Walking the cat... with an A2

[carrot]

A practical use for the Surefire A2 Aviator -- walking the cat

This is a bit on the long side... sorry! I'm experimenting with a few stylistic choices here, too.

Friday night, when the clouds were out, the sodium vapor streetlamps glowing an eerie yellow, my cat insisted on going out for a walk. (That's right, a cat going for a walk!) I grab my Surefire A2 Aviator as I put on my jacket and pocket it. Cat leads the way.

Soon we end up in a dark driveway, away from all the streetlamps and city lights. A few cars are scattered up and down the driveway, parked on the side, next to people's garages. I pull my A2 from my jacket pocket, and with some fancy fingerwork and a flick of the wrist, I turn on the LEDs. They provide a smooth flood, with a barely discernable blue hotspot on the gravel of the driveway. Cat and I continue walking.

A few minutes go by, and I hear the crunching of gravel. I quickly turn around and see a van coming up the driveway. I wave the A2 in the driver's general direction and pull cat out of the way of the van. I refrain from the knee-jerk response of kicking the A2 into high at the driver.

Cat and I walk further up the driveway, stopping periodically because cat wants to sniff everything. Using the A2, I am able to see Cat in the darkness, preventing him from crawling under cars. Cats and cars don't mix. At one point during the walk, Cat notices a water bowl, and eagerly pulls me toward it. I hold Cat back. There must be strays around here, I tell myself. I squeeze the button on the tailcap, instantly lighting up the driveway, and with the powerful incandescent beam, I sweep the area for strays. Two oval green eyes are watching Cat from underneath a dirty old van. Stray cat doesn't want Cat touching his food.

I pull Cat away from the bowls, and as we move forward, Stray cat streaks across the driveway, hiding behind another car, this time on our other side. Again, I shine the powerful beam in Stray cat's direction. Stray cat is still watching. Cat and I keep walking, and I occasionally glance in Stray cat's direction. Stray cat moves up behind another car to follow Cat. I begin to get nervous. Stray cat might be getting territorial and might pick a fight. Cat appears unaware of Stray cat.

When Cat and I stop again, Stray cat moves. Stray cat sits on a ledge, next to a fence, watching Cat. I can almost sense it getting ready to leap on Cat. I aim the A2 right into Stray cat's face, only meters away, spread my arms and hiss at Stray cat. Stray cat dashes off into someone's yard.

When I turn back to look at Cat, Cat looks a little frightened, but is still enjoying his walk. Soon we walk back and reach home, but I never stop scanning the driveway. Stray cat didn't return. Cat and I get home safely, thanks to the searing power and dual modes of the Surefire A2 Aviator.

[rcashel11]

Nice story and good testimonial on the usefulness of the A2.

[leukos]

Now if your A2 could catch mice...

[ACMarina]

Cat kinda looks like my mittens..

[ABTOMAT]

When I first saw the thread title I was thinking this would be a Norma Tanega song.

[Delvance]

Good story. I got to get myself an A2 and a pet one of these days *sigh*

[Big Bob]

Carrot, it sounds to me like your cat might have been a dog in an earlier pet life. If your cat is going to increasingly insist on these nocturnal outings, you may wish to consider a rechargeable alternative to the A2.

[JonL]

Hey Carrot,

I walk my dogs every night and there is nothing like having a high-quality flashlight to carry along with you, it makes the walk that much better...

[idleprocess]

I've never heard of a cat that can be "walked."

[Alloy Addict]

I think Toddy needs a LED studded collar.

[tankahn]

Make sure the pet's color is black to get the most fun. Besides, neighbors think its not strange thing to do. Walking your pet and 'playing' with exotic flashlights. I am going to try UV lights next. Won't want my dog to go near vomit and other vile stuff.

Good story. I got to get myself an A2 and a pet one of these days *sigh*

[firefly99]

You went for a walk with Garfield ?

Very special cat you have.

[TonkinWarrior]

That's a great story, Carrot! You do, indeed, have a special kitty there.

Assuming that "Cat" is not de-clawed, you might wanta train him/her to recognize foxes and coyotes -- and to fear them (especially if y'all go walking in Central Park). Also consider one of those reflective/hi-viz/break-away collars for Cat's safety. About $5 @ PetsMart.

