on how far you turn it. You can also lock out the switch so you don't accidentally turn it on. The idea of multiple light output options is appealing for DUI checkpoints, because the low light is excellent for checking IDs, while the high output setting lends itself to use for searches and the strobe helps when approaching a suspect.
Pelican Products flashlights have become trusted and combat proven, in use by many agencies here in the U.S. and by the troops in "The Sandbox." Pelican has introduced an affordable LED clip-it duty light that runs on AA batteries. The light arrived at the SHOT Show in January. Not only does it put out 100 lumens, but it retails for less than $50. Especially because the 2360 operates on affordable and accessible AA batteries, this light is a steal by today's standards, where duty lights generally start at $100.
A Maglite may seem old-school to many; it's just as functional today as it was 20-plus years ago. All the cool hightech handheld light sabers we call tac lights are not designed for work on traffic details. There is still a need for a light that has a long runtime and offers a decent output of light to identify people, yet won't blind yourself or others when doing close quarters inspections. One thing the wonder lights can't do is be used as a window persuader. While this may not be a prescribed use of a light, it's useful for successfully opening windows to gain access into vacant buildings to do searches. Maglite has also led the way with brighter krypton and xenon bulbs, giving users light outputs from 36 to 233 lumens.
The T-4 rechargeable light from Inova (Emissive Energy) is a 9-inch O-ring-sealed aluminum multi-function light. Its body is completely checkered, with the push button located near the light bezel. This allows you to operate the light with either your pinky finger or thumb with ease. The ease of operation means the T-4 is a good light for use with your weapon if you use the Harries method. The T-4's lithium-ion battery will run for up to two hours, and I have found the batteries to hold a charge for many weeks. Once the batteries are drained they will recharge in approximately a half-hour. At full power the T-4's light is visible for up to three-and-a-half miles with useful light out to 100-plus yards.
Another example of a rechargeable duty light is Insight Tech-Gear's H2X Arcturus. Its Dura-Last LEDs produce a maximum output of 150 lumens controlled by a multi-function tail cap that gives you constant, bright, strobe, or S.O.S. light modes. Built tough, the Arcturus is waterproof to 15 feet and made with lightweight aerospace anodized aluminum. Runtime is approximately three hours on a full charge. The charge will last for a full 12-hour night shift. The Arcturus is easy to use with a handgun, no matter which light technique you choose. The flat of the light mates up well with the grip of various handguns using the Rogers method. This flat gives you a nearly perfect two-handed grip-something fully round flashlights can't claim.
A familiar name to law enforcement but new to the world of lights is Leupold. The company's modular MX Series allows you to build a light to fit your needs. Choose a two- or three-cell main tube, xenon or LED bulbs, multiple or single function bezel with a constant on or momentary tail cap. All the parts are manufactured from T6061 aerospace-grade aluminum and the seals are waterproof to four atmospheres. The light used the two-cell CR123A body and the tactical MX400 bezel. This gives you a dim light, bright, strobe, or blinking option in a handheld unit. Leupold installs a heavy-duty clip and a lanyard so you can maintain possession of your light even when doing reloads or other activities that require two hands.
First-Light USA developed and introduced an impressively innovative light for duty a few years ago: the Liberator. This light truly leaves your hands wide open to manipulate your weapon, work with your K-9, frisk or handcuff a suspect, or give you a true two-handed mount on your weapon. The Liberator slides over your hand and is operated with the thumb of whichever hand you choose to use. Controls are positioned on top of the light, providing easy access to go from lo-beam to full intensity with a simple push of a button. First-Light offers the Liberator in several configurations, including one with a strobe and one with a task light. This light can also be operated from its belt holder, leaving your hands completely free.
When it comes to "traditional, old school" lights, SureFire has been setting the pace for years. The L7 Digital Lumamax is manufactured from Mil-Spec Type III hard-anodized aluminum with an LED bulb. The light runs on a B90 rechargeable battery. Two batteries and a charger are included in the kit. The LED lamp window is tempered Pyrex, so it will survive the hottest of temperatures. The L7 runs for about two hours. SureFire claims two and a half hours. Of course, temperature and climate will affect the runtime. The battery will recharge to full power in approximately 20 minutes.
Streamlight's NightFighter LED is a multi-function light that can be used with or without its finger-grip ring and has both constant and momentary "on" settings. The tail cap is recessed just enough to prevent you from accidentally hitting the light when you don't want to, but sticks out enough so you can use most any light technique of your choosing with it. One feature that sets the NightFighter apart is its anti-roll head. The bezel has three large flats that keep the light from rolling off of a vehicle's hood or any but the steepest-angled surfaces.
The DVF-500 from Digital Ally has a complete digital video system integrated into a water- and shock-resistant, machined aluminum flashlight. This tough flashlight features unbreakable LED lights and records onto solid state memory, which is not affected by temperature, vibration, or impacts and will retain your data even if the battery goes dead. Audio/video may be recorded with or without the lights active. The wide-angle lens allows recording without careful aiming and pre-event recording allows up to 60 seconds before pressing the record button to also be recorded. The rechargeable LiIon battery pack lasts up to 16 hours and the memory will hold up to eight hours of footage.