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FOG HORN 2013Twobirds Flying Publication
Copyright 2013, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights
Reserved.
First Light USA Tomahawk NV
By: Sal Palma
First Light U.S.A. was established in 2004
and incorporated under the laws of the
State of Illinois. If the recesses of my mind
serve me well, The Companys first product
offering was its Liberator light. It was a
great concept, departing in significant ways
from Surefires finger ring approach, with
two important features. First, the Liberator
concept allowed full
use of both hands
while the light was in
use; there was no need to develop
specialized techniques for firing a weapon.
Secondly, the operator had complete
control of the lights features and functions
with his or her thumb.
For a bit of nostalgia, the Liberator also
featured 80 lumens of concentrated light -
remember the days when you first got your
hands on an 80 lumen tactical light? I
believe many of my colleagues, in the press,
described them as flamethrowers;
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First Light USA Tomahawk NV 2013
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certainly days gone by. The technology
available today is quite capable of
delivering 600+ lumens from a compact
handheld light or weapon mounted light. Be
that as it may, this was its beginnings, and
the first rung on a ladder of continuous
innovation and development.
The illumination products industry is highly
competitive and manufacturers must
differentiate themselves. In my mind, what
sets First Light USA apart from its
competitors is their purpose built approach
to product design.
Each of its illumination products is designed
with a purpose or role in mind. The
company does not produce a product with
features you adapt to; instead, they build
lights for specific application whether
tactical, medical, or what have you. First
Light USA will have a lighting product and
mounting arrangement to meet your
specific requirements.
In this review I take an in-depth look at the
Tomahawk NV with the Tactical Retention
System (TRS).
The United States Army has traditionally
relied on the MX-991/U L-shaped flashlight
as its principal soldier illumination tool.
Several years ago, the Army launched its
initiative to modernize its portfolio of
soldier lighting tools; to that end, PEO
Soldier identified a number of contractors
whose lighting products met their
modernization objectives. These suppliers
are approved for use Army wide.
First Light USA holds the number three spot
on a list of Whos Who in the military
lighting business.
This Family of Flashlights (FoF), currently inthe Army
portfolio, consists of a Hands-Free
Helmet-Mounted Light (HFHL) capable of
attaching to the Advanced Combat Helmet
and the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying
Equipment (MOLLE) or the Interceptor Body
Armor (IBA), a Handheld Tactical Light
(HHTL), a Weapon Mountable
Light/Illuminator (WML) and a Crew Served
Weapons Light (CSWL).
The Tomahawk NV TRS fits a number of
roles in PEOs FoF. It also provides the same
L-shape configuration as found in the aging
MX-991, familiar to servicemen and
women, but this is where similarity ends.
The Tomahawk NV is a highly evolved
illumination tool capable of delivering 150+
lumens of white light in high power. The
reflector is skewed to the flood side of
things but still generates a reasonable hot
spot with large amounts of peripheral
lighting.
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First Light USA Tomahawk NV 2013
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The LED ring, which surrounds the primary
light LED, is available in a number of
configurations from the company: Blue/IR,
Blue/IR/Strobe, Red/Green/IR, Red/IR,
Red/IR/Strobe or Yellow-Green/IR.
Prior to starting on this review, I spoke with
Josh Harrell First Lights Military Account
Manager Eastern Region to get a handle on
the benefits of the various color
combinations. He explained a red/green
combination, for example, enhances blood
detection making it well suited to field
medics.
Figure 1
The injury shown in Figure 1 illustrates
Joshs point quite well; its no more than a
surface laceration but note how well the
area is illuminated and how well the
subcutaneous blood stands out. Had this
been a more severe trauma, possibly
arterial bleeding, the red/green light source
would help a medic, working in low light or
no light conditions, locate and clamp a
severed artery or perhaps even locate a
retracted blood vessel.
Tomahawks ring arrangement helps to
keep the light compact, and functions to
nicely flood the area being illuminated. So,
its a very well thought out task oriented
function.
My review sample was configured with a
Red/Green/IR ring. Interestingly enough, as
I worked through the review I kept asking
myself why the company provides a red
and green LED yet wont give you discrete
use of red, green as well as the red/green
mix?
I think the answer is no more complex than
theres a limit to what can be done with
three operator controls and still keep the
light easy to use.
mailto:[email protected]%[email protected]%3e;mailto:[email protected]%[email protected]%3e;mailto:[email protected]%[email protected]%3e;
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I suppose you can always add more
controls; however, broadly speaking,
increasing the number of controls, onanything, impacts
ergonomics and ease of
use.
The Tomahawks functions and features are
all easily accessible through its 3 button
operator interface.
