Hi Swampdonkey,

I have the Fenix T1 and it is an impressive Flashlight and has an excellent smooth powerful beam. Only Flashlights equipped with the SSC P7 LED will better it. It is also one tough flashlight.

The T1 is available at a lower cost than the TK10 at around $68

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=386

Your decision between a T1, TK10 and the TK11 will probably be determined by the cell choice. The TK11 will take a 18650 cell which will give slightly better runtimes than the TK10 using 2 CR123As. The TK11 probably fits all your requirements. The TK11 will also take CR123s as well.

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=497

I have also just recently got a monster flashlight for home and possibly vehicle use, the Aurora AK-P7-3 SSC P7-C 5-Mode LED Flashlight. It's just slightly smaller and lighter than a Maglite 2C. It gives a huge bright smooth beam with a Lumen rating around 600-800.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14212

Thanks for the reply Am_Fear_Liath_mor,

I was not aware of the Fenix T1 as my local suppler does not stock it?

It is proabaly going to be a decision between the Fenix TK10 or TK11; is the only real difference between these 2 lights the availability of the rechargable battery in the TK11?

The reason I ask is because I will be using CR123A batteries anyway because we buy them in bulk at work.

Mike

I think that's the only difference, as far as I can tell from the specs. The TK11 can use both CR123's or a lithium ion rechargeable. But, if you can get CR123's from work, the TK10 is an excellent choice.

Rechargeable lithium ion-powered lights, obviously, have the advantage of being...well...rechargeable, but they also have the nasty habit of suddenly shutting off when the battery voltage gets too low and the cell's protection circuit switches off to prevent battery damage. That would be one difference between using your old NiCd-powered lights and today's lithium ion-powered rechargeable lights. At least with CR123's, the light will dim first so you have some warning while still having usable light for a fairly significant length of time.

I'm not in the law enforcement biz, but I am a flashlight nut, so here are a few personal comments:

My experience with Fenix lights (AA versions) has been mixed. They are VERY bright and very efficient in battery usage. But out of the four I own, one suffered substantial problems. It didn't fail entirely (high mode still works) but it lost low mode and nobody can give me an answer as to why. That has punctured my confidence. I still use them, but I make a point of having a backup light.

In contrast, the five Streamlight LED lights I have are heavy, old tech, bombproof, and utterly reliable. They inspire absolute confidence for me; I have yet to find a reason to doubt their reliability. (I have a wholesale source and need to try out the C4s, which are likely select versions of Cree or Phillips LEDs.)

Anyway, FWIW, If my bacon was on the line I'd carry a Streamlight.

Let me suggest you take a look at the Wolf Eyes flashlight line from Pacific Tactical at: www.pts-flashlights.com/

I have two of their lights and have been completely satisfied. You will find several models of LED rechargeable lights that meet all of the requirements you listed and at a reasonable price. Their Sniper series has several models that you might check out.

Arney and Herb,

Wolf Eyes seem like quality lights but I cannot find a Canadian retailer, that is a problem with this purchase.

Mike

Hey, what do you think of the Aurora? That looks interesting.

Also, how is the regulation? Does it step down quickly? (Unfortunately, there's nothing about it on flashlightreviews.com.)

And why am I suspicious of a 900-lumen light for $60?

Edit: I just read some reviews. Sounds like it's mostly spill with little throw, i.e., a wide beam that doesn't travel as far as one might hope. Build quality also seems to be a bit lacking. Anyway, not a bad deal, but I wish the beam extended a little further...

Pacific Tactical Solutions is the sole US Wolf Eyes distributor and by default, I guess they're also for Canada. They do ship to Canada from what I have heard. I have bought from PTS in the past with no problems.

You should at least peruse their website, which focuses on tactical lights. There are other brands that maybe you have never heard about before, like Olight and Tiablo, which are well known to the flashlight crowd but unknown outside that circle.

Just to be the exception to the rule, I had a Fenix conk out on me, apparently bad electronics or a lost connection to the LED somehow. Which isn't a ding on Fenix, they're my main flashlight, I love their LED AAs for light and reliability.

If you sincerely want mission critical, carry two, or three. I'd never put me or my 'mission' in the hands of a single bit of electronics.

Ditto on losing flashlights in the dark - I have a glow in the dark tail ring on one that countycomm once sold for Fenix flashlights, on the other I just ran some yellow electrical tape around the middle, it helps to make it more visible in the dark or in my carry bag.

The manufacturers specification for the Aurora is listed as follows on the Deal Extreme Website;



The emitter is definitely an SSC P7, although whether it is a C-bin or not is difficult to determine.

I have only used 18650 cells so far so the input voltage hot of the charger has only been 8.2 volts. I don't think I would use RCR123s as this would probaly be near the limit for the input voltage. Ordinary CR123As would be probably be OK but the cells would most likely rattle around inside. The 18650 cells are already somewhat loose inside the battery compartment of the Aurora flashlight. With some 18650 flashlights the fit can be somewhat tight depending on the the make of the 18650 cell.
The rated current passing through the P7 has been rated at 2.96 A. This is difficult to determine but the current drawn from the cells was measured by myself at a maximum of 1.45A at 8.2 volts, so I guess after stepping down to the LED voltage the 2.96A claim is not over exaggerated. If the emitter is a C-bin then the power dissapated would be around 3.6V*2.9A = 10.5 W which, at around 60-80 lumen/watt, would give around 600-800 Lumen.

The 5 mode switching order is correct. There does seem to be an issue with the Aurora remembering the last mode. The Aurora needs to be turned of for quite a period of time for it to remember the last mode otherwise it will proceed on to the next mode.

The runtime using 2 18650 cells at 2200 mA would be probably be around 1.5 to 2.0 hrs on High mode. About 10-11 hrs on Medium mode and more than 50hrs on Low mode.

The beam is very wide with lots of spill. The centre hot spot would be about as intense as a Fenix T1 on turbo mode but slightly wider and less well defined as it diffuses into the spill region. The overall spill of the Aurora has about 1/3 larger diameter compared to the Fenix T1 at a slightly lower intensity. The Aurora isn't a thrower but the beam is very satifactory and a good colour being a slightly yellowish white i.e. similar to the Lumileds Rebel output. I would say that the range of the Aurora would be comparable to the Fenix T1 (claimed 200 metres) but illuminates a wider scene especially nearby. The wider spill will be due to the design of the SSC P7 emitter and design of the optics and will mostly likely effect all flashlights that use this emitter especially if the optics of the flashlight are not to become extremely oversized.


Overall construction is reasonably good. All the sub parts use rubber seals and the surface finish anodising is smooth and uniform. The tailcap threads appear to be precise and smooth. It should be reasonably waterproof although there is no IPX rating. Anodising is probably Type II rather than Type III. The reflector is an solid aluminium orange peel reflector and the lens is glass. It even has some nice touches such as a flat headed rivet over the tail and head contact springs to ensure a good electrical contact with the cells. The Aurora Weighs 378 grams with 2 18650 lithium Cells and is 23.5 cm tall.

The Aurora would make quiet a nice general purpose flashlight for the home and for vehicle use. Overall I am quite pleased with the performance of the Aurora. The only downsides so far is the slight rattle of the 18650 cells inside the flashlight when shaken and no point to attach a lanyard.