TIGERLIGHT FBOP

TigerLight Gold Series FBOP, retail $119.99 (www.texastacticalsupply.com...)
Manufactured by TigerLight, Inc. (www.tigerlight.net/)
Last updated 12-02-08




The TigerLight Gold Series FBOP Rechargeable Flashlight is a high-end, high-intensity flashlight, which is rechargeable (via a NiMH battery inside), can carry pepper spray (Oleoresin Capsicum, or OC for short - not to be confused with the Fox show "The OC"), and is made of type 3 hard anodized aluminum. It has a gold colored band between the head and barrel, and a rubber covered pushbutton switch near the tailcap.

The unit I'm testing for you today is the "Prison Version" with no pepper spray, as I do not know the legality of carrying pepper spray in a flashlight in Washington state (USA). So I opted for the version without pepper spray capability. The box advertises this as "The Light With A Bite" - I believe they are referring to the pepper spray-enabled version here. While the TigerLight I'm testing is very bright, it certainly can't "bite" - unless you physically hit somebody with it. :-)

FBOP stands for "Federal Bureau of Prisons".

(Edit) I just found out on 02-20-04 that pepper spray is indeed legal for citizens to carry in Washington state - whether that is in a canister you carry in your purse or coat pocket, or in a TigerLight.

I don't see an instruction manual in the package, so I hope I don't screw something up on this page.
I emailed my contact at TTS about the manual, so I shouldn't be "in the dark" for too long here.


SIZE



To use your new TigerLight, first charge it up (see below) and then it'll be ready to go.

Press the rubber covered button near the tailcap to get light, and press it again to not get light.

Although it is not recommended you keep the TigerLight on the charger all the time, apparently this will not harm the batteries in the TigerLight, so keeping it in its charging cradle when not in use doesn't seem to do any damage.



Since this is a rechargeable product, this section won't be of much use except to tell you how to charge your TigerLight.

To charge the TigerLight, plug the charging cradle into the cord on either the 12VDC cigerette lighter plug or the 120VAC "wall wart" transformer. The plug is keyed to fit the socket only one way - so if the plug and socket don't mate, turn one of them around (180 degrees) and try it again. Plug the wall wart or cigerette lighter plug in. Look on the charging cradle for an embossed image of the flashlight. Orient your TigerLight in the same direction, and insert the flashlight into the cradle tail-first. It will rather loudly "snap" into place as you press the TigerLight into its charging cradle. The red LED on the charging cradle will come on when you have the TigerLight in right.

*** VERY IMPORTANT!!! ***
The TigerLight will *NOT* charge if its power switch is in the "On" position; the charger will let you know that this is indeed the case by failing to light its red LED. Turn your TigerLight off, and the red LED on the charger should now come on, indicating that the product is now charging.

I believe you need to charge your TigerLight for 10 hours with totally dead batteries.
The beam shots below were taken with approximately 3 hours on the charger.
Back to the charger you go, Mr. TigerLight... ;-)

Because the TigerLight uses an incandescent bulb, sooner or later you're going to need to change it.
To change the lamp, unscrew the bezel (lens-end) of the flashlight until it comes off, and set it aside. The reflector/lamp assembly in your TigerLight is affixed by two small gold-plated connectors to wires that run down the barrel. Carefully remove these wires/connectors from the reflector/lamp assembly. Do not pull on the wires themselves; the manual was rather emphatic about this part.
Take a new reflector/lamp assembly, and bring it near the mouth of your TigerLight (don't worry about your TigerLight biting you, that won't happen!). Now, plug the connectors on the ends of the TigerLight's wires onto the pins of the new lamp assembly, then lower the lamp assembly onto the barrel of your TigerLight. Place the bezel (lens-end) over the reflector, and screw it firmly back on.

This sounds harder to do in print than it actually is to physically do it for yourself; please do not be put off by the above instructions.

Notice: The bulb may explode if it is touched and then subsequently used. If you touched the bulb with your bare fingers at all, clean it with alcohol or tape head cleaner on kleenex or toilet paper to ensure all finger oils are removed before turning your TigerLight on.

The TigerLight bulb draws approximately 1.71 amps (1,710mA).

If you ever need to change the battery in your TigerLight, unscrew and remove the bezel, and remove the reflector/lamp assembly (as if you were relamping the flashlight). Set these aside. Remove the rubbery impact dampener from the TigerLight's barrel, and set that aside too. Turn the flashlight so the open end of the barrel faces downward, and remove the battery pack. Gently strike the barrel face down on a table or something if the battery pack doesn't slide right out. When the battery is out, unplug the gold plated 9v connector from the old battery pack, and dispose of or recycle it as you see fit. Plug the 9v connector onto the new battery pack. Hold the two lamp wires and then insert the new battery pack in the barrel of the flashlight, with the connector end going in first. If you have it aligned correctly, you should not have to force it. After the battery pack is in, thread the lamp module wires through the rubber impact dampener, and push that into the barrel. Take the reflector/lamp assembly, and bring it near the mouth of your TigerLight. Now, plug the connectors on the ends of the TigerLight's lamp module wires onto the pins of the lamp assembly, then lower the lamp assembly onto the barrel of your TigerLight. Place the bezel over the reflector, and screw it firmly back on.

