Night Walk Observations

Happy New Year Fellow Photon Fiends!!!

I like to take evening strolls with my wife after dinner and this time of year it is very pleasing as it gets dark early. We live in a relatively safe neighborhood with very mild weather and thus lots of people do the same. Now being a flashaholic I have at least 3 lights on me when I hit the door. A Arc AAA in my pocket, an E2D or 9P strapped to my hip, and either a L2 or 6P+A19+KL3 in hand. I always make sure my wife has either a E1e or E2O in her pocket. There is a nice bike path we walk down and it has the advantage of not having any street lights. There is enough ambient light on a moonless night to walk without a flashlight with no problem. We have lots of unlit parks I seek out to stroll through.

What amazes me is I rarely see anybody else carrying a flashlight. Maybe a few have mini-mags or keychain LEDs in there pockets but by and large nobody seems to carry lights. Now I know I am biased and probably do look silly to the non-flashaholic crowd when my approach looks like a 747 on final decent by hey thats me. In fact the only walkers I see that carry lights are kids. I have only once seen an adult using a flashlight.

It is strange that as safety conscience and paranoid our society is getting that someone would venture outside at night without a flashlight. I'm willing to bet most of my fellow nocturnal pedestrians carry more guns than flashlights!

kelmo

"I know I... probably do look... like a 747 on final decent "

Don't worry; you're amongst friends here. I was a knife-type and my frined was your typical flashaholic. I always wondered how he got by never carrying a blade on him when I seemed to use my knife on an almost daily basis at work-- now that I'm hooked on flashlights (started wth an Inova X5 & SL TL2 LED!), I don't know hw the rest of the world gets along without one!

Ever watch a suspense/horror movie where someone gets stuck alone in the dark and think to yourself, "Now that wouldn't happen to me..."?

I think I am more likely to find myself pitted against Freddy Kruger or Jason in the above situation than I am to be found w/o a flashlight of sorts...

Interesting point! The people who go out for strolls around my area for some reason wear dark clothing—all black and the like with no light or reflectives whatsoever. I can count the number of individuals that do early morning or night walks/run on one hand that wear light colored clothing with Hi-Viz vests/Reflective Stripes and/or Flashlights. I was at a stop and the flashlights that I saw two individuals carrying were some multi-LED type. At least they want to be seen and are safety minded.

There is enough ambient light on a moonless night to walk without a flashlight with no problem.

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That's probably why others don't use a flashlight - if you let your eyes dark adapt.

I use one walking down the backyard at night cos I have lots of snakes and spiders around here, but don't need one on the main footpath. I don't even take one with me.

Generally, I like to see and not be seen. I also take my night walks/jogs in areas with few people and few/no cars. Generally wear darker colors, I hate shoes with reflective patches on them.....

I also like to leave my eyes more dark adjusted than not. So If I'm using a light, it is typically a light like my Gladius on its lowest power setting or a small LED type.

My brighter lights do go out with me, but are usually used very little.

I live in El Dorado Hills and we don't have street lights, but every house in the community is required to have two house lights (one on each side of the garage). That usually provides enough light for walkers, but I do see some carry a light. I would assume it is more for their safety rather than to see their path. Cars are usually flying through our neighborhood so anything to make them more visible to others is a good idea.

I hate to say it, but about 1/3 of the folks out for a "stroll" at night here are...shall we say... "young urban youths". They typically wear dark clothing, and nothing reflective - it makes it harder for the police to spot them that way. I hate to profile people based on looks - but if you look like a hood, dress like a hood, act like a hood (ie ducking behind stuff when a car comes)...

I agree that the best policy is to NOT use a light, but to let your night vision work for you. You do need a good light though for times when you are in transition or need to ID a potential threat ASAP. I walk my dog at a dog park late in the evening and there is no lighting there, but the access to is is from a lit parking lot and it takes a good 15min to get adjusted. Many times I will hear someone near the park but not be able to see them, that's when the "747" lands on them with a shot from my SF Aviator.

No one has ever said anything, but they do get that "deer in the headlights" look on their face and probably wonder why I have such a bright light. No one I have seen yet carried any kind of light at all.

The red LED on the A2 is great for checking what the dog is rolling in without messing the night vision up also.

I prefer using my night vision, and also the anonymity of not using a flashlight. I prefer to only use a flashlight to illuminate a tricky pathway, or to look at something a distance away.

I know my property. I know how many steps it is to most everywhere.

That said, I DO NOT go outside without a light at night. NEVER!

A Lady in our neighborhood walks with a walking stick, but never a light. I may have to do something about that...

I also like to dark-adapt my eyes. Part of the point of my walk is peacefulness, and I don't like to be beaming up the night when I can rather be out enjoying the quiet.


