Time to Light em’ Up!
The good folks over at County-Comm (A Preppers One Stop Shop!) have sent me their brand new Maratac AAx2 Tactical Flashlight (Rev 3) to field test and review for you guys. Now for those of you that are new to CC, I highly urge you to save them to your Favorites and subscribe to their You Tube Channel to see some examples of the gear these guys make in-house and sell.
Now I am no stranger to Maratac Gear, I have been using their packs, flashlights and gadgets for years and have always found them extremely durable for either hard use in the field or for light duty in the office.
First, the tech specs of the Light:
- 79 grams or 2.80 oz (without battery)
- 5.9″ O.A.L. x 7/8″ inch width
- Type 3 Military Grade Anodizing ( Matte Finish )
- Has Rotating Black Powder Coated Pocket Clip
- Utilizes 2 Standard AA Batteries ( 1.2-1.7 Volts each )
- Utilizes a Cree XP-G2(R5) LED Bulb
- Glow O-ring Around The Reflector ( easy to find in the dark )
- Rescue RED Push Button Switch and Head
- Utilizes Simple 3 Mode Switching
- Brightness: High 620 lumens / Medium 110 Lumens / Low 5 lumens; (mode brightness control)
- Runtime: High ( 1.5 hours ) Medium ( 10 Hours ) Low ( 200 hours )
- Press and click the back thumb switch to turn on the light into high mode. Lightly press again for Medium mode and once more for low. Press and click anytime to turn the light off.
- UFMM ( User Friendly Memory Mode ) if you wish to leave the light in specific mode for the next time you go to use the light you now can by leaving the light off for more than 5 seconds
As far as the Operation of the light, it is very simple. Standard Operation is with 3 mode switching and if you wish to access the strobe or beacon features, a simple 1/4 turn of the flashlight head:
- Break Away Mode ( 1/4 Turn To The Flashlight Head To Access Strobe or Beacon Modes)
- Strobe ( 40 Hours )
- Beacon flashes every 3 seconds ( 530 Hours )
- Beacon flashes every 1 second ( 170 Hours )
The Light arrives in a very handy 2 part plastic box, complete with ID card and an extra set of O-rings. County-Comm went ahead and installed a set for you on both the Tailcap and Head sections, so no worries, your light arrives ready to go. (A side note on a very practical use for the plastic box: I use them to store my swedish firesteels in, they fit perfect and are weatherproofed.)
Just to give you a size comparison, I wanted to show you one of County-Comm’s other offerings in the Maratac AA Series: Their AA Tactical Rev 3. I got this light last year and absolutely love it. (See my article Making the Tactical Flashlight Practical Again.) The AA Tactical measures 4.15″ OAL compared to the Extreme AAx2 Tactical which measures in at 5.9″ OAL. (Layard’s sold separately.)
The look and feel of the light is superb. The activation button is bright red and cannot be missed while the tailcap is beveled to prevent accidental activation. The rotating pocket clip is black powder coated and very tight. The glowing green O-Ring around the reflector is a genius touch for finding the light in the dark.
As far as performance, this light is a powerhouse. I mean 620 Lumens on High setting folks! Talk about a Q-Beam that will fit in your pocket! I did some “night-time searches” behind the house, all I can say is it was like daytime! The beam is extremely focused, but with a very bright and distinct corona.
The Medium setting at 110 Lumens is more than enough brightness for searching indoors for any “bumps in the night.”
The Low setting at 5 Lumens is suited for map or book reading or when conservation of battery power is a concern.
The Maratac AAx2 Tac Light’s best feature IMO (as the title implies) is that it uses only (2) AA Batteries. One of the things I always stress to folks that are trying to get themselves prepared is to THINK PRACTICALLY, buy flashlights that use only either standard alkaline batteries, rechargeable batteries or just plain rechargeable (be sure to get a car charger with it so you can charge it off a 12 volt car battery). Lithium batteries are expensive to stockpile and have a very short lifespan to boot, while standard Alkalines can be stockpiled at a modest price. Flashlight technology has advanced exponentially in the last 5 years and the prepper is now able to get amazing results as far as both Lumens and run-time out of the standard, everyday AA battery.
Finally, the Con’s. The only thing I could see that would be an improvement on this light would be the addition of an anti-roll head design so the light can be placed on a flat surface without moving. I would also like to see a neck lanyard and a diffuser head (like this one found on the AA Tactical) added to make this a truly “tactical/practical” package.
So Contact Mike and crew and County-Comm and let them hook you up!
Stay Alert, Stay Illuminated and Stay Dangerous!
Reblogged this on Brittius.