Excellent points Dave. Hiking with a thrower is pretty frustrating. The hot spot will bounce around with your body, that and your view is similar to viewing your surroundings through a glass coke bottle.
Thanks for the kinds words. One thing I didn't say about the peripheral vision bit is that it isn't completely about what you see or don't see as much as it is a "comfort thing". That needs explanation: Walking down a sidewalk in the day, you obviously see what's before you on the sidewalk but also everything to both sides of the walkway. Putting aside aspects of safety or potential dangers for a moment, as you walk down the sidewalk, you NEED to see what's in front of you absolutely, but it is comforting to know what is on each side of you as well, even though those objects are NOT in your way.
Now translate that to walking in the dark: Once again, absolutely you need to know what is right in front of you to walk safely. But I bet most people are further "comforted" by knowing what is to each side of them. That is why you will see someone walking at night, often swinging the light to each side in order to take in that periphery that the light, pointed straight ahead, does not cover. That tunnel look at night just isn't comfortable, even if there is nothing "out there" that you really need to see. So walking for me is an "experience" which my flashlights should enhance. And, just as you seem to know too, a light covering your peripheral vision will make the walk more enjoyable.
Thanks for the overlay. The s6330 occupies a volume of approximately 180ml(submerged it myself).
Another point is a lights girth. The longer one walks with a light, the more noticeable the girth becomes in your hand. I am beginning to feel that for those wishing to do outdoor trekking, maybe a single or double 26650 light, with batteries positioned lengthwise, would be more comfortable over the long haul.
You raise a very important point: how comfortable is a light to hold. Walking any longer than a half hour for me begins to take its toll on my wrists and the flashlight's girth and weight are important. The girth of the MiniMax is greater than I would like, but is partially offset by the light weight. My Eagletac MX25L2 "thrower" is heavy but its 38mm diameter is narrow enough to let my hand carry it comfortably for long stretches. My Fenix RC40's 52mm diameter is too much, so I have devised a custom lanyard that allows my wrist to loosely support it (It is also a very heavy light - the lanyard helps a lot).
As an aside, I will sometimes carry two lights of similar weight - one in each hand - and use them as exercise tools, swinging my arms around in circles at moments when I can see adequately without them switched on. But back to subject of comfort, the MiniMax is too wide to be the best type of walking light, and almost too heavy too because of 4 batteries.
Dave
