I don’t believe there has ever been a better selection of tactical lights on the market than there is today. While some do over-emphasize the blinding power of these little hand-held torches, the fact remains that the "tactically aware" individual must have a means of putting bright, momentary light where and when he or she needs it. It’s easy enough to say, "If you don’t have a small, bright flashlight, you should get one." Confronted with the wide array of choices, however, the average light buyer might give up in confusion.
I won’t begin to try to examine all the lights out there, as this would be nearly impossible for a single individual. What I have done is choose four different lights that represent three convenient categories of hand torches: conventional, Xenon, and LED.
Conventional flashlights are the simple torches with which we’re all familiar. These include everything from a cheap plastic 2-D-Cell light in the kitchen junk drawer to the 2AA Mini Maglites I used to consider the standard in illumination preparation. Powered by household batteries and using small, relatively weak bulbs, conventional lights work but put out relatively anemic brightness. The conventional light used in our comparison is a 2AA MiniMaglite in anodized silvertone aluminum.
Xenon-bulb lights, by contrast, seem to be the most popular tactical torches. Small and incredibly bright, these are normally powered by "special" batteries (such as the 3-volt lithium cells my Xenon-bulb lights use) available in most places where camera batteries are sold. Such batteries are not hard to obtain, but they are more expensive and less common than household cells. Xenon lights are essentially conventional lights "burning" at an amplified rate – or at least this is how they seem to the naked eye. Total burn time for a Xenon light is not very long on one set of batteries. They exhaust their power supplies quickly.
The Xenon light used in our comparison is a Streamlight Scorpion. One hears of the SureFire tactical Xemon-bulb lights more often than the Streamlight models, but both are good brands and both are very popular.
LED Lights offer a "colder," diffuse light from LED lamps that, one can usually assume, should last the working life of the torch. The average LED tactical light has multiple LEDs, which simultaneously emit a circle of useful light. LED light always looks vaguely tinted to my eyes, even when emitted from torches promising "true white light." For our comparison I selected two LED lights: an Inova X5 and a CMG EquipmentReactor. The Inova uses lithium cells, while the Reactor is powered by two AA household cells.
Easily my favorite from among the tested lights is the Streamlight Scorpion. This stubby and incredibly bright tactical light pumped out the most brightness (to the naked eye) from among the test lights. The beam is powerful and sharply defined.
The Scorpion is five inches long and has a rubberized shaft that provides great traction for the hand. The tailcap switch has a momentary-on setting, which is necessary for tactical applications. With a deeper (but audible) "click," the tailcap button can switch the light to "always-on" mode. I found this arrangement far preferable to those Xenon-bulb lights that require the user to turn the entire endcap to switch to always-on, as there is no need to reposition your grip on the light when using the Streamlight’s tailcap button.
I carry my Scorpion in a Dave Abrams leather sheath. The sheath rides high in head-up position as a nod to the shape of the light. Dave’s work is very good. The stitching is well done, the belt loops fit a standard belt (they are only slightly irregular and fit my belts well), and the sheath grips the Scorpion’s rubber shaft with enough tension to be secure but not too tight.
CMG Equipment Reactor
The Reactor was a real disappointment as a light. I bought it because it was relatively inexpensive and offered LED light from household 2AA batteries. The packaging promises "true white light" that is supposed to be impressively bright. Unfortunately, the light from my Reactor was neither
The Reactor can only be activated in always-on mode. This is done by twisting the awkward, bulbous plastic head of the torch. Mine is either defective or the design is questionable, because it does not always activate properly. Tweaking the position of the Reactor’s head after twisting it will usually result in full activation, producing a weak and blue-tinted light that doesn’t impress me much at all. At six inches long, the torch is long and skinny but simultaneously bulkier than it needs to be.
Inova X5
I’d wanted an Inova X5 for quite some time before I received one for evaluation, so I spent considerable time experimenting with it. I believe a quality LED torch like the X5 provides a viable alternative to Xenon-bulb lamps, as it produces a generous quantity of light in a small, tactical package without the liability of quick-consumption Xenon bulbs.
The Inova X5 is four and five-eighths inches long. It supposedly has a two mile signal visibility and a 120-feet effective range. The packaging promises that the Inova is waterproof to 150 feet. As mentioned earlier, the LED bulbs are expected to last the working life of the light. The circle of illumination produced by the Inova is tinted blue and has a diffuse perimeter.
The small cylinder that is the Inova is a very compact and handy package, though it does feel a little more slippery than I would prefer. The tailcap switch provides momentary-on function. Twisting the entire tailcap can put the light in always-on mode or, to prevent premature battery depletion, always-off mode.
A good tactical light requires a sheath for hands-free carry, in my opinion. I purchased this handy nylon unit fromCounty Comm. While a cheap Chinese import, the sheath does the job. It is fully adjustable (the belt loops have Velcro closures and the face of the sheath is covered in Velcro for flap closure) and keeps the light close to the body along the belt line, where I like it.
2AA Mini Maglite
For years I thought the last word in flashlights was the Maglite line. While these conventional lights are no longer the cutting edge of tactical lighting, they are still very good torches. They’re also reasonably inexpensive and very widely available. My 2AA Mini Maglite has comfortable knurling on its five and three-quarters inch aluminum body (it does not feel awkward like the CMG Reactor does). There’s a keyring hole that can also be used for lanyard attachment.
The light is activated by twisting the head. The size of the beam is also adjusted this way. One very nice feature of these little lights is that the head can be unscrewed completely and used as a stand to convert the entire light into an electric candle. I’ve used Mini Maglites for room lighting in power outages.
The Mini Maglite produces a respectable and sharply defined beam at its tightest setting. It is not nearly as powerful as the Xenon-bulb Scorpion, but I’d take it over the CMG Reactor’s weak beam any day.
Head to Head
When looking to equip yourself with a tactical light, I would therefore recommend that you purchase either a Xenon-bulb light or a multiple LED light comparable to the Inova X5. As you can see in these comparison photos, the Inova offers a more compact package than most of its Xenon-bulb competitors (I used a different SureFire copy for the photos below), but the Xenon-bulb lights offer a slight advantage in brightness and beam definition. In the photo series that follows, I’ve taken pictures of the beams from the Xenon light (left) and the Inova (right) both side to side and head-on for the camera.
Buy A Light
All right – that’s as complicated as I’m going to allow this to become. A good tactical light is a necessity for everyone who wants to be prepared to face the risks of our modern society. The ability to put light when and where you want it, and do so with sufficient power and authority, is not something you can dismiss. You are now equipped with the very basics of comparative tactical lighting. Take a look in your wallet and see what you’ve got to get one.