# Tactical Flashlight



## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

I picked up a tactical flashlight that Gander Mountain has on sale this week for 60% off for $19.99. It is a 235 lumen LED light and it is bright. Comes in blue, red, green or purple. I like the added red, green and blue lights in the unit. For the brightness and added lighting features its hard to beat at that price.

The Gander Mountain Tactical LED Flashlight guides you through the dark of the night with its illuminating brightness. This water-resistant flashlight has three white LED modes, high, low and SOS flashing. The flashlight also features four color LED modes consisting of white/bright-illumination, red/night-vision, green/map-reading, and blue/blood-identification. The SOS flashing frequency provides a self-defense strobe with 8 flashes per second. The LED bulb never needs replacement. 235 lumens.
Gander Mountain Tactical LED Flashlight Purple-756395 - Gander Mountain


----------



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Any idea as to where they are manufactured?

I have an idea, but I hope you prove me wrong.


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

paratrooper said:


> Any idea as to where they are manufactured?
> 
> I have an idea, but I hope you prove me wrong.


Pretty much all the lights now are made in China. I love Eagletac lights personally. They are good quality despite that. I've had a few for years.

Solarforce is also a Surefire clone. Made as well as Surefires, IMHO. Many people online who have both have stated that the finish on their Solarforce lights have a better finish than their Surefire lights.

I can get lights that are much cheaper and are brighter than the American made ones. So, that's the world we live in... China makes pretty much everything now


----------



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Shipwreck said:


> Pretty much all the lights now are made in China. I love Eagletac lights personally. They are good quality despite that. I've had a few for years.
> 
> Solarforce is also a Surefire clone. Made as well as Surefires, IMHO. Many people online who have both have stated that the finish on their Solarforce lights have a better finish than their Surefire lights.
> 
> I can get lights that are much cheaper and are brighter than the American made ones. So, that's the world we live in... China makes pretty much everything now


What you say, may or may not be true. But, I can and will say this. I would never buy any firearm made in China that I was going to use for self-defense. For plinking, target practice, or maybe even hunting, I might be okay with that.

Same goes with a flashlight that was going to be specifically used in conjunction with a firearm. The finish of a Chinese made light might be equal to one made in the USA. For me, finish is the least of my worries. Internal componentry is much more important. The Chinese do and will cut corners each and every time they can, to reduce manufacturing costs. It may not be immediately apparent, but it's there......somewhere. That's their SOP. It's cast in iron, it's written in stone, it's what they do.

There's only two manufacturers that I trust to make a high quality, or firearms-grade flashlight. They are Surefire and StreamLight. They stand behind their products 100%. If your cheap made Chinese light goes bad, you toss it. There's no place to return it to. Chances are, the place you bought it from, won't even stock it anymore after several months or so. They will have moved on to a cheaper, more economically-priced light.

I really hate to see anyone buy a light for $20.00 or so, and then learn that they intend to use it in a tactical situation. If you are willing to do that, you might as well go whole hog and buy a Hi-Point gun to go along with it. Just think of the money you'll save in the long run.

While still working, the light(s) I carried on my person were entrusted with my life. No Chinese crap for me.


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Actually, I do understand what you are saying, but it also sounds obvious that you are not familiar with many of the hi quality brands that are made in China. Eagletac is a high quality brand. I have owned numerous ones. I carry one daily as well. The vendor I deal with sells a ton of them to law enforcement, and customers are happy.

I am a guy who had about 30 LED lights up until recently, all good models. I collected them until early last year. I finally decided to just keep a few and I sold most of them and use the $$ for guns. I was only using a few, and the rest were just mainly sitting on the shelf. So, why not... My heavy use ones see use daily, though.

My point is that I am very familiar with LED lights. Also, I would suggest you check out Candle Power Forum... A forum dedicated to nothing but flashlights. Be wary, as the forum can getexpensive... Anyway, there are thousands of flashlight fans.. Many dedicated reviews by guys who can even measure lumens themselves and measure the light frequencies. 

There are some brands I would recommend avoiding, as well as the cheap lights ya see. But brands like Fenix, Solarforce, Eagletac and Olight are just a few brands that are as reliable as the two American brands you are talking about. Don't dismiss all lights when you aren't familiar with some of the brands.

