What's the big deal with tail standing?

[pipspeak]

I'm confused by the importance people seem to give the ability to tailstand a light. Is this a feature folks use a lot? The only times I've ever wanted to tailstand a light there has not been a flat surface around anyway, so I just prop it up against something. So how often have you tail-stood a light?

 

[Oddjob]

I tailstand my lights all the time when indoors. Outdoors I use a diffuser or hang it somewhere. Just last month I was helping install a sink in friends cottage and I tailstood my light under the sink to see what we were doing. I could go without tailstanding ability but I find it easier to have the option.

 

[qip]

for home use to me its important during a blackout ,where you could just put it in the room on a table,dresser,counter etc and light everything up and walk around freely doing other things ....for example during 2003 eastern U.S blackout i used my 3dmag in tailstand in kitchen and no one needed a flashlight really unless they need to spot something in darker areas...this was me pre cpf so it was stock incan :mecry: at the time it was great but i wish it would happen again so i could whip out the real goodies:thumbsup:...malkoff or 6ex mag in tailstand and walk around with the fenix or vice versa

 

[karlthev]

I generally don't tail stand my lights but when I need to, a flat, stable tail sure beats a wad of gum to hold the light straight!



Karl

 

[IsaacHayes]

I have done this before, taking say the D10 into the bathroom on a low mode to not wake me up but leaving enough light to take a shower and take out contacts.

Mainly used inside a house where you have flat tables and white ceilings to reflect the light. Other times say in a tent you would hang the light.

I do use it fairly often like that. Hell, on high the D10 is bright enough it seems like I have one of the fluorescent bulbs on!

 

[Marduke]

I don't get it either. Most of the time, tailstanding is done on a surface lower than your eyes, meaning if you look towards your light, you get a nasty blast in your eyes. Also, any light more than 1 cell is quite top heavy, and the slightest bump will send it crashing down into whatever you have it on.

I find it MUCH more convenient to lay the light on it's side and do a wall bounce (rather than a ceiling bounce). You can then easily keep it pointed in such a manner that you are never exposed to the direct light.

Further more, any light not suitable for tailstanding can easily be propped up, or just set in something as simple as a coffee mug when you need it to be.

For these reasons, the ability to tailstand is NEVER a consideration for me.

 

[karlthev]

It sure doesn't make or break a sale for me either but, if it will (tailstand) that's a plus for me. As I said before though, I tailstand my lights rarely--about as often as I walk on my hands! For me, if the dang light fits into my mouth easily---to free up my hands for working--and doesn't bust my teeth, I'm much happier!



Karl

 

[Juggernaut]

Sealed beam lanterns don't need to be tail standed:thumbsup:. Since I like them though, it would be usefull I guess for normal lights to be able to just be placed down and forgot about, so you could use your free hands for something else "like using another flashlight".

 

[LED_Thrift]

I tailstand my lights often when I'm indoors. I often use surfaces higher than eyelevel - the top of the 'fridge, top of the bathroom medicine cabinet, top of a window frame or curtain box. I find it a very useful feature - similar to a headlamp, it leaves BOTH hands free.

What I can't understand is when lights can't tailstand for no good reason. I can see if you want a tactical switch to stick out for quick, unobstructed access, but often lights are designed that can't tailstand for no obvious reason. Can't figure that one out.

 

[thermal guy]

You wouldn't ask that question if you had twins girls that both needed changing at one am

 

[woodrow]

I really like the tail standing ability of my Fenix T1 when bisquit hunting late at night. But it is not a deal breaker if the light does not tail stand.

 

[qip]

not a deal breaker just nice to have

i dont have an issue with led hurting my eyes even on regular table unless im pretty much right at the flashlight standing over it,but i could sit at the table and it has no effect...if im walking around and im like a couple feet away from flashlight the led is no issue

marduke if you like wallbounce im sure you like antiroll as a + :naughty: even though you could use some crap on the table to assist the antiroll is nice to have

 

[Marduke]

marduke if you like wallbounce im sure you like antiroll as a + :naughty: even though you could use some crap on the table to assist the antiroll is nice to have

Yeah, anti-roll is a plus. However, it's a secondary feature also. Most of my small lights have either a clip, some keychain/lanyard attachment, or both. Any of the above keep it from rolling even without the light itself being anti-roll. When is need, one or two pieces of random junk on the table/counter do just fine to keep it from rolling away.

But I rarely have a light roll off a table, where nearly every time I tailstand (or even set down as a headstand), the light falls over with a loud crash.

Ever reach across a nightstand at night and knock over a 2D MagLite standing on it's head? Trust me, you don't have to worry about grabbing that nice dim night-time light you were reaching for, everyone already knows you're awake

All my bedside use lights have tritium keyfobs now.... (see Photon below)

 

[42]

The ability to tail stand is a feature that I look for in a light that may be used indoors during a power failure. The ceiling bounce lights up the whole room and I like that indirect lighting better than lanterns which tend to have a lot of glare. It's not the most important feature I look for in a flashlight, but there have been lights that I've passed on because they couldn't tail stand.

Mark

 

[pipspeak]

OK, so I guess tailstanding is a concern to a large number of people... personally I never really tailstand lights but do bounce beams off things. For that, I find some sort of anti-roll design far mroe useful.

 

[HoopleHead]

anti-roll is usually covered for me by a clip, ring or lanyard on the light. so tailstanding is a huge priority for me due to the increased flexibility of lighting options.

 

[Lite_me]

So how often have you tail-stood a light?

Every_single_day. If I get caught without a tailstandable light in my pocket it irks me. It used to be an LOD. Now I make sure I have one of the NiteCore PDs on me at all times. They're great for this. Specially the EX10. It's shorter and fatter. The IncenDio works great too.

 

[LED_Thrift]

I like tailstanding a light so much I have used short pieces [~0.75"] of clear vinyl tubing on the back of lights, such as an Inova X1, to allow tailstanding. The tubing comes in a range of diameters, so you can often find one to fit a light. It actually made twisting the tailcap [on/off] a bit easier too. Lite-me, I'll bet you could do that for your LOD.

 

[MarNav1]

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes ya don't. I really like tailstanders also.

 

[paulr]

Tailstanding comes in handy. I use it in my bathroom regularly, standing the light on top of the shower door slider, i.e. above head level so no glare. When the light doesn't have the feature it's usually possible to improvise in some way. During the 2003 NY blackout someone mentioned, I simply dropped my Arc AAA into a coffee cup pointing upwards.