Street robber/mugger blinding torch needed.

[Justin Case]

To all those who are recommending flashlights, what if the event occurred during the day under bright sunlight, also, the perpetrator would be probably wearing a disguise to hide his identity, which probably means he'd be wearing sunnies. You need to take all these facts into consideration, and stop providing people with a false sense of security.

I don't see anyone who supports carrying a flashlight providing a false sense of security. In any case, if it is broad daylight and the opponent has sunglasses, so what. You are no worse off than if you didn't have a flashlight.

 

[SureAddicted]

I don't see anyone who supports carrying a flashlight providing a false sense of security. In any case, if it is broad daylight and the opponent has sunglasses, so what. You are no worse off than if you didn't have a flashlight.

Dude, you have totally misunderstood me. I'm only referring to those in this thread as using a flashlight to deter the bad guy in a sd situation, nothing more. A lot of attacks do happen during the day, and a flashlight in bright conditions renders it useless, and its technology so it can and will fail at some point.

 

[fyrstormer]

Don't take this as advice, but just my opinion.
I would think a woman walking down the street, parking lot etc, with a bright flashlight ON, would be very visible.
I am guessing, a potential mugger, does not want to be seen. So by making oneself, very visible, you would be reducing your odds of confrontation.
AND, if such a perpetrator did approach, and make you uncomfortable, a bright light to the face, a scream or loud "WHAT DO YOU WANT", would draw attention, again something the perp. does not want.
May not be the best defence, but it is something.
Just like a burglar might break into a house without an alarm or dog, they want the path of least resistance.
just my 2 cents here.

Let's not forget the placebo effect of having a bright flashlight at-the-ready, aka the Hitchhiker's Towel Effect. (go read Douglas Adams if you don't get it.) If someone's prepared enough to have a brighter-than-normal flashlight in their hand as soon as they step outside at night, who knows what else they have in their other hand? As has been stated before, if someone wants to attack you, they're going to attack you unless you can kill them first, but I think lots of the people who've said "a flashlight alone will do nothing or worse" are suffering a bit from Spotlight Syndrome -- unless you're in the line of work where crime bosses take out contracts on your life, the chances are overwhelmingly in your favor that someone thinking of mugging you doesn't actually give a damn who you are, and will be just as happy to mug someone else. If you look like you might actually have your s**t together, it's better for the mugger slink back into the shadows and wait for someone to come along who's obviously unprepared. It doesn't take a lot of risk on the mugger's end of things before it outweighs the benefit of hopefully getting some cash or jewelry. As yalskey said:

...it's an obvious signal you are being aware of your surroundings, and thus it may decrease your victim selection attractiveness. Many impulsive-type criminals will just pick a better victim.

Exactly. Every little bit helps.

Not to mention, if you decide to run for it, it helps to be able to see where you're going at a full sprint so you don't fall victim to the classic horror-movie blunder where the pretty cheerleader trips and breaks her leg as the axe-wielding maniac is chasing her. If someone is chasing you, they have an instant advantage in the dark because you're going to let them know where all the obstacles are. You might as well be able to see them yourself.

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

enough to temporarily blind and disorient an aggressor by impairing his night-adapted vision.

Can we all just collectively blame Surefire for this myth and be done with it?

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

On a related note, I once stopped for gas in a less than respectable part of town. I exited my vehicle, locked the door, and closed it and was immediately approached by a guy asking me if he could "borrow" some money. I kept my eye on him and reached down for my Quark AA on my belt but didn't draw it out, I just held my hand there figuring that at the very least it would give me some element of surprise if worst came to worst. The fellow immediately took a step back and said, "No, man, it ain't like that! It ain't like that!" Then he quickly turned and walked away. I'm guessing he thought I had a gun or something.

 

[jorn]

I don't see anyone who supports carrying a flashlight providing a false sense of security. In any case, if it is broad daylight and the opponent has sunglasses, so what. You are no worse off than if you didn't have a flashlight.

That may depend on how jumpy the mugger is.
You ask for her wallet, but when her hand comes up of the purse, you see a piece of anodized metal hiding in her hand. It might turn to worse.

 

[Warp]

That may depend on how jumpy the mugger is.
You ask for her wallet, but when her hand comes up of the purse, you see a piece of anodized metal hiding in her hand. It might turn to worse.

