Are Metal Flashlights A Problem In The Cold?

[Black Rose]

well then you probably got the flashlight from indoors in that case.

Exactly. Moot point then.

Maybe so, but try using a metal bodied flashlight when it's -25C....it gets freakin' cold pretty quick whether it was indoors or not.

 

[Strauss]

I agree with the others in the fact that it shouldn't be a problem assuming you are wearing gloves when it's that cold out, or if the light comes from your pocket it shouldn't be that cold.

With that being said, I had a bad experience with my Ra Twisty in -15F conditions that had a wind chill of -30F. I was at work and had my Twisty clipped in my overall's pocket where it always is. I had been outside for a good 40min. already when I had to use my Twisty to illuminate something. I needed to use both hands as I was fueling an airplane, so I pulled the light out, turned it on, and stuck it in my mouth in my normal "lip" hold. Well, as soon as I clamped down on it with my lips I could feel the light start to stick to my mouth. It was SOOO cold out that the light still managed to get extremely cold while being in my pocket. As you can imagine, the damn light stuck to my lips and I had to carefully pull it off, all while freezing my damn butt off!

I have only had it happen that one time, and I have been out in the cold plenty of times. Most of the time the light won't get cold enough being in my pocket. It was just the fact that it was extremely cold outside, and that I had been outside for a decent amount of time before I went to use it.

So be wary of using the mouth hold with a cold metal-bodied flashlight! :candle:

 

[GreyShark]

Thanks for the information. I'll definitely try not to get any flashlights frozen in my mouth! Yikes!

Are there any problems with polymer bodies like the G2 in the cold? I would think plastic would get brittle below a certain temperature but I don't have any idea where that threshold is.

 

[Marduke]

Maybe so, but try using a metal bodied flashlight when it's -25C....it gets freakin' cold pretty quick whether it was indoors or not.

If you're out long enough in -25C for the light to get cold, you best be wearing gloves anyhow, because your fingers will get cold even quicker.

 

[ampdude]

Thanks for the information. I'll definitely try not to get any flashlights frozen in my mouth! Yikes!

Are there any problems with polymer bodies like the G2 in the cold? I would think plastic would get brittle below a certain temperature but I don't have any idea where that threshold is.

To some of the other posters "wear gloves" comments.... not realistic. Not at all.

@ GreyShark
I haven't noticed any problems with nitrolon in the cold. Plastic will definitely get brittle at extremely low temps, but I haven't experienced any problems yet and it got to -44F here a few weeks ago one night. Yes that was air temperature, not windchill. Luckily we haven't had anything like that lately. I think nitrolon is glass filled nylon. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. But if I'm correct, that's a little different than plastic.

I expect a few days of 110-120F type temps this summer. That's North Dakota for you.

 

[KiwiMark]

Jeez, you guys think you have problems? Where I live during winter the overnight temperatures sometimes drop close to zero degrees celsius, that is somthing like 32 degrees Fahrenheit - brrrr.

With my EDC in my pocket, it is never going to be particularly cold, so no problems for me.

 

[ampdude]

Jeez, you guys think you have problems? Where I live during winter the overnight temperatures sometimes drop close to zero degrees celsius, that is somthing like 32 degrees Fahrenheit - brrrr.

With my EDC in my pocket, it is never going to be particularly cold, so no problems for me.

Oh that's brutal!!!

Just to elaborate on my previous post, anyone who's pushed a button on their radio or tried to adjust their mirror in a cold car and had either break knows that plastic gets brittle in the cold.

Gotta love New Zealand, you have most of the world's surface features in that same place. Mountains, valleys, grasslands, swamps, forests.. it's a cool place I hope to visit someday.

 

[Badger_Girl]

Maybe so, but try using a metal bodied flashlight when it's -25C....it gets freakin' cold pretty quick whether it was indoors or not.

Well, we can keep crying about our cold flashlights, or we can wear gloves, or we can take the trash out in the daylight, or we can just take it out in the dark with no flashlight. It seems surprisingly simple.

 

[GreyShark]

To some of the other posters "wear gloves" comments.... not realistic. Not at all.

Gloves can be good but the only time I've ever really been stuck in very cold weather I didn't have the choice. I mostly remember not actually being able to feel anything with my fingers and having to rely on sight. It was the suck!

The coldest I've ever done is in the -20's and that was enough for me. I do get summer temperatures like yours but I'm surprised that North Dakota gets that hot. I guess it's not soley a function of latitude.

 

[ampdude]

You should change your name to Funny Girl Love ya dear.

 

[ampdude]

Gloves can be good but the only time I've ever really been stuck in very cold weather I didn't have the choice. I mostly remember not actually being able to feel anything with my fingers and having to rely on sight. It was the suck!

The coldest I've ever done is in the -20's and that was enough for me. I do get summer temperatures like yours but I'm surprised that North Dakota gets that hot. I guess it's not soley a function of latitude.

Most people are surprised by our extreme swing in temperatures, it's a function of a semi-arid, continental climate. I've lived here for many years and it almost.. I shouldn't say almost, it DOES seem normal to me. WINTER IS ICEBERG SUMMER IS HELL.. In winter sometimes we get below -50F air temperature, in summer sometimes we get above 120F. It's kind of a unique place in that respect. When I tell most people not from here that July and August can get brutal sometimes they have a good laugh. Until they're here over those months..

