Tips for effective flashlight use?

[davidwestonh]

On the subject of eye shine it does help to hold the flashlight at eye level. It also helps to use a lower output level because many animals are skiddish and will look away or move away from a brighter light. I have noticed a lower level doesn't spook them as easy. I haven't noticed this with deer, and if you ever hit one in a car you'd probably agree But I have noticed it with foxes for instance.

I stand on my back deck and the deer and rabbits just stare into the LEDs .
i point the surefire a2 at the rabbits and they zoom off.
if I had a second a2 and taped them to the ends of a paperback book and pointed at the deer I wonder if they would run also.

 

[tam17]

If you find OEM diffusers too bulky, store diffuser film patches inside the battery tube. If you prefer self-adhesive type (d-c-fix or similar), prepare both 1- and 2-layer version (the latter makes the mule out of your ordinary flashlight).

Cheers

 

[Cereal_Killer]

I learned a little flashlight trick from the auto glass guy today so I dug up this old thread finally getting to add a useful tip of my own-

if you've lent your teenage child the car, or your looking at one to possibly buy, set a flashlight lens down on the windshield (or any glass) and any chips/cracks will shine. For larger windows you should shine the light from a few different spots to really make sure.

I had him out replacing the back quarter glass on our van and he noticed the flashlight I was carrying during he middle of the day and we ended up in a nice flashlight discussion after he pulled out a pair of solarforce L2's.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

A lot of good tips. <snip>

That said, I can also see how "follow the bouncing ball" (hotspot) is a good way to focus the mind and pay attention to what you are looking at (messy room or wilderness, take your pick).

<snip>

I think the bouncing ball of a hot-spotty light is a distraction. Your search is more frenetic with hand movements and your eyes are darting around to keep inside the spot. If you have enough lumens and a floodier smooth beam, you can search with slower broader sweeps. It's like having a light on a steady cam It's much more comfortable on the eyes because there's so much less movement.

 

[nicknapp]

There are tons of great suggestions on here and I use most of them almost daily. Here's my contribution.

Not sure how recommended this is (I sure my dentist would not approve), but I often hold my lights in my mouth when I need both hands. Very easy to do with my preon 2 but also reasonable with any light that have a tailcap larger than the body (such as my e2dlu). I also cut an end off of the rubber hand grip for my Quark qt2l-x and put it on the tail end of the light to give me something soft to bite on when I really need to hold it.

Edit: I forgot to mention that with the Preon 2 it is possible to switch modes by soft pressing the tailcap with your tongue (you can even turn the light on adn off if you have a strong tongue)

 

[Norm]

If you ever drop a pill on the floor, hold you light at an acute angle to the floor and your dropped pill will be easily seen along with dust and other detritus.

Norm

 

[Wiggle]

If you haven't dusted/swept in a while, be careful where you aim that nice new thrower when testing it out.

When walking, if you come across other walkers, aim the light down and way from them or use a finger to block the spill light from hitting their eyes if you don't want to move your hot spot.

Always keep your light charged before going out. Especially on lights without battery meters, that way you can be sure what kind of runtime you can expect out of the light once you need it.

When walking, a lower position is good to hold the light as the shadows will more clearly make bumps and dips in the path be noticeable versus holding at eye level which makes things look flatter.

If you have a new light which is intended to be a "user", try to drop it quickly and get that first mark on it so that you will not continue to baby it forever.

For a bedside light, some kind of GITD indication can be very helpful to finding it in the middle of the night.

 

[jamie.91]

My favourite use for a light a work is checking the fluid level in a container, transparent containers get mucky eg header tanks when the engine has not had anti freeze in it, or if your lights bright enough it even works with some opaque containers.

I know you can just remove the lid but sometimes it's better to not disturb the. System, especially if its hot!

Depending on the tint light is great for examining body work, for dents, scratches or identifying if a panel has been previously painted

 

[AnAppleSnail]

When walking with a light that just can't shine the hotspot ahead AND light your feet, do this:

Hold the light 'handshake' style. Extend your thumb over the top of the bezel so that it sticks down over the bezel into the light beam (It feels like you're giving a thumbs up, or a hitchiker's thumb). Your thumb will reflect light that would have gone into the sky down to your feet, giving you a diffuse light to see trip hazards with.

 

[WWWW]

I don't have any tip for this time, the one that is common practice in my house is shooting the light up when the power is down. I still need to give a try the light sweep for searching stuff on the ground, never thought about it. Thanks you all for the great tips.

 

[FourBin Labs]

This is another version of holding the light at your hip (low). Not only is this useful in fog, this also works well if you want to see through a screen door or anything else that may send light back at your eyes. The screen will light up where the light is passing through it. By holding the light lower, you create a triangle between the light source, the object on the other side of the screen that you want to see, and your eyes. The light returning to your eyes will not be taking the same path that the light leaving the flashlight is. This way you are not trying to see through a lit up screen. This effect is more noticeable on lights designed for throw more than lights designed for flood.