Before our beloved tomcat passed on to the great litterbox in the sky, he regularly "patrolled" our neighborhood... on his own. However, when we wanted to bring him in for the night, I'd just go out on the front lawn, clap my hands, and flash my E2L up and down the street. That usually brought him out of whatever mouse-sniper-hide he was lurking in. Then he'd just follow the E2L's narrow beam home!

[Macaw]

Sounds like a sturdy walking stick might be a good thing to carry in case Cat gets jumped by a stray.

GRRRR-cats! Make my feathers stand on end!

[Miciobigio]

Nice story and very cute cat .

It is a male ? Whatching his face i thinked that was a female

[cbdudley]

Great story, but what I want to know is how you trained the cat to walk on a leash!

[Size15's]

Cat sitting on A2:

[Big_Ed]

Carrot, I used to have a cat that I would walk on a leash. That was over 11 years ago. It looked very much like your cat, but was a female. Boy did people do a double take when they would see a 300 pound man walking a cat!

[chesterqw]

real life garfield!!!

dang... scrolling down the picture, the A2 got my attention...

i though i was suppose to focus on the cat

[270winchester]

you mean, the cat walked you.....

[Bullzeyebill]

Never taken my cat on a walk, but one of my cat's will walk me when I head out down the street to get some exercise. I shine my light ahead and Luna or Pendragon will follow behind me. When I stop the cat stops. I check the street and bushes for predators, wildcats, cayote, and feral dogs. Never had any problems, so I guess the cats are protecting me.

Bill

[Concept]

Cute Cats.

Ours doesnt like torches as much as Sive 15's!

[Size15's]

Cute Cats.

Ours doesnt like torches as much as Sive 15's!

Mitzi didn't have a choice.

[TigerhawkT3]

I just got back from walking my dog with my Gladius+FM34. I was reminded of this thread, because I used a multi-level, multi-focus light to walk a pet. With my Gladius, I could easily use a low level for when streetlights or houselights provided some ambient light, or use a higher level for the short stretches with no background illumination whatsoever. The FM34 was the only reason I succeeded in using my Gladius to walk my dog at all, because he chases any focused light he can see: reflected sunlight, focused flashlights, lasers, etc. The flood provided by the Beamshaper didn't distract my puppy, and when I heard sprinklers ahead of my path, I reached up and popped open the cover to make sure that the sprinklers were only watering their intended area (i.e. not the sidewalk).

Differences that came to mind between my experience and carrot's were that the Gladius has more than two output levels, I needed a Beamshaper for flood/throw capabilities, and that I needed two hands to switch between flood and throw. Otherwise, it was quite similar.

Also, we met a large and very happy chocolate lab named Casey, who very much enjoys licking faces such as mine.

[Josey]

Sounds like the A2 is perfect EDC for what you want. But isn't NYC a dangerous place? What do you think about a TigerLight with pepper spray as a back up to the A2. Then you would have a way more powerful beam in reserve with pepper as a backstop if needed. Plus, it's rechargeable and easy to keep topped off just in case the primaries in your EDC A2 hit the wall. The downside would be to find a comfortable way to carry the TL in reserve because it's not nearly as light and handy as the A2.

[Cornkid]

good story.

[Illum]

i think i need to walk my hamster with the A2 to rewalk carrots steps...

[carrot]

NYC, dangerous? As I have lived in the city all my life I do not really consider it dangerous, though perhaps compared to friendlier, smaller cities and towns maybe it is. Nowhere have I been in the city where I felt unsafe, although a few arguments that have broken out on the subways have made me a little uncomfortable...

[Josey]

OK, you got me. In the remote area where I live, the population is me and two dogs. I think of NYC as a crazy place where someone with a knife lurks in every shadow. I've seen it in the movies.

Your review also made me think about the environment in which a flashlight is used. In a city, where distances are short, an A2 would be awesome. Out here where distances are huge and foliage is heavy, anything less than 500 lumens seems way, way too small. There are some really, really big puddy tats out here, and I've had them only a few feet away. And when you hear a lion scream at night, you want the biggest torch you can find. It's amazing how a Mag100 will pick up all the eyes looking at you from the dark of the night. But in the city, I suppose you don't want to walk around with a Mag100 lighting up everyone's window and setting the litter on fire.

Josey

[dchao]

Difference - in metropolitan cities, there are street lights, so an A2 with a focus beam is very useful for checking dark corners, most sidewalks are well illuminated already. In the wood, there is no street lights, therefore, you need a flashlight with larger spill beam to be able to see the next few steps and at the same time to illuminate 100 yards down the path and beyond.