You made some of my point thanks, most of the time people who are stuck in those temperatures don't have gloves, and a lot of the time when they ARE stuck in those temperatures they need the manual dexterity not afforded by gloves to do things. I'd say under most curcumstances gloves are a pain in the butt. But taking out the garbage, nobody uses gloves, if it's above 10F most people take out the garbage in a sport coat.

If you think of all of the other things humans do in the cold besides taking out the garbage you can see the short sidedness of the 'just wear gloves' posts.

 

[JNewell]

Thanks for the information. I'll definitely try not to get any flashlights frozen in my mouth! Yikes!

Are there any problems with polymer bodies like the G2 in the cold? I would think plastic would get brittle below a certain temperature but I don't have any idea where that threshold is.

There was a thread a while back that got kinda ugly with someone insisting that G2 lights would shatter in the cold. Among other points, it was noted that this group has seen, collectively, just about every imaginable problem and some you would never imagine, and no one had ever reported a shattered Nitrolon light. I guess it could happen, but it seems an extremely rare chance. YMMV, though!

 

[ampdude]

There was a thread a while back that got kinda ugly with someone insisting that G2 lights would shatter in the cold. Among other points, it was noted that this group has seen, collectively, just about every imaginable problem and some you would never imagine, and no one had ever reported a shattered Nitrolon light. I guess it could happen, but it seems an extremely rare chance. YMMV, though!

I could see a G2 or G3 breaking in -30F weather if I took a sledgehammer to it. :shrug:

 

[Egsise]

It doesn't often get below freezing where I live but I would like to hear some practical observations from those who do live in colder climates. Do the light bodies get uncomfortably cold to touch? Any other problems?

With your gloves on, no.
Batteries, 0 to -40 degrees(air temperature, windchill calculations are for city slickers), alkaline and a crappy regulated flaslight is a joke.
Good (LSD?) NiMH or lithium together with a quality flaslight is a winner.

 

[ampdude]

With your gloves on, no.
Batteries, 0 to -40 degrees(air temperature, windchill calculations are for city slickers), alkaline and a crappy regulated flaslight is a joke.
Good (LSD?) NiMH or lithium together with a quality flaslight is a winner.

I have to agree. In my experience with the incans I've owned and used in -10F, Surefire lithium primaries have always done the job.

 

[Blindasabat]

... I'm getting ready to purchase a cree R2 drop-in to put in a Maxfire LX.

Careful putting a high draw dropin in the Maxfire, I melted a Maxfire switch that way once. Literally melted.

 

[Blindasabat]

If you're out long enough in -25C for the light to get cold, you best be wearing gloves anyhow, because your fingers will get cold even quicker.

Uh, NO. Aluminum is about 100 times more thermally conductive than you skin. It will cool your hand faster even after it starts warm from inside than if you were just bare handed.

You better be wearing THICK gloves, then you are limited in what you can do with your fingers. The list of things you have to do out in the freezing cold with either thin gloves or bare handed is very long. It's either headlight or plastic light.

 

[Blindasabat]

I'm sure it would take a sledgehammer too. Even G2's are sold to the military, so I'm sure they conform to MIL spec & tested to -40. All automotive components are designed to survive -40, so I'm sure MIL is at LEAST -40. War happens in every climate. I bet actic military forces actually prefer the Nitrolon lights.

Nitrolon is a fiber reinforced Nylon. I'm not sure if it is glass fiber, but that is the most common Nylon reinforcement. I actually suspect that Nitrolon is also mineral reinforced, which gives it the hard scratch proof quality. It is tough stuff. Mineral is non-fibrous reinforcement. Add a little silicon (soft down to -120C!) and you drop the fragility temp of the entire material mix. Not to -120C, but lower than the base material.

I could see a G2 or G3 breaking in -30F weather if I took a sledgehammer to it.

BTW, I've seen video of people on Mt. Everest with their gloves off. These should be the people most prepared for the cold, but sometimes they have to take the gloves off to do things.

 

[SureAddicted]

I could see a G2 or G3 breaking in -30F weather if I took a sledgehammer to it. :shrug:

Actually, no. Your confusing nitrolon with plastic. Nitrolon polymer is stronger than steel, given that it's made big/thick enough, it could survive much lower temps, but it also has its limits. If it were Arctic kind of temps, I'd prefer alu over nitrolon.

 

[brucec]

When camping or other recreational activities in the cold, I keep my EDC in the Napolean chest pocket of my jacket. There, it stays warm enough to not be a huge problem. Plus, a small single cell light warms itself up in a few minutes, on high that is. So, metal pocket lights carried near to your core or skin will be fine. A cold freezing car glovebox is another matter. I go for plastic there (G2L stock). A metal 6P on a window sill next to the porch door is going to get pretty cold too, but maybe not freeze to your mouth cold. Also, 2 cell lights don't seem to warm up as much on the part that you hold. I suppose if I really had to use a metal flashlight in very cold weather, I would probably wrap the tube with tennis grip tape or something comparable.