how many lumens do you reasly need

[Katherine Alicia]

got a sofirn 21700 coming this week it has anduril

I`m guessing that`ll be the IF25A then? it`ll take some getting used to at first (after the initial shock seeing the UI map LOL), but once you have it set up then it`s as easy or complex as you want it to be, and you`ll soon start memorising parts of it.
Personally after you`ve had a good look at the map and figured out some simple things, Set you temp Config, that`s super important before you start using Turbo and such (it`s the first thing I do on all my new anduril lights).

 

[raggie33]

I`m guessing that`ll be the IF25A then? it`ll take some getting used to at first (after the initial shock seeing the UI map LOL), but once you have it set up then it`s as easy or complex as you want it to be, and you`ll soon start memorising parts of it.
Personally after you`ve had a good look at the map and figured out some simple things, Set you temp Config, that`s super important before you start using Turbo and such (it`s the first thing I do on all my new anduril lights).

o i have had andutil lights i still have a emisar. i printed out a cheat sheet

 

[Lumen83]

40-60 incan lumens For inside the home and general tasks. 100-150ish for walking the dog and around the yard stuff at night. On rare occasions I use a 500 lumen light just to see how cool it is to throw that much light around. I don't have a need for much more than that.

 

[Katherine Alicia]

i printed out a cheat sheet

that`s Cheating!!! :tsk: LOL

 

[Owen]

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!

We live in a society that hardly distinguishes wants from needs any more. That's why so many people are ate up with debt.


I pretty much live in the dark, and could get by with less than I use.
That's <3 lumens leaving the house every night, and ~20 when I end up hiking into the night while backpacking.

On my job, ~200 from a suitable optic is plenty.
I'm quite happy to have plenty more on tap, though, as the amount I can make practical use of in an industrial environment is pretty much unlimited. As the night shift guy, with no close coworkers or supervision, I've got about a 4 acre area to myself, full of things that all have to at least be looked at every 1 or 2 hours. Horrible work environment, but a virtual flashaholic playground.
I can mostly get by with a crappy 3xAAA headlamp, and very well indeed with my <300 lumen flashlight. There's plenty of stuff that I can check more easily, and conveniently, with a higher output light, though. I was just playing around last night using my Zebralight H64w HI to briefly check some equipment with 1300 lumens, and thinking how I wouldn't have minded having double that, since it's so floody. This week, I've been carrying around a Malkoff Hound Dog that puts ~1000 lumens into a big spot, too. Total joy to use.
Huh, what's up with this gas temperature? Did evening shift close that valve? Let's see, I can go up 3 flights of steps and climb a ladder, or...yeah, I'll just stand here, and shine my big flashlight on it

 

[Afraid.of.dark]

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.

This made me lol xD
I do hope you were joking about the depression stuff. But it is funny the way you put it! I am new to the hobby and I feel like I might end up chasing the strongest light to chase away the demons.. For now I think I will be good with about 500 lumens!

 

[lightfooted]

Where I work I don't need a flashlight very much at all because it is a well lit building as well as a well lit parking lot, but there is a couple of corners where there is not only trees and Shrubbery but also a couple of poorly thought out area lighting devices that really only serve to blind someone further away from what might be happening in those dark corners. Once you get into those corners you really don't need a light but until you do, 1000-1200 lumens is just enough to see into them from a distance. Anything less than that tends to get washed out by the surrounding lights...yes it helps even at 300 lumens but it is close to nothing reflecting back. Then there is one other corner in amongst trees that has no lighting at all. Two hundred lumens is enough to see everything there but it's kind of an alley walking into it from one direction so it's nice to be able to instantly illuminate it from the lit area and well into the dark and past it.

 

[Truckvet]

Why do I need a 4000 lumen Flashlight to carry every day?

Same reason I need an excess of food for emergency use.

Did we all know that Stores would run out of Toilet Paper?
I had a large box of it in my Basement at the time and still
do.

I like to walk my Dogs in my City in the Dark.
More than once, a Dog has decided to attack my
Dogs while I do so.

It would be nice to have 4000 lumens to light this
illegal unleashed dog up before we begin the fight.

Or maybe a drug addict will decide to pry his way into
my shed. You may only need 20 lumens to see him
but I NEED 4000 lumens to give me the advantage
so that if the Blind idiot gets away he can tell his
friends how much a trespass on my Property costs
him.

 

[bykfixer]

When it's dark like back in Thomas Jeffersons day 10-15 is plenty for me.

Trouble is nearly everwhere I go the all night generator causes lots of shadows so 100 or more is needed.

 

[DavidABQ]

I currently EDC one of the 47 lumen Maglite Solitare flashlights. It works pretty well for me but I wouldn't mind a little more lumens out of a AAA flashlight. Maybe something around 60-75 lumens?

I guess the answer to the question about how many lumens do I need is answered with 47; I am not sure I would want any less.

 

[raggie33]

that`s Cheating!!! :tsk: LOL

im so forgetful lol

 

[340pd]

200 with a lower option of 10-15.
I find the whole lumen race thing to be comical.

 

[Stress_Test]

200 with a lower option of 10-15.
I find the whole lumen race thing to be comical.

Especially since, not too many years ago, those 1000+ lumen outputs weren't even possible! Not in something you'd carry around on your belt or pocket anyway.

I guess back then we all wandered around helplessly with our 200 lumen flashlights, bumping into stuff and falling into pits and whatnot.

 

[1313]

Need? Not very much. But more is more fun D4V2 on turbo several times when im walking my dogs because why not.

 

[5S8Zh5]

60......

 

[richbuff]

... ...and falling into pits and whatnot.

...and rots and sheps and chows and dobs.

 

[TheFraz]

.00005 - 1k(ish)!

 

[wweiss]

With a calibrated HDS, it's easy to determine for me. Indoor or close work 3-5L, outdoors 10-25L constant for trails with the option to burst to 300L if things go "bump".

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Did a 10 mile hike yesterday, half of which was in the dark. I needed my headlight (Nitecore HC60) at 420 lumens to safely complete the hike. This was a dirt road from Black Mountain in Ramona, CA to Sutherland Dam and back. The trail has rattlesnakes and mountain lions as well as Jeeps, motorcycles, and bikes riding on it. You need a lot of light to see the hazards and be seen without getting run over. I used my Nitecore E4K on turbo to spot ahead, but in pitch black darkness in the middle of nowhere, I could definitely have used more throw than that 4400 lumen light could muster. For most tasks, I get by with 50 lumens, but in certain situations, a lot isn't nearly enough.

 

[nbp]

The only reason we need super bright lights is to avoid walking closer to the thing we are seeing. People who say they have to check a huge property, well, yeah, people did that for centuries with a torch or candle by walking around. If you want to stand in one place and do it, sure then you need 500k cd or whatever to accomplish the task. You could do it with a lot less if you got closer to the thing you want to see. Sure, it's fun to shine my 2500 lm Acebeam or BOSS around the marsh behind my house but realistically I really only NEED about 300 lms on any given day. My HDS 325 NLT does everything I need it to. Everything else is gravy.