TYR Tactical

Archive for the ‘Lights’ Category

Betalight

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Issued to leaders in the 75th Ranger Regiment in the late 80s and early 90s, the Betalight Torch (NSN: 6260-99-965-3582) is still available today. While they fell out of use due to the proliferation of small, inexpensive flashlights Betalights still maintain a distinct appeal. As they contain gaseous tritium, they have a service life of 10 years.

Betalight Torch

In addition to the torch, Betalight also offers several other products including a map illuminator, compass, personal markers as well as aiming post lamps. For more information visit www.betalight.com.

OR Summer Market Part II

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Equipped to Survive

Doug Ritter from Equipped to Survive showed me a sample of his new micro light. It weighs ounces and can easily be clipped to key chains and zipper pulls. The light will be available soon through Adventure Medical Kits.

Doug Ritter Light

Mountain Khaki

Mountain Khaki began showing the new Snake River line which consists of a short, pant, and pant with zip-off leg in both men’s and women’s sizing. It is their first foray into synthetics. The UVA/UVB SPF 50+, 100% nylon garments are lightweight and designed to dry quickly. Look for them in early 2010.

MK Snake River Convertible Pant in Birch

Surefire

Last year we unveiled the Saint headlamp and this year we have photos of the new Minimus Saint. Oddly enough, the Minimus will reach the market before the Saint and you should begin to see them within five weeks.

Surefire's Minimus Saint

The Minimus Saint can be created from a Saint with a few simple mods which include removing the battery pack and cable. The Minimus runs on a single 123A and provides 0-110 lumens at a lightweight 3.3 ounces. There is an SOS preset for the lamp and the amount of illumination is controlled by a potentiometer. For more info visit www.surefire.com.

Tactical Trinity System by Surefire

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Based on over 30 years of tactical light development and training Surefire has determined that Law Enforcement personnel need three complimentary illumination tools to cover the full range of situations they may find themselves in. They must be able to identify threats, disorient opponents, and illuminate targets. Surefire refers to this concept as the “Tactical Trinity”.

Surefire goes on the further define the Tactical Trinity as a primary light, a backup light, and a weapon light.

Surefire E2D LED

The primary light must be handy and provide a consistent 50 lumens of light which they refer to as a tactical level of light. There are a number of lights on the market that accomplish this and at a wide variety of price points. For years I carried a Surefire 6P but these days you can get the appropriate amount of illumination at an even lower price with the Nitrolon series from Surefire. What’s more, they come in Black, Tan, OD and Yellow. Surefire has also incorporated self defensive features into their lights like those seen on the E-2D Defender above.

Surefire E1B Backup

Surefire urges the officer to select a backup light that is ultra compact yet provide the same level of light as a primary light. Some might think this is simply an excuse to get a guy to purchase an extra light but “Murphy” can rear his ugly head anywhere and there is nothing worse than needing light just when your batteries go on your primary light. Oddly enough, Surefire actually offers a light called the E1-B Backup and it is a great light. It is very compact and offers two-stage illumination. The initial click of the tailcap causes the light to provide a full 80 lumens and a second click brings it down to 5 lumens for administrative functions.

Surefire X400

The final piece of the Tactical Trinity is a weapon light which must offer “overwhelming output”, offer practical, ergonomic switching options as well as be reliable. Depending on the primary weapon, Surefire offers everything from illumination tools purpose built specifically for weapons to to the X300 and new X400 series of pistol lights. The latest in the series, the X400 also integrates a visible laser.

Surefire HL1

While Surefire has developed this philosophy specifically for the LE community, the same tenets apply to military users but I would recommend the addition of a head lamp or helmet light. Surefire has invested in development of the latest technologies including Total Internal Refection (TIR) lenses and LED lamps. It is really worth your time to speak to a Surefire representative about their entire line of illumination tools to find the right product for your needs.

For more information be sure to check out their informative website.

US Army Family of Flashlights

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

US Army’s PEO-Soldier has updated the Approved Product List for the Family of Flashlights in a message released on www.fbo.gov.

