There are a few threads about flashlights already which made me a bit curious.
So I thought I would ask these three questions.

First question, "Are there any other easily purchased lights rated for hazardous environments besides the Pelican series of lights?"

Second question is, "What are your favourite flashlights and why?"

The third question is. "What would you like a flashlight to have, or be, that you don't see on the market yet?"

First question, "Are there any other easily purchased lights rated for hazardous environments besides the Pelican series of lights?"

Yes, there are a number of lights that are UL Rated for hazardous environments. Besides Pelican; Streamlight, Koehler/Brightstar, and Underwater Kinetics all make quality UL listed lights.

Second question is, "What are your favourite flashlights and why?"

I have a couple favorite flashlights, but my NovaTac EDC120P is my all time favorite. This light is small, bright and can be easily programmed with custom settings. I have mine programmed with three light levels from bright enough for “tactical” applications to low enough to assess a patient’s pupils as well as slow strobe setting for signaling.

The third question is. "What would you like a flashlight to have, or be, that you don't see on the market yet?"

I am always looking for a light that runs off of “AA” batteries that is super bright but adjustable and programmable like the NovaTac with simple controls.

I also wouldn’t mind a NovaTac style light and Rescue Laser combined into one unit.

My favorite flashlights, and why:

Doug's new Essential Gear e-PICO LED light: The one light that's with me always -- they're on my keychain, in my purse, on a lanyard for dog walks. It's featherlight, tiny and he's solved the problem of not having light when you need it because unbeknownst to you it had accidentally turned on and discharged the batteries. And they're cheap ($10).

http://www.essentialgear.com/store/p/117-eGear-PICO-LED-Zipper-Lite.html


Surefire 8AX Commander: Rechargeable, incandescent, 110 lumens. This is the flashlight that's always on my nightstand and always on camping trips. The rechargeable aspect saves $$$ on 123 batteries so I can use the light with abandon (I have two extra batteries for it, always charged). This light paid for itself a couple camping seasons ago when it motivated skunks to go elsewhere.

http://www.surefire.com/8AX-Commander


Petzl e+LITE Headlamp: Powered by CR2032 lithium batteries with a 10-year shelf-life and 35-hour runtime on high. Weighs less than one ounce with the batteries in it. Can be clipped onto a hat or jacket. This light is always in whatever backpack I'm carrying and it's my reading light while camping.

http://www.rei.com/product/749039


Surefire E2D Executive Defender: Super-bright incandescent in a diminutive package. This is a purse light and winter jacket dog walking light.

http://www.surefire.com/E2D-Executive-Defender


Surefire G2 Nitrolon: The cheap Surefire (sub-$40) incandescent that I keep in the car. Available in bright yellow.

http://www.surefire.com/G2-Nitrolon


Surefire this year came out with their first headlamps. LED, powered by a single 123 battery. 100 lumens on max. The Saint Minimus. 3.3 ounces with battery. I'm mighty tempted.

http://www.surefire.com/SaintMinimusHS2-A-BK

Re lights for hazardous environments:

Add Princeton Tec to the list. Many are UL rated. Plenty of outdoor retailers carry them.

http://www.princetontec.com/?q=node/66

Alan nailed the first manufacturers that came to my mind. Actually, Fulton makes a ton of flashlights that many people in the military and industry (including mining) are carrying right now, but they just have no idea what brand the light is. Lighting Pro Technology is another company which is most famous for its power management technology in its incandescent lights.

My favorite light changes but at the moment, it's actually the humble Gerber Infinity Ultra with red LED. Lately, I find myself using it a lot of make middle of the night bathroom trips without hurting my eyes. Not a very sexy answer, I know, but it is what it is. I have more expensive lights with a white LED that can go as dim or dimmer, but this Gerber is handy for me.

Two things I would like to see more of. One thing I'd like to see in general is a way to allow most lights to throw a nice, even flood-type beam. You need that narrow beam for things like spotting things at a distance, but I think most normal folks are using their flashlights at very short range most of the time, and a small, intense hotspot just gets in the way in those cases. Maybe a flip-up diffuser that locks flat against the light when not in use would be an economical and convenient way to get a nice even light. Any diffuser that isn't attached to the light is sure to be lost. Sure, you lose some light when you use a diffuser, but at least with LED technology, there's plenty of light being generated even if you lose some with a diffuser.

