Why strobe?

[hossdaniels]

I see this feature on several lights. I cant figure out why. Is there a practical reason or is it a "because I can" thing?:thinking:

 

[Lexus]

<ironic mode on>
If you use it on a bad guy, they will drop dead at once.
<ironic mode off>

In most cases it is nothing more than a marketing thing.
It is a good attention getter though.

 

[sygyzy]

You obviously have never faced off against Japanese school children

 

[Oddjob]

I have read that some have the light strapped to their backpacks while biking. I have left a light with a slow strobe hanging from a tree at the start of a dirt road to let friends know where to turn to get to a friend's cottage. I don't mind strobe as long as it is accessed through a menu and not part of the regular UI you have to cycle through.

 

[HKJ]

I see this feature on several lights. I cant figure out why. Is there a practical reason or is it a "because I can" thing?:thinking:

Strobe is many things depending on frequency:
1) Tactical strobe, trying to disorient an attacker.
2) Warning strobe, use at accidents to warn traffic off.
3) Attention strobe, use to signal that you are here

One implementation could be:
1) is fast, i.e. around 15 Hz
2) is slower, i.e. around 5 Hz
3) is a fast flash each second.

 

[Lexus]

Ok, I might have been a bit too ironic im my post above...

Slow strobe is useful as signaling, while fast strobe of a certain frequency can mess with your brain/vision and cause disorientation IF the strobe is used properly.

 

[depusm12]

I have used the Strobe feature on my Gladius to disorient a suspect a few times so he could be handcuffed by other officers and use a light with a slow strobe with a colored cone on it for traffic control.

 

[Zatoichi]

Strobe makes my Ricky Gervais dance look even more impressive.

I like the strobe on the Jetbeam M. III. It doesn't get in the way; you don't have to have it there at all if you don't want it; and if you do want it, you can set it's speed how you want it. Having said that, a strobe cluttering up the UI has never been a deal-breaker for me.

 

[sygyzy]

Try this experiment - Turn on strobe mode and point it at yourself or have someone point it at you. Are you disoriented? I awsn't. I don't see how this would work in the field. I am surprised it worked for you depusm12.

 

[greenlight]

I was cycling thru my multi-mode flashlight while dealing with some unruly patrons. I ended up on strobe and said to them, "now look what you've made me do. I'm in strobe mode, now, and I'm ready to kick you out." They calmed down as quick as I could cycle back down to lo mode.

 

[Zatoichi]

Try this experiment - Turn on strobe mode and point it at yourself or have someone point it at you. Are you disoriented? I awsn't.

I tried it on myself in a dark room at arm's length and I was disoriented. I don't mean puking or falling over, but my vision was totally messed up and I felt a little dizzy. It would affect my ability to fight, but not actually stop me. To me, it was only a little more effective than a very bright light in the eyes.

 

[travelinman]

When walking along a dark country road, especially in a third world country where drivers aren't the best, and especially where many of them don't see the need for headlights, having a strobe automatically causes traffic to slow down, pull over and pass slowly. When the reason is "it can save your life" it becomes a pretty important function. I agree it shouldn't come on unless you specifically want it to, but that's a light with a "disfunctional" UI anyway. If your light doesn't have memory and programmable modes you probably don't have a strobe anyway.

Now just to placate the "don't blind me while I'm driving crowd", you don't want to point a high powered strobe directly at a driver. Keep in mind though, that the strength of a light is logarithmic and dims very fast once you are some meters away.

btw....Even the SOS function can have a use. Here in Western Canada, we have many areas where people get lost and there's no cell coverage, and searching by helicopter at dusk and dawn will still pick up a bright SOS if you are injured.

So, if you just collect flashlights and they sit on your nightstand, and you spend most of your time sitting on a couch watching TV, you probably don't need a strobe.

 

[DM51]

The topic has had an unfortunate history of polarizing some members into opposing Strobe vs. No-strobe camps, and previous threads have not survived for long.

Let's try to avoid that here if possible, otherwise the thread will go the way of its predecessors.

