how many lumens do you reasly need
- Thread starter raggie33
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archimedes
Flashaholic
I like to have fifty lumens or so, for every day use
350 lumen covers me pretty well, I always have a good bit more close to hand though.
Russ
Russ
bigburly912
Flashlight Enthusiast
My 5 year old daughter and I just walked a 4 mile trail with a sofirn c01s and a maglite ML300lx for spotting the "wendigos" on the trail. : D. She had fun
richbuff
Flashlight Enthusiast
For indoor use, up close, the bare minimum lowest mode is all I need. To stave off major depression caused by being in this world, 20,000 lumens in a power throw config works real well, as well as 100,000 lumens in a pure flood configuration. 4,000 lumens is my minimum therapeutic dose, 10,000 lumens is average maintenance level.
For most applications, I use less than approximately 50 lumens. I do like having more at my disposal, especially when on night walks with the dog. Almost all of the lights that I carry regularly top out somewhere around 500 lumens, but high mode is used very infrequently.
even with a "thrower" It doesn't do me much good lighting something farther out than I can reliably see.
even with a "thrower" It doesn't do me much good lighting something farther out than I can reliably see.
For a flashlight with a focused beam (as opposed to a lightbulb or lantern) as few lumens as possible to get the beam pattern, throw and tint that I want. I consider excessive lumens as a waste of battery power, a killer of night adapted vision and a generator of unwanted heat and glare.
For up close, my 37 lumen Solitaire is more than bright enough and for throw and a ML25 with 170 ish lumens dose the job nicely out as far as I 'm likely to use a flashlight in the places I go.
For up close, my 37 lumen Solitaire is more than bright enough and for throw and a ML25 with 170 ish lumens dose the job nicely out as far as I 'm likely to use a flashlight in the places I go.
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Jean-Luc Descarte
Enlightened
Indoors, 25lm or less is the brunt of power I use. Outside, about 80-100 in a dark part of the city, likely less in a rural field with adapted night vision. But the 500+ option is always nice to have.
Stress_Test
Flashlight Enthusiast
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- Feb 18, 2008
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- 1,334
800-1000 for me, even had a custom mod guy downrate a convoy C8 to 800 for me. If flashlight tech would have frozen in 2014 or so I would be in continual heaven
[ note, original text highlighted red by me ]
See, after coming back to CPF just a few months ago, after a long absence (2012? 2014?), this is the kind of stuff that blows my mind and makes me crack up! :laughing:
People are saying they NEED thousands of lumens! For what?!?! Are you lighting a football game singlehandedly on a cloudy moonless night?!
I have to wonder how many people are really USING that level of output for anything other than just a party trick, as in "Oooh ahhh look at that" then back in the pocket or holster it goes.
That Energizer tri-LED light I bought is something like 1200 lumens, and at home inside that's completely unusable because the bounce-back is just painfully bright. You could use it for lighting up a room by pointing it at the ceiling, but if you want it that bright why not just turn on the overhead light and be done with it?
Outdoors, I've done some trail and field walking with the old Fenix TK30 that puts out ONLY 500 lumens or so. That was okay for trying to light up something WAY across the field, but just walking, even the spill from that light was enough to blow out my night vision to where I couldn't see anything other than where I was pointing the light.
This is probably just an old-man rant, but momma mia. It's nuts to read people talking like they NEED a 1000+ lumen light for their normal EDC usage! Sheesh!
That very much depends on what I'm doing at the time; mind you all with a floody-punch.
Close up inspection at work - 10 or so.
Detailed inspection - 100 or more.
Walking from my car at night - 200 to 300.
Lighting a hallway during a power outage - 500 to 600.
Safely seeing the delivery person to their car from the comfort of my house - as many as I can get.
Close up inspection at work - 10 or so.
Detailed inspection - 100 or more.
Walking from my car at night - 200 to 300.
Lighting a hallway during a power outage - 500 to 600.
Safely seeing the delivery person to their car from the comfort of my house - as many as I can get.
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
Not as many as you think. 50-100 Lumen covers 95% of my life. I'm more about runtime than lumens. Lumens are fun though.
marinemaster
Flashlight Enthusiast
These are two different questions. Inside 50 to 100 lumens should do.
Outside is a completely different story.
Perfectly happy with 300 to 600 in a suburb. In the country may need 500 to 1500 or more. Beam profile is extremely important outside think of a runner on a trail or a spotlight on a vehicle or helicopter.
There are also specialized like mining or caves lighting, many others.
Issue with outside is that 80% of currently available flashlights with led get too hot over 600 or 700 lumens.
Outside is a completely different story.
Perfectly happy with 300 to 600 in a suburb. In the country may need 500 to 1500 or more. Beam profile is extremely important outside think of a runner on a trail or a spotlight on a vehicle or helicopter.
There are also specialized like mining or caves lighting, many others.
Issue with outside is that 80% of currently available flashlights with led get too hot over 600 or 700 lumens.
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Well since you quoted me in your 'crack-up' for my case hunting/plantation culling at night, ranges out to 100-120 yards, 800-1000 lumens and 45-60KCD is where its at. Same power level useful for checking compounds and fences. Beyond those levels I'd just be burning battery run-time.
Well I am one. But who cares what folks are using their lights for anyway . You are famiiar with the idea of a hobby for enjpoyments sake right? I know fellas with Harleys who could get around just as well on a Jap 125. But it obviously meets their needs in some way to ride something 10x louder and chewing a lot more fuel and thats exactly what they would tell you.
Where did the OP say "normal EDC usage"? Different argument.
Day-to-day about 40-50lm.
Outdoors about 200lm. Im not often outdoors.
Outdoors about 200lm. Im not often outdoors.
Katherine Alicia
Enlightened
Indoors about 15-20lm works for 90% of my needs, outdoors there`s no upper limit. that`s why I`m a bit of an Anduril fan-girl, it covers everything
raggie33
*the raggedier*
- Joined
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- Messages
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Indoors about 15-20lm works for 90% of my needs, outdoors there`s no upper limit. that`s why I`m a bit of an Anduril fan-girl, it covers everything
got a sofirn 21700 coming this week it has anduril
