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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
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Comparative Tactical Lighting: The Amateur’s Introduction
By Phil
Elmore
From left to right: Streamlight Scorpion, CMG
Equipment
Reactor, Inova X5, and 2AA Mini Maglite.
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.
From left to right: Streamlight Scorpion, CMG
Equipment
Reactor, Inova X5, and 2AA Mini Maglite torch faces.
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 Mini
Maglite 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 Equipment
Reactor.
The Inova uses lithium cells, while the Reactor is powered by two AA household
cells.
Light emitted, left to right, from Streamlight Scorpion,
CMG
Equipment
Reactor, Inova X5, and 2AA Mini Maglite.
Streamlight Scorpion
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.
Streamlight Scorpion beam registry on camera.
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.
Dave Abrams leather sheath. Hand-
crafted with good workmanship.
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.
CMG Equipment Reactor beam registry on camera.
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.
Inova X5 beam registry on camera.
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 from
County
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.
County Comm imported horizontal Nylon sheath for
Inova X5.
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.
Mini Maglite beam registry on camera.
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.
Xenon light and Inova X5 go head to head.
Xenon light beam registry on camera.
Inova X5 beam registry under the same conditions.
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.
Now go out there and buy a light.
