I'm a single mom and will not allow a gun in the house. What I am looking to find is a strong flashlight that is small and gives a strong enough light that I can blind someone while me and my daughters can get away. Any help you can give me?
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Nedtheshred
Enlightened
there are lots of choices look at www.lighthound.com (e.g., Fenix P1D-cree)
You didn't by any chance go to College Heights Elementry school?
Also cheep flashlights can be found at DealExtreme.com
good luck
Ned
You didn't by any chance go to College Heights Elementry school?
Also cheep flashlights can be found at DealExtreme.com
good luck
Ned
scubasteve1942
Enlightened
Is there any reason you won't alow a gun in the house? Are you just not comfortable with them? How do you plan on blinding sombody and running in the other direction at the same time. A flashlight is a good tool to have in this situation but should not be your only one. As far as flashlight's go, do you have any specific price range? Any preference on battery type? Fenix tends to make some good, bright lights for a fairly low price. Surefire G3 is in the fenix price range and is very strong. Surefire also just came out with a LED version of the G2.
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Weeeeeeeell, the million dollar question...Just how much are you looking to spend on this , "blinding" light, no offense, Cuse this will open up a whole truck load of worms and we can narrow it down quickly if you apoint a budget first....
Pax et Lux
Enlightened
I'm a parent, and let me say that my children (two and four years) can get into anything, no matter how hidden I think it is. No matter what someone may personally think about firearms, they are not a good idea with children around - and stashing them away in a safe kinda rules them out in the scenario the poster is outlining.
As to flashlights. . . well, I'm sorry to say this, but there are many people here of the opinion that a flashlight's role as a defensive weapon is overstated. I'm of the opinion that shining a bright light on someone, even a strobing light, gives a very short advantage. It won't give you time to grab your child/children and exit. Others may differ, of course.
I'd suggest that whatever you do, you look into other options. One being increased security (which you've probably done already - apologies for patronizing), then self-defence classes and carrying something like pepper spray. Which are of limited use if you are up against someone well armed, I know. . .
When it comes to flashlights, you want something bright (duh), reliable and easy to opperate under stress. I'd suggest a G2, either the original incandescent or the new LED upgrade. But whatever you get, it will need to be carried on you. If you stash it out of reach of the kids it won't be in easy reach if you need it in an emergency.
As to flashlights. . . well, I'm sorry to say this, but there are many people here of the opinion that a flashlight's role as a defensive weapon is overstated. I'm of the opinion that shining a bright light on someone, even a strobing light, gives a very short advantage. It won't give you time to grab your child/children and exit. Others may differ, of course.
I'd suggest that whatever you do, you look into other options. One being increased security (which you've probably done already - apologies for patronizing), then self-defence classes and carrying something like pepper spray. Which are of limited use if you are up against someone well armed, I know. . .
When it comes to flashlights, you want something bright (duh), reliable and easy to opperate under stress. I'd suggest a G2, either the original incandescent or the new LED upgrade. But whatever you get, it will need to be carried on you. If you stash it out of reach of the kids it won't be in easy reach if you need it in an emergency.
Sorry to break it to you, but you've got the wrong mind-set. I'm not talking about the "not allow a gun in the house" aspect. (That's a personal decision on your part).
But, when it comes to a powerful enough light to temporarily blind an attacker; we're talking a split-second to a full second at best. That's not nearly enough time for you and your children to get away.... That aspect of using a light (to temporarily blind an attacker) only works if you follow up physically. Shine the light in his face, then pound the aluminum bezel into his face or skull until he's no longer a threat. That's how it works. You're supposed to follow-up physically after turning the light on.
There is no such thing as expecting to have enough time to get away because your attacker will be blinded long enough for you to do so. Not gonna happen. Unless you're willing to physically fight back, which (no offense) I honestly don't think you are; you're better off spending the money on an alarm system, and a trained guard dog.
This is coming from someone with self-defense, and martial arts training.... I'm sorry, I don't mean this as an insult, but you have the wrong mind-set.
