I haven't owned any of those particular models, but I've owned Streamlight brand and you really can't go wrong with their products. Whatever meets your criteria in their lineup will likely be a good candidate.For headlamps, I highly recommend Zebralight. Their UI is complex at first, but very intuitive once you're used to it, which doesn't take long. They are very durable, well-made lights.As for flashlights, the best combination by far for durability and simple UI is Malkoff, specifically the MDx series. They cannot be matched for durability for the price. Standard UI is single mode, but the mechanical hi/low switch can be added, which provides two levels with a simple twist of the head. I recommend the hi/lo switch and have them on all of my MDx model lights.Is there a specific cell type you would like to use? What about size/form factor? Is this a light you're going to want to carry with you, or just have available in emergency situations?EDIT: I re-read and see that you're wanting to stick to AA/CR123a. Zebralight models are available in either cell, but Malkoff will require multiple (2x/3x) CR123a.
I haven't owned any of those particular models, but I've owned Streamlight brand and you really can't go wrong with their products.
Forget about any light with floody beams. A thrower with as tight beam as possible will penetrate smoke best. High carried light will only blind you as the light will reflect from the smoke particles and you won't be able to see anything, one of the reasons why fog lights are mounted low on cars. Also they are yellow, beat would be red, as the red light reflects less, but on cars that's not an option as the tail lights are red. If escaping smoke filled skyscrapers is the scenario, a tight thrower with a red or yellowish beam would probably work best from what I've read .Hopefully we have a firefighter who can chime in on this.
I’m going to go the boring route and suggest Maglites.
Have you looked at Pelican lights?They have several that ultilize 3-4 AA or AAA, including safety lights designed specifically for firefighters or people working in hazard environments. They usually only have a 1-2 modes and very simply.I bought one for my handicap brother who doesn’t have fine motor skills. He was able to hold and operate without issue. He also loved that the one I got him glowed in the dark.I had one for many years. It was in my car emergency kit. I was cleaning out my old car and found it in a flooded trunk with exploded batteries. Changed the batteries and it still worked.
I had a chance to look at some of their equipment during a fire escape couple months back, and what strike me to be interesting is few of them have mounted headlight up on their helmet. But I guess one thing differ them from us is they do have all the equipment to work in that hazard environment, and equipment to fight fire probably maybe different from what we need to escape. But one observation most of the time during our high-rise fire escape involves walking down endless staircase, and headlamp probably is best, so we could keep our hands free to hold onto rail or support each other.
As far as headlamps, Knog Bandicoot might be an option to look into. It is customizable using their ModeMaker app. You can set it to have just a single mode or multiple, red light is an option, and iirc you can set the max lumen lower if desired.
For hands free, maybe a right angle light that could clip to a waistband?
My experience with flashlights is limited, but have a look at the Streamlight Stylus Pro. I don't know if it can run lithium batteries, but it seems to mash every other button. The only real downsides to it are a switch that takes a concerted effort to push down and a crappy pouch.
+1 I’m a big fan of the bandicootI’d completely forgotten about the ModeMaker app so had thought it might be a bit complicated in an emergency, it sure is versatile
Have you considered a Nitecore LR12? Although a hand, not head torch it has an integral extending diffuser that allows it to be used as a lantern plus a maximum light beam of 1000 lumens. Runs on 2 x CR123 or a single rechargeable equivalent.I've had mine for a couple of years (since Nitecore started making them) and it has behaved faultlessly.
I'm not in the military, but I'd imagine right angle light probably best for military/Forrest fire fighting, where helmet space are limited. Carry them on a shoulder strip will be so much easier than handheld for long matches. Besides being able to stand and not roll around like a maglite, is there any advantage I might have missed about them?Thank you, that sounds good, I will definitely have a look. This might be slightly off topic. But while I'm shopping for this particular scenario, I did notice the Streamlight protac 1L AA maybe a good candidate for general preparedness. 1L seems to be able to take 1AA, CR123 or 1AAA, making it a really versatile light.I think we'd have a thread about this headlight, didn't we? I haven't followed their product line since then, but if there is a way to dumb down the headlight and it uses lithium primary, I'd be quite interested too.
Take a look at the Fenix WF11E ATEX. AA powered, max 200 lumens using a neutral white LED.
The right angle comment was mainly geared towards the comment about having the light low vs high (headlamp). That being said, I prefer headlamps because they move with your head where you are looking.As far as the Knog, the ModeMaker app is pretty good for limiting modes/functions. The batteries are built in lithium rechargeable. To recharge the light pops out of headband and plugs directly into a USB-A port.
The original Knog bandicoot 100 is currently 83% off at A$9.99 which has to be a bit of a bargain, 100 lumens may not be enough for your requirements comis but suspect it’s still pretty bright https://www.knog.com/collections/headlamps/products/bandicoot-100-headlampA$17.99 delivered, couldn’t resist at that price so got one on the way Edit. I just ordered 4 more, they’ll make great gifts
Hopefully we have a firefighter who can chime in on this.