Shame on you White Wall Hunters!!!

Just curious why there is a term being used in a derogatory manner as of late.

The phrase "White Wall Hunter" has been coined and popularized to refer to people who enjoy shining their flashlights on the walls of their humble abodes . The inference of this phrase seems to be ;

" I am a flashlight professional and would never, ever give in to the temptation to shine my flashlights onto a wall and thus make a judgment on the quality of its beam in any way. Since the act of shining a flashlight on a wall is completely pointless and has no bearing on real world applications of any given flashlight, which is a tool first and foremost, and not a toy to be used for ones amusement ... I am deeming those who do as such to be of an inferior class of people who cannot possibly posess a valid opinion . These "white wall hunters" obviously do not understand the seriousness of their actions . The wasting of all those valuable photons is shameful and so indicative of a novice flashlight user it borders on criminal and as such I shall bestow upon them the "scarlet letter" term of "WHITE WALL HUNTER" !! "


Well, unfortunatley I must confess as others should also so as to redeem your soul I AM A WHITEWALL HUNTER!!!!!!!!!!! I have been know to wander around my house firing photons at walls like a postal worker on crack cocaine holding an UZI . and i will tell you a secret of which even I am ashamed of. As of late, when I go into the bathroom to do my business, instead of reading a magazine I find myself bringing a flashlight in with me , shutting the door , sitting down and turning the overhead lights off and playing with the flashlight. My girlfriend is completely unaware of this though I think she suspects something is going on because I have forgotten the flashlight on the sink a couple times and used the excuse I was looking down the drain for a clog. I dont think she belives it .

But, does this mean I don't use my flashlights in real world applications? what are real world applications? Well I had to use a flashlight on my motorcycle once. The bulb blew on my headlight so I used electrical tape to lash my trusty flashlight to my handlebars and thus made it home on completely unlit backroads safely.

I have used my flashlight to keep my 7 yearold son from plummetting down unlit concrete stairs. I have used my flashlight to search for an errant nail in a car tire . I have used my flashlight to check the level of antifreeze in my cars overflow tank .
Yet I shine my lights on walls and marvel at their beams while I watch T.V.

What I would like to know is, what real world applications do NON-WHITE WALL HUNTERS use their flashlights for that I am not.

luminata said:

As of late, when I go into the bathroom to do my business, instead of reading a magazine I find myself bringing a flashlight in with me , shutting the door , sitting down and turning the overhead lights off and playing with the flashlight.

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:lolsign:
Been there, done that. When I bought my Myo Xp I took it into the bathroom with me a few times and dazed myself while looking directly into the LED. Lately I have been bringing my X5 into the bathroom (though I haven't been turning off the lights).

I let my daughter play with my X5 while she is in the tub, isn't that a practical use?

I have been shining my X5 all over the house lately. It is like my Christmas thing. When my wife and I are laying in bed at night I am shining my X5 at the ceiling fan and admiring the shadow.

I have one problem with being a "White Waller". The problem is that my X5 has blue LEDs...

Gaffle said:

I have one problem with being a "White Waller". The problem is that my X5 has blue LEDs...

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Does it means you'll see a blue shadow in your bedroom...

Best regards

____
Tom

OK, that's twice in a month where what I post may ruffle feathers. So be it:

Being a "wall hunter" is not a bad thing per se (I'm a confessed part-time wall hunter too). The only reason being that "wall hunters" are sometimes improperly lumped with "indoor users".

I do see a problem, however, when a "wall hunter" (aka, armchair comando, armchair flashaholic, mall ninja, etc. in other forums) goes "full on" and recommends the latest and hottest headlamp for... I dunno... caving, when in fact said headlamp would fail miserably to operate under caving conditions. But, what does the "wall hunter" know, they've never been in a cave, and maybe have never even *used* the headlamp they're recommending!! :green:

I could go on and on about incorrect recommendations I see made when somebody asks the classic "what light do I need for..." (*cough*seeDolly'spostdownstairs*cough*), or ramblings about how the tint of the corona is different from the hotspot, or how 65 lumens *really* is different from 63... when, in fact, little of that matters in the real world.

It's not that "professional users" don't shine their lights on walls... it's the fact that they have greater exposure to which lights may or may not work for a certain application that makes the opinion of a "wall hunter" (used in the mall ninja sense) rate lower on my scale.

There, I've said it. :nana:

Guilty as charged.
White wall hunting AND bathroom applications.

I even go as far as to finding a white wall beam study useful. Yes I know, sacrilege!

However, I have to admit that the pleasure of shining a light into a pitch black forest at night while walking is an experience that cannot be replicated by hunting down white walls.

bernie

To say we shouldn't be using a white wall to judge the quality of the flashlight is like telling Car and Driver they shouldn't measure 0-60 MPH performance on the automobile to judge it's capabilities.

I shine my lights on white walls and ceilings. Sometimes many of them at once, and with friends over. I ask them about the beams, and listen. I ask them about slight color variations of each. I try not to taint it, so as to see if their opinions match mine.

I'm not too picky about tint or artifacts. My U2 donut hole doesn't bother me much, the ringy sidespill on the T4 is a non-issue, and the bluish tint on my U60 is not ruining it for me. I'm just not that picky, but it's subjective, whatever works for one person may not for the next.

I do use my lights in "real world" applications, but I'm not a pro. If someone wants to think of me as The Great White Wall Hunter, then let them. On a movie site I used to visit, the term "fanboy" was used for anyone (even though they loved the movies) who dared critisize anything, or state how they thought it could have been better. It's all subjective, and I'm also a fanboy . :nana:

I have to confess. I am a part time closet "wall hunter". I have tried many times to overcome my weakness but whenever I find myself with a flashlight in my hand I succomb and flash it on the closest wall. I try to convince myself that it was unavoidable and accidental but in my heart of hearts I know better. I could have directed the light along the floor but I chose to view the wall.

