Hi Guys,
I have been thinking that the Night-Ops Gladius flashlight would be well suited to use as a backcountry light, specifically in survival type situations. It is extremely durable, waterproof, bright enough for wilderness route finding, and has an extremely long runtime on its dimmest setting. So, I got to thinking about the strobe, and it might work as an emergency signalling device.
The scenario is this: you are lost or injured in the wilderness, and require evacuation. After a while search-and-rescue teams will start looking for you. The problem is that actually finding someone can be pretty difficult. There are many cases where search subjects have seen searchers off in the distance, tried to signal, and failed to be noticed.
I decided to test my Gladius as a signaling device with the help of my wife and a set of 2-way radios. We live in on a hillside in a rural community. My wife (the observer) stayed at home while I drove down to the school 4 miles away. The school has some large security lights. There were some residential security lights along the line of sight between us. The observer's eyes were adapted to reading under indoor lighting at the time of testing. Thus the situation was more difficult than would be the case in the wilderness. The weather was clear.
Constant-on (brightest level) was adequately visible at 4 miles when pointed at the observer. The strobe was "marginally brighter" than constant on, and much more noticeable. Turning the light away to strobe some trees was not visible to the observer. The light needed to be pointed at the observer to be seen, but it was easily visible at 4 miles when this was done.
This was a breif experiment where the goal was not to establish maximum distance. The feeling was that the light still would be easily visible at twice the tested distance, and farther in more ideal conditions and with relatively dark-adapted eyes. In addition to being highly visible I think the strobe effectively presents an image that begs further investigation.
Nominal run time on a fresh set of batteries is 90 minutes on the brightest setting. I do not know the run time on the strobe mode, but I would expect it to be significantly longer since the LED is on roughly half of the time. Couple the 400 rated hours at the dimmest setting (which is bright enough to use for walking) and judicious use of the strobe mode for signalling, and I think you have quite a few nights worth of light in the backcountry awaiting rescue.
Scott
I have been thinking that the Night-Ops Gladius flashlight would be well suited to use as a backcountry light, specifically in survival type situations. It is extremely durable, waterproof, bright enough for wilderness route finding, and has an extremely long runtime on its dimmest setting. So, I got to thinking about the strobe, and it might work as an emergency signalling device.
The scenario is this: you are lost or injured in the wilderness, and require evacuation. After a while search-and-rescue teams will start looking for you. The problem is that actually finding someone can be pretty difficult. There are many cases where search subjects have seen searchers off in the distance, tried to signal, and failed to be noticed.
I decided to test my Gladius as a signaling device with the help of my wife and a set of 2-way radios. We live in on a hillside in a rural community. My wife (the observer) stayed at home while I drove down to the school 4 miles away. The school has some large security lights. There were some residential security lights along the line of sight between us. The observer's eyes were adapted to reading under indoor lighting at the time of testing. Thus the situation was more difficult than would be the case in the wilderness. The weather was clear.
Constant-on (brightest level) was adequately visible at 4 miles when pointed at the observer. The strobe was "marginally brighter" than constant on, and much more noticeable. Turning the light away to strobe some trees was not visible to the observer. The light needed to be pointed at the observer to be seen, but it was easily visible at 4 miles when this was done.
This was a breif experiment where the goal was not to establish maximum distance. The feeling was that the light still would be easily visible at twice the tested distance, and farther in more ideal conditions and with relatively dark-adapted eyes. In addition to being highly visible I think the strobe effectively presents an image that begs further investigation.
Nominal run time on a fresh set of batteries is 90 minutes on the brightest setting. I do not know the run time on the strobe mode, but I would expect it to be significantly longer since the LED is on roughly half of the time. Couple the 400 rated hours at the dimmest setting (which is bright enough to use for walking) and judicious use of the strobe mode for signalling, and I think you have quite a few nights worth of light in the backcountry awaiting rescue.
Scott
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