Throwers for close range - the better option outdoors?

Lucciola

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For quite a while I liked floody lights for outdoor use and camping, preferrably warm or neutral. When I tried out a Fenix TK20 this confirmed my preference. The tint was nice but the bright hotspot bothered me at close range.

I changed my mind after buying a Quark Turbo X and a TIR Surefire (E1B) and gained some foul-wheather experience with them. I found out that they are not only good for medium and far distances but can also be very useful at close range because of their more concentrated beam.

In heavy rain or mist the concentrated lights are much better. A floody light created a wall of light in front of my nose but I couldn't see too much. The throwy beams had a much better ability to penetrate rain or mist.

Secondly in wet conditions the ground "swallows" a lot of light no matter whether it is wet grass, mud or concrete. I found that a moderately throwy light is in these conditions better, even right in front of my feet because instead of a wide area with insufficient light I have at least a small spot which is perfectly illuminated.

And last not least a throwy light can also be very useful for daytime use, when looking into an engine compartment or other shady areas when standing in the sun.

I still like floody lights but in my humble opinion a moderate thrower such as the Quark X is just a lot more versatile because it is never completely useless but can still be useful when a floody light with the same output already reached its limitations. In the meantime I prefer a throwy light as my primary light.

What are your experiences with throwy lights and which other advantages to you see apart from long-distance illumination? What is your favourite outdoor go-to light?
 

enomosiki

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You can also easily turn a throwy light into a floody one with a diffuser, manufactured or cobbled together using easily obtainable materials. If the manufacturer offer diffuser covers, as Surefire, Fenix, EagleTac and ThruNite do for some of their throwy lights, that's great. If not, you can MacGyver one using suitable material, such as plastic bottlecap, and make one yourself. I created a thread about making an elaborate one for my Milky L1, which can be found here.

You can't, however, turn a floody light into a throwy one without significant modifications.

My EDC philosophy on flashlights is to carry three lights--primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary light MUST be A) high powered, B) able to project its beam and C) be of duty/medium-tactical size. I have settled on TN11S at the moment, and the thing is a beast. Out of every lights in its size category, it has top-tier throw. Not only that, its hotspot is huge, while its spill is bright enough to allow for excellent peripheral vision outdoors while allowing for good ability for room sweeping. It's not one of those throwers that sacrifice spill for pencil tight beam, and ThruNite definitely managed to hit the sweet spot in terms of spot/spill intensity/size with the emitter/reflector setup.
 

davyro

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Thats the exact reason i don't own any flood lights,you can make a thrower a flood light but you can't visa versa.The TN11S uses an xml led if i'm not mistaken so you get a really good spill as well as a really good throw with a very big hotspot so i agree with enomosiki totally on that being a great choice of light for outdoor activity's
 

880arm

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For my purposes I prefer lights with some degree of throw. I work in an industrial environment and I'm rarely using a light in complete darkness. More than likely I'm using a light to look into a piece of equipment or to provide a little extra light on a specific area to overcome the ambient lighting. Your example of looking into an engine compartment in daylight would be a good analogy of my most common usages. These narrower beamed lights have the added advantage of not creating as much glare when reflecting off of surroundings.

I'm normally carrying some combination of TIR equipped lights (E1B or LX2) along with a more conventional reflectored light such as a P60 host with drop-in. Away from work I usually carry a JetBeam RRT-0. For such a small reflectored light I think it provides very reasonable throw, at least for my purposes.
 

LightCrazy

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I cant believe some of you carry three lights on you for EDC. I always have a knife, and carry a light when I go out in the evening, not early in the day. Now, if I am on duty, I may have two lights, depending on the situation. You never want to be in a low light situation with only one light, if you can help it.
 

slumber

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I enjoy the efficiency focused lights offer. You can get away with using a lot less lumens when the beam is nicely focused, thus increasing runtime. For example, I can often skip using my Malkoff M61L (ridiculous runtime) and use my Malkoff M60LL (ludicrous runtime).
 

fiberguy

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I completely agree with almost every post in almost all regards here. Two things I'd like to mention though; I've used the Fenix diffuser on my TK41 and I'm disgusted by the amount of light it robs. I have to run the light on Turbo mode to get a good, useful level of floody light out of it. I can't stand how much light output I lose in this scenario. With that in mind, I'd rather be using a floody light when flood is needed. Second, some situations are just better with a floody light. For instance, when I'm working with my hands outside in the dark, I prefer my H502. I was using the SC51 on a headband and thought it was great. Then I ordered an H502 and couldn't believe what I was missing! It seemingly creates daylight within an arms reach working area. It allows your eyes to adjust and it was the first time I felt like I had a "luxury" light.

The bulk of my flashlight uses are either looking at something at a distance that is difficult to discern (something 50-200 feet away, black, at night with a dark background such as night sky), or working with my hands right in front of my face. I rarely have any middle ground. Because of this, I cannot only buy floody or throwy lights. I kinda need a bit of both.
 

davyro

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Like i mentioned earlier if you go for light that's got both a floody & throwy light I'd go for one that has an XML led that sits in a deep reflector,there's a great selection of these types of light so you can have the best of both worlds.:thumbsup:
 

Tiresius

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A pure thrower in a collimator head is no good for close-up usage. It's just too concentrated and there are no other lights anywhere.

The light you've mentioned is a combination of throw/flood. It's right in between throw and flood. I find that most of my lights are in that between spot. The only floody light is a Tri-EDC I own. That bad boy is not just a flood, if you know what i mean :D
 

Tiresius

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Like i mentioned earlier if you go for light that's got both a floody & throwy light I'd go for one that has an XML led that sits in a deep reflector,there's a great selection of these types of light so you can have the best of both worlds.:thumbsup:

+1
 

bentt

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Sep 13, 2011
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I prefer throwers, especially optics/TIRs, for handheld outdoor use. I like having the "reach" provided by a tight, but not necessarily powerful, beam. An intense, tight beam that can reach into the shallows, overcome ambient light, and penetrate at depth; whether it be foliage, rain, doorways or service panels. I also like the fact, as all ready stated by others, that a diffuser can be added, thus providing a very versatile tool.

As far as favorite outdoor go-to lights: Surefire E2L-AA, Surefire C2 w/ M60N.
 

KD7EIR

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I have become fond of my Dereelight DBS V3 3SM XM-L with the smooth reflector. For my needs, I think it has a wonderful balance of throw and flood. In the rare case that I need more flood, I also have a light orange peel reflector that I can pop the pill into.
 

Lucciola

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I enjoy the efficiency focused lights offer. You can get away with using a lot less lumens when the beam is nicely focused, thus increasing runtime.

Good point! I have a Quark X 123² and a Quark X Turbo 123². With the Turbo I can usually choose one setting lower than on the model with the smaller reflector and still get a similar light intensity (in the hotspot). But of course runtime is much better.

The only drawback of the Turbo is the large reflector which makes a holster necessary. That's why I admire the SF TIR models that much: Good throw, hotspot not excessively tight while still keeping a very pocketable diameter. And with an F04 diffuser a dream of a smooth and creamy flood. Best of all worlds, IMHO.

I just never now where to stow my diffusers to have them readily accessible but without loosing them. IIRC there also was a flip-on diffuser for the SF TIR models but I'm unable to find it in German SF webshops. :(
 

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