Does one type of light fit every role we might need it for? Or, do we need more than one type of light?
The 1st thing we need to figure out is just what, exactly, we want the light to do. Will it be for everyday tasks such as finding the car keys that we just dropped? Do we carry a firearm for self-defense and need a light to identify targets? Is it for a firearm?
It’s fairly impossible for one light to fit all of these requirements, so choosing the right light will take some selection on our part. Today we’re going to cover two main categories: EDC lights and Tactical lights.
EDC
Many of us like to have an EDC (Everyday Carry) light with us. Personally, I can tell you that I use mine several times per day. I keep one in my bedroom on the nightstand. I use it nightly when I need a little light but don’t want to turn the lights in the bedroom on, which would awaken my wife. In this role, a Tactical type light would be overkill because of how bright they are.
Many lights currently on the market will perform the EDC task (and other missions) admirably. I’m going to list a couple of lights here. These aren’t the only good ones available, but they’re the ones that I picked up along the way in my quest for stellar performance at a good price. The market selection is astonishing.
Surefire Sidekick
The light I chose for the EDC task is the Surefire Sidekick. Surefire markets it as their least expensive light (it retails for $29.99). This light is so good that I’m giving it its own spot here in the article. It’s inexpensive and gives insane performance.
Surefire mentions that it’s virtually indestructible and I can personally vouch for that. Once, I accidentally dropped my 1st Sidekick out of my pocket when I took my keys out to get into my car. Unbeknownst to me, it lay in our yard and was run over by our lawn mower. The blade struck the light, cracking the case and sending the pocket clip headed to parts unknown. The lens of the light was also missing. I picked the light up after it had lain in the elements for a couple of weeks and been whacked by that lawn mower blade. It still works and I still use the light to this day! They are not kidding when they say these lights are tough! As soon as I lost my 1st one, I got a 2nd one.
The Sidekick offers three levels of light output: 300 lumens (1.25 hours of run time), 60 lumens (4 hours run time), and 5 lumens (45 hours run time). That’s a lot of run time! And those three levels hit the ranges that we’d most commonly use an EDC light for.
Personally, I use the 5-lumen setting most often. As mentioned, if I’m looking for something and don’t want to wake others, or just navigating an area, five lumens is excellent. It gives just enough light to see where I’m going without blinding me. If I need to see something out in our yard, 60 or 300 lumens works great.
The body is made of polymer with an aluminum core. It’s so light (1.2 ounces) that you don’t even know it’s in your pocket. I get the pocket clip (sold separately) and clip it to the change pocket of my jeans usually. It can also easily be attached to the key ring, as it’s a small light.
Now for the best part – it is rechargeable! Just plug it into a USB cable and charge away; no need to continuously buy batteries. Despite using it very often, I only have to charge mine every couple of weeks.
For EDC, I believe this is the best light on the market at a very reasonable price. Yes, you can find a Chinese-made EDC light for $6 at the grocery store, but you’ll be getting what you paid for. I realize we’re not all made out of money, but there’s somewhat of a threshold between junk and serviceable products.
Tactical Lights
When we use the term Tactical, it is intended for defensive or offensive uses, whether they are police, military, or armed citizens. Let’s break the Tactical category down into two main groups: Hand Held and Weapon Mounted Lights (WML).
Lights can be a force option, in that they can temporarily blind an attacker. This can give us a tactical edge to prevail. It can also take away an attacker’s will to press home the attack, which reduces our chances of having to use physical force. Any time we can avoid using physical force is a win.
Hand Held
If we carry a firearm, it is paramount that we also carry a handheld tactical light. Using a WML to search is a bad idea because it is considered part of the firearm. Anything we point that light at, we are also pointing the firearm at. That means when we find a friendly person in our beam, we’re pointing a loaded weapon at that person (not a good idea, for anyone who’s wondering).
Many experts say that a Tactical Light should have at least 100 lumens of output. I’m not sure there needs to be that much output, but for social purposes, more is often better. These days, many lights put out several hundred lumens easily, so most will meet our needs.
There are lots of handheld tactical lights on the market. It’s a good idea to get one that’s activated by a tail cap. We press the tail cap and get light; when we release the pressure, the light goes off. That way, if we’re not directly controlling the light, it is not on.
If we’re searching using the handheld and we detect a threat, we can drop that light and go directly to the WML because now that there’s a threat, we can point the weapon at it. If we have no WML, we can simply engage with the handheld light that we’re using.
The market is saturated with tactical handheld lights. Surefire, Streamlight, and Fenix are just a few of the many makers out there to choose from.
I often use a Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA tactical light. When used with the CR123A battery, It can put out 350 lumens of light for 1.3 hours. On the low setting (40 lumens), the light will run for 14 hours. This light is 4.25 inches long and weighs 2.8 ounces, so it’s one of the more compact and lightweight lights on the market. It will run with a AA or CR123A Lithium battery, so there’s versatility there. I like being able to use two different types of batteries, especially the AA type, because they are so widely available. This is the light I have on my person most of the time because it functions as a Tactical light and as an EDC light because of its dual output.
Surefire has a host of lights that meet the Tactical, EDC, and WML needs. I have a Surefire G2 Tactical Light. It’s an older model, so it has only a High output, but the newer versions have dual output, so they can qualify for a couple of categories. The G2 model is among the least expensive of the Surefire lineup, making this a good bargain that is high quality.
Weapon Mounted Light (WML)
A Weapon Mounted Light will fit on various handguns and long guns via mounting rails. Since we want to identify the threat and blind an aggressor if possible, we want a high-lumen output. Fortunately, most WMLs these days have very high lumen output, so they’ll meet our requirements.
WMLs usually have a momentary On switch, so when the pressure is released, the light goes off. As mentioned, it’s not a good idea to search an area with a WML because, by its nature, we would be pointing the firearm at any friendlies during our search. Save the handheld light for that task.
Budget Lights
EDC lights can be had for relatively modest prices from a variety of makers. Tactical lights are going to cost more, given their higher outputs and more durable designs. WMLs are typically the most expensive because they need to be mounted, as well as having high outputs.
Prices range from the single digits for cheapies to several hundred dollars per light. If our pockets are deep, we’re going to have fun picking out a light. And even if we don’t have a ton of spare cash, we can still get quality gear if we search around. We don’t have to spend a mint to get decent gear.
In Conclusion
It’s a good idea to do your homework when picking out a light for whichever task you feel the need. There’s one out there for your budget, whatever it might be. And for your required need. Sometimes the search is as much fun as finding the right light!
