My edc light has a max output of only 300 lumens

Carried a 60 lumen Surefire in the sandbox and it lit up what I needed lit up just fine. Granted, I carry more now. But, my go to light is a 300 lumen HDS executive and that's despite having several putting out much more.
The design, beam pattern and reliability of the light are more important than lumens in most cases. For EDC 300 will cover just about any scenario.
 
The light I used for years as an edc and for backpacking was a Fenix P3D Q5. It topped out at around 200 lumens. Worked fine for me. 300 is plenty as long as it's not a cheapo that starts at 300 and dims down every 30 seconds or so no matter what setting you use it on, it's around 40 lumens after 15 minutes. If it's one of those lights, gift it to someone you really don't like and get one that is regulated at the brightness you need. It stinks trying to run from a bear in the dark when your flashlight dims down immediately to save power. That will get you killed. I carry a 4400 lumen Nitecore E4K now. If a bear chases me, I'm going to spot it from a distance and have a good head start.
 
Define EDC. I have 6 lights that get used as "EDC" depending on the days planned events. Those 6 don't include the keychain light(E01v2) or the E12v2 in the Surge sheath that are just about always with me. Those 6 range from 100L to 5000L with flood, fill or spot light patterns. The most often carried light lately is a Sofirn SC31 Pro. In my use run times & broad even lights patterns are more important/useful than peak lumens
 
Mine too!
montypython-draw.gif
 
Define EDC. I have 6 lights that get used as "EDC" depending on the days planned events. Those 6 don't include the keychain light(E01v2) or the E12v2 in the Surge sheath that are just about always with me. Those 6 range from 100L to 5000L with flood, fill or spot light patterns. The most often carried light lately is a Sofirn SC31 Pro. In my use run times & broad even lights patterns are more important/useful than peak lumens
The light I carry everyday just in case I need a light. I have so many lights with outputs that range between 1 and 8000 lumens.
But ithe one I like to carry is 3/50/300.
 
Last edited:
Turbo modes are almost meaningless IMO. Most lights can only maintain them for 30-90 seconds, get too hot, and then go down to the REAL output of the light, usually less than 1/3 of turbo in power for the other 99.5% of the runtime.

I have a 5000 lumen light (turbo, mind you...not real output) but when I walk around my farm to close the chickens in at night, I'm using a light on a medium setting that is only 186 lumens, and I can see what I'm doing and where I'm going just fine.

What is the realistic sustained output of your light? If it's below 63 lumens, you're in danger of being eaten by xenomorphs every time you step outside. Plan accordingly.
 
How often have you found yourself wanting for more?
Whenever I might need a light outdoors I carry something bigger, so I use my EDC mostly indoors. I rarely ever need more then 80 lumens, but when I do its mostly because im looking for something on the ground in daylight & my light cant overwhelm the ambient brightness. Maybe once every other week or so? I never had a problem using it in the dark.
 
Whenever I might need a light outdoors I carry something bigger, so I use my EDC mostly indoors. I rarely ever need more then 80 lumens, but when I do its mostly because im looking for something on the ground in daylight & my light cant overwhelm the ambient brightness. Maybe once every other week or so? I never had a problem using it in the dark.
I do keep a fenix pd32 v2 in my coat, which has excellent throw for a 1200 lumen small/med light. But just a tad too big for me to edc in my trouser pocket.
 
Top