The other thing I'd like to see in LED lights is more of a shift to "warmer" tints. I know that there ARE lights available already (and I refuse to buy any LED lights that aren't), but they're not the norm. It's just a personal preference, but the typical cool or bluish tint of LED light bugs my eyes. The color might look wonderfully white against a white wall, but I dislike the way it washes out colors. This is purely a personal preference. I realize that we're losing some sheer output when we shift away from the cool white tints because the cool whites are most efficient, but like I said above, LED lights are already pumping out a lot of photons nowadays, so I can live with it.

I have never seen any UL rated Princeton Tec's before, which is why I didn't mention them, but what do you know, they actually do have an "Industrial" line. Good to know.

First question, "Are there any other easily purchased lights rated for hazardous environments besides the Pelican series of lights?"

Covered well above.

Second question is, "What are your favourite flashlights and why?"

My favorite isn't really a flashlight (torch for my friends in the UK). My most used light is a Princeton Tec EOS headlamp - the newer Rebel LED version. It does everything I need it to do: It packs small, is VERY bright, has several easy-to-use one-handed settings (hi, medium, low, flash), and, best of all, when placed on my head it magically points in the direction I'm looking AND leaves me with two hands to do work (put up tent, cook, clean, light fire, ...). These days my only use for regular flashlights are around the house and in the truck.

My favorite regular flashlight that I HAVE and USE is a Fenix TK10, though if I had to do it over again I'd probably buy the more pocket-friendly PD30. I also have a Fenix P1D that provides a stunning amount of light for its very pocketable size. I only wish it had a push-button switch instead needing to turn the head to turn it on. The Fenix PD20 has the push-button switch, but is noticeably larger than the P1D. Both Fenix lights are BRIGHT and TOUGH as nails.

The third question is. "What would you like a flashlight to have, or be, that you don't see on the market yet?"

You know, I'm so happy with the EOS I can't think of much I'd need improved. It might be nice if the elastic of the orange model was bright orange instead of gray - to make it easier to find if dropped. That's about it. ABSOLUTELY GREAT LIGHT!!!

Definitely a battery gauge.

It's worth noting that this is a Henry S. design. For the last 10-15 years his lights have been the best you can buy. He generally does one light for a company then moves on, so where you find his lights varies. Right now he's in business for himself at HDS Systems.

The more important thing is just how tough this light is. Breaking one without tools is nearly impossible. It's expensive, but when the difference between having light or not is home-alive or dead, Henry's lights are the choice. If you have the cash there's nothing better, just almost-as-good.

(Henry is a caver)


Alas, an alkaline 1xAA can never be as bright as a 1xCR123: that AA simply can't produce as much power.


Look for the words "Cree R2" in the specs for a light. "R2" is the magic part. There are also the -WC bins, but I don't know the bin ID's to look for.

Unfortunately I don't know of any top-tier manufacturer using the R2 for mainline lights. It's Chinese makers (who may be using -WC instead of R2 to save money) or specialty lights like the Draco.


Sadly this isn't practical except in very general terms. Different makes of batteries behave quite differently, even within the same type of chemistry. Each basic type of battery (alkaline, NiMH, Lithium of various flavors) work in different voltage ranges with different discharge rates.

The best you can do is detect a nearly-discharged battery, and even then there are gotchas: the Notvatac doesn't do this right unless you install a new or fully-charged battery.

For an emergency light there's a lot to be said for a direct-drive light using an old 1 watt Luxeon emitter on a 3 D-cell with alkaline batteries. These are nearly extinct now but just about ideal for survival uses: turn it on and a _month_ later it's still producing enough light to walk a dark trail at night.

Not quite true, the NiteCore EZ AA is as bright as the NovaTac EDC 120P (advertised and in practical experience). It is possible to produce a "AA" powered light that produces 120+ lumens, as technology advances I am sure we will see more lights that uses less "power" to produce more light... thus we should also see more 3V lights that produce higher output then the lights we currently see on the market.