How many lumens is enough for night walk ?

[dannyduke]

Happened to see this 11 bucks AA :

(http://store.advancedmart.com/twon5waposil.html)

It might be just an outdate .5w led, however I like the beam as a review described it, seems like a perfect flood !
(http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/amart_1aahw.htm)

The light gives out just about 12 lumens (and sure gets weaker as the batt. runs out), besides a Lowes 2c cree Taskforce for throw I have no other weaker led to judge it.

And what do you think of the review says "using recharge batt. at own risk" which annoys me ?

 

[generic808]

You can never have enough lumens for a night walk in my opinion. There's a safety factor which comes into play. I wouldn't want to step into a pot hole or crack in the sidewalk and twist my ankle, so the more lumens the better. I personally use a Malkoff M60F for my nightly dog walks because it will light up my path and thensome :candle:

 

[Jarl]

If you have no light, then 7 lumens (i.e, an E01) is easily enough to walk by. However, as generic pointed out, more is better.

It also depends on the beam. The E01 works because it's a decent flood. A D10 doesn't feel quite as good to walk by on the lower levels because the beam is more of a spot. A raidfire spear on low, at 5 lumens, would be horrid to walk with IMO as it's pretty much all throw.

 

[EXCALIBUR1]

For night walks to the supermarket or shopping center, I like to use my Fenix L1D Q5 on Turbo. It's just the thing to warn cars that,"Hey, I'm in the crosswalk...pay attention...yield the right of way." Tonight, while in the crosswalk, I had to zap a cager with the strobe to get his attention and yield. Too many innocent pedestrians are getting killed while crossing in the crosswalk. Let's be careful out there and carry a good flashlight.

 

[TONY M]

For night walks to the supermarket or shopping center, I like to use my Fenix L1D Q5 on Turbo. It's just the thing to warn cars that,"Hey, I'm in the crosswalk...pay attention...yield the right of way." Tonight, while in the crosswalk, I had to zap a cager with the strobe to get his attention and yield. Too many innocent pedestrians are getting killed while crossing in the crosswalk. Let's be careful out there and carry a good flashlight.

It can be dangerous when cars can't see you and a flashlight is a great way of warning then of you're presence.

For seeing rather than being seen it depends on a lot of things. I have good nightsight (supposedly) and an E01 is PLENTY when walking in the dark for me (remember that sometimes you may want a lot of light at times during a walk but not just for seeing where you are going). Even walking through tight and narrow trails in the woods 5 lumens I find is enough. I have only had to do that once as at 54.5 degrees north the days have been long for months.

Some people will find less than 5 lumens fine while others will want a lot more.

This may not go down well here with some (lol) but when walking at night I try to use my own nightsight as much as possible and only use lighting when I really need it.

 

[arty]

I want plenty of light so that cars see me when crossing the street, and other dog owners see me from afar. We don't have streetlights, only some homeowners have yard lights. I carry a flatstick I carved during the day, and a Maglite 4D with a Malkoff dropin at night - my wife was attacked by a large dog while walking our small pooch.
I like being able to spot people far off - the Malkoff gives great flood and spot at the same time.
If all I wanted to do was to see where I was walking, an ARC AAA would be fine. I'd probably carry something like a Fenix L2P with rechargeables.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

If all you need to do is see the ground directly in front of you then 5 lumens is enough. If you are looking to light up damn near everything in your path then at least 60 and the more the better!
I really like the beam of my Coleman 2x123 Exponent light. It has very little throw, but will light up nearly my entire back yard with the flood. Very good beam for going on a night time walk with your dog.

 

[HoopleHead]

60-80

 

[Triple A]

As stated by others, it depends on many other factors. Beam type, brightness of lights already present, and add to that whether there are any "bare bulbs" around you where you are walking. (Bare bulbs glare into your eyes and KILL your night vision, but tend not to produce a great deal of useable light onto the surfaces they were meant to light in the first place.)

I use my Novatac 120p running at up to 85 lumens. I prefer the wide beam pattern, (helps to avoid the tunnel vision effect,) and at 85 lumens, keeps a large area in front of me well lighted- even if there is glare from other lights constricting my pupils. I can turn down the beam level if I turn onto a street where there is little other light.

 

[LED-holic]

I love the variable output from the L2D, L1D and D10.

That way you don't have to decide at the outset how many lumens you need. You can start on low, ramp up to medium & higher lumens as you need it.

I find I use lo/med for close up illumination, and high for looking at objects further away.

 

[varuscelli]

It depends on the situation, I think.

When I don't want to draw too much attention to myself and just want to be able to see where I'm walking, I have an Arc-AAA that at 9 lumens is more than enough to see by. I think the 12 lumen light would work just fine unless you really need to see farther away.

Just to put it out there, my favorite new flashlight for night walking is the NiteCore D10, much for it's variable output from around 5 lumens up to 130 lumens. I can set it where I want it and vary the settings as I walk if I choose to do so. Even at the lowest setting (3 to 5 lumens), it's bright enough to walk with (depending on your eyes and exactly where you're walking). If I need to see farther/better, I just click it up to wherever I need it.

 

[Crenshaw]

like the guy above me with the amazing Bike setup says....

