Poll: Do You Use Strobe/SOS Modes?

[rickypanecatyl]

Hi. Did you say Malaysia. I am also based here. Does strobe scare away wildlife? If it does, strobe will be nice feature to have.

Ben sorry I missed your post. I don't think strobe scares them any more than turbo. It was turbo, not strobe I aimed at the tiger - and I yelled really loud as well so I can't know what made him leave.

Another Malaysian wildlife fact good to know is there are some fish attracted to light and will actually you run into you. I was swimming at night in Perhentian island with a headlamp - kind of freaky! Good to know though for fishing.

 

[buds224]

STROBE: It doesn't happen a lot, but when I get separated from my family in large crowds (busy cities in Japan), I use the strobe to get their attention and we can easily spot each other. Helps really good with the kids when they feel they've lost sight of us.

SOS: 1 time only. At my hometown, San Diego, I witnessed a horrible multi-car crash ****let this be a lesson to those who text while driving****. All lanes of traffic were blocked. I immediately stuck my LD20 in SOS mode pointing out my back window and proceeded to assist the injured drivers. A simple act of texting while driving, luckily, did not take the life of a 4 mo old baby in the back seat of a truck that rolled over 2 times. I figured, the SOS would signal other cars to stop and signal responders where the accident was.

BEACON: In harsh weather, low visibility, and on foot, I will have my TA21 pointed down with the beacon mode on, just so drivers know I'm there.

Probably all overkill, but I made use of the useless modes.

 

[xevious]

^ That's a very good use of the beacon. And this is part of the reason why I feel Nitecore should have put it higher in the order, between strobe and SOS.

 

[Grizzlyb]

Just gonna toss in my .02 dollars here.

I personally hate the strobe function on most lights and the S.O.S. isn't much better, but I can see it's usefulness.

The biggest issue with them is their implementation in the UI, they are emergency or extremely infrequently used functions and shouldn't be part of the normal mode cycle while also not making them so complex to access that you can't use them when you need to.

I think the Maglite xl200 has a decent way of handling it, but the best way I've come across so far has been a cheaptastic chinese grey market knock off. It had it's functions arranged in "banks", the first bank was high/mid/low, the second was high/strobe/sos/low and of course would remember what mode and bank you were in.

It could be confusing for those I lent the light to if they did not know how to swap banks if they managed to do it accidentally, but after I learned the timing, it was most excellently handled

So, while I don't feel that strobe and SOS should be EXcluded, it should be harder to accidentally wind up in them.

Hmmm, very interesting idea.
2 separate banks.
First bank with the dally needed stuff, second bank with the " hidden" stuff.

Could be the solution for the group that wants everything possible, but not get annoyed with the wrong stuff by accident.

So dedicated lights with main the Strobe.. and second the regular high/med/low stuff,
Main firefly and regular H/M/L
Main regular. . . . . and second bank the hidden other stuff?

 

[Ray F.]

I found this interesting article which discusses some of the pros and cons of strobe mode and how to use for self-defense.

http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2010/06/how-to-use-a-strobing-flashlight.aspx

 

[buds224]

Hmmm, very interesting idea.
2 separate banks.
First bank with the dally needed stuff, second bank with the " hidden" stuff.

Could be the solution for the group that wants everything possible, but not get annoyed with the wrong stuff by accident.

So dedicated lights with main the Strobe.. and second the regular high/med/low stuff,
Main firefly and regular H/M/L
Main regular. . . . . and second bank the hidden other stuff?

That's how I set up my Predator. Line1 (head tightened) with 6 levels of brightness....Line 2 (head loosened) firefly mode, beacon, SOS, Strobe.

 

[NorthernStar]

I like SOS and strobe modes as long as they are hidden and are not in the way when using the standard modes. Usually the SOS and strobe mode are hidden so accidental activation has not been a problem for me.

So far i have not been in any emergency situtation where i have yet needed to use the SOS,but let´s say that i am out on a fishing trip in a boat far away from the land and an emergency happens and cellular phones does not work,then the SOS mode could be usefull to signal for help.

