Keeping it simple

Hello all. I am new to posting but have been lurking for several years. I was wondering why the surge of flashlights with tailcap and side buttons. It seems like just adding more is complicating things. I am sure there are people who can use it and prefer it but not so many as for it to dominate newer offering the way it has. Than again I dont know much hence my post. Why do you prefer both or do you not. I like one or the other but not both. I also prefer no boost or turbo mode. I know its a lumens contest but give us something so we don't have a buzilliion modes. I love the design and builds of Zebralight but do not like the UI. I understand and know how it works but it seems overkill to have 6-8 modes options on a flashlight. I know you can access them easily without cycling through but it just seems to me it is not very KISS. Also does anyone use flash mode? Anyone? I am sure there may be a couple but not enough for most manufacturers to put it in most models and complicate things. Hard to find quality simple (to me) UI anymore. I would like to get other perspectives on this. Thanks for your input. BTW please take it easy on me. I am not saying they should not be made just why there is not more basic options out there.

Prefer one button with simple ui. 2 modes with headtwist is the best for me. head tight, hi mode, loose, lo. This way the clicky is a on/off button, and only that.
The zebra is simple. Press and hold down the button, and it goes lo-med-hi. let go when it cycles on the mode you like, done. Thats the way i use mine. Dont need to know all the shortcuts on my zebras.

I like simple as there is often less things to go wrong. Always felt a flashlight is a tool which could be handed to most anyone without the need for instructions. Then again my most trusted and in some ways preferred flashlight is a single mode Malkoff in a SF host with twisty tail.

Great way to start light bug... just **** off the whole crowd. lol.
Nah seriously, just kidding. Great post actually. Great questions.

As a person who grew up with incan flashlights and am/fm cassette car stereo I am used to one setting on a light and only 5 stations in my memory. I do like to have a low/med/hi on LED flashlights with a strobe as a separate feature such as 2 quick clicks or something. And I do like having that extra bank of stations for when I'm out of town.

I like the low to be enough lumens for most tasks, with a high that is pretty dawg gone bright and a medium nearly as bright as high but massive increase in runtimes.

Now the pair of switches? Well in many cases it is to appease those who prefer one or the other in order to acquire both segments of the market share.
To me, having the choice of 1/2 lumen, then 3, then 33, then 233, then 733, then 1233, then 1833, then 2333, and so on or some kinda max start up that lowers itself to 40% of the high to keep from self destructing? Pure gimmicks.
But that's just me. Others like that sorta thing.

I like those rotating level adjusters, or at least the idea of them for those infinite choices of output.

I have trouble changing the clock in my car in spring and fall so I dang sure don't want to have to try to figure out how to turn on my flashlight when it counts. My brother on the other hand? The more the merrier regarding buttons, settings and all that stuff.

Lastly, those who like it simple are the least vocal here, but there are plenty who do. Maglite still sells a whole bunch of single setting flashlights.

Oh, and welcome to CPF.

Back in the incandescent days there was on and off. That was all. The first LED lights fell into two categories - tactical use by military/LEO and cheap lights thrown together just so they could say they were LED. Again, only on or off. As prices dropped on the quality LED lights people started asking if they could have like maybe two levels - high and low. Since these users were usually not military/LEO, they were more likely to use the underhanded grip they were used to with the simple on/off flashlights. Having to do multiple presses on a tail switch to change modes was awkward. So manufacturers started putting switches on the side, either total control on the side, or on/off at the tail and mode change on the side.

As for the rest of it, what can I say. Marketing got in the way, as they often do. In an attempt to one-up the competition, the lumens wars and the mode wars started. Turbo started out just as its name implied - a burst of light to be used for a few minutes when the maximum amount of light was needed, then go back to one of the other modes. Then people started making purchase decisions based on the Turbo lumens numbers, as if they would stay at that level. And the manufacturers did nothing to dissuade them, because it helped Marketing for them to think that. I think it has only been in the last six months or so that we have started to see manufacturers actually admit in their product materials that there is a step down involved with Turbo mode, mainly, I think, in response to the growing backlash against not being told that that was so.

