Strobe Light Function Flashlight??

[CTEXSEC1]

I am looking for a light with a strobe function for my traffic control duties. I would prefer something similar to a G2 or Strion, but want to go no larger than the size of the Streamlight Stinger (not the large one).

Here are my preferences:

1. Rechargeable preferred.
2. Must be able to equip with a red/orange/yellow light cone.
3. Strobe function.
4. Prefer incan. bulb. (this light is for traffic control only)
5. I would prefer sub-$100.
6. Must NOT be a MagLite.

So...any ideas? Let me know what y'all would/have used.


Thanks

ETA: Yes, I know that some prefer to carry a monstrosity of a light when doing traffic duty. I, however, do not. It is mostly to assist with event parking for the campus where I am employed.

[Maelstrom]

Firstly I'd recommend you opt away from a incandescent light for this task as an LED is significantly better suited to frequent prolonged on/off cycling, not to mention it's superior lifespan.

Inova make (33mm ID) traffic safety cone accessories for their T series flashlights, the benefit of these is they also fit Olight M20's and (my personal favourite) Jetbeam Jet-III M and probably a swag more that I'm not currently aware of, Streamlight also make rechargeable LED (multimode) lights and aftermarket traffic cones to suit.

One outstanding feature of the newest Jetbeam lights is their configurability allowing the user to select the "exact" light intensity OR strobe frequency, I've used the Jet-III M as my primary light for almost 12 months without issue and the fact you can either power them from 2 lithium primary cells OR a rechargeable 18650 Lithium-ion battery gives added versatility IMHO.

Providing you can live without a user configurable intensity/strobe feature a rechargeable LED Strion (http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=154) with traffic cone & charger bundle might be your best solution :D

[N. A. Corbier]

Keep in mind, some LEDs are false white, a mercury doped blue LED which gives a strange off-white light. Pelican, for example, uses a "real white LED" because, well... I think it was LAPD that had issues with the of-white LED making it hard to tell what is in a suspect's hand. Like a gun.

I personally like the Stinger LED (Tactical), which is a regular Stinger LED with the button in the tail cap. While its an off-white LED, its very bright, very very bright, has a strobe mode, and survived dropping. Repeated dropping.

Just about everyone has a strobe function in their "tactical" or "patrol" flashlights. If you have the money, get the 5.11 Light for Life. 90 second charger unit + super capacitor power cell + programmable strobe and power settings == oh, look, my light's dead. (drink of soda) Its back!

They make a duty belt version, and its got some nice features.

[flashlightcop509]

http://cgi.ebay.com/EMI-20-LED-TRAFFIC-SAFETY-FLASHBACK-LIGHT-BATON_W0QQitemZ230455830776QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_F lashlights?hash=item35a83ce8f8#ht_500wt_698

Has strobe, steady, or alternating Red/Amber, and is rechargable inasmuch as you need to use 4 rechargeable AA batteries...

I'm only using eBay as an example (where I last saw one), and you may be able to find one or more cheaper; or you may use eBay, purchase more than one (charged backups) and combine shipping costs...

Just my $.02...

[Maelstrom]

Keep in mind, some LEDs are false white, a mercury doped blue LED which gives a strange off-white light. Pelican, for example, uses a "real white LED" because, well... I think it was LAPD that had issues with the of-white LED making it hard to tell what is in a suspect's hand. Like a gun.

Whilst that's certainly true with many LEDs from previous generations of flashlights (think the purplish output of the original Surefire L1) component manufacturers such as Cree have been working towards offering lower Kelvin temperature (colour/tint) LEDs, it's now possible to purchase emitters in the 2600K+ end of the spectrum (sunlight is around 5000K) and it's only a matter of time before we begin to see an increase in incandescent-like tint (4000K) LED flashlights available on the higher end of the market ;)




Just about everyone has a strobe function in their "tactical" or "patrol" flashlights. If you have the money, get the 5.11 Light for Life. 90 second charger unit + super capacitor power cell + programmable strobe and power settings == oh, look, my light's dead. (drink of soda) Its back!

They make a duty belt version, and its got some nice features.

Nice fast charge feature but just be aware the quoted runtime is actually 60 minutes @ 90Lm after which output drops to 25Lm for the next 60 minutes, maximum output is quoted by the manufacturer as 270Lm, I'm informed this peak can only be sustained for 15~20 minutes (from 1 charge), interestingly enough according to Flashlight News (http://flashlightnews.org/story1762.shtml) strobe mode also runs at 270Lm but I'm unable to verify strobe's runtime from available online material but at "best guess" would less than 1 hour, in this context the 5.5h of strobe from the Strion LED wins hands down IMHO ;)