Basic White Light
ENERGIZERs 1AA LITHIUM
FIRSTLIGHTs TOMAHAWK-GP
GERBERs EXPERT M
PHANTOMs 34-S
STREAMLIGHTs TL2-LED
SUREFIREs BACKUP
SUREFIREs E2D DEFENDER
SUREFIREs E2L OUTDOORSMAN

Handfree Helmet Light
STREAMLIGHTs SIDEWINDER COMPACT

Tactical Handheld Light
ENERGIZERs GEN 2 HARD CASE
FIRSTLIGHTs TOMAHAWK-NV
GERBERs RECON M-II
PHANTOMs 41-S
SUREFIREs KROMA
STREAMLIGHTs SIDEWINDER

PowerFlares – An Alternative to Incendiary Flares

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

PowerFlare

Invented by a police officer, the PowerFlare PF-200 Electronic LED Safety Light is designed for use by police, firefighters, EMTs, rescue first responders, military, and members of emergency response teams. The applications are limited only by your imagination but work well for marking routes, drop and landing zones, and items of interest. It can also be used for IFF, Personnel Recovery, as well as illumination. In addition to a Morse Code SOS blinking feature the PowerFlare has 10 User-selectable blinking patterns.

beacon-amber-small

The advantages are obvious as PowerFlares overcome the myriad problems experienced with incendiary flares. Flares/fusees cause unintentional fires, in some cases spontaneous trunk fires, they often don’t light, leave toxic residue, and contaminate air and water. Additionally, flares are an expensive one time use item, not to mention that fusees burn out in in a mere 20 minutes.

On the other hand, PowerFlares can be used from 8 to 150 hours per battery (with a shelf life of up to 10 years) while the LED’s last for up to 100,000 hours. In addition, the systems are extremely impact resistant and can withstand the weight of a truck so they won’t need to be replaced.

PowerFlares are available in a variety of colors

PowerFlares are available in a variety of colors

Shells are available in Yellow, Orange, Blue, and OD. LEDs are offered in Amber, Blue, Green, Red, and White. Additionally, a special version of the PowerFlare is available with IR LEDs. The best value is the PF-200R 6-Pack Rechargeable System which comes with six of the PF-200R beacons packed in a recharging case. The recharger can be plugged into a vehicle hot point (12-30VDC) or wall outlet.

powerflare_6_pack_ir

They also offer storage bags in UCP as well as other colors that carry four PowerFlares.

bag4_all-small

To order visit PowerFlare Distribution Center, Inc.

Light for Life from 5.11 Tactical

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Can you imagine owning a light that was designed to hand down to your grand children? Tired of buying batteries? Weary of requiring multiple lights due to charging cycles? If your answer to any of these questions was “yes”, then you need to take a look at 5.11 Tactical’s latest product unveiled at the recent SHOT Show in Orlando.

5.11 Tactical Light for Life

The Light for Life was developed in conjunction with IVUS Energy Innovations, the makers of Flashpointâ„¢ Power Technology. Utilizing a revolutionary design the Light for Life relies on three ultra capacitors rather than traditional batteries. The capacitors are rated for 50,000 charge/discharge cycles (a charge a day for more than 135 years) with virtually no degradation.

One of the most amazing points about the light is that it charges in 90 seconds. This means, it can be recharged virtually anywhere power is available.

5.11 Tactical Light for Life

The lamp consists of three LEDs rated for over 50,000 hours (40 hours a week for over 24 years) and features three outputs:
-90 lumens for 90 minutes and then 25 lumens for 30 additional minutes
-270 lumens for 30 minutes dropping to 25 lumens for an additional 30 minutes
-Strobe

The Light for Life will float and is waterproof to 3 meters.

The Light for Life flashlight is unlike anything we’ve seen in or out of the tactical industry. At $169.99 it’s a steal. After all, with stats like that, it’s designed to outlast you. The only downside is that they aren’t available until the end of May. The light will come with a charger and belt ring.

