Bimmerboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
LOL!... quite true.
Brightness Isn't Everything
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LOL!... quite true.
Lightcrazycanuck
Banned
The worth of a flashlight is when you turn it on it works.Period.
Everything else is a bonus.IMO.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I still get a thrill from using a super-bright light, but I also get a thrill from using a low-lumen light that I know will run forever. I get a thrill from using just the right amount of light for the job at hand. I get the same satisfaction from using any great quality tool that is the right tool for the job. It makes as much sense to use an impact wrench to open a watch case as it does to use an M6 (I wish I had one) to make a late night toilet run.
Love this thread. :twothumbs
Love this thread. :twothumbs
saabgoblin
Enlightened
Brightness isn't everything, until you need it, then it's everything.
This reminds me of a saying, "Money is not the root of all evil. It's the lack of money that's the root of all evil."
DHart
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yep... that's why we have so many wonderful lights at our disposal!
The right light for the task at hand is everything!
That's why I use a High CRI modded Novatac. Sometimes there is a little light pollution and I need a higher mode.
That's a light that is guaranteed not to work after you drop it one time. Maybe it needs a lanyard.
saabgoblin
Enlightened
DHart
Flashlight Enthusiast
Great place and opportunity to enjoy the illumination of a great flashlight!
saabgoblin
Enlightened
:thumbsup:
GarageBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Brightness is not, efficiency is for me. I wanna make sure that convertor board/LED is making as much light for as long as it can til the battery is toast
As I always say, it's not brightness but rather runtime that makes the difference between having light or not.
User interface is another major factor. This includes not only operation, but also size and handling characteristics, and those will dictate whether or not you'll be carrying and reaching for the the light. A cumbersome flashlight that doesn't fit comfortably in your pocket and hand, and takes some fumbling to activate as desired will simply not be used.
Quality and reliability have a lot to do with the use intended. If we're talking about a home-garage-shop light, they may not matter much. On the other hand, to hard users this may be the most important factor...
Beam quality and tint's importance are also very variable according to each user.
User interface is another major factor. This includes not only operation, but also size and handling characteristics, and those will dictate whether or not you'll be carrying and reaching for the the light. A cumbersome flashlight that doesn't fit comfortably in your pocket and hand, and takes some fumbling to activate as desired will simply not be used.
Quality and reliability have a lot to do with the use intended. If we're talking about a home-garage-shop light, they may not matter much. On the other hand, to hard users this may be the most important factor...
Beam quality and tint's importance are also very variable according to each user.
tebore
Flashlight Enthusiast
To an extent maximum brightness is still important to me.
Along with a high maximum brightness I MUST have multi-mode.
It's not fun to play flashlight tag when the kids know you can hit all of them without having to point at them. It's good to know you can hit all of them to end the game when you get tired.
Along with a high maximum brightness I MUST have multi-mode.
It's not fun to play flashlight tag when the kids know you can hit all of them without having to point at them. It's good to know you can hit all of them to end the game when you get tired.
My needs for a bright light are so few and far between, that I've gotten rid of all but one incan, and that one is rarely used. On the occasions I use it, none of my other lights would do, but like I said, it's rare.
I keep one spare lamp, and one spare pair of 18650s for it.
Thinking of building a new McCapsule for my Longbow Micra some time in the future. It would be used around the house at night, in the cab of my truck, and as a main light if I ever get to go camping again.
The plan is for one of those heavily stippled Khatod flood reflectors, and a high CRI P4 running at 89mA. I hope it isn't too bright.
I keep one spare lamp, and one spare pair of 18650s for it.
Thinking of building a new McCapsule for my Longbow Micra some time in the future. It would be used around the house at night, in the cab of my truck, and as a main light if I ever get to go camping again.
The plan is for one of those heavily stippled Khatod flood reflectors, and a high CRI P4 running at 89mA. I hope it isn't too bright.
bluepilgrim
Enlightened
There is reliablility, cost to feed it, pretty or neat, etc., but the number one consideration is that the light is suitability for whatever you are doing -- and that varies.
For me, that usually means low light level and easy to get out of my poket; although I prefer using the Dorcy AAA (41-4234), I usually use my Dorcy AA (41-4239) since it more cost effective. I grab the little AAA Rayovac Keychain (BRSLEDKEY-BMF) when I'm taking food for the cats in the garage because it's got a chain attached which I can hold in my mouth. The little ones are easy to hold, even with something else in my hand, and Dorcy's push button in back make it easy to flash on for a moment.