 

[Lightraven]

As far as anybody knows, CPF member, former Navy SEAL, Gladius designer, former Surefire and Strategos low light tactics expert Ken Good invented the strobe as an advantage in moving to contact in low light. The Gladius wasn't the very first light with a strobe, the Maxabeam spotlight has a strobe setting for "disorientation" purposes, but the Gladius put it on a handheld tactical flashlight and it was obviously a very popular idea.

The utility of strobing for suspect contact is mildly controversial among LE officers, but has enough LE proponents, not to mention Ken Good, that I wouldn't classify it as a total gimmick. I have had plenty of opportunities to strobe arrestees, but I have yet to actually try it. 90% of mine give up with either no problems, or I can talk 'em into cuffs. Drunks and crazies are reluctant, but suggestible. It's the best way to do business.

 

[Marduke]

For non-mall ninjas, it's extremely useful to simply call attention to yourself or your location.


Think of every time you've been on a cellphone in a crowded place saying "Can you see me waving at you? We're sitting over here."

 

[electrothump]

As many have noticed, a strobe gives the effect of slowing motion. Therefore, I always use the strobe function when climbing, and when I fall, it helps to slow the fall.

 

[MattInTheCouv]

If we're talking "tactical" strobe, then the following are the reasons i can come up with off the top of my head. Of course this is assuming the light has quick and intuitive access to the strobe function (which VERY few do), and that it is nighttime, which is when the VAST majority of violent crimes occur against individuals from people they do not know (rapes, robberies, etc)

Temporary confusion - most people you would be strobing have never had it done to them before so they don't know how to react

mild spatial disorientation - as you can no longer use visual cues to help maintain your balance when being strobed

the brief cover provided to the strobe holder to do something without the strobed individual seeing it - covering the distance to the strobed target to physically subdue them, producing a weapon for self defense, or just turning and beginning to run the other way with a decent head-start

 

[Joe Talmadge]

I tried it on myself in a dark room at arm's length and I was disoriented. I don't mean puking or falling over, but my vision was totally messed up and I felt a little dizzy. It would affect my ability to fight, but not actually stop me. To me, it was only a little more effective than a very bright light in the eyes.

One of the keys, as Ken Goode always emphasizes, is using the technique properly. Holding it at arms length and pointing it at yourself is definitely not representative of the way it should be used, and IMO tactical strobe can be more disorienting than your experiment shows and might give you a brief moment of opportunity. That said, it's useless if it can't be accessed immediately (as Matt pointed out above) which means a lot of lights with a "tactical strobe" really don't have a tactical strobe. Beyond that, if your intended use is to do what syzygy did and basically stand still and hold it statically pointed at someone who knows it's coming anyway, the effects aren't worth having to click through it most of the time.

 

[MilitaryPower]

While doing some LE room clearing training, I used the strobe on my brand new Olight M20 Premium. The bad guy didn't know what hit him, and even though he had a second handgun he didn't grab it because he couldn't hardly see, and he couldn't see from where the light was coming from. Even with a bright light, if you just leave it on it can be tracked easily. The only problem I came across was that it made it a little difficult for my partner to cuff the guy, because I was covering and couldn't use both hands to switch modes. But I am a believer in strobes.

 

[Stephan_L]

As mentioned before:

There are different strobes for different tasks.

There is tactical strobe (with a frequency of 13 to 15 Hz). A strobe with this frequency should disorient a person and can cause different further reactions like feeling dizzy or (under some very special circumstances) even falling unconsiousness (called the "Bucha - effect").
I used the strobe of my PD30 (15 Hz) on several occaisions and some of my partners and trainers aggreed in tests that they indeed all felt dizzy! I did as well, when one of our trainers took the light and "strobed" me.

There are people who are more resistant and people who are less resistant to the Bucha - effect. There are no garanties! But it can help you in tactical situations.

Another usefull strobe (or better: flash-mode) is - imho - the SOS. This flashing is usefull for those who like to make outdoor trips through the wilderness. SOS not only catches the attention of other people, it may give them the information that you need help (if they know the morse-code).

Other flash-modes would be a slow strobe to catch others attention. This may help you while car accidents, or when sending traffic to a special direction. I don't know, what frequency would be best for that, I think of something around 2 or 5 Hz.

These are the most important and in my opinion usefull "strobes" on lights.

Bye,

Stephan
P.S.: Hz means Hertz and that means flashes per second.