If you are willing to get physical, here's what I recommend:
Surefire - L4, E2d, 6P model with Strike-bezel.
The Night-Ops Gladius has a strobe feature designed to disorient and blind an attacker. According to some on this site, it's the best light out there for the purpose. I own one, but I don't think I'd go that far in describing it.
Still, even a Gladius is not a magic wand that will protect you and your children from a violent attacker. I'm sure that's not what you wanted to hear.... but it's the truth.
matrixshaman
Flashlight Enthusiast
Tigerlight - includes pepper spray - which is really what you ought to have anyway in addition to a bright light. If she is in S.F - guns are banned there - you can't even own them in that part of Kalifornia (a serious concern). You should look at the Tigerlight as it IS a quality very bright light with the added plus of pepper spray. You might also want to look at one of the superior pepper spray products called Guardian Angel - I think www.islandtactical.com carries it. Looks somewhat like a pager and can be carried as such but shoots at 90 MPH. A copy from the ad:
"The new LifeActTM Guardian Angel® is the most advanced non-lethal self defense tool available today. It renders conventional pepper sprays obsolete and stops threats at a safe distance. Small, light and ergonomic, it carries easily in pocket or purse, and an integral clip also secures it to a belt. The outer body conforms to either a right or left-hand grip, and fits almost any size hand. The Guardian Angel contains two cylinders with powerful concentrations of near pharmaceutical grade OC (oleoresin capsicum), a devastatingly effective inflammatory agent. Driven by pyrotechnic charges, the solution travels at 90 MPH with little chance of cross-contamination, and with enough energy to wrap around glasses or penetrate a face mask. Effect is immediate and lasts for up to 45 minutes. Unlike conventional sprays, the Guardian Angel does not lose pressure over time."
"The new LifeActTM Guardian Angel® is the most advanced non-lethal self defense tool available today. It renders conventional pepper sprays obsolete and stops threats at a safe distance. Small, light and ergonomic, it carries easily in pocket or purse, and an integral clip also secures it to a belt. The outer body conforms to either a right or left-hand grip, and fits almost any size hand. The Guardian Angel contains two cylinders with powerful concentrations of near pharmaceutical grade OC (oleoresin capsicum), a devastatingly effective inflammatory agent. Driven by pyrotechnic charges, the solution travels at 90 MPH with little chance of cross-contamination, and with enough energy to wrap around glasses or penetrate a face mask. Effect is immediate and lasts for up to 45 minutes. Unlike conventional sprays, the Guardian Angel does not lose pressure over time."
I onestly think that with only a flashlight you can't have enough defence simply becouse if you carry a surefire G2 and blind someone you may have 5-6 seconds to run away, not more and this is NOT an advantage...
the same thing will happend with a more powerful light.
so if you don't want to get a fire arm I suggest to look at something like Surefire M3 combatlight
you can in a first time blind the aggressor and than hit him with the bazel!
Oh, and I also suggest to read this book!
the same thing will happend with a more powerful light.
so if you don't want to get a fire arm I suggest to look at something like Surefire M3 combatlight
you can in a first time blind the aggressor and than hit him with the bazel!
Oh, and I also suggest to read this book!
+1
tigerlight is the perfect light for you but it's a little bit big...
