Pelican Flashlights - An American Success Story

We all love an American success story. Someone creates an amazing new product then their business grows and soon they’re a household name. Pelican Products is a story like this, having their start with flashlights and later on durable cases. Pelican got their start here in Torrance, California when David Parker and his wife started the Pelican Company in their garage. Parker’s focus was on making flashlights and cases that were water tight and strong enough to rely on during his undersea adventures. Parker recognized this need as a longtime scuba diver having no doubt suffered from substandard gear while out diving. Over the years, Pelican has developed flashlights and gear cases that have earned a reputation for being tough. Their flashlights in particular have grown from use in diving to trade, police and even military applications, all of which now make use of high powered, long lasting LEDs for maximum brightness.

When you get down into the specifics there are probably dozens or hundreds of different Pelican flashlights, however, they can be broken down into several categories. Pelican’s flashlights encompass safety lights, tactical lights, headlamps, right angle lights and of course dive lights. It goes without saying that Pelican’s dive lights are the foundation of their business. At present, their Nemo lights come in three varieties. The Nemo 1960 is the smallest and is based off of their popular “MityLite” except for it can be used underwater. This light is designed to be compact, fitting in the buoyancy compensator pocket, and yet still bright enough to light up the ocean depths. The Nemo 2010 is their “flagship” flashlight and is a standard sized flashlight that’s waterproof and is similar in scope to their slightly larger 2410 Nemo light. All three of these lights are made of ABS resin for durability and are submersible up to 100 meters. Great lights if you’re going to do any diving.

Headlamps are another great lighting solution that have many uses, because hands free lighting is always something useful. Headlamps are great for hiking if you’re out after dark, mining or spelunking (cave exploration) of course also comes to mind. Headlamps also have a lot of use for work applications for those who work night shift in a construction or industrial job or in a vocation where you have to work in a dark confined area for electrical or other infrastructure work. Basically, if you’re in the dark and need your hands free to climb, navigate nature or just need to do some work in the dark, headlamps are a great solution and Pelican headlamps are some of the best.

Pelican is also one of the largest manufacturers for “Intrinsically Safe” flashlights that are needed for certain industrial and even Coast Guard applications. No one else makes more flashlights certified for Class I, II, II, Div 1 and ABDEFG than Pelican. Essentially, these intrinsically safe flashlights are used in an area where electrical devices could cause a spark, so when you need a light in an area where you can’t have sparks, many Pelican lights will make sure that their light won’t be the cause of fire or explosion. You can read about the hazards intrinsically safe lights help guard against. Safety on the job is important and Pelican lights make a work area safer with more light and by being free of sparks.

Rounding out their selection of flashlights, Pelican also makes flashlights for military and emergency services applications. Perfect for firefighters, military and anyone else is the right angle flashlight. The right angle flashlight was originally designed for the military during World War II. A right angle light was intended to be set on a table to provide light while a soldier’s hands were free for something else. This design was also able to be clipped to the soldier so as to provide light while a soldier was walking and holding his gun. Today, this light is used by everyone, but it’s found a great niche with firefighters and other emergency services personnel. In some models, Pelican has modified this classic right angle design to include a swivel head so it can be used as either a 90 degree light or a traditional flashlight.

In addition to lights that are great for firefighters and military, Pelican’s line of tactical flashlights are also really impressive. From their “7 Series” of tactical lights to the Pelican 7060 which is the official flashlight of the LAPD. The 7060 can be activated by a body mounted switch or a tail mounted tactical switch. The light also features high, medium, and low beams in addition to a strobe effect. Best of all, it has a rechargeable Li-Ion battery saving you a ton battery costs over the life of the flashlight. It’s a popular flashlight and the fact that it’s the standard issue light for LAPD means it’s a light you can rely on.

What started with making lights that could endure one man’s hobby in extreme conditions has evolved into an impressive variety of flashlights that can be used in everyday life, on a jobsite and even by emergency services. Many of Pelican’s lights are made in the USA and each style has uses that will be great to use in any industry. If you’re looking for a flashlight take a look at Pelican and find a flashlight or two that will suit your needs.