Standing the flashlight on its tailcap

Hi guys,
Read in some of the reviews that people mention that certain make/models of flashlights can be used as "candles" by placing them on their tailcaps. Just wondering if this is a desirable feature and if someone has a concrete example as to when it could be used in this manner. I would think that placing an LED flashlight as candle wouldn't do too much in terms of lighting up a room.

I do this all the time around the house instead of turning lights on. If I'm using a light with a concentrated hotspot, the bounce off of the ceiling floods the room. The McGimzo Ti-PD-Mule is the perfect light for tailstanding, as it has a uniform 115° beam. With my Mule, I can simply set the light down and the entire room is well lit, letting me go about my business with both hands free.

In general, candle mode is useful when you need both hands free.

say you camping in your camper, and you dont want to disturb your sleeping partner with the campers bright lights....well you just turn your flashlight on and stand it up like a candle!

or its early morning and still dark out in the campsite...you stand up your light like a candle so you can see while fueling up the stove for that cup of joe!

just a few examples of how i use my flashlight as a candle :thumbsup:

tailstanding

I believe the style of use was originally invented accidentally by a user on the forum to illuminate an area using a flashlight made primarily for throw and no flood.
as with all flashlights, theres going to be significant loss when the light is directed onto a non reflective surface. So a cluster LED light will have the same effect as a 3W LED light...just dimmer.

hopefully this gives you some ideas on what sort of applications this may be suitable for...cheers :grin:

The first use I know of goes way back with the MiniMag. When you remove the bezel and turn it upside down on a flat surface, the tailcap end fits inside. Even with the small incan, the exposed lamp makes a nice candle.

Mark

Concrete example, eh? Well, I don't normally stand my lights on concrete, but....

Alright, alright...sorry. In a power outage, my Fenix P1 tailstands nicely on the coffee table and lights up the living room with enough light to see everything/each other, not fall over, play cards, maybe read a book, etc. Orb Raw NS does the same thing rather nicely (on low) with a softer still output (power outages, especially widespread, tend to be darker than your normal darkness, so a little light goes a LONG way).

I do the same thing (again with the Fenix) out on the (covered) balcony when I don't want the bright light from the CFL I have out there. Nice soft glow to read by and/or have a conversation. Also, this doesn't attract as many bugs as the regular light fixture!! This won't work as well in a space without a ceiling, though, so your needs may vary.

I will give you this warning, however....if you do this with an LED (or a high-output incan), the light will get HOT....much hotter than it does when you hold it because your hand isn't touching the metal body and drawing heat away. You may burn yourself if the light has been on for some time. If my Fenix has been on for longer than 15-20 minutes and I haven't been holding it I will generally get a wash cloth or some kind of heavy fabric to pick it up with. Learned my lesson the hard way once, and that's all it took!!

I'm pretty sure someone stood a flashlight on its end as an impromptu area lighting device ever since there were such things as flashlights.

I have a Z49 tailcap that I install on whatever Surefire light I have my 3W drop-in to use in that manner. Also as a guard against accidental activation. The button is pretty robust and the rubber sleeve guards it so well it's never been accidentally turned on despite being in my EDC bag most everyday.

Thanks for the replies guys...i was just on the fence about using this criteria in my flashlight purchasing decisions.

Flash_Gordon said:

The first use I know of goes way back with the MiniMag. When you remove the bezel and turn it upside down on a flat surface, the tailcap end fits inside. Even with the small incan, the exposed lamp makes a nice candle.

Mark

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That's a great example of old school candle.

I think that today's bright, long running LEDs used with ceiling bounce are even more effective because they're so much brighter and there isn't the glare of the exposed bulb...provided that the flashlight ins't sitting too low.

My power was out for a very short time last week. Using my P3D/R with ceiling bounce and set on medium, there was more than enough light to shower by. I use the LOD-CE the same way. For me it's not an absolute requirement for a light, but it's a handy feature.

come to think of it...my best concrete example would be tail standing my fenix P1-CE on the counter top and use the light for the morning showers...twin 60 watt lamps [output 60W uses 13W, yeah CFLs are nice] are simply too bright and I seem to have an abundant supply of used half capacity lithiums around here.

It's surprising how much useful light even a small flashlight can provide bouncing it off the ceiling. About like a nightlight, or better. A feature I prefer to have, given a choice. Of course, it's not hard to prop up any light one way or another.