I hope you won't have any problem to carry it with you
vic2367
Enlightened
welcome to the forums ...great info here
bouncer
Enlightened
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Candi
Welcome as for a flashlight my personal carry light for your stated purpose is a surefire L4 BUT I cannot echo everyone else's concerns strongly enough a light is a tool not a solution I understand your concerns with firearms and actually agree with them with small children even if the gun experts are right and you teach kids to respect firearms things can still go wrong but on the other hand if your home were invaded where would you escape to? If carjacked during daylight the attackers eyes would not be dark adapted and a light would be of minimal use other than as a short defensive stick along with a light my personal recommendation is join up at www.Totalprotectioninteractive.com and do some reading about self defense and mindset and consider another option in your personal protection toolbox in addition to a light one thing I am grateful for you're at least considering what to do in the event you have a problem most people never do. welcome to CPF and if you join at total protection I'm Bouncer over there too
Good luck and take care of those little ones
Welcome as for a flashlight my personal carry light for your stated purpose is a surefire L4 BUT I cannot echo everyone else's concerns strongly enough a light is a tool not a solution I understand your concerns with firearms and actually agree with them with small children even if the gun experts are right and you teach kids to respect firearms things can still go wrong but on the other hand if your home were invaded where would you escape to? If carjacked during daylight the attackers eyes would not be dark adapted and a light would be of minimal use other than as a short defensive stick along with a light my personal recommendation is join up at www.Totalprotectioninteractive.com and do some reading about self defense and mindset and consider another option in your personal protection toolbox in addition to a light one thing I am grateful for you're at least considering what to do in the event you have a problem most people never do. welcome to CPF and if you join at total protection I'm Bouncer over there too
Good luck and take care of those little ones
And another vote for the Tigerlight.
Temporarily blinding someone will give you 3-5sec tops but if you combine it with a healthy dose of pepper spray it will give you and your daughters the time you need to get out.
The only down side, as mentioned before, is that the Tigerlight is a bit on the hefty side.
Temporarily blinding someone will give you 3-5sec tops but if you combine it with a healthy dose of pepper spray it will give you and your daughters the time you need to get out.
The only down side, as mentioned before, is that the Tigerlight is a bit on the hefty side.
Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Howdy Candi, and welcome to CPF,
First of all, good for you for taking the initiative and becoming proactive in beginning to develop a good self defense plan for you and your daughter. I'll have to pretty much agree with most of the folks here who are saying that a bright light is not going to be enough, but it's a great start, in that it will help lead you to a better plan.
I like the idea of the Tigerlight, and think that would be an excellent way to go for your immediate needs.
But I think the important thing for you to do in your situation is first of all, come up with a game plan with your daughter, and rehearse it... just like you would for a fire drill. Practice getting out of your house quickly, a number of different ways. Have a meeting place pre-established so that if you become separated you will know where you are to meet after leaving the house (maybe a neighbor's house?). Then enroll the both of you in a mother/daughter (depending on her age of course) self defense class.
I liked your thinking that getting out is the approach to take if at all possible. Confrontation should only be a last resort, but if you had to, then even a few well rehearsed self defense moves could save you and your daughter's lives (stomping on feet, knee to groin, etc), so even a short 1 day self defense class could be helpful.
If you do end up getting something like the Tigerlight, or any kind of pepper spray unit, the key to using it effectively will be in practicing with it until it becomes second nature, as you will have to react quickly if the situation for it's use ever comes up.
I hope you never have to use any of this, but at least you are taking the proper steps to become prepared.
First of all, good for you for taking the initiative and becoming proactive in beginning to develop a good self defense plan for you and your daughter. I'll have to pretty much agree with most of the folks here who are saying that a bright light is not going to be enough, but it's a great start, in that it will help lead you to a better plan.
I like the idea of the Tigerlight, and think that would be an excellent way to go for your immediate needs.
But I think the important thing for you to do in your situation is first of all, come up with a game plan with your daughter, and rehearse it... just like you would for a fire drill. Practice getting out of your house quickly, a number of different ways. Have a meeting place pre-established so that if you become separated you will know where you are to meet after leaving the house (maybe a neighbor's house?). Then enroll the both of you in a mother/daughter (depending on her age of course) self defense class.
I liked your thinking that getting out is the approach to take if at all possible. Confrontation should only be a last resort, but if you had to, then even a few well rehearsed self defense moves could save you and your daughter's lives (stomping on feet, knee to groin, etc), so even a short 1 day self defense class could be helpful.