And remember that most important phrase - "caveat emptor" - "Let the buyer beware". An educated buyer chooses wisely, and uneducated one chooses poorly.

Zebralights really are about as simple as you want them to be. The extra features are there if you do the multiple presses, but otherwise the only thing to learn is the timing. Click to turn on high, or hold down to keep cycling low - med - high, then release at the desired brightness, click to turn off.
You never need to see the blink modes, and the only reason to worry about the secondary levels is to get the low, med, and high to each be at the brightness and runtime that you prefer.

If you set high down to a reasonable level, it'll last for hours, not get hot, and by only clicking On and clicking Off, you can treat it as a super simple, single mode light.

Related tangent; I can turn on Maximum Power Saving on my smart phone and it'll run for days, but about all it'll do is make calls and texts, I think there's still maps and a browser, but it's pretty much a 3g phone from 2012 once most of the battery draining features are disabled.
A lot of modern complications/features can be disabled, bypassed, opted out of, or ignored if you care to do so.

It's nice to have so many manufacturers scrambling to sense what so many different people want in a user interface, and to have the net result: so many user interfaces to choose from.

I don't have any complaints. I like flashlights that have the button on the tail, not where my fingers are, but where I know it is; and I like flashlights that have the button on the side, where my fingers are, but but not knowing exactly where on the side the button is.

I like the Four 7s MMU-X3, replete with its simple user interface, and I like the Meteor M43, replete with its complex interface.

If the light is easy to figure out how to turn on and off, and has a very low mode, and also has a very high mode, and also has a very medium mode, then I am happy. If the light also has additional modes, ok/fine.

Double click can be tricky for me in cold weather, but I can't complain about that, either, because it is all great in warm weather.

I select lights to purchase based on beam profile/beam performance. Whatever is putting out that beam is what it is.

Many very experienced people have contacted manufacturers with all kinds of feedback for switch configuration and user interface. Therefore, I can't complain about the net result of that.

The side switch and tail switch user interface is nowhere near ideal for me either, especially if mode changing needs to be done with speed.

Certainly the programming setup takes time, but the Oveready V5 and the PFlexPRO Advanced programming can be configured to be delightfully simple if you choose: highly recommended; essentially exactly how you want.

KITROBASKIN said:

The side switch and tail switch user interface is nowhere near ideal for me either, especially if mode changing needs to be done with speed.

Certainly the programming setup takes time, but the Oveready V5 and the PFlexPRO Advanced programming can be configured to be delightfully simple if you choose: highly recommended; essentially exactly how you want.

Click to expand...

Yep is have the PflexPro advanced programming version and I have got to say it is great. I have it set for low at about 70 lumens and high 1500 lumens. And if I double tap the switch quickly it will strobe. This is great for dog walks. Also has a battery checker. Best UI. You can add additional levels or remove them to make it simple.

The side switch on the Thrunite TN4A is one of the best set ups I have used. Very easy to change modes and has the added feature of a low voltage warning LED in the center of the switch.

Give me on/off and I'm happy but...
Being a flashaholic means I have at least.... another light on my person at all times. 25 lumens in the left hand, 650 in the right, a strober in my back pocket and backups in each front pocket. Most have adjustments available, just in case.

Yup being a flashaholic is fun.

We are spoiled, technology means i can program my light to have 1 mode or 7 mode levels. Tech allows me to pick from selected levels or pick each 1 myself...........

I do like simple for most applications, single or 2 mode, be it 1 do it all level or a low and high type. Sometimes i just want to click, know what output i am getting............every time. Clicking through mode levels is pretty lame and inconvenient sometimes.

