SnWnMe
Enlightened
Last night was Chief's Induction night throughout the US Navy. This is the night when we perform our secret ceremonies and rites of passage for the new Chiefs. Anyways...
Our venue was the perimeter and support structures of an airfield that Navy helo pilots use to practice night landings in total darkness to simulate landing on a ship at night. Darkness is necessary to preserve the pilots' night vision (you do not shine your light at the helo!) so the only light sources were the red and green navigation markers. Strewn all over in the pitch black night were hazards mixed with people. IOW, the perfect flashlight crucible.
Most of the night was spent running in groups of 10 to 15 men a mile or so from one place to another and navigating steep hills and trails.
First my E1L:
1. The E1L's clip allowed for mounting on the bill of a ballcap and made running with a light easy. The lightweight construction also kept it steady on my head.
2. The throw was impressive even at the low setting. You can clearly see a coherent beam of light with a defined hotspot.
3. The high setting carries incredibly far. I was standing on one of the 50 foot high berms leftover from construction and I can clearly illuminate men and machinery 50 yards away.
4. A multi setting flashlight is very good to have in a social setting so you can go low in order to not dazzle everyone around you. It's not always about the lumens.
5. The tight beam was inadequate when we traversed narrow trails on the top of the berms. A bit of flood would've been good for guiding large bodies of people's footing through narrow paths.
My 6PL which I used for one run but wound up in my friend's hands for most of the night.
1. The 6PL threw a big splash of bluish light wherever it was pointed. There was no coherent beam that I could see so it looked like I was "transmitting" the light to the target. I also made the same observation when my friend was using it.
2. The very bright single setting meant that I had to be careful with shining the light in order to not blind anyone. Now that I have a Malkoff coming I don't know whatever I will use it for. IMO now: Lumens isn't everything. One has to be responsible in wielding powerful lights and an overly bright single setting will be of very limited utility to me.
3. The flood was perfect for lighting up narrow trails so the group can watch their steps.
4. The weight and size didn't prove to be much of a hindrance to running in step with others.
5. I prefer the click on and click off interface of the E1L so the 6P will probably get a 49/59 TC.
Other comments: The 100-120 strong crowd had an assortment of Wally world headstrap LEDs, multi cell Maglites, and an odd G2 and 6P incans in their mix of lights (someone had a Kroma. Bah. Spec War types can order anything...
). In comparing my lights to theirs, I noted that the budget LEDs, while bright to look at, do not carry very far at all. They get a diffuse field of bright light immediately infront of the user and nothing more. The Maglites, while certainly good lights and utterly reliable, simply cannot hold a candle to my lights for throw and brightness. The G2 and 6P incans had good throw and impressive flood but the yellow output made them seem feeble compared to the E1L's warm beam or the HID like output of the 6PL. The Kroma guy hardly ever used his light so I couldn't compare mine to his.
As I mentioned earlier last night's experience with high end lights opened my eyes to a few things:
I need multi settings and I prefer them to go Low first in consideration of those around me since I am more likely to use my light to help others see than to blind an attacker.
Light output doesn't mean squat to me once I've reached a certain level. The E1L's 45 lumen high setting was bright enough for me. The 6PL's 80 lumen output was like a solar flare in the dark night. I think 100 Surefire lumens OTF is the most I will ever need from a light.
Given the choice between a sun that burns for an hour or a moon that shines for 8 hours I will take the moon. Both my lights CR123s lasted the night with heavy use.
Now I am GASsing for a E2L.
Thanks for reading.
Our venue was the perimeter and support structures of an airfield that Navy helo pilots use to practice night landings in total darkness to simulate landing on a ship at night. Darkness is necessary to preserve the pilots' night vision (you do not shine your light at the helo!) so the only light sources were the red and green navigation markers. Strewn all over in the pitch black night were hazards mixed with people. IOW, the perfect flashlight crucible.
Most of the night was spent running in groups of 10 to 15 men a mile or so from one place to another and navigating steep hills and trails.
First my E1L:
1. The E1L's clip allowed for mounting on the bill of a ballcap and made running with a light easy. The lightweight construction also kept it steady on my head.
2. The throw was impressive even at the low setting. You can clearly see a coherent beam of light with a defined hotspot.
3. The high setting carries incredibly far. I was standing on one of the 50 foot high berms leftover from construction and I can clearly illuminate men and machinery 50 yards away.
4. A multi setting flashlight is very good to have in a social setting so you can go low in order to not dazzle everyone around you. It's not always about the lumens.
5. The tight beam was inadequate when we traversed narrow trails on the top of the berms. A bit of flood would've been good for guiding large bodies of people's footing through narrow paths.
My 6PL which I used for one run but wound up in my friend's hands for most of the night.
1. The 6PL threw a big splash of bluish light wherever it was pointed. There was no coherent beam that I could see so it looked like I was "transmitting" the light to the target. I also made the same observation when my friend was using it.
2. The very bright single setting meant that I had to be careful with shining the light in order to not blind anyone. Now that I have a Malkoff coming I don't know whatever I will use it for. IMO now: Lumens isn't everything. One has to be responsible in wielding powerful lights and an overly bright single setting will be of very limited utility to me.
3. The flood was perfect for lighting up narrow trails so the group can watch their steps.
4. The weight and size didn't prove to be much of a hindrance to running in step with others.
5. I prefer the click on and click off interface of the E1L so the 6P will probably get a 49/59 TC.
Other comments: The 100-120 strong crowd had an assortment of Wally world headstrap LEDs, multi cell Maglites, and an odd G2 and 6P incans in their mix of lights (someone had a Kroma. Bah. Spec War types can order anything...
). In comparing my lights to theirs, I noted that the budget LEDs, while bright to look at, do not carry very far at all. They get a diffuse field of bright light immediately infront of the user and nothing more. The Maglites, while certainly good lights and utterly reliable, simply cannot hold a candle to my lights for throw and brightness. The G2 and 6P incans had good throw and impressive flood but the yellow output made them seem feeble compared to the E1L's warm beam or the HID like output of the 6PL. The Kroma guy hardly ever used his light so I couldn't compare mine to his.As I mentioned earlier last night's experience with high end lights opened my eyes to a few things:
I need multi settings and I prefer them to go Low first in consideration of those around me since I am more likely to use my light to help others see than to blind an attacker.
Light output doesn't mean squat to me once I've reached a certain level. The E1L's 45 lumen high setting was bright enough for me. The 6PL's 80 lumen output was like a solar flare in the dark night. I think 100 Surefire lumens OTF is the most I will ever need from a light.
Given the choice between a sun that burns for an hour or a moon that shines for 8 hours I will take the moon. Both my lights CR123s lasted the night with heavy use.
Now I am GASsing for a E2L.
Thanks for reading.
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