Early Morning Light

[troutpool]

What do you do for soft light early in the morning, before the sun is up? I have fallen into a pattern of relying on this combination: I always light up a little datiLED battery drainer first thing, then turn on the two puck lights atop the bookcase in my room. For navigating around the dark house I rely on 3 flashlights, which I use in rotation: a Sofirn C01 Yuji, a Sofirn C01 Sophia, and a Peak Eiger Mule with Nichia emitter. Just the right amount of early morning light for my eyes.

 

[bykfixer]

Good question TP.

For the 2am nature call want to go back to sleep I use a 1x AA 1950's incan light that lights up enough to see my way to point B then back to point A.

When the internal rooster crows while it's still dark I use my orange body Sofirn C01 sophie edition. Nearby are an Elzetta G RCR and G AA both set on low as backups. I used to use an incan Solitaire before the 1950's light arrived.

L to R:
Fulton Tom Thumb; Sofirn C01, Elzetta G AA, Elzetta G RCR

 

[troutpool]

I just knew, even before you put the picture up, that the incan was going to be your Tom Thumb.

 

[Olumin]

I just use my M61WLL for everything. When I want lower brightness I just cup the head with my hand to block most of the light.

 

[kerneldrop]

I use my Malkoff Super Hound Dog on high.

I don't need light to navigate around my house.
I have memorized the movements needed to move throughout the house undetected and rely on my other senses.

 

[thermal guy]

I'm up at 4:30 AM every morning. When I get up I need to get up. No place in my mornings for 1-2 lumen It's full on bright light. Now getting up in the middle of the night is a different story of course because i need to get back to bed but once up, I don't see the purpose of low light to walk around the house.

 

[bykfixer]

I sit in my kitchen/dining area at 4:30 by the light of an over the stove lamp. I read stuff on a computer screen mostly. When Mrs Fixer arrives she turns on what I call "the sun". It's a 2700 lumen ceiling light. It's actually 5500 but I turned it down as low as it could go when it was installed. For compromise there's a 1000 lumen light on the other side of the kitchen.

 

[Flynn's Arcade]

I'm generally up around 5 in the morning and rarely need to keep from turning house lights on. These are the night stand lights I use for low level light when the rare occasion arises.
Photon Freedom , Jetbeam Tcr-01 and a Thrunite TH-20.

 

[ilikeguns40]

I use my zebralight h600fc off the strap on low low settings. Perfect tint with Floody beam that will light up a whole room without blinding your eyes

 

[ledbetter]

Malkoff mdc aa neutral. Tailstands like a champ in bathroom and kitchen when up at all hours.

 

[troutpool]

Ceiling bounce lighting, a good choice for soft diffused light.

 

[ilikeguns40]

Ceiling bounce lighting, a good choice for soft diffused light.

I use that method every morning near my front door. Set up a light on my shelf aimed at ceiling

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

I wake up around 4AM to get ready for work. In days when it's still dark out (at this time of year it's already dawn light by then) I use my bedside torch (Convoy S2+ w/ SST20 2700K behind a 30º TIR) on 1% mode, bright enough to spook off the remains of sleep but not so much that it'll hurt my eyes.

In days where I don't have to wake up that early, I keep it memorised on 0,1% mode (~0,5lm as far as I can tell). A wide soft beam that is bright enough to see but not activate the brain.

 

[340pd]

By 6:30 am I have two miles under my belt and two more to go. One of two Malkoff MD2's in my hand to guide my way.

 

[bykfixer]

I just knew, even before you put the picture up, that the incan was going to be your Tom Thumb.

Am I that predictable? 😁

 

[Poppy]

We have a couple plug_in_the_wall auto on emergency, power failure lights that act as night lights too. Hence the no need for a flashlight for those midnight runs.

 

[Lumen83]

I use a modified Surefire U2 that puts out about 700 lumens for taking the dog outside. For inside the house when I intend to go back to sleep, i use my surefire Kroma set to low red, and for when I am already awake in the middle of the night and don't intend to go back to sleep, I use an incan surefire 6P.

 

[troutpool]

No, bykfixer, not predictable at all, really; but the Tom Thumb is a light of yours that you have described before, and it stuck in my memory.

 

[gurdygurds]

Good question TP.

For the 2am nature call want to go back to sleep I use a 1x AA 1950's incan light that lights up enough to see my way to point B then back to point A.

When the internal rooster crows while it's still dark I use my orange body Sofirn C01 sophie edition. Nearby are an Elzetta G RCR and G AA both set on low as backups. I used to use an incan Solitaire before the 1950's light arrived.

View attachment 35684
L to R:
Fulton Tom Thumb; Sofirn C01, Elzetta G AA, Elzetta G RCR

Byk, how does that 1xaa Incan compare to an Incan solitaire as far as beam and brightness?

 

[bykfixer]

Well, it's about the same output.

With the solitaire you twist to on. You see an outter band of light with a big dark spot in the center. Twist some more and you get a throwey beam with spill.

With the Tom Thumb you slide a switch forward 1/4" and get a fairly even lighting due to a shallow, dull reflector through a nowhere near ultraclear plastic lens. Think frosted LED globe E01.

Both give you a filament shadow.

With a 1960's Holland made Norelco #110 or 112 bulb filament shadow is not that bad thanks to the gentley frosted globe tip. But it now has an Asian made 55 cent bulb in it so it has a swirly filament shadow. The solitaire has a sorta spider web looking filament shadow.

Neither one bothers me.

For outdoor use I prefer the throwey Solitaire but indoors I like the Tom Thumb.