When A Flashlight Is Not Up To Par For The Situation

Orion

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 27, 2002
Messages
1,744
Location
Missouri
Last night was a time when I wish I had brought one of my big boys. My niece wanted to go out to a dark location to see if she could pick up the northern lights in our are of the globe [that was a nope] and also to see how well her new IPhone could pick up the stars. Last night was a new moon so it was DARK out there. It was a bit "spur of the moment" so I didn't have any of my bigger lights. All I had was what I was EDC-ing at the time, and Emisar D4V2, with SST20 5000K emitters.

Now, it isn't that the Emisar was incapable of lighting up the are pretty nice, but the size caused it to heat up immediately, so had to back off the power. Had it been planned to go out there, I would have brought either my Acebeam L35, or Acebeam FT02S. If someone attempted to approach us out of the darkness, I would rather have one of those two over the Emisar. The Emisar is fine enough for many occasions, just not for THAT application.

Since the temps are starting to come down, I may just keep one of them in my car. Probably the FT02S, since it didn't cost as much as the L35.
 
Sad, sad, state you're in. Here. Have a $7 rechargeable light for only 7 dollars. 7. For 7 dollars. The battery has to cost that much....maybe it's a $2 battery. Maybe. 2 bucks. Maybe two dollars.
 
I bring 2 lights with me these days. One powerful (Fenix LR35R), and one hCRI flood / mule (usually a Fireflies PL47MU).
Keep the lights in my backpack, and if I drive somewhere, the backpack comes with, as I have my wallet and driver's license there too.

For walks, it's usually a headlamp (Fenix HP30R v2), with maybe a backup light (which is again a LR35R, as I have 3 of them now).

Simple solution.... Carry both!

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So what exactly were you trying to light up, the Northern Lights? Most people looking to observe the sky at night try to avoid such retina scorching.
 
Reminds me, we visited my daughter at college over the weekend, and she told me she's going camping with her roommate's family. I immediately was like "Where's your flashlight?" and she couldn't find the Streamlight Protac 1L1AA I gave her. That's not really bright enough for serious output outdoors at night anyway, so I fished my trustworthy old Fenix PD35 out of my bag and handed it to her.
 
So what exactly were you trying to light up, the Northern Lights? Most people looking to observe the sky at night try to avoid such retina scorching.
My nephew thought he "saw a shadow in his peripheral vision", so I had to scan the area. It was a remote road, a section owned by my state's conservation department. It was spur of the moment, otherwise along with the brighter light, I would have brought my 9mm as well! Had neither.
 
Reminds me, we visited my daughter at college over the weekend, and she told me she's going camping with her roommate's family. I immediately was like "Where's your flashlight?" and she couldn't find the Streamlight Protac 1L1AA I gave her. That's not really bright enough for serious output outdoors at night anyway, so I fished my trustworthy old Fenix PD35 out of my bag and handed it to her.
You're a good father. 🙂
 
Reminds me, we visited my daughter at college over the weekend, and she told me she's going camping with her roommate's family. I immediately was like "Where's your flashlight?" and she couldn't find the Streamlight Protac 1L1AA I gave her. That's not really bright enough for serious output outdoors at night anyway, so I fished my trustworthy old Fenix PD35 out of my bag and handed it to her.
And the trusty Fenix was never seen again. 😢
 
Simple solution.... Carry both!
An Emisar D4k or D4Sv2 duel channel light will give you both in one light. The D4k is a 21700 based light that I have set up with one channel with W1 & the second channel using LH351D LED giving throw & flood in the same light. The D4Sv2 is set up the same but powered off a 26650 or 26800 (depending on body used) for longer run times. The D4k is small enough to be used as an EDC & the D4Sv2 with either body drops into a cargo or jacket pocket easily. Yes neither work as well as a dedicated throw/flood light but I'd give them a 75% score in a head to head against similar sized lights with the same LED
 
And the trusty Fenix was never seen again. 😢
LOL can't say I didn't have that thought, but she's way smarter than her old man, so it's in good hands. She reported back that it worked awesome, which is what I love about that light. So versatile. Small and compact to have with you all the time, but bright enough on high for good visibility outdoors.
 
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