Why the forward clickie?

Help me understand the overall want for foward clickies on flashlights.

I see a lot of people say they like the momentary feature. I just don't see it being a big advantage, if I need light I just click on and then off when I'm done.

As a guy who carries his lights in his pockets I cannot understand why anyone would want a forward clickie. For me to safely carry a foward clickie light I need to lockout the tailcap; requiring anywhere for 1/4 turn to a full two turns. Then, when I need the light I have to tighten the cap, usually with one hand before it comes on. This is a pain in the butt, it requires awkward motor skills and takes too much time.

With a reverse clickie I don't need to worry about locking out the switch. I have carried a reverse clickie light in my pocket for a year and a half and have never had it accidentally come on. There just isn't enough going on there to trip the switch, whereas with a forward clickie the light would have turned on or morse coded itself dead dozens of times over if not locked out.

Is it because the forward clickie is seen almost exclusively on American made lights and is some sort of quality symbol?

Is one more reliable than the other?

Is momentary really that important when you need to tighten the tailcap before you can even use the light?

Do most people either not carry their lights on their person or use sheath?

Just curious.

the momentary on feature was popularized by LE/Mil community to temporary cast light on their intended target to shoot at it, and then shut off the light so it doesn't give away your position.

You can also blink the tailcap to signal people.

As for constant on, there are click-on forward clickies that are momentary until you click it all the way it, and it's constant on.

Momentary operation is great for when you need frequent, short illumination, such as inspection of something or need to make out detail when there's otherwise enough light for navigation.

Using the momentary function on a "forward" or "normal" clickie does not wear the switch as much as engagement because the ratchet mechanism is not engaged.

I can't say I've ever had to back out the threads on a tailcap on a light with a "forward" clicky with any regularity. If I did, the light IS going to be in my hand in use for some time so adjusting the tailcap twice over whatever period of time wouldn't be a big deal.

So-called tactical lights will not use a clicky because there's a chance under duress that the switch will latch, which is bad because it could reveal your position if left on. Tactical lights will generally use a push-momentary, twist-continuous arrangement so that continuous operation requires a separate action from momentary.

Yes momentary is that important to me.
Second when using multimode lights that use a click interface the reverse clickie is an absolute pain because one just has to barely brush the tail cap and it changes modes. With a forward clickie you cycle modes and then lock that mode in.
On lights that have many modes a reverse clickie is useful for easily navigating the endless modes. However I have one light like that and I really don't want any more lights like that; Just too much of a pain to use normally.
Finally I've had so many cheap reverse clickies fail that I'm now prejudiced against them. Not all are unreliable, but I don't trust them in general. Forward clickies aren't any more reliable in my experience, but I assume that a manufacturer who goes to the extra trouble of making a light with a forward clickie will generally make a better light.

You got the answer about Military/Law Enforcement use already. I won't add to it directly. Even before Surefire and tailcap switches made it into that market the US military was using a light with a momentary on switch. The old 2xD cell, angle head Fulton had one. It was a 3 position slide with a separate button just above it. The slide went off(lockout), momentary, and on. When the slide was in momentary the button activated the light. It was awkward but useful then. The switch placement just moved...not the basic needs.

Here's a pic of the light baterija mentions.


I use lights a fair amount each day and as mentioned above the momentary function is the only way to go for me. I've yet to have one of my EDC lights with a forward clickie turn on in my pocket. The only lights that have done this are an old Arc LS twisty and Photon 3. Also for lights with a UI it's easier for me to get to the function I want from the getgo rather than having to turn on the light in whatever the default mode is then toggle to what I want.

I like the size and abilities of many of the newer AA lights but the reverse clickie on them keeps me from getting them.

-LT

Because I carry forward-click equipped lights in a belt holster, accidental operation is not an issue. I like forward-click lights because you can use them briefly without having to latch the mechanism.

You can also signal easier with a forward system.

However, forward click-switches have their associated reliability issues. You will not find me too far away from a twisty.

I dont think a forward clicky is any more reliable than a reverse. They both use similar mechanics, and hence have similar cases of reported failure.

There is no more risk of accidental activation of a forward clicky over a reverse clicky. They both require a similar travel distance to click on.

For me personally, it is a tactical/self defense issue. If I have to temporarily blind an assailant, I want the light to be the first thing to indicate my presence, not an audible click.

kramer5150 said:

I dont think a forward clicky is any more reliable than a reverse. They both use similar mechanics, and hence have similar cases of reported failure.

