Archive | Flashlights

RiverofGuns.com

Some of the best places to get discounted guns, knives, and tactical gear are on the various discussion forums that are scattered around the web. Many people use these places to list their new and used gear in the hopes that you will buy it. Think of them as a classifieds section in your local paper except they reach the entire nation (and the world). There are some serious deals to be had but it can be quite time consuming to surf all of the different forums looking for your particular item.

RiverofGuns.com is a search engine that scours hundreds of forums so that you don’t have to. You simply enter what you are looking for and click search. River of Guns does the rest.

It is an invaluable tool for bargain seekers.

Preview: Danger Close Consulting Offset Surefire Scout Mount

The Surefire M600 Scout Light is one of the most compact and lightweight rifle mounted weapon lights available. It is truly an excellent light. However, I have always had issues determining the best place to mount it since I do not care for tape switches and the standard mount places it in an uncomfortably low position for use with the support hand thumb. The Scout is a light in need of an offset mount but, until recently, no one made them.

Danger Close Consulting has filled that niche and filled it well! I have one of their mounts in hand and it is excellent.

Look for a more complete review with pictures to be posted here soon.

New Lights From Princeton Tec

Princeton Tec just added two new lights to their website. Both of the lights were shown at the 2010 SHOT Show but this is the first time I have seen detailed specs on them.

The first is the Remix Pro. The most interesting thing about this light is that it runs on a single CR123A battery. That should make it very light weight and compact. It can be had with red, green, or white 5mm LEDs and a single white Maxbright LED. I have come to appreciate a useful red light setting on a head lamp for times when I am trying not to mess up my dark adjusted vision. This light looks quite good on paper.

The second light, the MPLS, is very interesting to me. It has a mounting system that will allow it to be attached to a number of things like helmets, weapon rails, PALs webbing, etc. It has a flexible neck that allows the user to quickly aim the light to where ever it is needed. The body of the light appears to be based on the Princeton Tec Pilot which I have used as a back up light on my headlamps for years. This looks like an extremely versatile piece of gear, I just wish it took something other than coin cell batteries.

Energizer Hard Case Head Lamp Giveaway!

The contest is closed. Random.org generated 1047 as the winning number. I will be contacting the winner right away.

This is no April Fools joke. Jerking the Trigger is giving away a brand new Energizer Hard Case LED Head Lamp to our readers!

Light-reviews.com has posted an excellent review of this head lamp. The Hard Case Head Lamp has a lot going for it. It is very rugged and durable. The red and green LEDs operate on a different switch from the white light which lets you shuffle through the red and green light modes without the risk of destroying your dark adjusted vision. The white light has two brightness modes and is quite bright on high. Energizer claims that it puts out 100 lumens. This is a great head lamp!

The Important Stuff:

All you have to do to enter is comment on this thread and enter a number between 1 and 2000. To reply, click on “leave a comment” in the heading above this text. Make sure that you comment in the correct thread. Comments left in the wrong thread will not be counted. This contest is open to those with USA and APO/FPO addresses only. One entry per person please.

The contest will end at 8PM April 9th, 2010 (Friday). I will use a random number generator to choose a winner at that time. You will be asked to register by WordPress in order to leave a comment. Use a valid email address because I will be using the email address to contact the winner. Jerking the Trigger will never divulge your email address or send you any kind of advertisements.

In the event that the winning number has been chosen by more than one person, I will assign each person’s entry a number based on the order that they were received and use the number generator to determine a winner.

The contest is closed. Random.org generated 1047 as the winning number. I will be contacting the winner right away.

Tactical Handyman – Flashlight Maintenance

You already know why you should carry a quality flashlight and you have already dropped some serious coin on the best light that you could afford. So, now what? A lot of guys know how to maintain their firearms. They may even know how to maintain the knife that they carry clipped in their pocket. But how many Regular Guys know how to maintain their flashlights? That’s right, that piece of absolutely essential life saving gear that you carry so you can see in the dark needs some occasional maintenance.

The o-rings, threads, contacts, and mechanical parts all need some attention once in a while. Parts need to be cleaned and lubed to promote the best function of the light. You may want to consider doing the following procedure at least once or twice a year if you are carrying the same light everyday. If you do this maintenance regularly, you will increase the likelihood that your light will be ready when you need it.

Materials:

  • A flashlight
  • Light oil (NO WD-40!!! CLP works pretty well and you probably already have some)
  • Lithium grease (I like the dielectric bulb grease that many auto parts stores sell.)
  • Cotton swabs
  • Rag
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Replacement o-rings (as necessary)

Procedure:

  1. Disassemble your flashlight down to its major components. In most cases this will be tail cap, bezel (or head), and body.

    Click on any image to enlarge.

  2. Inspect the o-rings. There will likely be an at least 1 o-ring at each sections of male threads. Replace them if they are cut, torn, or broken. This will keep the light water resistant and pocket lint resistant.
  3. Wipe the threads and o-rings with a rag to remove most of the old lubrication. Then use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to thoroughly clean the threads and o-ring. Remember, with some lights, the threads are an electrical contact. They should be kept clean for best performance.

    Clean and lube all threads, including the female threads.

  4. Apply a light coating of grease to the threads and the o-ring. O-rings should always be greased. This will make the light more water resistant and protect the o-rings from wear and tear.
  5. Clean any electrical contacts with rubbing alcohol soaked cotton swab. This will help clean any oxidization from the contact that may hinder performance. You may also want to look into a product like Deoxit if you have a lot of oxidization on the contacts.

    Electrical contacts should be shiny.

  6. Place a drop or two of oil down into the mechanism of your tail cap and work the switch a few times. This is especially important on “clicky” style tail caps since they have more moving parts. The mechanism can often benefit from some lubrication and cleaning just like any other mechanical object. I usually just use CLP because I have plenty of it and it contains cleaners as well as lubricants. The switch (tail cap) is just about the only moving part in a flashlight. If your light is going to fail, it will happen at the switch. Do not neglect this.

    Try to get a drop of oil down into the mechanism.

Don’t forget the more obvious maintenance tasks. Replace your batteries at least once every six months, even if you don’t think you need it. This is akin to doing a tactical reload on your handgun after use and before you holster it. You want you light in the best condition possible because you don’t know what will happen next. If your still using a flashlight with an incandescent bulb, you may want to consider swapping it out once a year for the same reasons. Switching to a newer LED based light is an even better idea.

Taking care of your flashlight really isn’t rocket science. The whole procedure will probably less than 10 minutes. That is time well spent.

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