MagLite question

Balfie

basically, its well known that most garda torch of choice is a MagLite, anyone ever have a problem wit them? I've had one that broke, and just got another one, so I'm wondering if they brake easy for anyone under constant use?

Zambia

I brought one in 1997. Its still fine, needs a new bulb though.

Define "broke"

maglite

Maglite is kid of outdated....

Balfie

ah I dunno what happened to it,? It stopped workin, changed the light bulb, nothin happened, got new batterys, still nothin happened went to a shop and bought new bulbs, nothing worked, I wasn't using it that much, just won't work I got a 4D one today and its grand,

Zambia

maglite wrote: »

Maglite is kid of outdated....

Outdated is your Da then?

Locust

Get an LED torch, as opposed to a filament bulb - much brighter and they last longer than filament. Guards use LED Lensers now, maglites went out a few years ago.

Irish_polizei

LED Lensers are the way to go lads :pac:

ILA

LED Lenser is the new "Maglite". Almost got blinded by a female garda directing traffic with it in her hand the other day!

Irish_polizei

And if your getting one... get the Lenser V2 tactical one...thats the one we got and its some job sir :pac:

Spartan09

Irish_polizei wrote: »

LED Lensers are the way to go lads :pac:

I have one of the LED Lensers, they're fantastic, come with their own pouch for the belt to keep them secure on the belt so that if its necessary to run you dont have to hold onto it so it doesnt fly out....! A friend liked it so much he went to stores to swap his old bulky one for it and loves it now.

Odysseus

I still have my old D-cell maglite from my days [or should I say nights] of doing security whilst I was in college. However, the led lenser range is far superior, seems like 90% if the Civil Defense are using them.

I don't know if others are like this but I have ended up with more torches than I can shake a stick at, one at home, on the bike, ones for travelling when I off running, most are led lenser. I seem have developed a bit of fetish for torches:o

gardatrafficop

LED Lenser are standard issue i hear the reserves got thim in my station

drvr

Where's the best place to buy them?

5T3PH3N

Probably Amazon, I'd be interested to hear of any cheaper alternatives though.

Corcioch

Like the lads say,

The Maglight is not the flashlight of choice for Gardaí these days.

The are heavy, cumbersome and provide relatively poor light.

Most gardai now use Led Lenser flashlights,

Much Lighter, Brighter and more user friendly in terms of weight etc.



Maglights however are far more durable . . .Led Lensers are not durable, im on my 3d . . .I never lost/ broke a maglight.

I dropped one Led Lenser on a checkpoint, a harmless fall . . . .it never worked again.

The other couldn't withstand the rattling of being carried in my motorcycles Pannier . . .it stopped working.

No such issues with Maglights . . . . .but the light out of them is poor.

flyingsnail

How do the led maglights compare to the Led Lenser? I was thinking of buy an upgrade kit for mine.

Odysseus

drvr wrote: »

Where's the best place to buy them?

Peterson's the tabacco shop opposite Trinity College is the main importer for Ireland. They may give a discount for members of ES I can't remember.

Odysseus

Corcioch wrote: »

Like the lads say,

The Maglight is not the flashlight of choice for Gardaí these days.

The are heavy, cumbersome and provide relatively poor light.

Most gardai now use Led Lenser flashlights,

Much Lighter, Brighter and more user friendly in terms of weight etc.



Maglights however are far more durable . . .Led Lensers are not durable, im on my 3d . . .I never lost/ broke a maglight.

I dropped one Led Lenser on a checkpoint, a harmless fall . . . .it never worked again.

The other couldn't withstand the rattling of being carried in my motorcycles Pannier . . .it stopped working.

No such issues with Maglights . . . . .but the light out of them is poor.

I have to say I never encountered that problem, I have one on mine in the top box of the bike about two years. Though I have to say the best one I have in terms of its durability is a small gerber pocket torch. I lost it whilst out hunting one day, I actually found it about 18 months later, after the cattle had eaten all the long grass.

After 18mths of being lying there in all weather it still worked perfectly, needed a bit of a clean, but still functioning fully today.

Locust

Surefire (police/military) torches are also very good - i.e. robust and can take a good beating and still put out.

maglite

Locust wrote: »

robust and can take a good beating and still put out.