 

[jotero77]

When ever I need a fast and cheap defuser for my E1B backup I just grab the cap off a water bottle. Just snap it on the head and there you go cheap and easy.

jotero77

 

[Jakeyb]

You can always put a piece of scotch tape on your lens to act as a diffuser. It peels off really easily also.

 

[gravelmonkey]

Turn it on before use, and point it in the right direction... :nana:

I've not read the whole thread so I apologise if that 'joke' has been said or my tips have been covered already:

1) Wrap a ~3cm wide by 20-30cm long strip of duct-tape around the body of an AA or AAA light if you're going camping, makes it much nicer to 'teeth hold' and you always have duct-tape to hand.

2) Similar to finding small items on the floor tips- I shine a light parallel to the surface of a wall I'm decorating to make sure I've not missed any bits when filling or sanding.

3) Place ceiling-bounced lights higher than eye-level to prevent glare.

4) (Pretty sure EVERYONE here does this already) Organise your rechargeable cells, it's easier to keep track of charged/empty and ensure you don't grab an empty as you're heading out the door or swap in an empty if you're in the field.

5) Works with 6P sized lights and larger: Tuck the light under your arm so it illuminates your hands to illuminate what you're working on.

 

[FourBin Labs]

4) (Pretty sure EVERYONE here does this already) Organise your rechargeable cells, it's easier to keep track of charged/empty and ensure you don't grab an empty as you're heading out the door or swap in an empty if you're in the field.

I don't actually think that was mentioned yet. Good to mention it.

I have labeled all of my 18650 cells. I have pared them So I have 1A & 1B, 2A & 2B, 3A... you get the idea. Every light get's two cells so I swap between A&B but always have the same light take the same set number (except in an emergency where I just need more juice). This also help me remember how many cycles a cell set has. I know if the cell set was assigned to an EDC light that it has had many more cycles than a set that get's used to one of my aux lights.

 

[Razzle]

If you ever drop a pill on the floor, hold you light at an acute angle to the floor and your dropped pill will be easily seen along with dust and other detritus.

Norm

This.

I am ALWAYS dropping my prescription pills, and it truly worries me, with two hungry dogs around. Never thought about using illumination.......I will now!

 

[unattended]

...I often hold my lights in my mouth ...

regarding that "technique" i also use very often - my tip:

titanium lights are way more comfortable to the teeth than anodised aluminium lights

 

[Torchguy]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned mosquito hunting. I'm one of those unfortunate people who are extremely popular with the little blood suckers, and they really can ruin a good night's sleep. I find that shining a flashlight around the room picks them up quickly, on the walls or ceilings - or even while flying!

To see them while they're airborne I hold the light away from my body, and look where the beam is passing through the air rather than where it is striking a surface. Anything flying in the beam becomes a bright spot against a dim background - impossible to miss.

Once I have a mozzie in my sights I track it until it lands. If I keep it in the hotspot of the beam, it can't tell how close I am.

Oh, and I use a flashlight on low power if I need light after I have opened the windows - it doesn't seem to attract mozzies the way a light-bulb does.

 

[davesc]

I just bought a couple UV flashights. Inova X5 and the Streamlight Night Com. I guess they would attract insects...like a bug zapper with the UV light would?


I am out in the woods a lot. Hunting, etc. Here's a few of the critters eyes I have learned to identify with a light at night.
possum=orangish
gators=red
deer=yellow
bear=red
owls=redish
spiders=green
raccoons=yellow
whipporwill=red, (you will only see one eye at a time by the way they sit)
dogs/cats=greenish yellow
coyotes=greenish yellow

 

[N_N_R]

Lol, a really cool thread.

The idea with duct tape around the upper body of the flashlight for a more convenient "teeth hold" is perfect, I do it all the time.

When using as ceiling bounce, to prevent it from glaring into your eyes, you can not only put it above eye level, but you can also put it in a wider glass so that the flashlight leans to the "glass wall" away from you and still points upwards.

I use my i3/i3s / other smaller lights with clips or on a necklace this way: clipped to my neckline or just hanging from my neck on a lanyard, turned on. This way they illuminate my path, hanging from top and shining down, and I still have my hands free.

With small twisties you can almost twist the light to an on position, but still leave it off. Then using your thumb you can just lightly press the head until it makes contact and shines. This way you'll have a much more fast accessible momentary on in a twisty.

Put improvised diffusers of different colours (like different plastic caps from chap sticks or bottles) on your (mainly AAA) lights. When you shine them, you get nice... Christmas lamps decorations without risking power outage or accidental fire

Hey, in extremely cold conditions, when heat is more important than light, perhaps you could use your lights to warm your hands a little. Turn it on on high and wait for the flashlight body to get warm/hot. I love doing that when my hands are cold, lol.