Just to be on the safe side, pop your TigerLight on the charger for a few hours, and then you'll be finished and ready to rock.

Again, this sounds harder to do in print than it actually is to do with the real thing.



I do not have a car or have access to one, so I cannot test the cigerette lighter adapter in a proper manner. Testing that will have to be up to somebody who has or has access to a vehicle.

The TigerLight does not have knurling (a crosshatch pattern) on its body, but it is texturised. There is a wide band (3") of texturising on the barrel, and a thin strip (1/4") of texturising near the tailcap behind the switch and charger terminals (see the photograph near the top of this page; it shows the texture on the flashlight body and near the tailcap). It is there to help aid in retention (the ability to hold the flashlight when your hands are cold, wet, or oily). Although I think knurling is better, this texturising is certainly better than nothing at all.

The TigerLight is water-resistant enough to use in the rain or snow, and should survive fine if dropped into shallow water. The manufacturer placed one, turned on, in a fishtank for an hour and it did not leak. The TigerLight did leak a bit though when it was submerged in 20 feet of water during an Army Special Forces training excersize off the coast of Australia. It will leak around the switch seal if the water pressure is too great; looks like it may leak at 20 feet depth.
So I'm confident in saying the TigerLight is water-resistant and weather-resistant, but not submersible.

The TigerLight has a smooth reflector, protected by what I believe is an acrylic lens. The bulb is placed in the reflector as such that it generates a very, very, very bright central hotspot, surrounded by a dimmer (but still bright) area of light, which is then surrounded by a dimmer, wide corona, very useful to walk around with and not hit anything.

The charging terminals on the side, toward the rear of the TigerLight's barrel are "live", and measured 8.73 volts open circuit, and 6.37 volts when the lamp was turned on. So you don't want to wrap your TigerLight in aluminum foil or set it down somewhere where the charging terminals could short-circuit against other metal articles. In normal use, this should not be a problem, but it's something you need to be aware of.



Beam photograph at ~12".
Measures 6,050 foot-candles (6,050,000mcd) on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph at approximately 14 feet.




TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by William Z. of Texas Tactical Supply on 02-10-04, and was received on the afternoon of 02-16-04. As of 3:21pm PST on 02-16-04, unit is being charged prior to its first activation.


UPDATE: 02-20-04
I will have the instructional material soon - possibly as early as mid- to late-week this coming week, so bulb changing procedures and warranty info and other information can be added to this page.


UPDATE: 02-29-04
I received the instructional material yesterday, but didn't feel like updating the page at that moment. Sorry about the 1 day delay. :-P I added bulb and battery pack changing instructions to this page.


UPDATE: 05-04-04
I don't know if the red light on the charger turns off when the TigerLight is fully charged, so I'm testing that right now.
I'll come back later tonight or tomorrow morning and report my findings here.


UPDATE: 05-05-04
It's now been about a day, and the red light on the charging cradle is still on. So I'm guessing that current still flows even when the battery is fully charged (the battery in mine was less than 1/4 discharged); the light is there to indicate the TigerLight is inserted in the charging cradle correctly, and that current is flowing. At least I know that I have a fully charged battery in my TigerLight.


UPDATE: 08-01-04
Fresh off the charger, I measured 9.03 volts open-circuit, and 5.56 volts with the lamp on. The loaded value rose to 6.01 volts when the lamp was on for less than one minute; slowly rising while the lamp continued to burn.

Ehhh doodlebugs!!!
I'll have to USE my TigerLight and charge it a few times and then re-measure.


UPDATE: 12-01-08
If the TigerLight accepts & holds a charge, I'll be taking it with me when I move back to western Washington USA in late-December 2008; my younger stepbrother Aaron is a LEO (law enforcement officer) {cop!!!} in the area and I'm sure he would appreciate having the TigerLight more than somebody who finds it at a yard sale or in a thrift store.
Therefore, the dreadful "*" icon will now appear next to its listings on this website.


UPDATE: 12-02-08
The unit is failing to take any level of charge; therefore I'll have little choise but to put it with the garage sale/charity stuff.
Since it will no longer be "in the family" as it were, the dreadful "" icon (note that there is no longer an asterisk) will be placed next to its listings on this website.





PROS:
VERY, VERY bright!!!
Never have to buy disposable batteries for it
Lamps and replacement battery packs are not that hard to change


CONS:
Charging contacts are "hot", but this is very minor in the grand scheme of things
Rear-mounted switch might take some getting used to
Charger is not of the "intelligent" or "smart" type


    MANUFACTURER: TigerLight, Inc.
    PRODUCT TYPE: Handheld flashlight with pepper spray option
    LAMP TYPE: Incandescent
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Central hotspot with dimmer corona and wide spill beam
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on barrel near tailcap
    BEZEL: Lamp and reflector protected by clear plastic window
    BATTERY: Internal 7.5 volt NiMH, capacity not known
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 1.71 amps (1,710mA)
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: 120VAC charger, 12VDC cigarette lighter charger, charging cradle
    SIZE: 11"L (pepper spray version), 8"L (non-pepper spray version), 2 5/16"W at head
    WEIGHT: 23oz (pepper spray version), 21oz (non-pepper spray version)
    WARRANTY: Limited lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating





TigerLight FBOP * www.texastacticalsupply.com...






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