The strobe mode i have used,but so far not for any selfdefence situation that other talks that it could be useful for. I have used it when i had to stop at the edge of the road repairing my mountainbike and it was fog. I placed my flashlight next to the bike with strobe activated to attract drivers attention so i would not get run over.

Maybe a little oftopic,but when i like hidden SOS and strobe modes on flashlights,i don´t like beacon modes. On my Foursevens Quark Mini AA2 and Quark Mini CR123 the two extra beacon modes are only in the way and i can see no use for them.

 

[Grizzlyb]

I found this interesting article which discusses some of the pros and cons of strobe mode and how to use for self-defense.

http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2010/06/how-to-use-a-strobing-flashlight.aspx

Excellent article. It covers 99% of our findings in the last 8 years of developing tactical lights.
The many pros are described perfectly.
The con he spoke about, less detection of movement, we could counter by setting the strobe freq to 20hz.
Now, the pros are still 100% in work, the less detection was gone.
One of the best pros is, that it is virtually impossible for the suspect, to know the distance to the LEO when he uses a 300lm 20hz strobe in a tight beam in the opponents eyes.

IMHO the use of a strobe for non LEO's is limited.

There are many people with opinions about strobe, but only very little people with real knowledge about it. That guy is one of the vew with :twothumbs.

 

[Vox Clamatis in Deserto]

Here's my earlier strobe story posted on CPF in 2009:

I was walking back from a filling station in Germany at 3 am a few months ago (there were cans of Gaffel Kölsch beer involved, they sell it all night long). A couple of characters approached me from out of the darkness. They told me to stop and I kept walking. They started cursing me in German and I decided to pick up the tempo. When they got too close for comfort, I pulled out my Nitecore Extreme and twisted it to put it on high. I was a little uneasy, fumbled, and put it on strobe mode inadvertently. It was like a death ray out of a sci-fi movie, they started colliding with each other, swinging and falling down. I made it back to my hotel, they got up and followed me, a lot less aggressively. It turns out they were just a couple of roaring drunk college students looking for directions to the train station. I pointed them in the right direction (head for the Dom) and called it a night.

I never thought much of the strobe function until that demo but it really gave me just enough egress on a dark street to depart for safer territory.

Great story ! Are you sure it was the strobe though, or how much of it was down to the 15 beers inside 'em ? :drunk:

Come to think of it, I'm surprised the combination of strobe plus beers didn't make 'em puke up - coulda been a right mess ! :green:

Actually, the strobe scene reminded me of more than just a sci-fi movie. As I think back, my fight or flight reaction was reminiscent of a line from Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles: "And now, for my next impression, Jesse Owens!":laughing:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-replace-E1B&p=2858018&viewfull=1#post2858018

 

[wordwalker3]

Re: Strobe, anyone?

Grizzlyb

I've never needed to use a strobe or SOS mode. I don't care if thay are there so long as I do NOT have to scroll through them. That is why for EDC I prefer Thrunite 1C or 1A, or Eagletac D25C Ti or D25A Ti. Your comment on flood versus throw is interesting, I would have thought flood would be better due to the wider angle of coverage needing less specific aim. I guess more focused or tighter aim is better in either case.
thanks for your input.
Boyd

 

[Grizzlyb]

Re: Strobe, anyone?

Great story Vox.
You where way ahead of You'r time.
Keep in mind, Blinding and desorienting is 1 thing, making good use of the advantage is the second.

Wordwalker,
Flood has two big con's.
1. With the same level of lumens, the amount of light that hits the target is strongly reduced in a flood like beam.
The more focus (higher lux) hits the target the greater the effect.
2. Often we work in duo's. A flood type light will set my partner in full light the instant he walks to the opponent. The less light leaks from the tight beam the better.

During trainings it is very good to see where the partner can safely walk without being seen.
With a good throw beam I can almost get up to touching the opponent without being detected (working in a wide V formation and very low light situations).

