A flashlight can be the difference between life and death in the profession of law enforcement. A flashlight is a police officer’s best friend. However, when it comes to finding the best bright flashlight for this job, the choice is not that easy. There are certain things to be noted when you are on the mission of finding the best police flashlight to accompany you on the patrols. The market is over crowded with lot of law enforcement flashlights that are not necessarily a good fit for law enforcement.
Summary of Contents
Recommended Best Law Enforcement Flashlight Review – Klarus XT11GT video review
Check Amazon for more customers review and latest Price
In this article, I will be discussing the most important features of a best flashlight that make it great for any law enforcement official. There are many makes and models of flashlights available on the market. Many of them can be used as a police flashlight but some are more suited to this task than the others. Let’s take a look at what makes a flashlight great for police work.
Size and Material of Lights
It is very important for a police flashlight to be sturdy and reliable. After all, it can be the second weapon for any law enforcement official. I prefer the hard anodized aluminum flashlights. These are made with high-grade aluminum that keeps them light and very strong. The flashlights made with this material will not rust either. This is a great construction material for a police flashlight.
The size of a flashlight is a personal matter of choice. Too small of a flashlight is as useless as one that is too big. I prefer medium sized flashlights in surveillance. These flashlights can be easily attached to your belts or tucked away in your pockets and hence are ideal for such scenarios.
High Lumen Powerful Flashlight
Power is important. You don’t want a flashlight that is too weak to cut through the darkness. I prefer flashlights that have a combination of a long beam throw and a nice peripheral illumination.
Another important thing to consider is the fact that as a law enforcement official, you will have to check a number of documents in the dark as well. In that care, too bright a light will make the job difficult. What you need is a flashlight with multiple modes of operation. This way, you can adjust the illumination of your flashlight and hence can suit your needs well.
Best Battery for Flashlight
The battery is what powers a flashlight. It is an important consideration while buying any flashlight including a police flashlight. There are many batteries available that can be used in the flashlights but my absolute favorite is the 18650 batteries flashlight. These batteries hold more charge that the standard disposable ones and last much longer. They allow a flashlight to be much brighter than a standard AA battery because of the higher voltage.
Another important consideration is the mode of recharging the batteries. Most of these flashlights come with some sort of a wall charger to charge the batteries. However, some of them come with a USB charger as well. This is an important add-on as with this system, you can charge your flashlight in the car or even with your portable electronic devices such as laptops. This will keep your flashlight in working condition all the time without fail. This is extremely important for police use!
Flashlight Accessories
Accessories are one of the most important components of a police flashlight. Most of the police flashlights should be versatile in their functionality. They should have easy accessories that can add to their functions. Some of these accessories are:
Gun Mounts: These are one of the critical pieces of accessories for a good police flashlight. There are many flashlights that come with such accessories that make mounting them on a gun very easy.
Lenses and Diffusers: Another important accessory for a police flashlight is the availability of different lenses and filters. You may need a black light lens or an IR lens depending on the situation, and a good tactical flashlight will provide you with all of these. If they don’t come standard with the light, they should be available for purchase by the manufacturer.
Best Law Enforcement Flashlights
Now, let’s take a look at some of my favorite police flashlights. First, I have used it and i will share my personal experience about the Streamlight ED1 tactical flashlight.
Streamlight Protac HL Review Professional LED Flashlight
I have stated it in the past that Streamlight is one of my favorite brands of flashlights. The Streamlight 88040 ProTac is a great flashlight for police work. It is one of the smallest flashlight offered by the company and does the job beautifully well.
The flashlight is made from anodized aircraft grade aluminum that makes it strong and virtually indestructible. The lens is also coated and toughened to be impact resistant. Another thing that makes this flashlight great is that the hardness makes the flashlight great as a weapon. A lot of times, law enforcement uses their flashlight as a non-lethal tool to be used in unique situations.
The flashlight comes with a very convenient holster so that it is always handy when the need arises. Law enforcement are very particular in the type of holsters that they use. They use their flashlight so they need a holster that won’t wear out quickly. I also personally like the tail switch of this flashlight. This is located perfectly on the tail cap and it also controls the various modes of output as well. One click at the highest setting is enough to temporarily blind the suspect!
Check Amazon for more customers review and latest Price
The awesome build quality, powerful output makes it a light that you can depend on. This is easily one of the Best law enforcement flashlight that you can buy if you are in the law enforcement line of work. And also if you are planning to carry it in your pocket, the best way to carry it is in the holster.
Pros of this light:
- Light weight: weighs only 5.6 ounces.
- Multiple modes of operation.
- Long battery life: 1.5 hours average battery life at the highest setting
- Hand aircraft aluminum body.
- Great hardness
- Maximum output 750 lumens
Cons of this light:
I love this flashlight. There are so many positives of this light that some small complaints look very minuscule. Still some of the common complaints with this flashlight are:
The tail cap switch is not perfect. Sometime you may not feel comfortable with it but i will say it is the best one to buy.
Other Recommended Top 3 Best Law Enforcement Flashlights
- Klarus XT11GT 2000 Lumen Tactical Flashlight Read Review on Amazon
- SOLARAY PRO ZX-2 Best and Brightest LED Tactical Flashlight, Extended Run-time, Rechargeable, Ultra Bright, 5 Modes, Zoom Lens and Mini-Pro 1 Zoomable Light best law enforcement flashlight(Editorial Choice) Read Review on Amazon
- Streamlight 75458 Stinger law enforcement torch Read Review Amazon
- Fenix PD35 TAC 1000 Lumen best duty flashlight law enforcement Read Review Amazon
- NITECORE P12 Waterproof best law enforcement flashlight Read Review Amazon
Final thoughts
When it comes to police flashlights, the quality is the most important factor. After all, flashlights are one of the most crucial components of police gear. Here we have seen what makes a flashlight great for police work. We hope that this will help you in making the right decision. The flashlight that we chose was a perfect blend of size, functionality and affordability. We love the Surefire and so will you. So, place an order today and see for yourself! Till next time!
Check out our TOP TACTICAL FLASHLIGHTS RANKING