:welcome:

Preference between tail cap and side switch, for me, depends on the size of the light. With a two-cell light, it's very easy to use a tail cap for activation. Now, make that a three or four cell light, and the appeal of a side switch becomes obvious. I also tend to use the "icepick" hold for flashlight use, and a tail cap switch is easier to avoid if your hands clench suddenly.

As for multiple modes - eh, it depends. I don't mind having multiple modes in a utility light; a flashlight that I use for general tasks and non-critical lighting functions. But for a pocket light, something that I count on when something's rustling in the bushes - keep it simple. Single mode, or no more than two.

I have to agree with Jorn though - I'm really fond of the "select mode by bezel twist" and a simple on/off in the tail cap. The old E11 and E21 platform were great lights, except for the spacing between the two modes.

You have some valid opinions. That is why there are so many great options out there.

FWIW: One of my favorite set ups is a SolarForce L2 Host and some sorta P60 drop ins of my choice. If I feel like 7 modes and lots of blinking lights, I can do it, albeit very rare for me, mostly for the kids during party or dance time. If I want a simple two mode, I got it. Want some warm tints, got it. Want some Blazin Blue tints? Get it. Want a single led thrower? Got that. Want a Quad? Got it. Want a super clear lens? Got it. Want a frosted lens, got it. Want a battery zapper? Oveready and I got that. Want some super long runtime? Malkoff got me covered. All this in ONE "light" that can be a twisty or a clickie. I guess you probably get the idea now. lol

Additional FWIWs: Great fun can be had with bored out (18650) Surefire P60 hosts. Not to mention the lego fun that can be had. Lego is when you take parts from several different lights that are interchangeable and swap around or reconfigure until your current lighting desires are achieved.

Welcome to CPF my friend.

Thanks for the welcome. Also for not being rough on me It does seem to me that the higher the lumens the more modes makes sense. As the lumen race grows I guess so do the modes. 3 modes for average light. 1-2 mode for pocket light (aaa style). 4 would be my limit on most anything. I have a light with strobe but it annoys me even though I don't need to cycle through it. I prefer tailcap switch but have a side switch as well. I understand different needs and different strokes and I am not criticizing anyone's opinion on having multi multi mode programmable strobe light just wondering why the market is so saturated with them.

Strobers: Why so many?
Now that is the $64k question.

This is my favorite UI.

On/off and mid-way allows the button to make it a signaler.

It's a "value add" thing. Because you can, as I understand it, configure the circuitry to strobe with minimum effort, the marketing folks figure it's one more sell-able bullet point for the product.

After all, more is better, right?

I definitely prefer rugged and simple. I used to be an avid Fenix fan and am actually located near a major Fenix distributor. I still stop by to buy certain things--the latest being a head lamp for automotive work. However, as Fenix began adding a tail button and a side button I lost interest. My two favorite Fenix lights are the TK16 that has both of its buttons on the tail cap and the TK09 which has one tail cap button.

Now that I've discovered Malkoff I greatly appreciate a single switch with the ability to turn the light to low mode via a simple head rotation. On the multi mode Malkoffs you still on have one tail cap switch to deal with and I love the rugged nature of the lights, the customer service, the American craftsmanship and pride, and the all around good nature of Gene and Cathy. I also love the no BS runtimes. You can run a Malkoff on high and it won't step down after three minutes. It'll run at its advertised high mode for as long and the battery has enough voltage. So, when a Malkoff is advertised to run at 700 lumens for one hour you get 700 lumens for one hour.

redvalkyrie said:

Now that I've discovered Malkoff I greatly appreciate a single switch with the ability to turn the light to low mode via a simple head rotation. .

Click to expand...

+1

My simple, two-mode, indestructible, U.S. built Malkoff and Elzetta lights are the heart of my collection. Simplicity undergirds durability. Now that I've got that covered, I don't mind having a few multi-mode lights with side switches. I don't need the blinky modes, but I like the ultra-low output settings.