Click to expand...

I believe that, all else (cost, current capacity, waterproofness, size) being equal, forward clickies are less reliable than reverse clickie's; and that is the reason you see more of them for non-tactical lights. Even allowing for the forwards being a little bigger (deeper), reversers are simpler to make and thus more reliable.

If I had need for a tactical light, I would get a momentary non-clickie light: if I'm not going to compromise for a life and death situation, then I'm not going to compromise, even for the convenience of having a click function in my momentary switch. If I don't need the momentary and I want clicky convenience, then I prefer the extra reliability that I believe an equal cost reverse clickie provides.

So I do have forward clicky lights now (which work fine, BTW) but I am not especially tickled by them as compared to my reverse clickies.

Clickie or no clickie, I will not do without the utility of momentary operation. Reverse anything is a no-sell to me when I'm shopping for a new light, hence the energizer 1AA that I just got I'd wager 90% of my flashlight use is easier with a momentary on, as it's only being used for a few seconds to light up or look for something in the dark. If it needs to be on any longer then any method of constant-on is fine, twist, click, whatever.

I prefer forward clickies to reverse simply because I need short instances of light while inspecting the equipment I work on. Accidental activation is not an issue with me since I always have my EDC clipped to my pocket bezel down.

@ Marduke "There is no more risk of accidental activation of a forward clicky over a reverse clicky. They both require a similar travel distance to click on."

Actually there is much more risk of accidental activation with a forward clicky, not necessarily for it to click on, but for whatever is in your pocket pressing against the switch. I can see where, with as much stuff I carry in my pockets, that if I carried a forward clickie light in my pocket loose, it would be on (not clicked on) a lot of the time simply because of when I either squat or sit, the stuff in my pocket would turn the light on. If I were to remain in that position for a couple of hours, without shifting just right to release the pressure of whatever is pressing the switch on, then I'd have 2 less hours of runtime or a dead battery. It's for this reason I carry mine clipped to my pocket- that and easy access.

Accidental activation depends on the switch design as well. Most manufacturers assume that the user who buys a light with a forward clicky will be using it's momentary function, so they make the switch larger and easier to control. If the switch is flush with the body, or sunk to the point where it is protected, accidental on is much less of a problem. For what it's worth, I find forward clickies more suited to my use than reverse clickies.

spoonrobot said:

Help me understand the overall want for foward clickies on flashlights.

I see a lot of people say they like the momentary feature. I just don't see it being a big advantage, if I need light I just click on and then off when I'm done.

As a guy who carries his lights in his pockets I cannot understand why anyone would want a forward clickie.

Click to expand...

Enlightenment (pun intended) comes from realizing different people use lights in different ways, and they also have different preferences.

Just like the old "twisty vs. clicky" debate, the "forward vs reverse" is one of those things that will never be resolved. It is what it is for different people, and for whatever reason they think is appropriate.


I have and use both (the 4?) systems. Depending on what I'm doing I'd rather have a forward/momentary switch than something else (just because of how I use my lights).

Interesting points all around. I never thought about the potential wear issue with reverse clickies.

greenLED, I sort of figured as much before posting the thread but wanted to see what the consensus was since I've not seen a thread addressing the issue directly. I guess it's similar to lock debates in the knife world, just preference for most folks. The "quickness" of the forward clickie is usually not something I need since my light use is usually two hands and closer to a few minutes than seconds.

Actually there is much more risk of accidental activation with a forward clicky, not necessarily for it to click on, but for whatever is in your pocket pressing against the switch.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. When I was carrying a T3 I would go through a set of batteries in about a week due to AI while in my pocket if the light wasn't locked out. Normal use with the light usually gave me 1.5 months on a set of batteries.

Lunal_Tic, that picture takes be back a long time to being a kid. My parents always had at least a dozen of those lights floating around for us kids to use (Dad was a government contractor) and they were present for many a flashlight tag game on summer nights.

spoonrobot said:

Lunal_Tic, that picture takes be back a long time to being a kid. My parents always had at least a dozen of those lights floating around for us kids to use (Dad was a government contractor) and they were present for many a flashlight tag game on summer nights.

Click to expand...

Well if you want to update you memories here's a LED mod that I did for this light. Angle Lux w/ Mc38 reflector I recently put a SSC led in it and it's quite a bit brighter.

-LT