The light starts in one of two states, locked
or unlocked. In the locked condition, the
white light source is disabled; however, theoperator can still
use the LED ring by simply
pressing the constant-on control (I/O) twice
in rapid succession. The action places the
LED ring in a constant on condition; you
can also change the LED rings brightness
level by depressing the cycle control.
By the way, the concept of a lockout
emerged prior to First Lights entry into the
market, and all of its competitors offered
lockout features requiring backing down the
tail cap. First Light was first on the block
with an electronic lockout, which is by far
the more elegant approach.
I suppose its
possible to forget
whether your light
is locked or
unlocked, so the
company providesa simple solution
to that dilemma. Pressing any one of the
controls in a locked condition will give you a
red lock indication. At this point Ill
reference a continuously flashing lock
indicator signposts a low battery condition.
Accessing the lights full functionality
involves unlocking it, which is easily done by
depressing the (I/O) and cycle controls
concurrently.
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First Light USA Tomahawk NV 2013
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If successful, youll see the lock indicator
change from red to green signifying the
light is now unlocked. While unlocked,
youll have access to its full set of features,
which includes momentary and constant on
illumination from all sources.
Operating the Tomahawk is surprisingly
simple given the number of features and
functions available. For example, from the
unlocked condition, click the (I/O) control
once and the LED ring illuminates. You can
then use the cycle control to set the desired
intensity. If you want to engage the LED ringmomentarily, simply
press and release the
cycle control. In all cases, the light
remembers the last intensity setting for any
source and comes up at the last intensity
setting for the given source, so you dont
need to constantly cycle through low,
medium or high to get back where you
were! This feature is available for
everything except momentary use of thewhite light source and IR
source. They both
come up in high intensity.
Mastering a product of this sophistication,
means spending quality time with its
operators manual. Theres no substitute for
that approach, if you want to derive full
benefit from this highly evolved illumination
tool. I strongly suggest it.
IR light is essential in any military flashlight.
I remember moving down the side of a hill
with my handy-dandy MX-991 and a poncho
over my head to maintain light discipline. I
dont miss it one iota!
The emergence of an IR LED was and still is
a significant technical achievement.
The lights IR feature is concentrated in the
LED ring.
IR is activated by pressing the (I/O) and
momentary controls simultaneously. Youll
need to hold those down for about 2
seconds. Youll know youre there when the
lock LED flashes red twice.
Before attempting to enable IR functions
make sure the light is in a locked condition.
Once in IR, all other light sources aredisabled.
To use momentary IR lighting, press the
momentary control; the IR source will light
in high power. To use IR continuous, press
the I/O control; at this point, youll be able
to control IR light intensity using the cycle
control. I found Tomahawks IR LEDs perfect
as a task light or navigation light.
The last IR feature is the strobe, which is an
IR beacon at one second intervals.
You can watch a short video clip of the IR
strobehere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG2NP3TjZuU&feature=youtu.behttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG2NP3TjZuU&feature=youtu.behttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG2NP3TjZuU&feature=youtu.behttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG2NP3TjZuU&feature=youtu.be
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First Light USA Tomahawk NV 2013
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Ergonomics are truly exceptional. For
starters I really do like the L-shaped body, it
makes directing the light beam very natural.
Simply grasp the tube, insert your index
finger through the finger loop and use your
thumb to operate the light. It just does not
get any easier.
Operating the light with a gloved hand
offered no particular challenges.
In prior years First Light used a spring steel
clip on the battery housing to make possible
MOLLE attachment. Candidly, it worked
better as a belt clip than a MOLLE
attachment. The company overcame the
weakness when it introduced, late in 2012,
its TRS or Tactical Retention System, for the
Tomahawk lights.
The TRS attaches to PAL webbing using two
malice clips. The Tomahawk light then
mounts to the TRS which allows for a full
180 of articulation. Dismounting the light
entails you depress the retaining plunger,
which allows the light to slide in or out. The
TRS can be oriented vertically or
horizontally for total flexibility.
In addition to the MOLLE TRS, First Light
offers a belt mount and magnet mount
system. All of the TRS mounts MOLLE, Belt
and Magnet use the same light interface, so
the operator will experience a seamless
transition from vest to belt or vest to
magnet.
All things considered, one is hard-pressed
to find a mil-spec light as versatile and
robust as the First Light USA Tomahawk NV.
It performed brilliantly, no pun intended,
across its entire feature set. With the
addition of the TRS, the aggregate solution
leaves nothing to be desired.
-SP
Manufacturers Specifications
http://www.first-light-usa.com/sites/default/files/First-Light-USA-Tomahawk-Line_3.pdfhttp://www.first-light-usa.com/sites/default/files/First-Light-USA-Tomahawk-Line_3.pdfhttp://www.first-light-usa.com/sites/default/files/First-Light-USA-Tomahawk-Line_3.pdf
