I like lights that throw, but I also appreciate a light that floods. Years ago I was caught in some mountains in California, along a hiking trail. We were looking for a place to camp and the wind was howling. Although I had brought extra provisions for the cold, two of the other guys with us had not. We finally found some rocks to hide in and built a fire.
The darkness along that trail was memorable, however. We'd expected to have our camp up in daylight and no one brought a flashlight. Not that it would have done us much good. Back in those days batteries lasted for about twelve minutes before beginning to dim and the el cheapo stainless steel flashlights could barely throw from the flashlight head to the ground. Fortunately, we ended up being just fine, but I've often thought of how things would have been with today's flashlights. If we'd had them back then, it would have been so much easier.
Throwers and flooders each have their place. I have a
very nice thrower I got from DX. Don't know who makes it, but it says "CREE P4 LED, 240 lumens." I don't know why anyone would need to throw further than this thing, but for thirty bucks it's quite a well made light. After using this awhile, going back to my Inova T4 was like using a "low" setting on my Fenix P3D! Still, on that trail, a flood would have been nice.