Geoff

Flying Turtle said:

It's surprising how much useful light even a small flashlight can provide bouncing it off the ceiling. About like a nightlight, or better. A feature I prefer to have, given a choice. Of course, it's not hard to prop up any light one way or another.

Geoff

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True. I was surprised my P1D CE even on low gives enough light to navigate the room.

In fact on high when using it indoors as a flashlight I often point at the ceiling just ahead of me rather than forward, as it provides much better all round lighting and less shadows.

I'd also also thought it would be a better option if you were searching for an intruder (less shadows and no dark area behind the light)... up until you spot them of course, then you shine it in their eyes

Illum_the_nation said:

tailstanding

I believe the style of use was originally invented accidentally by a user on the forum

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Oh as if.

Flashlights have been available with flat tailcaps for DECADES.

I can remember as a small child in the 1960s my father used his torches in tailstand mode in the lounge room during blackouts. The fisheye lens ones were most effective in this mode of those available at the time.

Now, to a more recent story. We had a blackout about three weeks ago.
I had several battery lanterns stashed around the place for this eventuality, but soon found that to have the lamp anywhere below the eye line was unpleasant, whatever the level of diffusing.

For eating the evening meal, by far the most pleasant light came from tailstanding my 6D Maglite (bog standard, Xenon globe), which flooded the room with a most pleasant ceiling bounce.

To the extent that we were somewhat reluctant to turn the house lights on when power returned during the meal.

I have other lessons learned from this blackout, but that's the only one relevant to this thread.

lctorana said:

Oh as if.

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When I read that, I got a flashback from that movie...what was it called? "Clueless," that's it. (My wife DOES have something to add to CPF!)

I have had trouble getting the long Maglites to tailstand in the past. I've gone through so many homemade options, and never found a "best." A potted plant does work pretty well in a pinch.

I mention that because I've never passed on a light I wanted because of a tailclicky or round tailcap. With a little creativity, most any light can be made to stand in a pinch, as Geoff mentioned.

I always thought that the tail standing criteria for buying a light was a little ridiculous . This came from using a minimag in its candle mode a number of times while camping. The feeble light the incan globe produced was not of much use and the light was not stable in candle mode:thumbsdow.

However, since having led lights that put out sufficient light and that can tail stand I have become a convert:twothumbs.

I personally do not consider tail standing ability to be a must have criteria in new lights, but I feel it is a nice feature to have.

I love tailstanding my lights to light up a room. The P2D or any McGizmo PD are great tailstanders...BUT...

...the BEST BEST tailstander is the Sam's Club HID. Seriously, we use this light outside on the (covered) patio all the time. We have good outdoor (AC) lighting but rarely use it because the HID provides excellent ambient light for eating dinner, playing games, etc.

Sounds funny, but its very stable, has a good run time (for its output) and its CHEAP, relatively speaking.

Anyway, my $0.02.

W

Tailstanding rocks, especially with a diffuser :


Ceiling bounce and 'table bounce' work just as well and I often use my lights to provide general illumination in a small room or under the table when I need to gather wires, fix something up etc... as above mentioned, handsfree is a good thing

I'm sure a good floody headlamp will work for these tasks too, but I guess I'll never hear the end of it from friends and family for finding excuses to wear a headlamp.

KentuckyMike said:

I have had trouble getting the long Maglites to tailstand in the past. I've gone through so many homemade options, and never found a "best." A potted plant does work pretty well in a pinch.

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I've always thought somebody needed to make a stand for them. Possibly like a floor lamp base with a deep enough recess in the middle made for the tail end to go into. Maybe out of sturdy plastic. Go an extra mile and have a few slots around the base for spare cells.

+1 on the maglite stand concept.
The night we had dinner by maglight would admittedly have been spoiled somewhat if the table was bumped and the maglite crashed over...

As I said before, to eat by, or to sit quietly and listen to the radio by, there is nothing nicer than ceiling bounce.

A lantern, or a torch in "candle" mode is only OK for this use in my opinion if it is above the eye-line.

However, if you need to work or read, lanterns and candles come into their own.

+1 for the diffuser as well. (This may be because my ceilings are aged wood and ceiling bounces don't bounce.)
Greg