If you do end up getting something like the Tigerlight, or any kind of pepper spray unit, the key to using it effectively will be in practicing with it until it becomes second nature, as you will have to react quickly if the situation for it's use ever comes up.
I hope you never have to use any of this, but at least you are taking the proper steps to become prepared.
Lighthouse one
Flashlight Enthusiast
Candi: If you need something quick and cheap and effective....get several cans of hornet or wasp spray...the kind that shoots 25 feet.... It is more potent than pepper spray...and will blind a person if not washed out soon. You could get sued....but that's a lot better than dead! Place a can in several different locations...teach the kids to keep hands off.
You talking about permanentaly blinding someone?!
Yeah.... That's worse than having a firearm in the house. At least with a firearm, you can get a high-quality trigger-lock. If you need the gun in a hurry, that might become a problem.
A spray like that is a nightmare waiting to happen. I mean, some folks think you can teach kids to keep their hands off of a firearm; but they'll touch it anyway. If you believe that.... I don't even want to imagine what would happen with such a spray.
A Good site to check out for real-world self-defense info:
www.nononsenseselfdefense.com
carrot
Flashaholic
Although they are often touted as a good self-defense tool (I blame Surefire for this), flashlights tend not be be too effective. You have at best, only a couple seconds (two or three) before an attacker recovers from a blinding light "attack." It is for this reason, that I carry a flashlight for utility, and pepper spray for defense.
When I was biking along a very dark path lit only by my bike light and someone shined a bright focused light at me, I couldn't see but I was unfazed enough to keep going. A vicious enough attacker might not stop at all if you shine a light at him.
You might best be served by taking a few self defense classes that include learning how to use a kubaton (small hand/pocket stick used for striking) and then picking up a personal-sized flashlight such as a Surefire E2D or E2L. Then the bright light will serve to throw your opponent off-guard, giving you the precious moment you need to launch a counter-attack. And of course, investing in better security for your home.
When I was biking along a very dark path lit only by my bike light and someone shined a bright focused light at me, I couldn't see but I was unfazed enough to keep going. A vicious enough attacker might not stop at all if you shine a light at him.
You might best be served by taking a few self defense classes that include learning how to use a kubaton (small hand/pocket stick used for striking) and then picking up a personal-sized flashlight such as a Surefire E2D or E2L. Then the bright light will serve to throw your opponent off-guard, giving you the precious moment you need to launch a counter-attack. And of course, investing in better security for your home.
greenLED
Flashaholic
Candi, welcome to CPF. I commend you for thinking ahead of time with regards to your personal protection and that of your kids. There is nothing more dangerous than a cornered mother protecting her young - take advantage of that.
Deploying pepper spray in a confined location is not a good idea. Relying on a light by itself is not a good idea either. I would recommend expanding the set of "tools" you can use if the situation arises. In a nutshell, you must prepare mentally and physically to protect yourself and your kids and not rely on "recipes" given by anybody. Real fights follow no rules.
Physically and mentally, this may include taking some real hands-on training as part of your arsenal. Krav Maga is the first thing that comes to mind, but check your local area for other "real" hands-on defensive training (no, learning Karate or TaeKwonDo won't help you - it takes too long to learn and it doesn't really prepare you for real world fights). The site that Monocrom linked is a really good resource. Animal McYoung is one of those "real world" people when it comes to fights. Look into REACT or IMPACT training workshops in your area as well. Our local firearms academy has an excellent women's unarmed self defense program, so inquire with your local range as well. You may also ask a couple of police officers if they recommend a reputable place to get this type of training. Again, the corner martial arts place is not a good place to start.
If you're into podcasts and food for thought, a fellow CPF runs a self-protection podcast. Look them up at selfdefensechat.com - Not a lot of discussion about techniques and stuff, but great food for thought about self protection.
Be safe.
Deploying pepper spray in a confined location is not a good idea. Relying on a light by itself is not a good idea either. I would recommend expanding the set of "tools" you can use if the situation arises. In a nutshell, you must prepare mentally and physically to protect yourself and your kids and not rely on "recipes" given by anybody. Real fights follow no rules.