How many muggers ask a woman to reach into her purse for the wallet?

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

How many muggers ask a woman to reach into her purse for the wallet?

I think somebody's been watching too many movies.

 

[jorn]

well if the purse was jerked right from her, the flashlight would be out of the picture anyway. Someone has to reach for the flashlight to really use it in a self defense scenario, don't they?

 

[collo]

Surely the safest usage is to already have the torch in your hand as you exit the train...

 

[Justin Case]

That may depend on how jumpy the mugger is.
You ask for her wallet, but when her hand comes up of the purse, you see a piece of anodized metal hiding in her hand. It might turn to worse.

Wuda, cuda, shuda,.... Look, one can construct any imaginary scenario in which self-defense fails. What is your point? We know that nothing is guaranteed in life already.

 

[Justin Case]

On a related note, I once stopped for gas in a less than respectable part of town. I exited my vehicle, locked the door, and closed it and was immediately approached by a guy asking me if he could "borrow" some money. I kept my eye on him and reached down for my Quark AA on my belt but didn't draw it out, I just held my hand there figuring that at the very least it would give me some element of surprise if worst came to worst. The fellow immediately took a step back and said, "No, man, it ain't like that! It ain't like that!" Then he quickly turned and walked away. I'm guessing he thought I had a gun or something.

Street people tend to watch the hands and don't like it when they can't tell what you might be holding.

 

[jorn]

Wuda, cuda, shuda,.... Look, one can construct any imaginary scenario in which self-defense fails. What is your point? We know that nothing is guaranteed in life already.

How many muggers do you think will allow you to reach for a metal object and point it at them? Don't you see the potential dangers here in most cases? In daytime it wont help, and in the dark, it may force the bad guy to react. That is my point. Every action has a reaction, and that's real life.

Its not normal walking around public with a flashlight ready in the hand, not even by flashoholics.

 

[Jay R]

Its not normal walking around public with a flashlight ready in the hand, not even by flashoholics.

Speak for yourself. :naughty:

 

[MrBenchmark]

Its not normal walking around public with a flashlight ready in the hand, not even by flashoholics.

If you are in the dark, why wouldn't you use a flashlight? I always carry one, and if I'm someplace dark - I use it. It seems to me that you are quite unlikely to cause disturbance or alarm by providing illumination along your own path.

 

[hoongern]

Personally, I have conflicting thoughts on the use of flashlights in these types of situations. I think the situation can go either ways when you use a flashlight - it could diffuse the situation, or it could make it worse. It's always a risk. And because each each situation is different, it's hard to decide whether a flashlight will always be useful or not.

But anyway, I still enjoyed reading Surefire's stories regarding flashlights and bad guys...

 

[J_C]

I don't see anyone who supports carrying a flashlight providing a false sense of security. In any case, if it is broad daylight and the opponent has sunglasses, so what. You are no worse off than if you didn't have a flashlight.

Yeah, I feel that way about bananas too. :devil:

 

[Warp]

Personally, I have conflicting thoughts on the use of flashlights in these types of situations. I think the situation can go either ways when you use a flashlight - it could diffuse the situation, or it could make it worse. It's always a risk. And because each each situation is different, it's hard to decide whether a flashlight will always be useful or not.

But anyway, I still enjoyed reading Surefire's stories regarding flashlights and bad guys...

I only read the first one on the top of the page and it was a perfect example of a person being an idiot and completely failing at situational awareness and confrontation avoidance.

Out running at night in the dark when a slow moving car passes you then stops 20 feet ahead....and you run right by it? Please, if this happens to any of you go the other direction without losing sight of the vehicle.

 

[Locoboy5150]

My suggestion is to get a 4 - 6 D cell incandescent Maglite, fully load it up with D cells, and then just leave it off throughout any confrontation. 😉

 

[Warp]

My suggestion is to get a 4 - 6 D cell incandescent Maglite, fully load it up with D cells, and then just leave it off throughout any confrontation. 😉

Hi. As per title. What small handbag friendly torch would you suggest? Got to be able to blind them for 30 seconds, easy to use, maybe strobe effect? Want to buy one for my now wife for when I can't pick her up from the train station.