Defining a torchlight's "throw".

Hey guys!

After spending such a long time reading the posts on this forum, I have been wondering how you guys define a light's "throw".

Some people say that their lights throw 50ft. Does that mean that the hot spot is visible at 50ft or that is the maximum the light can go (i.e. >50 ft no light from torchlight can be seen on ground).

Thanks for clarifying my doubts. :sweat:

Usually the max distance means there is about 1 lux of light at that distance. Theoretically, beyond that distance, no light is visible on the ground/wall. ( I think)

Hmm... That means at 55ft nothing can be seen except for pitch black darkness? :thinking:

The following is my current standard when I do one of my "real world" reviews

Real World (Evening Walk) Commentary.

The evening walk takes place over a 2 mile loop. It begins on a well lit and well paved street, proceeds into a dimly lit neighborhood, then through an unlit trail (which is mostly cleared on one side but heavily overgrown on the other), back into another dimly lit neighborhood, and finally back to well lit streets/sidewalks. There isn't any location on our walk where I can see more than about 150 yards in a straight line but on a clear evening, with more or less dark adapted eyes, I have settled on a series of targets to judge performance.

#1) White 4x4 inch marker sign with red lettering from 10 yards away (through dense undergrowth).

#2) A light grey mailbox from 30 yards away (not dark, but not reflective).

#3) Light green phone company marker post with yellow lettering (4in wide by 3 ft tall) from 30 yards away (through dense undergrowth).

#4) Dark red brick chimney from 50 yards away. (Can I distinguish the top edge)

#5) Stand of brown tree-trunks from 65 yards away (Can I see all five trees)

#6) County storage shed from 100 yards away (trying to clearly light up the back wall).

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Okay, so I'm creating my own "standards" and there is the possibility for a lot of variance, but at least I'm trying to use consistant targets :shrug:

I think that 'throw' as used by CPFers without the capability to actually measure it objectively can be a dangerous thing... Some folks live in cities with lots of ambient light, others can use their lights in situations with less ambient light such as a compeltely darkened warehouse or out in very rural settings with cloud cover which allows a light to effectively 'throw' much further.

Just last night, I helped my father in law retreive a chest of drawers from his property down in a rural area. I took with me one of the Wits' End CPF special multi level lights that I recently received. In town, it didn't seem to have a very impressive amount of throw but down there, the light could reach almost as far as I could see. Easily 200 yards but on my own street, unless it gets something reflective like taillights on a car or something, I would say it only effectively can get to maybe 200 feet. That's three times less that what it clearly did out in the boonies.