The Gun Counter

Finally! Like I promised, flashlight reviews will be forth coming in the next few months, now that the deer hunting is winding down. Of course, the hog war at Rancho del Termite will be an ongoing thing, but it may actually give opportunities for extra field testing of different lights.

I'm using my Fenix LD40 this year while deer hunting on my cousin's land in southern Madison parish, on the Tensas river. I keep a Streamlight Buckmasters Twintask light in my backpack, but it has an incandescent main beam(with green LEDS for low power walking to your stand in the dark), and will only run about an hour using the main beam, putting out about 60 lumens. But enough about all that, on to the LD40.......

LD40 pic The LD40 is a nicely sized light, that fits well to the hand. Dimensions are 7.25" long with a head diameter of 1.75". The head is aircraft aluminum, the body is plastic. The body is oval, due to the 2x2 battery arrangement. Speaking of batteries, the LD40 uses 4 AA's, either Ni-Cd, NiMh, or high quality alkalines; or the AA lithiums. DO NOT use the 3.7 V Li-ion 14500 rechargeable batteries, you will destroy the light engine. The LD40 is rated at IPX-8 for water resistance(30 min at a depth of 2 meters), and comes with a lanyard and belt holster. The LED emitter is a CREE XP-G neutral white, with no blueish tint at all.
The LD40 has four light mode output levels: low, med, high, and "turbo". Respective light levels are: 4 lumens, 43 lumens, 110 lumens, and 248 lumens. It also has 3 flashing modes, but I never used them, and don't understand the appeal. Runtimes as listed by Fenix(using 2500mAh NI-Mh batteries) for the light modes are: low-245hrs, med-27hrs, high-9.75hrs, and turbo-3.2hrs. I used low mode inside the camp to walk to the bathroom/find gear/etc, and medium mode while walking around outside the camphouse. High mode was more than I needed while wading thru 50-60 yds of calf-high water, helping Jr. Termite drag his deer out to a trail one night.
Since turbo mode is "only" 248 lumens, I haven't noticed any issues using regular Duracell AA batteries on turbo mode, unlike some of the really super-powerful AA lights that will only give full power using NiMh AAs. However, the LD40's turbo mode of "only" 248l will throw over 150 yds AND has good spill, putting a Surefire 6P or G2 LED to shame. IT's a lot of "bang for the buck".
Price is $61.95, from either Battery Junction or Going Gear. The Going Gear site has a video of a field test, complete with a comparison to a 4D Maglight. I've bought stuff from both companies, and have no complaints.

All in all, I like the LD40. It's handy, bright enough for 95% of flashlight needs, has good runtime, not terribly expensive for a high quality light, and uses AA batteries which can be found everywhere.

I'll post more reviews of other lights as I can.

Termite wrote: It also has 3 flashing modes, but I never used them, and don't understand the appeal.

Signaling in a survival mode?

randy wrote:

Termite wrote: It also has 3 flashing modes, but I never used them, and don't understand the appeal.

Signaling in a survival mode?

If it's bright enough and flashes fast enough, it can be highly disorientating. Though a more mundane use is in attracting attention to yourself, since the eyes are drawn to movement, and a flashing bright light will automatically be noticed by others.

randy wrote:

Termite wrote: It also has 3 flashing modes, but I never used them, and don't understand the appeal.

Signaling in a survival mode?

Well, there is that.

But man, I gotta tell you: when things are bad enough for that, I'm hoping not to pin my chances on something as mundane as a blinking light.........