subject: P7 Flashlights That Are OK [print this page] P7 Flashlights That Are OK P7 Flashlights That Are OK
How I Came To Know Of P7 Flashlights
My first experience with a P7 flashlight was on a hunting trip in central Kansas with a buddy of mine in December of 2009. We had waited until just before dusk because we knew there was a big buck that came out of the bombing range to feed on the winter wheat across the road. That night was no exception except that he decided to come out of the brush a little further down the road instead of at the cut he usually came out from.
This of course put us in bit of a pinch as we had to make our way down toward him without spooking him or the doe he was folowing. Luckily the wind was in our favor but stealth is definitly not one of mine or Ryans strong points. The does started and a couple went back across the road but a few went deeper into the winter wheat field, including the buck.
The Repercussions Of The Long Shot
I'm not going to even try to guess how long a shot it was but suffice to say, it was out of my range; and thats why I drag Ryan along on these trips. With his eagle eyes and the help of a Browning A-bolt in 7mm a buck did indeed go down in that field that evening. We actually got two that evening, I managed to draw up on a nice doe who had the misfortune of running the wrong way.
We found the doe with no problem, there was still quite a bit of light at the time, but the buck managed a few extra steps after that amazing shot (how we still don't know after we saw the placement). From past experience I have learned to try and mark the down spot with landmarks and then triangulate but its kind of hard to do on a full (flat) section in low light.
Does P7 Mean Mini Sun In Some Other Language?
If had just been me and my little mag light the coyotes would have feasted well that particular December eve but once again Ryan saved the day and whipped out a miniature hand held sun that basicly lit up the night in every direction he pointed it. Ryan is good for surprises like that. Turns out he had an MTE P7-C flashlight that threw a beam of light with about 200 lumen worth of candle power. It quite simply put my 50 lumen mini mag to shame.
Needless to say, Ryan is the one who found the buck and all the great shooting and cool gadgets aside, he still needed me to help him drag the beast back to the truck.
I did a little research on P7 flashlights after that and found that there are quite a few different ones to choose from. Here are some bits and pieces of a review I found in the Candle Power Forums about the one Ryan had, the MTE SSC P7-C (MTE is a manufacturer of P7 and other high output flashlights). I would include the entire link to the article but some platforms have slapped my hand before for adding links and I do not want to bite the hand that feeds... if you Google Candle Power Forums P7 you will probably get to the article easily enough. He has included some photos that do a fabulous job of showing just how powerful a quality P7 flashlight is.
The following are some comments from that review I came across in the Candle Power Forums:
The lasering on this torch is actually one of the most precise I've ever seen, an oddity on a "cheaper" budget light. The flashlight is actually rather well designed and offers an easy to grip surface. This particular flashlight appears to be the more expensive aluminum reflector-ed version from SZ Wholesale, not the one from DX. It uses one of the older P7 LEDs, with the "cloudy" dome. The light appears to be HA III anodize (tactical/weapons grade). It has not scratched much at all, a definite plus.
As mentioned earlier, there are always drawbacks to being frugal:
The MTE SSC P7-C is one of the cheapest high output lights I have ever handled, but, there are some shortcomings that come with the low price. Gary reported that initially, the light would flicker, and he needed to place a spacer between the reflector and the LED to get it to stop. I don't know what exactly was happening there, but this immediately stops me from recommending this light to average users, as this modification is possibly needed.
In conclusion, there is a ray of hope for this particular torch, then the fellow kind of dashes that hope to pieces with a pretty obvious observation:
Personally, I have not had many budget lights fail. The important part, though, (the circuitry) lags a bit behind in quality. I am hesitant to recommend this light to average users, but to ones that have the skill (and the time) to work with a light like this, it is a pretty good deal.
What I Did With This Information
After reading this article, I chose to buy an Ultra Fire SSC P7 flashlight from DX (Deal Extreme) for about $30. My wife is actually the one who bought it for me and neither one of us realized that the torch did not come with a battery or charger, something that every Wolf Eyes or Sure Fire torch does (which helps to explain the healthy price tag), but I corrected that by ordering a charger that came with two batteries from Dino Direct for $17 (free shipping - yay!). So all in all I paid about $50 for a surprisingly heavy, 2 stage P7 flashlight that I am completely happy with even though it took forever for both items to arrive.
Here are some of the specs:
SSC P7 C bin
2 Mode (High/Low)
900 Lumens (probably overstated)
151mm (L) x40mm (H) x24mm (B)
154 grams
1x18650 (not included) [this is the battery]
My Final Thought On The P7 Flashlight:
Until you actually have one of these flashlights in your hand and turn it on (or look directly into it, which it says DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY INTO LIGHT all over the box), you will never appreciate just how bright they really are.