For more information visit 5.11 Tactical.

Energizer to Launch New Lights at SHOT Show

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Last Fall we published a review of the Energizer Hard Case Tactical Light. We also posted a teaser on the new helmet light. They are being officially released at the upcoming SHOT show so we thought it would be a good time to jog everyone’s memory.

At AUSA we were able to sit down and take a look at Energizer’s new Helmet Light and as well as the Hard Case Tactical Light. Energizer is integrating state of the art technology in their line. They are using Cree lamps and Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lenses to focus the most light possible.

Energizer Hard Case Tactical 2AA Second Generation Handheld Light
Energizer Hard Case Tactical Lights
As you can see, Energizer took the lessons learned from the first generation light and applied them to the new light. The first generation light is on the left and the new second generation light is on the right.

The Second Generation Light features six light modes with high and low settings:
-Bright white, high-intensity LED (70 lumens on high)
-Red LED for light-discipline and combat conditions
-Blue LED for light-discipline and medical applications
-Green LED for light-discipline and map-reading
-Infrared (IR) light for use with night-vision devices (880 nanometer rating)
–IR strobe for Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) capability (Blink rate is two per second)

Additionally, Energizer has integrated two power features that greatly increase the utility of the light. The batteries are always inserted tip first, eliminating the need for polarity indicators and while the light runs on two AA batteries, it is fully functional with one AA battery. The other battery can be reversed inside the battery chamber as a spare.

Energizer Hard Case Tactical Helmet Light
Energizer® Hard Case® Tactical™ Helmet Light

The Helmet Light offers four light modes:
-High-intensity White LED (35 lumens)
-Blue LED for light-discipline and medical applications
-Infrared (IR) light for use with night-vision devices (880 nanometer rating)
–IR strobe flashes for Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) capability (Blink rate is two per second)

Energizer’s Smart Switch Technology controls intensity of all visible light sources, providing a “quick-extinguish” feature. The IR and Lockout modes prevent other light sources from operating in order to prevent “Light NDs”.

Energizer® Hard Case® Tactical™ Helmet Light
The light mounts to either side of helmet with a standard screwdriver and can be rotated in 18-degree increments and locked into place. It can also be removed from its mount and attached to MOLLE equipment.

Energizer® Hard Case® Tactical™ Helmet Light mounted on helmet
The light mounts flush with the bottom lip of the helmet preventing the light from accidentally breaking.

Finally, Energizer is launching three new outdoor/hunting lights. The Night Strike line has its roots in the existing Tactical lineup.
Energizer Night Strike LED Handheld Flashlight
Energizer Night Strike LED Handheld Flashlight

Energizer Night Strike Multifunction Compact LED Light
Energizer Night Strike Multifunction Compact LED Light

Energizer Night Strike Handheld Swivel LED Flashlight
Energizer Night Strike Handheld Swivel LED Flashlight

While we will publish more information soon one important feature that sets the Night Strike line apart from the Tactical line is that the IR features have been replaced with UV. This could prove very handy with LE and EMS professionals as well as hunters. Be sure to visit Energizer at the SHOT Show, Booth #601, West building, second level. Images of the new Night Strike line courtesy of Energizer.

Energizer Unveils Helmet Light

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

How serendipitous. Just as we publish our review of the Hard Case Tactical light Energizer releases two new lights. This is just a peek. We will have more details after our visit to Modern Day Marine.

Energizer Helmet Light

We took a look at this new light today and we are very excited. There will be a much more in depth article very soon but here are a few facts to whet your appetite.

Four light modes:
– High-intensity White LED (35 lumens)
– Dedicated on/off switch
– High/Medium/Low settings
– Blue LED for light-discipline and medical applications
– Dedicated on/off switch
– High/Medium/Low settings
– Infrared (IR) light for use with night-vision devices
– 880 nanometer rating
– IR strobe flashes for Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) capability
– Blink rate is two per second

Helmet mount does not protrude below rim of helmet; allowing helmet to lay flat when not being worn