Internals of the Solarforce lights are made as well as the Surefires. I've owned many of those.

Also, the Chinese made lights have pioneered the bright LEDs. It wasn't until somewhat recently that Surefire and Streamlight have introduced brighter models to compete. They no longer have the LEO market as sewn up as they once did. Sme of the other durable brands are taking that marketshare...

Anyway, buy what you wish. That's fine. Just saying that there is more to this than you are aware of.


----------



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

You are right. I don't recognize a lot (all actually) of the brands you mentioned. I've been out of LE now for almost 4 years. In some ways, that can seem like an eternity. 

Let's face it. Flashlights are pretty simple in theory. You have a bulb, an energy source, a switch, and a housing to cram it all into. It's either gonna work or not. 

Just lately, I had to return a StreamLight Poly Stinger cause the switch went bad, all of a sudden. No warning, no partially working, nothing. The switch stayed in the on position and would not turn off. I stripped it down to it's bare housing to reduce weight, stuck it in a padded envelope and shipped it off to StreamLight. 

No advance notice to StreamLight. They called me after about one week to confirm that I had shipped it the way I did. They were concerned about all the missing parts I guess. Anyways, within 3 days of the call, it was back in the mail, postage prepaid. I got it back, put it back together and all was good. They sent me a referral number to use if I had any future problems or issues. 

I seriously doubt that a cheaper manufactured light would have received the same attention. In this day and age, a lot of products are trends and nothing more. They make and sell a boatload of product, take the money and move onto something else, a newer trend perhaps. 

As far as the LE market no longer being help by SureFire or StreamLight, I just don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I'd have to do some research on my own, before I'd admit to that. Thing is, if you look long and hard enough, you'll always find what you want or need, for a few / many bucks less. I guess you need to fully think it out and come to the conclusion that it may or may not end up saving your life. 

If nothing else and push turns to shove, I'll pay more for peace of mind.


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

I am not saying that law enforcement isn't interested in those two brands, only that inroads by the other brands are being made. Significant ones..

And, the vendors that you deal with will commonly help you out with repairs or warranty service. You might still have to deal with the manufacturer at some time, but the vendors seem to handle a lot of that.

If I had to pay the Surefire prices, I would only have one light. Instead, I have many that are much better IMHO. 

Surefire lights are made well, as are Streamlight LEDs. I have two TRL1s myself. But, the Eagletac lights are my favorite. All I am saying is don't discount the lights made in china. Now, these lights are much different than the $5 specials that claim ungodly amounts of lumens and are mostly junk.


----------



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

I currently have a SureFire X-300, two StreamLight TLR-1's and a TLR-1 HL. I also have two SureFire Back-ups, and about 7 or 8 StreamLight AC/DC Stingers, both metal and polymer, all NIB. 

So, I do have a small fortune invested in flashlights. I'm still trying to figure out how I came about all of them.


----------



## JessonGary (Jun 2, 2015)

Sure Fire is good, but a little expensive to me. So I chose another one.


----------



## JessonGary (Jun 2, 2015)

I am using this one: Tank007 Tactical Flashlight, 280LMs
View attachment 1273


----------



## birkssam (Feb 23, 2016)

JessonGary said:


> I am using this one: Tank007 Tactical Flashlight, 280LMs
> View attachment 1273


Is that flashlight good? I was planning to buy the flashlight you suggested, but suddenly I've changed my mind and looking to buy gun torch Nitecore MH40GT? Any suggestions about Nitecore MH40GT?


----------



## dereckbc (Jan 2, 2016)

Cait43 said:


> The LED bulb never needs replacement. 235 lumens.


235 Lumens is at the low end of Tactical Lights. For many that would be the Low Power range. I have a Steamlight ProTac HL with 850/L, 350/L, and Strobe which will stun you if pointed at you.

If you really want a Bright Tac light then the Torch is what you are looking for at 4100/L


----------



## WWright (Aug 14, 2019)

Great, I didn't know the tactical flashlight made in China before. I have always supported a brand like Steamlight, and it still works very well so far. This makes me ignore the attention to other brands, I think it is time to understand the good tactical flashlights produced in other countries.


----------

