Man, I remember in the very fledgling days of my survivalist existence the flashlight to have was the MagLite. The bigger the better, and MagLite made some of those things in as many as, I believe, 6 D-cells which was alot like carrying a baseball bat. And, of course, that was the idea behind it. MagLite’s unspoken-yet-obvious big selling point was that you could beat someone to death with it if you needed to. And, back in those days, you had a Krypton bulb that threw out a decent bit of light compared to the flashlights of the day. But if you dropped your MagLite there was a good chance the filament in the bulb would break, so they came with a spare bulb nestled in the tailcap.
Now it’s thirty years later and technology has actually delivered on its promise, at least as far as flashlight are concerned. Thanks to LED’s we get ten times the battery life and about that much times the brightness.
I mention this because I sent a pocket flashlight to someone as a gift and got one for myself on a whim. And I am astounded at the light output in it’s maximum mode. The light in question is the Fenix PD35 v3.0 1700 Lumen Tactical Flashlight with Two ARB-L18-2600Us and LumenTac Organizer.
For the last several years I have been carrying a Fenix E11/12 which has proven to be an outstanding choice for an everyday pocket light. Bright enough for most operations without getting into the overly tactical realm. It’s small, runs on one AA batt, and fits in your pocket quite nicely.Its a good everyday carry kind of item and I recommend it highly for that.
But…sometimes you want something in the same (or similar) size and form factor but you want to up the firepower. So, after examining the one I got as a gift for someone I decided I very much needed this thing in my repertoire.
It runs off an included rechargeable battery. The battery charges off of USB cable so you can pretty much charge it anywhere. Probably even off a Goal0 solar panel that’s designe for charging USB appliances. And, since it is USB, you can charge it off of anything that is meant to charge your phone…like those portable little battery banks. But, in a crunch, it’ll also run just as nicely on a couple of those CR123 batteries you’re using in your Surefire weapon lights. So..dual fuel.
The biggest attraction , to me, is this retina-scorching maximum setting on this thing. Hit the button on the tailcap to on/off. Once on, there’s a small button at the front bezel that you can click through the five power settings. Lowest setting will give you a nice ‘work light’ output for finding things close at hand in the dark, highest setting will look like an aircraft landing light. Hold down the selector button for a few seconds and you get a wildly disorienting strobe on maximum setting. Pretty sure it’ll induce an epileptic seizure on pretty much anyone…epileptic or not. It remembers what setting you had it on when you last used it, so if you turn it off on low, it’ll be on low when you turn it back on. Turn it off on maximum, and when you turn it back on…maximum.
Runtime, according to the paperwork, is something like 200+ hours on the low setting and about five hours on max. Battery recharge is about fifteen minutes and the battery has a red/green LED indicator on it to let you know when its charging/charged.
Price? Not cheap. About a hundred bucks which, even with Bidenflation, still seems like a bit of a bitter pill. But…cheap bastard that I am, I’m telling you that you’ll get what you pay for with this thing.
It’s about the size of your average Surefire light, but still of a size that would fit in a pocket. Theres a belt clip and lanyard for keeping things handy and from getting lost. If you do things like take the dog out at midnight, or walk home from work late at night, this is the last word in pocket handheld illumination.
Do I think it’s worth a hundred bucks? Hmmm. I think so. I’ve never had an occasion where I wished my flashlight had less power, but I’ve been in plenty of situations where I wished it threw a beam further or brighter.
So…thumbs up from your buddy Zero.
Your correct. Another reason people in my line began carrying them was simple. It negated the need to carry a Billy club. It allowed for less equipment on the equipment belt. Especially the club. They had to be carries in a flexible pouch on the door. You grabbed it on the way out and put it in the ring designed for the purpose. It was a pain. At least at night the flashlight served when walking up to a vehicle on a traffic stop.
Now days they have added a walkie talkie. Tazer. Imagine trying to manage all that equipment and engage in a foot chase.
A large local police force here was barred from carrying Mag-Lites in the early1980s after an officer’s dose of street justice left a guy dead. Those things packed a wallop, the officer told the review board that he swung it just like he had always done with his stick which is what led them to the ban. They were still allowed to use them but not carried on their belt…
Cool. My EDC flashlight is a Nite Core Tiki LE, attached to my trucker’s wallet biner leash. Feather light – I literally do not feel its presence there. Yet always there. Only 300 lumens max, but that has been plenty for my needs, not signaling for an search and rescue air plane. 4 different light level modes and the red / blue hazard flasher mode comes in handy too, but only occasionally needed.
I’ve been using this flashlight through three or four generations now.
It’s what I call ‘Teen Tested’. Before retirement I was an auto instructor. I carried the Fenix daily, and loaned it to teen males daily. They could not destroy it.
