Firebase Academy
Professional Small Arms and Tactics Training

In the early 90’s the most common flashlight was the Maglite®, this flashlight is still
as common as white rice. Most Law Enforcement personnel and “enlightened” self-
defense minded firearms owners understood the importance of the flashlight for self-
defense. The Maglite® was and is still a nicely conceived and executed piece of
engineering, most people have at least one at home, however for use as a tactical
light it has some downfalls, namely size and the on/off button operation.

I have been on the hunt for a practical, affordable quality flashlight with the
functionality as listed below:

Durable
Quality construction
Standard batteries
Bright
Tail end “normally open” push-button on/off switch
Lanyard loop
Pocket clip


The reasons for this are explained below:

Durable – The light must be capable of withstanding a drop from “chest high” to the
concrete or other hard surface, this for the most part eliminates a standard
incandescent bulb. Fortunately the invent of the L.E.D. (Light Emitting Diode) light
solves this problem.

Quality construction – This pretty much speaks for it’s self.

Standard batteries – Yes, I know that the shelf life of lithium batteries is
approximately ten years, however, my tactical flashlight is only good if I have it with
me when I need it. The only way that I will have it with me is if I use often. Most
batteries have a discharge curve (the measurement of voltage as the battery
becomes discharged) a lithium battery has what they call “an avalanche” point, the
point where the voltage in the battery drops off quickly. There is no indicator of the
battery approaching the avalanche point, so you don’t know if you have an hour or
five minutes of life left in your tactical light.

Bright – I could speak of Lumens or Candle Power, however in terms that we can
measure with our own senses. I want a flash light that is bright enough to illuminate
the threat, without causing my eyes to dilate drastically and harm my ability to
function when the light is off. Simply put some lights are just too damn bright.

Tail end “normally open” push-button on/off switch – A flashlight with a click-on click-
off switch is a tactical problem. I want the flashlight to illuminate when I press the
button and go off when I release the button.

Lanyard Loop – I want my flashlight to have a lanyard loop that can be put around
the “support side” wrist, this will facilitate magazine changes, weapon manipulation
and other activities that require both hands.

Pocket clip – I want the light to be placed in the pocket of a jacket or pants without
falling to the bottom of the pocket.

I have been on the hunt for a flashlight that meets these criteria for quite some time.
If you have ever seen the movie Conspiracy Theory, with Mel Gibson. In the movie
“Jerry” was programmed by a spook agency to purchase the book “Catcher In the
Rye”, this was their way of tracking his movements throughout the country. My wife
says that I must have been programmed to purchase flashlights, much in the same
way “Jerry” was programmed. I must have bought a hundred lights looking for the
tactical light that fit the criteria listed above.

There is no doubt there are several manufacturers that make a quality flashlight
designed specifically for tactical use. The problem is that most of these lights are in
the hundred dollar range, I have a couple of  SureFire lights that are over $200, the
problem with that is that I just don’t believe it costs that much to make a quality light. I
have some Streamlights and several weapon mounted lights. All are top quality with
the things that I want in a light, except they are too darn expensive. I have purchased
everything from Wal-Mart $10 lights to very expensive name brand tactical lights.

Somehow when you tell a student that they need to spend $100 dollars for a
flashlight, their eyes glaze over and they think you are somehow gaining monetarily
from the transaction.

By chance I happened to purchase a flashlight from Bass Pro in Shreveport La. That
fulfilled my needs, as a matter of fact I’m so impressed with the light that I decided to
write this article about it. I have had it for about three years now and carried it every
day.
I could go on and on but I would rather just get to the point. The flash light is made by
Rayovac, It takes two AA cell batteries and is plenty bright, plenty tough and cost
about $35.00

I promise, even if you are a “died in the wool” Surefire owner, you will not regret
buying one of these for each vehicle, one for the dresser and one for your every day
use.

The model and a link is listed below:

Model:
Rayovac SELUX2AA3W-B Sportsman Xtreme

Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Rayovac-SELUX2AA3W-B-Sportsman-Flashlight-
Batteries/dp/B00175I0TK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1258771045&sr=8-2

If you take the time to read this and don’t take the time to check it out, then you are
missing the deal of the century in tactical flashlights.

Please leave feedback in the form of an email to pwright@firebaseacademy.com
let me know what you think, good or bad.

Thanks,

Pete Wright