That said, I often do have flashlights on... Oh heck, who am I kidding. I *always* have flashlights on. Anyways, even when I'm carrying a flashlight, it's a smaller one. It might have a lot of power, but it'll always be smaller. I don't cotton to carrying around this big steel monster when I'm out trying to relax. On longer walks, it gets aggravating.

It is true, however, that many folks don't like to carry anything with them, which I don't agree with.

I live on an unlit, rural road with a 50 mph speed limit and no sidewalks or curbs. I walk daily and wear a bright, reflective vest. At night, I wear a Gerber Infinity Ultra on a neck lanyard and carry a Streamlight 4AA Luxeon ProPoly.

If I walked along the road at night without the vest and a lit flashlight, I would probably be hit by a car or truck.

I always have two lights with me but never really use them unless I want to see what has caught the dog's curiosity. Most people don't want to see others using lights on a path because it does affect their adapted night vision. now if I stray off the path/road I will use my Lioncub on a low setting, but now that there is snow on the ground I don't need any added light, that ambient light is more than enough.

When I was a kid, I lived in upstate NY area as well as outside of DFW, TX and we never, ever, used a light in the field at night when we were stalking deers or other games(although each of us did have at least one maglite on us, hey that was way before LEDs and SFs were widely sold, and internet was as common as a DMC), and your night vision is suprisingly good. Having a light is good, but we try to not use it unless it's absolutely necessary.

Besides, it's hard to walking while holding a large Maglite in one hand and carry a Winchester 70 in the other when you are 12 years old.....

I see the same thing happening in my own subdivision. I am the "only" one with a light while walking at night. I take my night walks with my 2-year old, so if/when I hear anything strange, I "do" want to know right away what "it" is - I don't want to be surprised by a lose/wild dog or some other wild animal, not when I have my little girl with me . I also "always" have at least one folder as well, typically my full-size Benchmade 520 Presidio - I simply don't beleive you should be out at night without a light "and" a knife with you.

I typically have at least two lights (the main light "always" being an incandecent due to their truer colors): my A2 (about perfect for nightly walks!) and a backup (long running LED light). But being a flashaholic, I alternate what I carry, and sometimes my 1D M*g with 4xAA driving a WA1319 is my main light. Sometimes, I take my SF M6 (with LOLA) as a high-intensity backup light "just in case"

Will

i was also a knife guy long before i saw the light. this christmas has been very nice to me as my pockets are now always full. C3 Centurian left pocket, benchmade Aires 154cm right pocket. oh and on those nightly strolls the 7c 1274 comes along for the ride ... hey it has better battery life than the C3 ok? LOL a2 aviator is a 747 landing? IMO you have to at least be past 250L before you can be in 747 territory. oh and incase you were wondering .. yes my neighbors seem to be more and more worried about my mental state sence i have found these forums. "why is blake walking with a car headlight?"

to you flashaholics who have a EDC light seriously consider getting an EDC folding pocket knife. you would never imagine how usefull a good 3 inch folder is until you carry one for a month and then try to live withought it for a week.

In my early twenties I was working in security and it was considerd foolhardy to use a light whilst walking because it meant the bad guys could see you coming. For the past twenty years I've been a paramedic and the ethos is the opposite of that used when I worked security. Now it is obligatory to wear reflective clothing when on duty, and at traffic accidents I use all sorts of illumination to see and be seen.

Funny thing is when I go for walks with the dog at night I still prefer to limit my flashlight use to the minimum. Due to rurality of the area I live in I usually use a flashlight to warn car drivers of my presence.

I still tend to think that it's better to see than be seen but, (as a true flashaholic) I always have at least two lights on me.

Doug

While I find it prudent to have a light with me, I use it only long enough to alert drivers to my presence on rural roads. If I wanted to have the area lite-up like a football stadium I would walk during the day.

During a map and compass night march during Basic Training I had some idiot shine a light in my face. Due to lack of night vision I then walked into a branch. It went between my upper eye lid and the eyeball entering probably about an inch or so into the eye socket, breaking off with about two inches of the branch sticking outside my eye. Amazingly it was removed with no permanent damage. To this day I am very .......sensitive to people shining lights at me in the dark.

Michael

Flakey,
Take it easy on the new guy. I have not experienced the MEGA lights you speak of here... YET! Ok, maybe the A2 is more like a Cessna, but it's still bright for "normal" people. LOL

Inferno said:

"...

Ever watch a suspense/horror movie where someone gets stuck alone in the dark and think to yourself, "Now that wouldn't happen to me..."?

I think I am more likely to find myself pitted against Freddy Kruger or Jason in the above situation than I am to be found w/o a flashlight of sorts...

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Strange how they always grab the flashlight instead of the gun.