Woe is me. Help me please. Enlighten me. I cannot do it alone. All you non "wall hunters" please help me to resist. I am sure that with some advice and encouragement I can ignore walls entirely.

I have also been known to flash my lights on a bush in my backyard for no reason other than to see what it looks like. Can I be saved??:mecry:

I WWH all the time. Actually, I try to mirror-hunt, because if I shine a light from one end of my room to my mirror at the other end, it'll bounce the light back, effectively doubling the maximum distance I can try out.

I agree with Kiessling - it's MUCH more enjoyable to use lights outside in pitch darkness. WWH can reveal something of how a light will behave in real use, but WWH in itself isn't real use. It's kind of like running benchmarks on a computer - useful, but not nearly as cool as getting an insanely high fps when encoding video.

EngrPaul said:

To say we shouldn't be using a white wall to judge the quality of the flashlight is like telling Car and Driver they shouldn't measure 0-60 MPH performance on the automobile to judge it's capabilities.

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Definitely.

I'm not so sure about the term "White Wall Hunter" either, or why it's used so derogatorily, but it does seem to be.

Mostly, I see it used by people who are trying to defend a light with a beam that people would find less than perfect. Like the Fenix P1D CE for example. There is huge argument over whether it's ringy, or if the dark ring in numerous photographs and which many people have reported is even there or not. I see posts to the effect of "You won't notice it unless you're a White Wall Hunter".

I don't think there's a thing wrong with shining a light on a blank white wall to see it's characteristics, or to judge a light based on it's white wall profile. I don't understand why people seem to have a problem with doing that either.

This is good. Confess your sins brothers!!!!!!! togehter we shall overcome our perverted filthy vices and elevate ourselves to new heights of purity in our quest for pure unadulterated light


I am suprised there are other bathroom flashlighters , I feel better about it now. But remember to always put down your light when wiping and wash your hands before picking your light back up. There is nothing worse than Fecal tainted photons!!!

I just started this thread cause I think the Phrase is a riot. You are all right , there are specific lights for specific tasks and those who do those things have the experience to comment. I would never try to give advice on a light for caving or diving . I wouldnt have the slightest clue.

But it is humane nature to shine that light on a wall is it not?

HEY, I don't hunt white walls I use them for target practice when I can't be in the Eldorado National Forest where the dark beast I do hunt resides.

I hunt other coloured walls as well.

Good post luminata:laughing:

I confess. Sometimes I make caricatures with my hands and look at them on the "White Wall". Haven't taken a light into the bathroom "YET" LOL!!!


Cheers
Bob

I`d like to respond. But my mom told me not to talk to white wall hunters.

It isn't as much WWH as WCH for me - White ceiling hunting. My (rather low - it's a Portakabin) office ceiling is merciless in displaying beam "faults". I'm a heavy smoker so at home I have neither white walls nor ceilings.

The current champion for niceness of beam is a CR2 Ion on passaround. I'd probably not buy one, but an XR-E one might tempt me except for the price. An XR-E Orb Raw is in my future and soon. Though the beam is maybe not quite as nice outside of WCH it is a lot more light for half the money.

Yup - I admit it, I hunt walls (Well, ceilings) too

I don't hunt white walls; don't have to. I know exactly where they are. I use them often for beam evaluation when I want to know what the beam is and not use the beam for illumination of something of interest (or concern). For all my recall is worth, I may have even coined the phrase. I have certainly used it often. No matter.

When a flashlight is being used, you really don't want to be any more aware of the beam itself then necessary, IMHO. When a collimated beam is necessary you use the awareness of the beam to acquire the target of interest but once targeted, you want to view the target and not the beam.

I believe the term white wall hunter is derogatory in nature because a white wall doesn't take too much skill in finding! :nana: There are white wall hunters who couldn't tell you the texture of the wall that they just shot! They aren't looking past the beam itself. Nothing wrong with using a white wall for beam evaluation at all! I personally don't consider white wall hunting as good practice for illumination skills. You do too much of it and you get in a habit of not seeing beyond the beam.

" Two flashaholics on safari in Africa were wounded by a startled rhino they failed to notice in the beams of their lights thay had been comparing at the time..." ~ reuters

There is no shame in white wall illumination or even hunting if you are after an easy shot. I personally like to shoot white ceilings all the time but I do it without sighting on the target. I like to use the ricochet for navigation. I believe the CPF term is ceiling bounce.

Ok, how many CPFers will admit to being "face hunters?" (Click)--->

I guess I am guilty of deriding white-wall hunters and I make no apologies. I shine my lights against white walls often, but what gets my goat is that someone shines a light against a wall, sees 'rings' and 'artifacts' and declares the light no good without looking at the performance in the field. That is a white wall hunter in my book, not someone who takes a flashlight in the bathroom. That is just weird, but whatever cranks your tractor! I know that I and my kids make shadow puppets using my flashlights. Am I a white wall hunter? Not in my book. I am a whitetail hunter and it has to work in the field. Flashlights are tools in my world. I have a lot of 'tools', nice 'tools'. Too many in some views, but not in my opinion.

It is too easy to sit in your easy chair, shine a light at a wall and declare it defective. The only true test is in use. I agree that looking at beamshots is important because it may, just may, indicate a problem. But that is only the beginning, not the end.
It is how useful the light is for its stated purpose.