Why super low lumens for Geocaching?

LEDBE
KingGlamis

KingGlamis

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Jun 10, 2007
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Mesa, AZ
I saw someone post the following comments which just baffle me...

"I have a L0D for my keyring, replaced my EDC with a NiteCore DI because it has a very low low, which I need for Geocaching at night, and soon I'm hoping to get the new Fenix TK10 for a compact high output thrower for the times when I need that.

I don't have the budget to random buy lights, so most of my lights have a specific reason for purchase. That's not to say I make the best purchases sometimes, such as I got the L0D for geocaching only to realize it's low output was quite high, 20 lumens or so, where I was looking for 2-3. I still keep it on the keychain with a 10440 battery for a super high output pocket rocket floody light."

Since when is 20 lumens "quite high" and why would anyone need to search for a geocache in the near darkness of 2-3 lumens? I'm sure there is a reason, which is why I am asking, but I don't get it. If I'm geocaching at night I'm going to use at least 50 lumens, but knowing me probably more like 100+ lumens for all searching except close-up searching, like less than 5 feet away.

I mean seriously, it's not like a bright light will scare the geocache away. And you don't need "night adapted vision" if you have a bright light. So what could possibly be the reason for needing a "DIM" light to geocache? Someone please explain. Thanks. :D
 
:popcorn:

I have no clue either who would want a light that low. When I go Geocaching, I find that I like to light up an area, so I can look for nooks and crannies. Then inside possible crannies, a medium light source is about right. Daytime geocaching, I usually want a high lumen light, because it's day, but possible cache locations can be dark.

As for night vision, I can usually kiss that goodbye. My GPS, PDA, or Cell will usually destroy my night vision. The backlighting goes from Blind to Bright on my PDA, and Full to Off on my GPS and Phone.

It's possible that using a low low light would not attract muggles or the police, but I think I would never be able to find a cache.
 
i don't know, personal preference? i spend some fair bit of time in the woods of ohio and have had a first gen L1T seem much too bright to me. that's why my hds is still one of my most used lights, that low low.
 
Perhaps for emergency purposes, as in getting lost and requiring light over a period of time...
 
For emergency purposes you probably want a strobe and at 2-3 lumens you might be lucky if they even saw you! ;|

Carry a spare battery and light instead!
 
Qoose said:
It's possible that using a low low light would not attract muggles or the police, but I think I would never be able to find a cache.
Click to expand...
IMO unless it was red, it would probably attract attention however dim it was. A really dim red light would only attract attention if people were looking straight at it (and maybe not even then if it was far enough away and really dim).
 
Could have least put my name in it somewhere??

Anyway... My reason for wanting 2-3 lumens for geocaching is so I can search urban areas in the dark without attracting attention. 50 lumens will certainly do that.

Also, if you're peeking into nooks and crannies in an area with zero lighting, it's much better to have 2-3 lumens so you don't blind yourself shining the light into various things and getting reflections. I personally don't want to be behind some building poking along a fenceline and hear something and have to wildly shine the light around to see; I'd rather still have some night vision.

Of course, if I'm searching in partially lit areas, I can twist the NDI and raise the lumens to what I want, and if a cache is in a more remote area, I raise the output to whatever as well.

Would I geocache with a fixed 2 lumen light? Obviously not... I used to use my old (2001ish) Arc AAA a lot at night, as it had about the right amount of output for urban night caching, but I also had the P2D in my pocket for when I needed more light.

Now, the Nitecore DI does it all. Although I still want a stronger thrower, I have a Mag with a Terralux drop-in but it's just too big to carry around.
 
Probably also the same reason hikers often prefer less light over more. With 50-100 lumens, you can see everything your light illuminates, but nothing more. With 1-2-3 lumens (especially red), your eyes do get the chance to become night adapter, and you can see much further than just what your light is illuminating.


It's just personal preference on the style which you prefer to hike/walk with at night in the outdoors.
 
i find a low output headlamp and 50-80 flood handheld works best for me. flood to find it and headlamp for handsfree retreiving and signing.
 
Ambiance. - 1.the mood, character, quality, tone, atmosphere, etc., particularly of an environment or milieu: The restaurant had a delightful ambiance.

dictionary.com
 
Qoose said:
:popcorn:

I have no clue either who would want a light that low. When I go Geocaching, I find that I like to light up an area, so I can look for nooks and crannies. Then inside possible crannies, a medium light source is about right. Daytime geocaching, I usually want a high lumen light, because it's day, but possible cache locations can be dark.

As for night vision, I can usually kiss that goodbye. My GPS, PDA, or Cell will usually destroy my night vision. The backlighting goes from Blind to Bright on my PDA, and Full to Off on my GPS and Phone.

It's possible that using a low low light would not attract muggles or the police, but I think I would never be able to find a cache.
Click to expand...

Sorry about my ignorance, but what is Geocaching ? It is some kind of game ?
 
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