Do LED lights freak people out more than incans?

The "anti flashlight law" thread I was reading here tonight made me wonder.

Is there something about the color/hue of an led flashlight that makes people freak more than they would if it were an incandescent?

I'm just theorizing here, but in a way it kind of makes sense. If someone (the neighbors, for example) sees a light approaching, if it's the more familiar incandescent color then it'd probably seem more normal than the stranger led color.

Two of the led lights I've got, a 3D Mag and 2C Task Force, have a very brilliant white color with an almost violet tint. It looks kind of other-worldly and sci-fi if you ask me (I like it though!).

I did have a neighbor who was staring at me when I approached my apartment back door early one night with the Task Force. Fortunately I had the light pointed down in front of my feet (scanning for dog poo) rather than up, so he didn't get blasted by accident!


Anyway, your thoughts??

I don't know about freaking people out more, but I find the tint of LED lighting harsher than incans, for sure. Only time I really "used" and LED on someone was a pretty hostile situation. I had to be there and couldn't just leave and a drunk guy was getting pretty riled up with me. Shined the P3D in my left hand in his face from about 4ft. Stopped him in his tracks bitching about "why the "f" am I using a "cop light" on him".

It was for the best though as the LED in my left hand kept me from having to use the "coin purse" behind my right hip, as him and his buddy were both drunk and beligerant.

I'm sure it's the intensity of the lights we uses not the color. Making night look like day grabs attention pretty well.

Context matters to a certain extent as well. I once "freaked out" a person with an E2E while inspecting a roadside ditch at night. I think they must have thought it was a car headlight.

LEDs with ample blue light is known to induce greater glare than incandescents.

I know they freak out my wife every time I order a new one........

anti-flashlight law? Whats this?

eyeeatingfish said:

anti-flashlight law? Whats this?

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It's from the thread linked below.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/195055

I think it`s more that lights have become much brighter....surly could be considered rude shining one in somone`s face or at home windows late at night.

GreySave said:

I know they freak out my wife every time I order a new one........

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LOL....same here!!

GreySave said:

I know they freak out my wife every time I order a new one........

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Probably that weird shadowy dude waving the light around in the middle of the night is what freaks them out - not the color of the light....:sick2:

One would think a weird shadowy dude skulking around in the dark in the middle of the night would freak more people out than the guy with the flashlight. At least you can easily see the guy with the flashlight, nothing to hide there... :thinking: :shrug:

DrunkenDonut said:

One would think a weird shadowy dude skulking around in the dark in the middle of the night would freak more people out ...

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Except they don't see the shadowy dude without the light, but you they see.....:huh:

It might be the cooler color of the LEDs that makes things seem less familiar then incans. That is my reasoning for why people freak out more, besides seeing what they think is impossible output from a light.

Right, Gunner12, I think the color may really throw people off, especially when it's really bright.

I mean, think about it: There's probably still a large number of people out there who've never even seen an LED flashlight before! I ran into one such guy at work. And think about how many threads we've seen here where somebody gets accused of having a "laser" when it's actually a small led light!

To me at least led's seem MUCH harder on my eyes(looking into it, or it's immediate glare) Yes i know not smart to look into mordern leds but sometimes it's just to pretty:huh:

Yes... LED lights freak people out more than incans!!

Well... I never see the incan guys fighting against each other, like I see with the LED guys...

(Fenix Brotherhood vs. Surefire Gang) :devil:

Would the sharp glare of LEDs be contributed to the relative lack of red spectrum? The red just isn't harsh on the human eye for whatever reason, while the blue end of the spectrum gets very harsh.

nerdgineer said:

Except they don't see the shadowy dude without the light, but you they see.....:huh:

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Heh, I was going to comment on that too, but.. :shrug:
At least the guy with the light can *find* the shadowy guy :duh2:

My backyard is on a major street. I wonder if I'll freak anyone by shining the lights down into my backyard from the 2nd floor. Mmmm.. red lights, white lights, green lasers (wish I had one)... oo: