News from Center Target Sports

The revolution in small, powerful, handheld tactical lights started by Surefire many years ago has now come to fruition. The market is exploding with lights from what seem like dozens of new manufacturers, all of them small, handheld and very bright. What makes one better than another? Which one is right for you? I will try to briefly describe the important features that differentiate one light from another.

LED vs. Incandescent
Incandescent lights are the kind that Thomas Edison invented, and that you grew up with. Incandescent lamps are fragile because both the filament and the glass enclosure containing the gas can break. By contrast, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are essentially glowing pieces of a very special kind of sand. They have no easily breakable parts and are inherently shock-resistant. The bottom line is that incandescent technology is all but obsolete now.

Lumens And Such...
Lumens is a measure of the total light output of a lamp. Candlepower is a measure of the brightest spot in the total output. They vary independently and are not convertible to one another. The corona is the area in which light falls and is measured in degrees from the lamp; the larger the corona, the larger the area that the lamp illuminates. For tactical use we want a large amount of output - that is, lumens. We also want a uniform corona, without dark spots, and LEDs generally have an edge here. Throw denotes how distant the light remains useful for object or people identification. Note that for a given lumen output, you generally trade throw for corona size.

Impact, Size and Output
We drop stuff a lot, and bang it around even more. You want a light that can literally be thrown hard onto a concrete floor and keep ticking.

Powerfully bright lights are now available in very small packages. Although I believe that the original 5-inch or so length is ergonomically optimal.

Most people agree that 60 lumens is the floor for a tactical light. I recommend at least 80.

Switching
I recommend a tail-cap switch should have momentary-on capability. A side-body switch can't be as safely manipulated during a tactical search with a gun deployed.

Batteries
In the old days, you had to go with expensive CR123A lithium batteries to get "tactical" amounts of output. Today, with advances in LED technology, tactical lights can be powered by common AA (and even AAA) alkaline batteries. Also, 123A batteries have come down in price.

Strobing
Strobing is becoming a common feature in tactical lights, and experience to date indicates that it is indeed useful for subject disorientation, distraction, and blinding.

LED technology
At the high end of this product class, only the very best LEDs will produce the whitest light, the longest run time, and so on. Every manufacturing cycle produces LEDs of varying quality, and those designated "Bin 1" are the best (Bin 1 LEDs may be only 1 percent of a manufacturing lot.) Manufacturers vary in quality, too; look for LEDs from Cree and LUXEON in high-end lights. Lights with less expensive LEDs will still work fine, but the difference between the light from the best LEDs and the more yellow or more blue light from less expensive LEDs is comparable to the difference between a regular duty handgun and a fine gun with extensive gunsmithing.

Bottom line, try before you buy and look for the manufacturer's warranty. Higher end lights will come with lifetime guarantees and no longer cost you a month's pay.