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Energizer Hard Case Head Lamp Giveaway!

By on April 1, 2010 in Flashlights, Tactical Gear

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

By on March 26, 2010 in Flashlights, Tactical Gear, Tactical Handyman

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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Upcoming Posts on Jerking the Trigger

By on March 23, 2010 in Flashlights, Knives, Tactical Gear

Tomorrow (03/24/2010) will bring the the first of the Regular Guy Sessions (RGS). The Regular Guy Sessions will be interviews with people who are part of the pursuits that you are interested in as a reader of Jerking the Trigger. The first RGS will be an interview with well known knife maker Ray Laconico.

On Friday (03/26/2010), I will roll out the latest in the Tactical Handyman series. This installment will be about maintaining an extremely important piece of gear – your flashlight!

Stay tuned to Jerking the Trigger!

Review: Princeton Tec Quad Tactical

By on March 18, 2010 in Flashlights, Reviews, Tactical Gear

Click for larger view.

Princeton Tec (PT) makes some of the most innovative, durable, and affordable head lamps on the market right now. They have taken this innovation and applied it to a handful of tactical products. The Quad Tactical is one of these tactical products. It is based on PT’s excellent Quad headlamp with a few tweaks for the “tactical” market. I have been using one for several months now and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Click for larger view.

The Same

The Quad and Quad Tactical share many features. They both have self contained lamp units, meaning that they do not use a separate battery compartment – the batteries are in the same housing as the lamp. In order to keep the unit light weight and compact, they are both powered by three AAA batteries. This compact design allows them to use a single strap unlike many headlamps that have a second strap that travels front to back on top of the wearer’s head. Both lights use four 5mm LEDs to create a broad flood beam of light.

But Different

There are two main differences between the Quad and the Quad Tactical. The Quad Tactical has interchangeable color filters (red, blue, and green) and it comes on in the low setting. The regular Quad comes on in high mode.The filters are a welcome addition for me. I use the red filter constantly. Low levels of red light can be used to maintain your dark adjusted vision. I keep the filter on mine in the up position so that I run less risk of ruining my dark adjusted vision with a surprise activation of the light.

Too much red light can also affect your night vision so PT designed the Quad Tactical to turn on in low mode. This is light is “tactical” because it is discreet, not because it is bright. Many lights of this type have a low mode that is far too bright. PT could have made this one lower, bu the combination of the low mode and red filter make for a passable low mode. It would be an excellent map light or navigation light.

In Use

Using the light is simple. You access all modes from a single button that is located on top of the light. Press once for low mode. Press again within a second for medium, again for high, and again for blink (a slow strobe mode), and again for off. If you wait more than one second to press the button again the light will turn off.

Change the color filter by unlatching the faceplate and replacing with the color of your choice. The filter can be kept down and out of the way or easily pushed up to filter the light. The light uses a small detente and friction to stay in both the up and down positions very securely.

Click for larger view.

It is easy to change the batteries thanks to the tool built into the headband slider. The battery compartment is secured by a single slotted and knurled knob. Loosen the knob to allow the battery compartment to hinge open. Tighten the knob to close the battery compartment. I like to turn it to finger tight and then give it another 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn with the slider tool.

Click for larger view.

I have really come to appreciate the broad beam profile of Quad Tactical. It is probably this light’s best feature. It makes a great work light when you are setting up camp because it really illuminates a wide area. It will also light up nearly an entire USGS map, instead of just a small spot. Even with the broad beam, it still has some reach, especially when turned to high mode. Something like the PT EOS Tactical may be a better choice for lighting up the trail on a mountain bike, but for hiking I rarely use the Quad Tactical on anything other than low mode.

I am very pleased with this light.

Specs:

  • Batteries: 3x AAA batteries (lithium, alkaline, or rechargeable)
  • Output and Runtime: 45 lumens for 1 hour on high, 9 hours on medium, 24 hours on low (these runtimes are the regulated runtimes, for 50-150 hours more depending on output level when they drop out of regulation)
  • Weight: 2.9 ounces with lightweight lithium batteries, 3.5 ounces with alkaline batteries
  • Dimensions: 2.75″ x 1.75″
  • Hinged bracket allows user to direct the light
  • Waterproof to 1 meter
  • Made in the USA

Click here to see the entire PT Tactical line.

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Good Stuff From Other Blogs

By on March 16, 2010 in Flashlights, Guns, Knives, Survival, Tactical Gear

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Soldier Systems – New Lightweight Multi-Hit Plate from Velocity Systems

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