Thats what she said.

bravestar

Locust wrote: »

Surefire (police/military) torches are also very good - i.e. robust and can take a good beating and still put out.

Excellent torches but they will cost you an arm and a leg keeping up with batteries.

"Ultrafire" are a chinese clone, there build quality has not let me down since I got one two years ago, very bright/blinding, they cost very little, they come with rechargeable batteries and a charger. Well worth having a look at.

drvr

Bravestar ,where did you get your Ultrafire?

bravestar

drvr wrote: »

Bravestar ,where did you get your Ultrafire?

Just do a search on ebay or google and you will find plenty of online shops selling them. Cant remember the exact site but fairly sure it was ebay.

drvr

Thanks for that, have had a look and you're right , loads of site selling them.

Balfie

so would the led upgrading for the maglite be worth it or go for the led lenzer?

Irish_polizei

Balfie wrote: »

so would the led upgrading for the maglite be worth it or go for the led lenzer?

Well thats up to you, what ever your budget is.....but if it was me id get the lenser !

Corcioch

bravestar wrote: »

Excellent torches but they will cost you an arm and a leg keeping up with batteries.

"Ultrafire" are a chinese clone, there build quality has not let me down since I got one two years ago, very bright/blinding, they cost very little, they come with rechargeable batteries and a charger. Well worth having a look at.

You can get Surefire etc that come with recharable batteries too.

I have a surefire Nitron on my belt, came with 2 battery units and 1 charger Works on mains or in the car ) . . .so you can always have one unit ready. Great Torch . . . .6 years old now and its like new.


I have a Streamlight stinger too . . . . .an even better torch, I prefer to use it instead of the Surefire . . . . .you just dock the torch to recharge it, its a sealed unit. 5 years old and also like new.


If somoene was looking for a very bright and powerful Belt carried torch to last them their service I would recommend the Streamlight Stinger torches.

Well worth the money.

Greenman

drvr wrote: »

Where's the best place to buy them?

<mod snip> Got three of these using the 18650 batteries they are really great, bought spare batteries plus charger, very happy.:)

Sierra Oscar

Anyone have any experience with the LED Lender "M" series? Especially the M7 / M14 models?

5T3PH3N

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Anyone have any experience with the LED Lender "M" series? Especially the M7 / M14 models?

Yeah I would love to know more about them too, specifically the m7r. I just found out about it last night and it seems to be the best yet. It is a little bit stronger and it has a regulator which maintains the output of the led. It is also rechargeable and comes with a little dock and mains charger and I think it also comes with a car charger. The charger connects by magnet. It comes with a belt clip instead of the pouch, but I'd say ya could buy the pouch separately if ya preferred that. It has different modes including the usual and also a SOS setting and also a strobe one.

To me it sounds perfect but it has only been released so there are few reviews and even fewer in English. I also can't find it anywhere other than amazon. And it looks like it will cost upwards of €150 which is a bit steep.

ILA

Odysseus wrote: »

I still have my old D-cell maglite from my days [or should I say nights] of doing security whilst I was in college. However, the led lenser range is far superior, seems like 90% if the Civil Defense are using them.

Do you know if they're issued to CD or are the volunteers actually buying them out of their own pockets?

I've always been a 3/4 D-Cell Maglite man myself, just for the sheer size of it and the deterrent affect due to it's "versitility" but the Lenser is definately where it's at in the future.

Sierra Oscar

5T3PH3N wrote: »

Yeah I would love to know more about them too, specifically the m7r. I just found out about it last night and it seems to be the best yet. It is a little bit stronger and it has a regulator which maintains the output of the led. It is also rechargeable and comes with a little dock and mains charger and I think it also comes with a car charger. The charger connects by magnet. It comes with a belt clip instead of the pouch, but I'd say ya could buy the pouch separately if ya preferred that. It has different modes including the usual and also a SOS setting and also a strobe one.

To me it sounds perfect but it has only been released so there are few reviews and even fewer in English. I also can't find it anywhere other than amazon. And it looks like it will cost upwards of €150 which is a bit steep.

I was talking to a retailer in Limerick at the weekend who was offering it for €129. They were ordering them in for Gardai. PM me if you want any more details.

I got a demonstration, it looks to be a good improvement over the P models. Comes in a nice case too.

