Show your light's capabilities appropriately

[KingGlamis]

I recently got an MC-E K-bin light from KD. I love it. They rate it at 600 lumens. I'm not going to argue what it's real output is as I go by usefulness in the real world instead of numbers. My wife was excited for me to get it, as this was supposed to be my brightest light yet (I have a few in the 300-500 lumen range, depending on what you believe). When I shined it around the house to show the wife she was slightly impressed, but wanted to see it outdoors at night. Luckily we went to a friends house for a BBQ and they live where it is VERY dark (dirt road, no street lights, DARK).

So, sitting on their back patio with the patio lights on I shine the light at a wall about 20 feet away. Keep in mind we are sitting under the patio lights and the wall is reflecting the light too. The wife says, sort of disappointed, "I thought it would be brighter." I tell her she needs to see the light used in darkness to see the difference. So I move to the edge of the patio that overlooks the good-sized back yard, a back yard that is very dark. I fire up the light on high and it illuminates nearly the entire back yard. HOLY COW! This thing puts out some serious light. I call over the wife and a few friends and they are blown away. (sorry, didn't bring my camera to get beamshots). They can't believe one flashlight is THAT bright. Then I point the light at the neighbor's windmill that is a good 100 yards away. It lights it up brightly and they are again amazed.

My point is, don't show others your high-powered light in a situation where they will go "Ho-hum, no big deal." Use the light as intended to light up very dark areas or far distances and that will impress people far more than "Hey look at that wall over there."

 

[f22shift]

u mean like in the middle of the night when ur wife is sleeping? "wakeup!... seee?"

or at the movie theaters? :naughty:

or "here, wear this blindfold for 45min. no questions"

 

[Sgt. LED]

Ah..........
yes

 

[Flashlight Aficionado]

I thought you were going to tell me to stop handing my flashlight over to a rube and let them aim the light at their own eyes and turn it on.

Even in full sunlight I think they will appreciate how phenomenally bright my light is.

 

[kramer5150]

:twothumbs

Yeah, shining ~350 Lumens of flood on a wall is like:thinking:.. Huh?... thats it?

Shine that thing into an open field (even one with some degree of light "pollution") is like :drool:... WOW.

I never really did like the spot beamey nature of my P60 DIY modules, using them is like tunnel vision. My eyes are forced to concentrate on a spot of light. With my floodier MC-E module I am more focused on the objects in my field of view... than the light itself.

 

[Wiggle]

:twothumbs
I never really did like the spot beamey nature of my P60 DIY modules, using them is like tunnel vision. My eyes are forced to concentrate on a spot of light. With my floodier MC-E module I am more focused on the objects in my field of view... than the light itself.

I noticed that too, for a while I was using the R2 or Q2 modules I have as my walking lights, but I much prefer the MC-E now. With the XR-E the spill is not enough to cut through the city's light pollution so I just have the main spot, whereas the MC-E illuminates pretty much anything I could need to see.

 

[headlights]

That is soooo cool! How much does one of those bad boys cost????

 

[Burgess]

u mean like in the middle of the night when ur wife is sleeping? "wakeup!... seee?"

or at the movie theaters? :naughty:

or "here, wear this blindfold for 45min. no questions"

Your post made me Laugh Out Loud !


:lolsign:

^^^^^----- just like this fellow

 

[WadeF]

Yeah, a lot of the MC-E lights aren't very throwy, so you can't appreciate all the floody light they put out if you are in an environment that is lit up already. An open dark area is where they really shine. :) I'm not familiar with your light so I don't know how large the reflector is, etc. K-bin MC-E eh? Does anyone have a list of MC-E bins and their rated lumens?

 

[KingGlamis]

An open dark area is where they really shine.

I don't mean to be a smartazz but I couldn't resist... Isn't that true of any flashlight? :)

 

[kramer5150]

I don't mean to be a smartazz but I couldn't resist... Isn't that true of any flashlight? :)

drum roll cymbal crash please:)

 

[bloke-gear.com]

Well said KingGlamis! There's no feeling worse than telling your family/friends how much your lights cost only for them to think how mediocre it is.

 

[Nestor]

How does this light compare to DBS, Tiablo, or other "famous" lights. What about run time? does it gets hot? It supouse to be direct driven, do you see a visible drop in output along the runtime?

 

[SilentK]

That is soooo cool! How much does one of those bad boys cost????

They cost around $140 from 4sevens

 

[zipplet]

I couldn't agree more. When I got my TK40 I switched it on in my room and it didn't look as bright as I expected on turbo - although the hotspot was searingly bright. Took it out later that night onto some country roads and .. :eek: you could see as far as the eye could see, it was like a fricking car headlight. The flood indeed stops you getting tunnel vision, you can see all around :)

 

[Somy Nex]

you mean like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGWY6do7GUw

sorry OT a bit i know. but couldn't resist =)

 

[fiftycalibre]

My friends doubted my descriptions of my 15k lumen monster from modamag. We were in a quite well lit area, and they didnt think it was that bright, so I took out some newspaper and lit it on fire. They promptly stopped making fun of me.

The brightness of the light reflecting off the paper when the flashlight was near it also made them realise it really is quite bright.

 

[M@elstrom]

you mean like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGWY6do7GUw

sorry OT a bit i know. but couldn't resist =)

That was a cruel trick to play on a sleeping significant other... I nearly fell of my chair laughing :D

 

[gsxrac]

...........or "here, wear this blindfold for 45min. no questions"

My fiance said I messed up my chances of that happening again after the first time :shakehead