 

[murphys_law]

Strobe yes, SOS no

 

[xevious]

Olight M20/M21 has two controls--rotating head and tail cap switch. But you can lock the light on strobe with the head selection and it stays in memory. Then any time you press the tail you get strobe, either momentary or full on. The only way to release it from strobe is loosen/tighten of the head to move to the next mode, which is access to the three brightness settings. After taking the light out of strobe mode for standard use, a few quick turns of the head and the light is back on strobe, then turned off and ready for the next encounter. Despite having to scroll through strobe when cycling through the brightness settings, I kind of like this interface and it seems like it would work for police use.

 

[burntoshine]

There's a decent chance this has already been mentioned, but I don't feel like reading through every post... SOS is intended for emergency use, so hopefully no one uses it often. The question should have been about strobe and beacon modes, or blinky modes in general. Asking people how often they use SOS seems like an odd question; at least to me.

Having said that, I like strobe being available, but have not yet needed it. No one has tried to mug me or anyone I'm with, in a while. I really like beacon modes, especially really low level ones. HDS' have the option of going into a low level beacon mode when you turn off the light, which I think is great; however the beacon ALWAYS being on when the light is off is not something I want. It can be distracting. There should be a simple toggle on/off sequence (maybe 5 clicks from off) so it will still go into beacon mode every time you turn the light off, until you do the click sequence. Then it will never come on. A good shortcut to strobe would be click, click, press-hold; possibly only as momentary.

I'm a big fan of programmable lights. That's why I gravitate towards Liteflux and HDS. There's a lot of flexibility in those lights. If you want, you can have blinky modes be your primary mode, or not at all. Actually, I only have a LF3XT now. I sold two LF2XTs and a LF5XT. But the LF3XT is almost always on the mountain bike that I'm riding with the slowest double-flash programmed into the 3rd mode. That mode is perfect for bicycle visibility.

 

[DougL]

Early last month I started a thread on this forum/site purely related to beacon mode, its optimal frequency, and the uses people have for that mode.
Buds224: You were one of only two other posters in that thread. You and I both seem to like the versatility of the Fenix TA21 in general and in its relatively fast beacon mode of about 1 hz. I prefer that frequency to the once every 10 seconds or so rate that others like in their Quark which I feel would be okay for a true locator beacon but too slow for a "watch out for me/ I'm here" use.
I recently used my strobe mode which I have on several lights. About three weeks ago, I was walking in midtown Manhattan on the West Side. I was carrying several lights as usual, two or three on my keychain, a Fenix e11 and an Olight I15 in my pocket, and a couple of larger 18650 lights in my bag. An ambulance was trying to make its way up 8th Avenue. I was crossing 26th Street and decided to help out as there was a red light on 9th Avenue and the cross street traffic wouldn't stop to allow the uptown traffic, and the ambulance along with it in its emergency run, to progress uptown. I took out my Olight I15 and shined it west, across the street, at the ground in front of the two cars [in the double lane at the intersection] which would otherwise have proceeded through the intersection along with the cars behind them. The fast strobe grabbed their attention and kept those drivers from entering the intersection, allowing the uptown traffic to proceed. I am often annoyed at how New York City drivers seem to ignore sirens (from ambulances, police cars, fire trucks), each one trying to be the last one to get through so as not to be bothered, allowing the driver behind to be the responsible citizen who will (?) stop to let the emergency vehicle through. If more pedestrians carried flashlights with a strobe function, more people could be unofficial "deputies" helping emergency vehicles negotiate traffic snarls, and I suspect countless lives and properties could be saved. If it is done responsibly, I don't see it being dangerous; on the contrary, I think it is the low cost solution to a problem that has plagued urban traffic for decades. In addition, it brings people together as a community of caring individuals, creating an environment where everyone on the road can work together in responding to the wail of the emergency siren. I generally don't like that the strobe on the Olight T and I series lights are not hidden modes, but for this purpose it proves very useful, from either a double momentary tap from the off position or the next full depress click after the light is on in any steady on output.

