Firefly mode useful? YES

[PCC]

i agree, the Ti's firefly mode is realllllly nice. i also bought- for comparison's sake- the 4 lumen 'low' of the shipping Tis, and honestly? the 4 lumens is too high for my night vision indoors compared to the .04 of the 'normal' Ti IMO

but you guys are making me wanna buy a T10 now, too. so the T10 is essentially a AA-powered Ti? I'm looking at the product page on TN's site and it appears it's one with memory too.

is the T10 much larger than a Ti in all honesty? is it twist-off-then-on-again to change/cycle modes?

the Ti I have to twist it just the right amount to make sure it doesn't blast on in high (versus firefly) so that's a PITA to me a lot.

The UI of these two lights are different. The Ti is twist for low then twist more for high. It won't change modes by twisting on-off-on unless you go too far and reach high. The T10 is a classic on-off-on to change modes light and tightening the head just makes it difficult to unscrew it. The T10 is a quarter inch longer and about 3/16" larger in diameter. I really like the mode memory of that light!

 

[chaoss]

My HDS Rotary goes down to 0.07 lumen which may not sound like much but is surprisingly bright in the dead of night. I find these moon modes so useful that I will never buy a general purpose EDC without a low-low feature. In fact, I care more about how dim a flashlight can get than how bright it can get!

This statement is spot on for me as well.

 

[flatline]

Is the HDS using PWM at that level?

The HDS does not use PWM for any output levels.

--flatline

 

[reppans]

Unfortunately HDS choses not to support AA/AAA market. So, if you like long running moonlight modes in that battery config., it's Thrunite, 4Sevens and Zebralight.

 

[Gregozedobe]

the Ti I have to twist it just the right amount to make sure it doesn't blast on in high (versus firefly) so that's a PITA to me a lot.

If you are willing to use your Ti as a firefly-only light I think I read somewhere on CPF that some people were putting a piece of plastic behind the little switching tab in the head to prevent Hi from being selected. Might save your night adapted eyes.

 

[fyrstormer]

Unfortunately HDS choses not to support AA/AAA market. So, if you like long running moonlight modes in that battery config., it's Thrunite, 4Sevens and Zebralight.

The Jetbeam RRT-0 with AA adaptor should be able to get down that low. I know my TC-R2 (the titanium version of the same) can get so dim I can look directly at the emitter in the middle of the night without discomfort.

 

[reppans]

The Jetbeam RRT-0 with AA adaptor should be able to get down that low. I know my TC-R2 (the titanium version of the same) can get so dim I can look directly at the emitter in the middle of the night without discomfort.

Yes it does, but I did say "long running" .

Aside from preserving night vision, one of the other great advantages of ultra-low modes is that they can give you massive runtimes from a single AA (250-400 hrs for 4/7s and ZL). The variable control ring lights have that electrical overhead penalty which really hurts the low lumen runtimes on lights like the RRT-0 and V10a. Actually, I'm somewhat surprised that T10 runtime is only listed as 147 hrs, given the lower 0.09 output.

I really love the ability to run a Quark AA continuously on moonlight, as if it were plugged in - no mental battery meter necessary at this lumen level.

 

[fyrstormer]

Super-long "moonlight mode" runtimes on a control-ring light aren't as valuable as they seem on paper. You'll drain the battery on a regular basis when using the light on brighter settings. "Moonlight mode" on a normal flashlight, regardless of UI design, is a convenience intended for periodic use; if you're in the small minority of people who never ever use brighter "daylight" settings, then you're better off getting a dedicated "moonlight" that takes up less space, like an Eiger Sub-Zero.

 

[LightWalker]

Yes it does, but I did say "long running" .

Aside from preserving night vision, one of the other great advantages of ultra-low modes is that they can give you massive runtimes from a single AA (250-400 hrs for 4/7s and ZL). The variable control ring lights have that electrical overhead penalty which really hurts the low lumen runtimes on lights like the RRT-0 and V10a. Actually, I'm somewhat surprised that T10 runtime is only listed as 147 hrs, given the lower 0.09 output.

I really love the ability to run a Quark AA continuously on moonlight, as if it were plugged in - no mental battery meter necessary at this lumen level.

Runtime on low for the T10 on an Eneloop is about 64 hours according to CPF member, csshih.

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...d-T30-Available-at-Illumination-Supply!/page2

 

[TooManyGizmos]

~

I think the T10 - on FireFly - used ALL night - would last atleast a week , for sure ...

Swap batteries ... Then recharge the drained one on the weekend , each week .

~

 

[reppans]

Super-long "moonlight mode" runtimes on a control-ring light aren't as valuable as they seem on paper. You'll drain the battery on a regular basis when using the light on brighter settings. "Moonlight mode" on a normal flashlight, regardless of UI design, is a convenience intended for periodic use; if you're in the small minority of people who never ever use brighter "daylight" settings, then you're better off getting a dedicated "moonlight" that takes up less space, like an Eiger Sub-Zero.

I understand what you mean, and for most people that I seem to read about here with focus on higher lumens, I agree that there'll be little difference, if any, with a control ring light. I know I am in the small minority that loves the low lows but I use my lights continuously in very dark environments (camping) and I like to use, and preserve, my night vision so moonlight and 3 or 4 lumens are my most often used modes. I'm also a minimalist and want that one light that weighs nothing and does it all - there are times I need/like to blast max and medium too. Lastly a long running moonlight is almost as good as having a spare battery for me - if, for example, I've used up 75% of my battery capacity and I suddenly find I *need* runtime for some emergency, it good to know that the remaining 25% battery capacity will give me somewhere between 60 and 100 hrs of useable light.

 

[TEEJ]

I found I can get a really low lumen firefly light by using a glow in the dark O ring....no batteries needed....just leave it out during the day, and at night, it glows all by itself providing more than enough light to navigate in pitch blackness with night adjusted vision.

If I want it brighter, I can stack the O rings as needed.

:thumbsup:

 

[ElectronGuru]

If I want it brighter, I can stack the O rings as needed.

:thumbsup:

 

[Kestrel]

I just sleep with an eye mask.

That would work to prevent me from being disturbed, but won't prevent a cranky bed mate from waking and complaining.

Wearing earplugs will help to mitigate that. You wearing the earplugs, that is.

 

[Gregozedobe]

Another light that could be used as an always-on firefly light is one of the PALights set on "Locator Glow". Just bright enough to navigate around a dark house, and lasts for over a year (always on) on a cheap 9v carbon-zinc battery. Put the used batteries out of your smoke alarms in one and you'll have "free" lighting all year round.

 

[rickypanecatyl]

There's no one universal amount of lumens...for anything. You can't see lumens, you can only see LUX.

The same lumens, projected further away, will generally produce lower Lux on the target. For reading, a small amount of lumen output, that doesn't have far to go, can produce enough lux it the target is close enough.

If the beam is a flood, whatever lumen output there is, is diluted by the larger surface area as far as LUX go. A tighter throw makes the spot brighter (More lux on target), but its darker around that.

So its misleading to talk about how many lumens you need to do anything, unless you all are doing the same thing with the same light, with the same night vision.

The distribution of those lumens make a huge difference.

That was a helpful explanation!

I love the moonlight on my varapower - it's probably .05? It certainly is dimmer than the moonlight on the G5 maelstrom, scorpion and even the lowest setting on the photon key chain lights. And of course its got a nice useful set of modes between there and 2,000 lumens. FWIW I could not read in the dark at night with my G5 Maelstrom moonlight but COULD (emphasize past tense as its broken - again!) read easily with the scorpions moonlight.