Physically and mentally, this may include taking some real hands-on training as part of your arsenal. Krav Maga is the first thing that comes to mind, but check your local area for other "real" hands-on defensive training (no, learning Karate or TaeKwonDo won't help you - it takes too long to learn and it doesn't really prepare you for real world fights). The site that Monocrom linked is a really good resource. Animal McYoung is one of those "real world" people when it comes to fights. Look into REACT or IMPACT training workshops in your area as well. Our local firearms academy has an excellent women's unarmed self defense program, so inquire with your local range as well. You may also ask a couple of police officers if they recommend a reputable place to get this type of training. Again, the corner martial arts place is not a good place to start.
If you're into podcasts and food for thought, a fellow CPF runs a self-protection podcast. Look them up at selfdefensechat.com - Not a lot of discussion about techniques and stuff, but great food for thought about self protection.
Be safe.
carrot
Flashaholic
I hear Krav Maga is a pretty nasty martial art. I would not want to be on the receiving end!
To: carrot -
Not trying to worry you, but have you ever seen that one episode of COPS where a very large and uncooperative Black man is sprayed multiple times in the face with pepperspray?
At one point, he gets up from the bar and washes the spray off his face with his beer! The Officers sprayed him in that enclosed space so many times, that they began choking on the spray. (It wasn't watered-down Mace. Just Police-issued pepperspray. And cops usually get the really good stuff too).
I think that vid is circulating on youtube. Folks who aren't into self-defense just thought it was funny as Hell.
I hope you don't rely on pepperspray only.
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To: greenLED -
From what I've seen, MacYoung is definitely for real.... Some variations of Krav Maga have value. But the original form.... Let me put it this way; I have Knife Combatives training. One of the defenses in Krav Maga involved the Defender literally sticking out his throat at a Knifer. The Defender would then counter-attack when the Knifer would go for such a plum target. My experience tells me.... that's a good way to end up dead. That's just one example. But the Art has evolved to where variations of it are more pragmatic.... And I really hope you don't misunderstand this to be some sort of insult towards your recommendation. Not my intent at all.
I do agree with you about more traditional arts, and what you said about the corner martial arts schools.
Not trying to worry you, but have you ever seen that one episode of COPS where a very large and uncooperative Black man is sprayed multiple times in the face with pepperspray?
At one point, he gets up from the bar and washes the spray off his face with his beer! The Officers sprayed him in that enclosed space so many times, that they began choking on the spray. (It wasn't watered-down Mace. Just Police-issued pepperspray. And cops usually get the really good stuff too).
I think that vid is circulating on youtube. Folks who aren't into self-defense just thought it was funny as Hell.
I hope you don't rely on pepperspray only.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To: greenLED -
From what I've seen, MacYoung is definitely for real.... Some variations of Krav Maga have value. But the original form.... Let me put it this way; I have Knife Combatives training. One of the defenses in Krav Maga involved the Defender literally sticking out his throat at a Knifer. The Defender would then counter-attack when the Knifer would go for such a plum target. My experience tells me.... that's a good way to end up dead. That's just one example. But the Art has evolved to where variations of it are more pragmatic.... And I really hope you don't misunderstand this to be some sort of insult towards your recommendation. Not my intent at all.
I do agree with you about more traditional arts, and what you said about the corner martial arts schools.
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carrot
Flashaholic
Monocrom, I know that there are people who can shake off pepper spray. Have not seen the videos though.
I consider pepper spray a first line of defense, when I am carrying it (only late nights and in certain areas). As far as I know it is the most legal and least lethal way to defend yourself, but not necessarily 100% effective. In that case, I am prepared to inflict physical damage.
I consider pepper spray a first line of defense, when I am carrying it (only late nights and in certain areas). As far as I know it is the most legal and least lethal way to defend yourself, but not necessarily 100% effective. In that case, I am prepared to inflict physical damage.
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