Kel-Tec flashlights, a good fit.

Kel Tec -6

The 2015 NRA Show in Nashville Tennessee is where I was tasked with testing a couple of new flashlights from Kel-Tec. I have a CL-42 and CL-43 that have been pressed into daily service for about three months now.

The Kel-Tec CL-42 is a lightweight, single-mode output, modular LED flashlight. The light operates by way of a forward button at the rear of the flashlight with both constant and momentary-on capabilities. The CL-42 produces a constant 420 lumen beam by way of a controlled-output circuit board for 1h 15min, after which time the output will decrease in intensity like a traditional flashlight as the batteries are exhausted, producing 42 lumens at 2h 20min.

The Kel-Tec CL-43 is a bright flashlight that can be used in conjunction with a firearm with this mounting clamp.  It is CNC machined from extruded 6061 aluminum. The light operates by way of a rearward-click button located midpoint of the flashlight with both constant and momentary-on capabilities. It is available in six colors, black, coyote tan, olive drab, orange, yellow, and red.

I have been passing out both to friends to use for a while to see how they would hold up. I have used both and I gravitate toward the CL-43. Both clip inside your pocked but with the CL-43 you can hook your finger under the off/on button and snap the light on as you bring it out. It features a momentary switch that can be useful when sweeping a house or room. Both flashlights are quality but offer only one brightness. Since they are so bright it would be nice to be able to run them at half power for close up work and adjust the beam. Is that a deal breaker, no not really as the flashlights held up well and preformed as advertised. I have learned over the years, the more options you have the more you have to go wrong. So I look at these lights as durable, basic, and uncomplicated.

After a few months of usage it was time to test the light a bit.

Kel Tec -1

Here they are both nestled amongst grape Icee Pops for about eight hours. I have a disdain for  grape Icee Pops so I always have a surplus.I tell my friends they are a part of my back up stash.

Kel Tec -2

Out of the freezer and into my empty sink, they warned up to 19 degrees. The other sink was full of hot water.

Kel Tec -3 Kel Tec -4

So I dropped them right in at 19 degrees and they went up to 119 degrees. That is where the sat for over an hour as the water cooled down. I cycled the lights off and on while they were in the freezer and sink.

After taking them out both were still working just fine.

Kel Tec -5

CL-42 specs

Lumens: 420.

Batteries: (2) CR123 batteries.
Run time: 2 hours 25 Mins.
Beam distance: 160 Meters.
Peak beam intensity: 6400 candela.
Impact resistance: 1 meter.
Water resistance: 1 meter depth.
MSRP $85

CL-43 specs

Lumens: 420.                                                                                                                                                                              Batteries: (3) CR123 batteries.                                                                                                                                                       Run time: 3 hours 35 Mins.                                                                                                                                                         Beam distance: 160 Meters.                                                                                                                                                            Peak beam intensity: 6400 candela.                                                                                                                                         Impact resistance: 1 meter.                                                                                                                                                         Water resistance: 1 meter depth for 30 mins                                                                                                                          MSRP $140

 

 

By Hunter Elliott

I spent much of my youth involved with firearms and felt the call early on to the United States Marine Corps, following in my father's and his brother's footsteps. Just after high school I enlisted and felt most at home on the rifle range, where I qualified expert with several firearms and spent some time as a rifle coach to my fellow Marines. After being honorably discharged I continued teaching firearm safety, rifle and pistol marksmanship, and began teaching metallic cartridge reloading. In the late 1990s I became a life member to the National Rifle Association and worked with the Friends of the NRA. Around that time my father and I became involved with IDPA and competed together up until he passed away. I began reviewing firearms for publications in the mid 2000s and have been fortunate to make many friends in the industry. Continuing to improve my firearms skills and knowledge is a never ending journey in which we should all be committed. I am also credited as weapons master on a few independent films.

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