Archive for Gear and Holsters
Review of the BLACKHAWK! Be-Wharned Knife
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I just posted a review of the BLACKHAWK! Be-Wharned knife over at GunsHolstersAndGear.com. If you are looking for an excellent self-defense or duty knife, this one is worth looking at.
Cyclops Universal Flashlight Holder from Helios Systems Review
Posted by: | Comments(Ed. note: This review is a follow up to the Cyclops introduction posted last month by Aaron.)
Gary Grundy of Helios Systems was gracious enough to allow me to test and evaluate one of the Cyclops. For testing I used my Safariland duty rig and my tactical vest equipped with the Molle system. I selected five commonly used police flashlights: the Blackhawk 9-volt Falcata; the Streamlight Poly Stinger; the Surefire Z2; the Surefire 6Z; and the Blackhawk Gladius. All of these flashlights have a thumb activated on/off button for tactical use.
During the testing, I found the smaller Z2, 6Z and the Gladius are held more snugly by the Cyclops than the larger lights. However, the location of the front strap leaves only about 1.5 inches of the Z2 and 6Z, and about two inches of the Gladius, exposed at the top of the Cyclops to grab for withdrawal. With the “halo” headrest this made a secure grip even more difficult than open top style carriers. Withdrawing these two flashlights was not impossible but was awkward, as I was only able to get two fingers on the Z2 and not quite three fingers on the Gladius. I consider myself as having average-sized hands (usually a medium or large glove size) so someone with larger hands might have even more trouble with retrieving these two particular flashlights from the Cyclops.
Helios Systems Cyclops Universal Flashlight Holder
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Helios Systems developed and is now shipping the Cyclops universal flashlight holder. The Cyclops is a belt mounted device designed to hold and carry a wide variety of duty/tactical flashlights.
At the 2010 SHOT SHOW in Las Vegas I came across Gary Grundy at the Helios Systems booth. Grundy introduced me to the Cyclops Universal Flashlight Deployment product that Helios Systems has produced. The concept for the Cyclops is that a user can have different flashlights without having to worry about having a separate flashlight carrier to house the different flashlights.
Just looking at the Cyclops you can immediately notice its unique retention design and shape. The Cyclops looks like an orthodox cross or maybe even a Christmas angel. Attached to an oval-shaped base that houses the retention clips on the back side of the Cyclops, the rear frame is predominately a narrow vertical strip of self-lubricating nylon. But about 3/4 of the distance to the top of that narrow strip, the rear frame extends out in an open-arms shape about two inches from center line in both directions. This creates the rear strap. The head of the rear frame also flares out in a kind of halo-like appearance.
Streamlight PolyTac LED HP
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Streamlight announced the new PolyTac LED HP, an inexpensive high-powered flashlight for law enforcement and others needing a tactical light. The new PolyTac delivers 150 lumens for a retail price of $75. I would expect street pricing to be about $50-60.
From Streamlight:
Streamlight®, Inc., a leading flashlight manufacturer for law enforcement, military and tactical uses, today introduced a high performance version of its lightweight, compact tactical PolyTac® LED-the PolyTac® LED HP. The new model offers nearly triple the peak beam intensity of its predecessor for even greater performance. It features C4® power LED technology.
The lithium-powered PolyTac LED HP delivers150 lumens measured system output and 15,000 candela peak beam intensity, enough to provide critical lighting for a wide variety of law enforcement and tactical uses. It features the same compact, lightweight polymer casing as previous PolyTac models.
New Streamlight Strion LED HP
Posted by: | CommentsStreamlight announced the new Strion LED HP flashlight at the 2010 SHOT Show. The HP is the next evolution of the Strion flashlight, bringing a much brighter light and strobe function to the compact flashlight.
From Streamlight:
Streamlight®, a leading provider of lighting equipment for law enforcement, tactical and military professionals, has introduced a high performance version of its popular compact Strion® LED rechargeable flashlight, the Strion® LED HP. The new model provides approximately 400 percent greater peak beam intensity than earlier models, using C4® power LED technology to deliver extraordinary brightness.
Streamlight TLR-1, TLR-2: Brighter and with Strobe
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The popular TLR-1 and TLR-2 weaponlights from Stremlight have been upgraded for 2010. The new lights feature brighter light, and add a strobe feature.
From Streamlight:
Streamlight® Inc., a leading provider of lighting tools for the law enforcement, tactical and military professions, announced it has introduced the TLR-1® s and the TLR-2® s, strobe-equipped versions of its leading tactical gun-mount lights. The new lights, which feature C4® LED technology, provide even greater brightness than earlier models equipped with power LEDs. The TLR-2®s also comes with an integrated laser sight.
