Advice for mother with poor vision.

[david73]

Hello, I would like to get my mom a good flashlight for her birthday in july. She recently underwent eye surgery and has trouble seeing in low light (she stumbles in the dim light) and has a hard time reading if the reading material isn't directly under a desklamp. The ideal flashlight would be one that is small enough to fit in her purse and has an adjustable brightness so that it could be used when lighting up a walkway or while reading. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I wanted to buy the 3 pack of CPF multi level light but unfortunately it looks like it was sold out. Are there any similar lights out there? Thank you.

 

[TheGreyEminence]

A Fenix P3D would be a good choice...several brightness levels and very compact too.

 

[Marduke]

I would recommend against any CR123 light for her, as most people don't have the knowledge to buy CR123's online (instead of paying $5-10 each in stores), and don't have the discipline to use them properly.


You may also want to personally ask BIGIRON for his opinion (either via PM, or request him to visit this thread), as I understand he chooses his lights wisely due to poor vision.

 

[TooManyGizmos]

A Fenix P3D would be a good choice...several brightness levels and very compact too.

Compact ?????? ?

.

 

[StingKing]

The fenix LOD Q4 would be a good light to consider.
Small enought to fit in the purse, multi levels of light and runs on inexpensive AAA's.

 

[Zeige]

Sounds like lots of flood would be good for her. Maybe a Zebra light?

 

[IcantC]

I would say whatever you buy make sure it has following criteria.
1) Easily available battery AA or AAA.
2) Easy to use.

I think a dual clickie light would be the best. I am waiting on my Lumapower LM31 and can let you know how it is. Uses AA and 2 modes accessed via clicking.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Glasses?

 

[Marduke]

Glasses?

Glasses won't help one's ability to see in low light.

 

[jumpstat]

A liteflux Lf2 which runs on easily available AA is small compact and well made.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Glasses won't help one's ability to see in low light.

Then get some night vision goggles with that...

 

[BIGIRON]

You don't give us your mom's age, so assuming she has normal physical abilities (i.e. able to use a twist switch) there's lot's of good lights available.

I have limited and deteriorating vision due retina/vitreous issues as well has having been caregiver for elderly parents with somewhat limited vision so I've got specific experience to share.

I would think in terms of two lights. A headlight to read with and a walking around light for the rest of the time.

I've used headlights for many years, well before I developed my vision problems. I got a Zebralight H-30 about a month ago and it's perfect for reading, desk and bench work. The low is just right for me (you can have too much light, particularly for slick, shiny paper, etc), the click switch is fool proof and it comes on in low, which is important to me. It weighs almost nothing so the band doesn't have to be too tight. I assume the H-50, which uses an AA battery but has a twist switch would also work as well. The H-30 uses a 123 battery, but if you pick up a half dozen or so when you buy the light, they should last her a long, long time if the light is mostly used on low setting.

The other light should probably be multilevel and easily pocketable. I pretty much use a Fenix L1D now as my pocket light. It has a click switch, comes on in low but can be brightened by touches of the switch or quickly to the very brightest by a easy twist of the head. The Fenix L1T serves the same purpose and is simpler, but the low is brighter. There are many other lights that will work for this purpose.

A flood beam is most important for this type use. A spot, particularly an optical "sharp round circle" spot is almost useless. She's probably not going to use it looking for street signs.

I keep a JetU AAA (discontinued and hard to get) with a red Photon at the bedside for my "going to the bathroom without turning the lights on" light. I like the JetU because it has a memory that can be set for low to be initial level. There are also many other very good lights that will work well. Fenix has several.

One thing that helps me a lot is to have tritium "danglers", generally called Glow Rings, attached to my lights, keys and anything else I'll need to find in low light. They're expensive and kinda hard to get but very helpful. I've also taped individual trit tubes to a couple of light switches. Even got one on my little black dog so I don't step on her at night!!

It's great that you've picked up on your mom's problems and are willing to help her out. This is one of the most frustrating things I've ever experienced. If I had to choose any one sense to give up, sight would be the last one.

I apologize for all the "I" strain in this post, but hope it's OK here.

 

[Uncle Bob]

My mother couldn't deal with a headlamp. Too complicated.

Energizer has 2 new flashlights. Saw them on brightguy.com.

One is the Energizer e2 Lithium LED Flashlight 1 AA and the other is the Energizer e2 Lithium LED Flashlight 2 AA. Both have fully adjustable brightness and can take alkalines. I haven't seen any reviews but they sound interesting.

 

[jayhackett03]

Compact ?????? ?

.

i don't get it.

 

[jayhackett03]

my suggestion:
http://pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2480

 

[TooManyGizmos]

i don't get it.

It's a Weeee bit Looong



IncenDio is compact

.

 

[david73]

Thank you everybody for your replies. My mom is 71 years old and has normal physical abilities. Her eyes got bad because of diabetes and her eye surgery affected the rods in her eyes so everthing seems dimmer to her, and dim light is probably like pitch black to her. After reading on this forum, I think the best flashlight would be one that produces a wide beam and has adjustable brightness. I have no idea how bright so I'm assuming brighter is better. I don't want her falling down when walking around in dim light and it would be useful if she can use this light to read with. I don't know much about lights, so please tell me what is the best small floodlight with an adjustable brightness or what 2 flashlights would work for reading and walking. I asked her if she would wear a headlamp and she said probably not because she doesn't like things on her head. thank you.

 

[Silversurfer]

The floodlight from the mule is ideal for reading and walking.

The shoppe will soon be selling a Aleph Mule GDuP Cree flashlight with three output levels.

I believe it can be configured with either a twisty or clicky tailcap. It's very lightweight and when used with a neck lanyard will serve your mother's needs quite well.

There is also a two output level configuration available using a "dumb" mule head on a Surefire L1 using the L1 twisty tailcap. This weighs slightly more.

I have both and use both. If you need either one immediately, PM me.

 

[TooManyGizmos]

..
:devil: Not trying to be a "smart-allek" or anything ........

But why not put night lights in all the outlets in her home - thats gotta help some. It's better than carrying a light at all times. I did that to prevent tripping over the black cat we have.

Is she totally against leaving all the interior lights "on" all the time at night ?? Also remove all things that would be a trip/stumble hazard.

A light on a break-away neck lanyard might work best.
I hope she gets better.

TMG

 

[DM51]

I mentioned in a similar thread some time ago that one of the problems the elderly can have is actually operating things. Sometimes they lose a lot of the strength in their hands or wrists, so a switch must be really easy to operate, with no strength required, and not too fiddly either.

It should also (preferably) be kept simple. A complicated UI which you like might be too difficult for an elderly person to get used to.

Another factor is visibility. A small, dark-colored light is easily misplaced, while a larger, bright-colored (yellow etc) light is easier to see and harder to lose. GITD / Trit components can assist here.