Yet, when I want LIGHT then the bright ones are needed -- that's when there's something going down outside and I go to see what -- and it better work then, without having to fiddle with it, too!. I'd rather carry several lights around, each for a purpose, than one I have to adjust -- and be in the dark if it didn't work or I dropped it. (Yeah -- I have a cellar full of different tools too, with many special purpose ones.) The most important accessory is a sweatshirt with deep pockets.
Cost is important for me, but run time is less so because I have no problem with carrying a few extra cells with me or having them around (I'd have to reload a gun or camera too.)
One last important feature of any light is that's it's shiny new so I'm not tired playing with it! :twothumbs
For me, that usually means low light level and easy to get out of my poket; although I prefer using the Dorcy AAA (41-4234), I usually use my Dorcy AA (41-4239) since it more cost effective. I grab the little AAA Rayovac Keychain (BRSLEDKEY-BMF) when I'm taking food for the cats in the garage because it's got a chain attached which I can hold in my mouth. The little ones are easy to hold, even with something else in my hand, and Dorcy's push button in back make it easy to flash on for a moment.
Yet, when I want LIGHT then the bright ones are needed -- that's when there's something going down outside and I go to see what -- and it better work then, without having to fiddle with it, too!. I'd rather carry several lights around, each for a purpose, than one I have to adjust -- and be in the dark if it didn't work or I dropped it. (Yeah -- I have a cellar full of different tools too, with many special purpose ones.) The most important accessory is a sweatshirt with deep pockets.
Cost is important for me, but run time is less so because I have no problem with carrying a few extra cells with me or having them around (I'd have to reload a gun or camera too.)
One last important feature of any light is that's it's shiny new so I'm not tired playing with it! :twothumbs
AMD64Blondie
Flashlight Enthusiast
Even if my Mag85 was working (the batteries are stuck inside) I would still be nervous using it around my new downtown Portland,OR apartment. Far too bright for walking in downtown Portland.
The switch comes out the front of a Mag pretty easy with just pulling the switch cover off and loosening one allen screw. After you do that, the mag body is just a metal tube. Should be fairly easy to get the batteries out.
You can search on here or google for how to disassemble a mag.
You can search on here or google for how to disassemble a mag.
AMD64Blondie
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks for the info. But back on topic,I've seen my way out of a partial power outage(only part of Portland State's campus was out) at work with nothing more than my trusty Arc AA. 3.3 lumens seems insanely bright when you're in complete darkness.
Sub_Umbra
Flashlight Enthusiast
"Re: Brightness Isn't Everything"
Agreed. IMO the real problem is that brightness IS NEARLY EVERYTHING when it comes to marketing lights to the masses. In the real world relatively few who buy flashlights are interested in anything but replacing the dark with something close to what they have the most experience with -- the floody, bright, white from the sun. For the masses there are no finer points to light -- they either have it or they don't. If they don't have it they just want their light to be bright, that's all. They are only interested in replacing the dark. Nothing else is important to them.
That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. My problem with it is that the manufacturers have to cater to them because they are such a huge group. Going against that group is financially risky.
I have probably spent at least 300 times as much time looking for and researching Very Dim lights than I have spent looking for all other genres combined. Sometimes I think that it's amazing that there are any dim lights out there for sale at all.
Note: when I say dim I probably mean something that is incomprehensibly dim to most. I mean something dimmer than the old HDS EDCs could even be adjusted to at their lowest possible setting. I mean something along the lines of the lower settings of Photon Freedoms and the Rigel MIL Starlights. These lights sell (thankfully) but they are part of a very small group of lights whose output may be adjusted to such a low level. Most who have not owned and experimented with them firsthand at their lower output levels will fail to grasp what they are capable of.
Agreed. IMO the real problem is that brightness IS NEARLY EVERYTHING when it comes to marketing lights to the masses. In the real world relatively few who buy flashlights are interested in anything but replacing the dark with something close to what they have the most experience with -- the floody, bright, white from the sun. For the masses there are no finer points to light -- they either have it or they don't. If they don't have it they just want their light to be bright, that's all. They are only interested in replacing the dark. Nothing else is important to them.
That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. My problem with it is that the manufacturers have to cater to them because they are such a huge group. Going against that group is financially risky.
I have probably spent at least 300 times as much time looking for and researching Very Dim lights than I have spent looking for all other genres combined. Sometimes I think that it's amazing that there are any dim lights out there for sale at all.
Note: when I say dim I probably mean something that is incomprehensibly dim to most. I mean something dimmer than the old HDS EDCs could even be adjusted to at their lowest possible setting. I mean something along the lines of the lower settings of Photon Freedoms and the Rigel MIL Starlights. These lights sell (thankfully) but they are part of a very small group of lights whose output may be adjusted to such a low level. Most who have not owned and experimented with them firsthand at their lower output levels will fail to grasp what they are capable of.
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