 

[BillSWPA]

Re: Strobe, anyone?

Strobe does work for that what it is intended for, disorientation.
It will not STOP an attacker, but it does disorientate.
When You are trained to use that short moment of disorientation, It helps to control the opponent faster. That's all.
Take all the advantages to Your side, or create advantages. (that's what the word "tactical" is all about)
We especially use it in non weapon situations, where the use of pepperspary is not advisable.
A good strobe takes the visibility away for a short moment and disorientates enough to work with.

We worked at our Police Academy with over 400 students with tactical light training and did a survey about their findings. (with or without strobe and what kind of strobe)
Most students (in the role of opponent) had much more difficulty's to defend when the strobe was used. Especially when both officers used the Strobe during the arrest.
(Standing in a V on both sides of the opponent at 2 to 3 Yards) Some of them even felt a bit nausea after a vew seconds.

We also found, that it was very hard/impossible, to even find the strobe mode under high stress levels, even during training sessions.
So We had our Tactical Lights produced in a way that the lights ALWAYS start-up in Strobe.
When they want to use the tactical light for reading or searching, just hold the tail switch 2 sec. Then the other modes can be used.

We also found that the strobe was more effective in lights with more throw and less flood. (more Lux in the eyes)
The strobe frequency was more disorienting above 10hz and was less effective above 22hz. (best around 20hz, but that was more general feeling then hard proof)

This is only what we found during training and research in the last 5 Years. These latest results are from 2012.
Newer test will be conducted in 2013 with other lights and different situations.
We are developing the use of Tactical Lights during work and training in hand to hand combat since 2008.

You don't want to know how hard it was to find a manufactor that "saw the light", and said;
OK, tell us what You want, We'll see if we can build it.

Excellent post! Very well explained! Even so, your points are best understood when the following is added.

Today we gave a training with tactical lights to a group of brand new students.
The students started with a variety of lights they bought them self, or standard lights we used the last 5 years on the force (Mag/Stream/SF etc.
They couldn't get the job done, so we gave them the new developed Tactical Lights with specialized Strobe mode.
After 5 minutes everyone was totally convinced of the Hugh advantage of that Strobe mode.
1 training says more in 5 minutes then I can tell You in a day.

One thing I have noticed about most of those I have come across advocating strobe in a defensive role is the extent to which they have tested their theories. If your use of strobe - or any other tool or tactic = is for serious purposes, you should be testing what really works, what does not work, and whether there might be better ways to do it. That testing should be done against a noncompliant (not one that is going to do anything unsafe, but one that will not give you a "win" you didn't earn) training partner, preferably trained as you have been trained and trying to achieve a "win" himself. Try some force-on-force scenarios (with appropriate gear and safety precautions) with and without the strobe, and see what happens. It is interesting that Grizzlyb has done so, and has come to essentially the same conclusions as everyone else that has done so.

I am not in law enforcement and don't claim to be anything other than an intensely interested hobbyist who seeks out the best training and information I can find. I do make my and my family's safety a personal priority, and a good light is one of many pieces of that puzzle. My most common current EDC is a FourSevens QT2L programmed to come on in strobe with the bezel tightened and maximum with the bezel loosened. I carry it with the bezel tight, so in an emergency I get strobe by default. If I just need light, I probably have time to rotate the bezel and get constant light.

The one subject on which there is some divergence of experience is the usefulness of an interface like that on the Klarus XT series lights, with some some people finding that they work really well, and Grizzlyb's experiences to the contrary. I recently acquired an XT2C, and use of this UI under stress is definitely something I need to experiment with. I just tried it with gloves, and in a non-stressful situation the interface works with gloves.

 

[Loed7984]

R: Poll: Do You Use Strobe/SOS Modes?

I use often the strobe mode but mainly for traffic signaling during accidents, in this way it is very effective. and sometimes I had to use it for personal safety purposes. But it's not so common

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