5T3PH3N

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

I was talking to a retailer in Limerick at the weekend who was offering it for €129. They were ordering them in for Gardai. PM me if you want any more details.

I got a demonstration, it looks to be a good improvement over the P models. Comes in a nice case too.

Is this the m7r for €129 or the m7?

Sierra Oscar

5T3PH3N wrote: »

Is this the m7r for €129 or the m7?

The M7R, for certain. They were demonstrating the rechargeable aspect of it. You can charge the flashlight via power socket, car plug or even a USB.

5T3PH3N

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The M7R, for certain. They were demonstrating the rechargeable aspect of it. You can charge the flashlight via power socket, car plug or even a USB.

Pm'd. Thanks.

Odysseus

ILA wrote: »

Do you know if they're issued to CD or are the volunteers actually buying them out of their own pockets?

I've always been a 3/4 D-Cell Maglite man myself, just for the sheer size of it and the deterrent affect due to it's "versitility" but the Lenser is definately where it's at in the future.

Our on pockets, I got a torch from the stores about six months ago. It was at least 20 years old. Anybody remember the cheap "Tiger" brand ones you have asa kid, well it was one of the:eek: It was in perfect condition, even the box was perfect and seriously it is at least 20 years seen I seen one.

We only get safety wear issued, I in over 3 years and I still don't have a dress uniform. Boots, working kit, helmets, drop hats that type of stuff is issued, anything else you buy yourself.

The maglite has a place, if I had to go back to security I'm sure I would still carry it. Just on another note I tried a led upgrade for my AA mag and ended up puting back the original, I would recommend spending money on one.

Corcioch

Odysseus wrote: »

Our on pockets, I got a torch from the stores about six months ago. It was at least 20 years old. Anybody remember the cheap "Tiger" brand ones you have asa kid, well it was one of the:eek: It was in perfect condition, even the box was perfect and seriously it is at least 20 years seen I seen one.

We only get safety wear issued, I in over 3 years and I still don't have a dress uniform. Boots, working kit, helmets, drop hats that type of stuff is issued, anything else you buy yourself.

The maglite has a place, if I had to go back to security I'm sure I would still carry it. Just on another note I tried a led upgrade for my AA mag and ended up puting back the original, I would recommend spending money on one.

This is what I got issued with in Templemore . . . .and it was actually the older version than this. . .a more rounded one. . . .good old everready . . .:rolleyes:

Some Joke

H&S is the only reason were getting better torches of late. . . .we used to have to buy our own maglites too . . .

ILA

Corcioch wrote: »

This is what I got issued with in Templemore . . . .and it was actually the older version than this. . .a more rounded one. . . .good old everready . . .:rolleyes:

Some Joke

Seriously, that's actually pretty hilarious! It was either a message to be "Everready" to fight crime or someone took the petty cash and raided a 2 Euro store with it!

Corcioch

ILA wrote: »

Seriously, that's actually pretty hilarious! It was either a message to be "Everready" to fight crime or someone took the petty cash and raided a 2 Euro store with it!

No joke!! . . . pathetic isn't it.

Mind you that was several years ago and there are decent torches issued nowadays. . . .

deadwood

led...lenser...lumens.........thomas edison was a witch.

Do like your mammy said and eat your carrots.

Alpha Papa

I use the Maglite 2D LED torch very good bit of kit , very bright and reliable aswell as sturdy!

Balfie

I was looking at the LED upgrade for my one, it was like 70 euro to get it, On ebay I don't think I want it for that price, I'm happy enuf with the normal bulb in my maglite, it goes some distance,

Odysseus

Balfie wrote: »

I was looking at the LED upgrade for my one, it was like 70 euro to get it, On ebay I don't think I want it for that price, I'm happy enuf with the normal bulb in my maglite, it goes some distance,

It does really depend on the use you have for it, there is a big difference between the light I need for minor repairs on my bike at night, or what I keep beside the bed, and I'm also an ultra runner so if I'm running across the Sahara at night I need a better light source, same for my CD duties.

I bought quite an expensive Tika headlight for a event that invovled running across the Wicklow mountains at night, and whilst it did do the job, I would have liked a stronger beam to highlight obstacles. Though with saying that I have a Aldi job by my bed when I stay in Dublin which does everything I need of it in that situation.

Edit: I can't believe we got three pages out of a basic maglite question