Came across this blog article where they freeze a flashlight in a block of ice while it's on! Seems like a good test of its cold tolerance... Check it out: http://www.pinnacleflashlights.com/blog/...nfinity-freeze/

A typical freezer is at 0 degrees F. That's not really all that cold considering how cold it can get in the winter - at least in the northern U.S. states.

Ken

bet if I freeze one of my Pelican or UKAA in a tub of water they would keep working as well. I know for a fact that a Pelican 3C or UKAA will work for at least a couple hours in -50°F conditions. On a whim we hit the light with an infrared thermometer, the surface temp of the UKAA was about -48°F and it was still functioning.

Keeping the light going when it's already on is one thing. Starting them up when they are frozen (even with access to the switch) is another. Lithium batteries are much better than Alkaline batteries in the cold.

Umm... At the risk of sounding flip, I'm not as concerned about my flashlight working while frozen in ice. I won't work frozen in ice- at that point, does it really matter?

That is like my watch being waterproof to 660 ft. If I'm at 660 ft I have more to worry about than the waterproof integrity of my watch....

I'm with Raven on this one. As morbid as it may sound, my first thought was, "well if I meet my demise in a frozen river the rescuers can find me afterwards."

Pretty cool flashlight though!

I suspect most lithium powered, rugged, waterproof lights will work while frozen.

-john

What would you like to see in terms of a flashlight "torture test". Boiling, dropping, running over with a car, hitting with a hammer? What would be the ultimate test of durability?

Me?

Personally, I'd say just rigorous waterproof testing and lots of drop testing. These are the primary real-world opponents lights will likely face and need to overcome.

Beware, boiling or squishing lights with lithium batteries would be very dangerous!

-john


Check the second picture down of the Ra Twisty. While it isn't obvious at first glance, this light actually has taken a lot of abuse. And not just by happenstance, either. Check out the diagram. The battery compartment is designed to help shield the battery from shock, and the lens has a gasket in front, behind, and on the outside. And the bezel is stainless instead of AL.

As an aside, I cracked the lens and bent the bezel on my Surefire L1 when dropping it from a ladder indoors (so, maybe 8-10ft) onto concrete. It still worked, but note the Twisty drop height was 20ft. The L1 is tough, but even a well built light starts to reach it's limit hitting the concrete. Even if the light itself survives, the impact starts to smash the battery with its own weight.

As a major aside, I once did a similar test with a Casio G-Shock. I ran over it with the car (no problem), froze it in a block of ice (no problem), and boiled it.

The latter gave it a bit of pause and the LCD turned black. However, after a while the screen finally cleared and it continued to run. Pretty impressive.

On the other hand, while it was the first watch I avoided breaking to the point where it didn't operate, I did keep breaking the band where it met the watch -- the hole that received the pin got messed up and would no longer allow the band to be secured (which is what led it to being fodder for silliness like the above tests).

After that, I got a got a stainless Rolex GMT Master II, and I've worn it around the clock, everywhere, and it keeps time as well now as it did 20+ years ago. And hey, I haven't even managed to break the band. :-)

-john

Shooting it with a .44 Magnum. For best results, you'd have to get Dirty Harry to come over and do the shooting himself. I guess that's about as macho as flashlight torture tests go. Oh yeah and maybe you ought to have some death metal playing in the background.

Maybe less macho but more down to Earth would be just using that flashlight for about a year and see how it performs. If you're not a hardcore user, give that light to someone who is (military, law enforcement, firefighter etc.). You're likely to get the very best kind of feedback that way.

Boiling, freezing, choking, smashing, throwing, chainsawing, lightsabring a flashlight and finally running it over with your car is all good but I fail to see much real-world application.

I would agree that some of the more extreme tests of flashlight durability are not relevant to likely use, even in extreme conditions.

The following might be more realistic

1) drop several times from above head height onto concrete
2) leave outdoors overnight, in the coldest weather in your area
3) submerge in water overnight
4) leave turned on in hot conditions, such as exposed to noon sun, or wrapped in a cloth (to simulate accidental turning on in pocket or luggage.

Any flashlight that can survive the above, should survive almost anything that its owner can.

Personally, I don't worry much over torture tests. Give me a warranty like Pelican has.



I can't tell you how many times I've given them a call and asked for replacement bezles, O-rings, battery trays, clips, etc etc etc and have had them in a matter of days free of charge.

Sure I have the "fancy" LED lights (Surefire), but the light I use almost every day when at home is a close tie between my UKAA and my Pelican.

The Pelicans have been used so much that I can't begin to tell you how many bulbs have been replaced, let alone batteries and miscellaneous replacement parts.

The best "torture test" I've ever witnessed was a roughly 200 foot drop off of a contactor tower on a gas plant while working night shift. Light was on when it left the hand, and light was still on when it landed. Helped us find it after it bounced off the roof of the unit and skipped/slid across the pad into the grass.

As for the UKAA, same goes as does for the Pelicans. The UK's have seen a little more cold weather useage (on and off several times a night shift in temps down to -60°F Ambient). Bulbs tend to last a bit longer in the UK's simply because of their size. Less inertia means less damage on impact when dropped, as well as making them less handy makeshift hammers...

I consider those expensive lights nothing but flash. I've never seen a light worse on battery life then my Surefire. I'm sure that some peoples ideal flashlight is something aluminum and bright as daylight, but I don't need to use mine as a makeshift weapon. If I did, I'm sure the Pelican would hurt just as bad.

Agreed: Pelican, UK, Surefire, Ra/HDS all make super tough lights.

-john


What a warranty should look like >>>

http://www.surefire.com/guarantee

I guess the main reason I'm against Surefire is that little bit of info missing from the side of their lights that should read "Class 1 Div 2"

I don't know but a cop I know claims he converted an entire biker gang to horizontal with a five D-cell Maglight during a bar fight and it still worked. Or at least that's how he tells the story.

Some of this is about having a safety margin.

The water-proof pressure numbers tend to be large because you get momentarily higher pressures. For example, 50m is the minimum you want for swimming, even if you are never going to swim down to a depth of 50m. Even for snorkelling you need 100m. 200m (which is your 660ft) is good for scuba diving. That's what my watch claims, and although I don't scuba I do snorkel and it's nice to have the difference as a safety margin.

I'd probably start with a trip though the washing machine. Admittedly if your washing machine is still working you're probably not in a survival situation, but it's a pretty harsh environment any pocketable device is likely to encounter.

Or when you dive from the block etc.

The only thing I can't get past on the pelicans is the xenon bulbs over newer, brighter, and more efficient LEDS. A lot of folks swear by them. If only they would just...