Working in the shop, it saw daily hard use. I actually have a rounded gap in my front teeth, the result of holding the flashlight there as I worked over the years.
I’m sold. Their ‘Customer Service’ was downright useless the one time I tried it, but the product is outstanding.
Good review / report. The evolution of compact flashlights has allowed them to be a necessary and useful component to the normal every day carry accoutrements that I carry on my person. (all the time) These variants of lights have developed entirely different instinctive habits of just reaching for my pocket torch during hours of darkness to accomplish simple or short tasks instead of bothering with turning on light switches. (Contributes to opsec / light discipline in sporty times) It is hard wiring habits and routines before a grid down event. I’ve been a surefire fanboy but this product has more thought out utility features to up one’s game.
You can recharge an 18650 battery in fifteen minutes? Good Lord, how? It takes me hours in a dedicated charger!
Gotta cram them electrons HARD.
CZ my friend,
Let me be the first to welcome you to the world of flashlight nerds!
You know how we know all the finer points of the differences between a G3 vs G4 vs G5? or your post about the PTR vs HK paddle mag releases?
There is a whole community of folks that go to that level for flashlights.
If you want a shortcut map to the best flashlight in every possible form factor – from keychain to Duty lights to SAR spotlight, they have compiled a list here. Updated twice yearly.
https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/vhvbz3/arbitrary_list_of_popular_lights_summer_solstice/
If you were blown away by the PD35 1700 lumens, wait until you see some of the other options.
Before MagLites, there were Kel-lites…..like a maglight, but thicker walled aluminum tubing…
And paramedics would joke about patients having “Kel Lite” in reverse embossed on their foreheads.
I had a Kel-lite back in the day (cough, early ’70) and they had the nick name “kill lights” with the locals. Was at a roadblock for a bad accident which was around a blind corner and some fool figured he would just slow down and cruise on by me – nope, got all kinds of hail damage from my Kel-lite on the fender and quickly stopped. Saw some hard core guys from a WY SO who had ‘c’ cell mag lights but they were about two feet long and nice and heavy.
As a paramedic in the South Bronx in the 80’s I had a 5 cell ‘C’ Mag-lite. We had a guy try and grab a cop’s gun in the housing projects during a domestic dispute. It looked like the guy was winning so I ‘clocked’ him in the head several times with it. He let go of the gun, but I couldn’t get the batteries out after that because I dented the side so badly (I dented the guys head pretty good, too). I absolutely loved that light.
I’m going on 4 years with a Nitecore MT10C as my EDC light. I wore out my first set if 3 batteries in 2.5 yrs. I’m 1.5 yrs. inti the replacement set of 4 batteries. This light replaced a Surefire Backup 200 lumen.
My light is the EDC item I use thr most by far..
For times where more power and/or more duration is required I shift to a MH12S (I think, 1800 lumens with a 21700 battery).
For headlamps I prefer Fenix. My old HL50 is still a backup, now replaced with a newer version.
Steelheart
I like my Fenix lights, my latest EDC for the past few years is the Olight S2R Baton II. This thing is feature rich without being overwhelming, it puts out a TON of light (with lots of throw for distance) even on the lower very long-lasting levels and the battery is great. It has a magnetic tail which turns out is the handiest thing ever. I still prefer a tail cap momentary on only for a handheld pistol light but this thing would still be very usable in a pinch and is better suited the rest of the 99.999% of the time I am using it.
I have dropped it from 3-4 feet up many times and while the body has some dings and scars it just keeps on ticking. I also have the shorter Baton 3 but found I liked the 2 better.
It was the Fall of 1974; I had just graduated from college and gotten my first permanent job as a Park Ranger. I went to a police equipment store in Nashville, TN to buy a belt. Then i saw it, the biggest flashlight I had ever seen; 4 D Cells and made of aluminum. I splurged and bought a Kel Light. When I say splurged, it was $20.00+ dollars, when $20 ment something. I never hit anyone with it, but I did come close. I still have it.
At one time they did a 7 D cell Maglights you can still find 30 – 45 year old ones for sale.
http://maglitehistory.blogspot.com/2017/10/1980-7d-light.html
You could get a 3 cell extensions [no idea who made them] so could go up to 10 D cell [15 volts]
😳
I like Fenix lights but lately my favourite brand has become Sofirn. IMHO they make quality products at affordable prices. This summer I used their headlamps on many occasions to explore some abandoned trenches and bunker complexes from WWI in Italian Alps and they never let me down.
Many models have the Anduril UI that’s fully customizable for you needs.
No affiliation whatsoever etc…
Thanks from Italy,
Daniele