It depends on situation. If youre out in a place where you are very familier, maybe a good trail or something, 10lumens is plenty to see by. However, you will want something with about more oomph with you regardless.

Crenshaw

 

[cdosrun]

Only an aggregation of points above but I will add my two penneth.

I think the most important factors you need to consider when asking this question are:

How dark are the ambient conditions? - The darker it is, the less (focused) light you will normally need

How well acclimatised to the dark are you?

What sort of ground are you walking over? (Mud reflects much less light than leaves and grass)

Do you just need to see the path or will you need to spot potential predators (two-legged or otherwise)?

On grass when it is dark I can get away with 0.08 lumens from my Novatac but otherwise (where spotting isn't a concern) the little Zebralight on low seems to be a good compromise.

Andrew

 

[lightsandknives]

I'm in agreement with most in that for night adapted eyes, I want very little light, and I want it to be on the floody side, not a spot. I really don't like my D10 on low for walking because it puts out a tiny hot spot that is bright but the spill isn't bright enough for my liking. I typically put some type of diffuser on whatever light I'm using as a walking light unless using my Zebralight. Oddly enough, one of my favorite walking lights around the lake by our house (quite a bit of ambient light from streetlights) is my Dorcy super 1 watt with an F04 diffuser on it.

That being said, I usually have my Tiablo A9, or something similar, if I need to punch through the darkness and see something.

 

[JLEGG]

Happened to see this 11 bucks AA :

(http://store.advancedmart.com/twon5waposil.html)

It might be just an outdate .5w led, however I like the beam as a review described it, seems like a perfect flood !
(http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/amart_1aahw.htm)

The light gives out just about 12 lumens (and sure gets weaker as the batt. runs out), besides a Lowes 2c cree Taskforce for throw I have no other weaker led to judge it.

And what do you think of the review says "using recharge batt. at own risk" which annoys me ?

If your in the S/W you might want it bright enough to see any snakes you could step on.

 

[Illum]

walking at night needs lights from both sides of the scale.

Low light allows you to better adapt to the darkness, keeps you in relatively low profile to prevent any unwanted attention, and generally allows sufficient runtime for extended trips.

Bright light gives you the edge on distant navigation, obstacle identification, and generally allow some added security.
Bright lights also allow signaling over distance, which could be life saving in foul weather, especially walking in a traffic frequent area with little overhead illumination.

Its best to have both characteristics in the beam too, spill for area light, spot for throw.

That being said, the A2 aviator could be a very ideal candidate to include in your selections. Personally I have worked with my A2 on many night occasions since walking in the morning isn't an option. the LED provide "just right" light for walking when your eyes are adjusted to it. I keep it locked on LED mode when I leave the house, and disengaging it would be the last thing I do. I don;t have to worry about knowing which stage your on, no need to turn the sucker on and off to switch modes. All I need to know is, when I need light, I press the tailswitch all the way down and start panning

I carry other lights as well, supplementary but nonetheless important to keep a few extra on you.

My lights for walking at night for the past month
L0D-CE Q4 + AAA Lithium [mainly for spill, backup, and strobe (point to the ground, cars will see you better especially if your wearing something dark)]
A2-HA-WH [read above]
E1e body + KX2 + RCR123A [throw, extended runtime, may act in the place of the A2's main beam if the batteries decide to poop out on me]

 

[Chrontius]

Yeah, the A2 is a great choice for walking at night. There's no way the LEDs are actually only three lumens, they feel really bright when you just rolled out of bed. The other choice I'm looking at is a Malkoff M60 in a 6P, with a tip-off diffuser and a two-stage McC2s tailcap to give it an Aviator-style low/hi beam setup. As I'm told, a 60 ohm resistor in the tailcap will produce a low-beam with lumens measured in the mid-teens.

It seems like a perfect combination - one adjustment for throw/flood, and one for low-high on tap. I find it's probably the perfect compromise between control and complexity.

 

[kramer5150]

I seem to prefer two polar extremes...

1- 6P with ~200L DX11836 drop in to see way out there.
2- Small-ish long running ~10L flooder for night-adapted close range vision.

Ive been using a nite-ize minimag for case 2, but its time for something smaller and hopefully whiter tint. Fenix E01 or modded gerber infinity ultra right now are in the front running.

 

[EV_007]

In the country where there is less ambient light to interfere with your night vision. you can generally get away with less lumens. The advantage is that you have a enough light to see, yet not so bright that you cannot see subtle shadow detail without being blinded.

However, in the city where there is much more ambient light present, you may need more lumens to compete with the brighter streetlamps. You don't need a light right under a streetlight obviously, however, when you step in the shadows cast by the streetlamps or when walking along the sidewalk aginst oncoming headlights, more illumination may be needed to offset the glare from the cars obstructing your view in front of you, if that makes any sense.

 

[MaxIcon]

I'm a big fan of the Fenix P2D/P3D (or equivalent) as general purpose lights. With the P2D, the low 9 lumen setting is good for casual use with long runtime, you can switch to the 135 lumen turbo quickly for a decently bright light with good throw, and you've got the in-between settings if you need them. It's also compact and comes with the lanyard and holster.

A bit pricey, compared to the one you're looking at, but for a non-tactical light, they're pretty hard to beat, IMO.