Practical Throw Limit...

...for incandescent flashlights. I'm estimating that 2x123 lights (G2, TL-2 & similar) will allow one to identify people, animals, etc. up to around 200 feet. Pelican's PM-6 might add another 50, or more, feet to that. Some SureFires and the TL-3 might reach out to 300 feet, or so, for object identification. Does this seem about right?

I'm not familiar with the Stinger series, Tiger, or Mag Charger. What might the useful limit be for those, 400 - 500 feet, or more?

My 2MCP, 6 volt, SLA, spot light seems to reach about 600 feet, or more.

I'm using a football field and surrounding area to estimate these distances, so these are just rough guesses at the actual distances. Differences in our eyes and perception may add or subtract 50 - 100 feet from another person's limit.

What is your experience and are these close estimates?

A variable factor for throw is definately relative darkness. For example, I live in a mid-sized city with about 750,000 people in it. Therefore, my lights don't seem to throw near as much as when I'm out on the farm, where it's much more dark. My new Inova XO3 was tested two nights ago with a full moon. This evening, the moon was behind some clouds and I really noticed the difference. I know that my TL-3 can easily light up my stop sign at the end of my street, 9 homes down. My G2/P60 will also do this, but not with the intensity.

My UltraStinger can put a nice white spot on a sound wall past the train track at the bottom of my hill, I estimate about 450 ~ 500 feet. It is my best-throwing light!

Hello Jayflash,

Looking at Doug's (QuickBeam) chart, he has the 10X dominator at about 154 meters (with the light level dropping to 1 lux) as the leader in throw of the lights he has tested.

You can check out his output vs throw charts to see other lights he has reviewed.

Tom

In real life throw depends on the darkness and weather situation at the given time - as stated above. Also Reflector size, filament type and the degree of reflector used is important. The 9NT is an excellent light with lots of 'reach' or throw - nevertheless it lacks some punch like some higher powered lights (->SureFire M6). The SF M6 on the other hand has a smaller reflector with different coating and the LA has a thicker and longer filament -> throw is less in my opinion, more like a throwing floodlight.

Klaus.

Perhaps I should have phrased my question more completely as I was curious about our ability to actually identify distant objects accurately. Is one lux a minimum level needed, in dark conditions, to determine, say, a skunk from a raccoon, etc. My distance estimates were based on dark, rural, conditions. Do you know if color can be perceived at the one lux level? Thanks.

Hello Jayflash,

In my opinion, the foot candle measurement is better for distinguishing details. 1 Lux = 0.0929 foot candles, or 1 foot candle = 10.764 lux.

You can play with this by setting up a test with a candle lantern (be careful not to burn anything down). You can set a test object 1 foot from the candle, then walk away for a distance. This is not absolutely correct, but is close.

A couple of other observations:
5 fc is enough to read a book by = 53.82 lux
0.01 fc is typical of a full moon = 0.11 lux

Of course another variable is how good your eyes are...

Tom

I have a laser rangefinder and took reading to a group of trees where I test my BIG lights, the trees are 147 yards away from my position. Call it 150 yards.
My BIG lights, all of them show enought detail to find out if is a dog is there or is a cat.
The lights are: Mag Charger with WA01160, Mag with 5-123's and a 01318. 5-123's with Carley 809, 4-123's with Carley 717.

I am waiting for electrolumens 3toD to make me a Mag 85/800 lumen and try that out!!!

Juan C.

Thanks for all the responses, everybody.

It would appear that to get significantly more throw than a TL-3, for example, one needs a much larger (physical size, and wattage) light.

[ QUOTE ]
jayflash said:
...It would appear that to get significantly more throw than a TL-3, for example, one needs a much larger (physical size, and wattage) light.

[/ QUOTE ]

The TL-3 is probably the best throwing non-modded, non-turbohead light of its size and weight, but it is possible to get superior performance from lights that are somewhat bigger and heavier, but not necessarily much bigger. Key factors aside from lumens are reflector diameter, depth and surface treatment (smooth, textured, etc) along with filament size and placement. Here are some comparisons:

Streamlight TL-3….......……..6 ¼"………..1 5/8"………….7/8"…………..6.7oz….….175-200 L
9P+SRTH/N2 …...........…...7 1/2"……... 2 1/2"…….…….1" …………....8.6oz……..105 L
Streamlight "Mini-Ultra"*…8 5/16"….. 2 3/8"………….1 1/16"…......11.8oz……75,000 CP

The 105 lumen 9P/SRTH/N2 greatly outthrows the 200 lumen TL-3 and is approximately equal to the "Mini-Ultra" which is equal to the Ultrastinger.

*Ginseng-modded Streamlight Stinger HP with UltraStinger bulb and custom 6v battery pack for US performance in a small light.

Brightnorm