4 Lumens? Ridiculous! not enough light to be useful.. he thought.

I have to admit I'd often see people posting on here about wanting a light with only a few lumens and I've thought to myself, he's nuts, anything under 10 would be useless.

Well after buying 2 Zebralight H30s (if you're wondering why two, you must be new here :welcome: lol) I discovered 4 Lumens can be more than enough. I can navigate inside AND outside with it on low, and it's not as if it's focused in a tight hotspot either. So I'm now a little more enlighted than I was, and all by only a few lumens.

Actually, 4 lumens is quite a bit of light. Even on the .3 lumen setting of my Novatac 120P, I can get around a darkened house very safely, and even make my way outside.

I was convinced -- before trying out lower settings -- that I just had to have 100 or 120 lumens to get around outdoors. Now I use those high settings only for emergencies, or for finding that $@* racoon who insists upon visiting my garbage pail at night.

Very well said. :thumbsup:


One of the Flashaholic "secrets" is the fact

that "brighter is not always better".



As CPF-member NA8 once stated:


Flashlights are like Golf Clubs --


you really need an entire set.



_

That is so true, most times you don't need hundreds of lumens.

My 800 lumen ROP is great....

But my 10 lumen Arc-P takes care of 90% of my illumination needs.

Next on my list is something with IBS, for all the lumens in between

radiomanss said:

Actually, 4 lumens is quite a bit of light. Even on the .3 lumen setting of my Novatac 120P, I can get around a darkened house very safely, and even make my way outside.

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+1

I never would have believed it had I not actually bought a 120P. I bought 2. :twothumbs The one I carry is configured for full bright with one click, the other stays next to my bed and is configured for the lowest setting on one click. It's perfect for getting around without affecting night eyes.

Burgess said:

"brighter is not always better"

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:thinking: My username would beg to differ

In all seriousness, I agree with the OP. Remember that a typical 2D-style M@g puts out roughly 20 lumens. 4 lumens is more than you'd think.

A common belief on CPF is that dimmer lights are useless... I don't always find that to be the case. I prefer about 6-7L when I am out in complete darkness.

I've recently been bouncing .08lm off the ceiling in my room. Works fine for me, and doesn't waste battery.

Of all the flashlights I have, the two most used ones are my Fenix E01 and my Gerber Infinity Ultra.

.33 lumens was my primary on my 120p before I had to sell it and I seldom switched off that level

+1 on the E01, its great for really dark places and when you dont want to spoil your night vision. but living in a country with loads of ambient light, sometimes brighter light is needed to go poking in the dark corners etc

I love using the least amount of lumens when needed! Actually I have set my TR70 for red/0.8/10 lumens for maximum runtime.

Mayo

4 lumens? I find that 1 lumen is too much for indoors in the middle of the night although i guess since the zebralight is all spill it should still work nicely.

Yapo said:

4 lumens? I find that 1 lumen is too much for indoors in the middle of the night although i guess since the zebralight is all spill it should still work nicely.

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Yep. For getting around a pitch black house full of non-flashaholic sleeping family members, 1 lumen is too bright. The .08 lumens of my NovaTac 120E/P is perfect for that. :candle:

Burgess said:

As CPF-member NA8 once stated:
Flashlights are like Golf Clubs --
you really need an entire set.

Click to expand...

It's funny but it's very true. Different situations require different tools.

Burgess said:

As CPF-member NA8 once stated:


Flashlights are like Golf Clubs --


you really need an entire set.



_

Click to expand...

That's what I always use when my dad asks what I need all of these lights for. "How many golf clubs do you have?" "One for this, one for that...." "Well there's your answer. Besides you don't NEED golf clubs. Unless you want dog poo tracked in or the dog to drag in a dead animal, it's pretty much impossible without light." "That just requires one light." "In that case mini golf only requires one club.":devil:

The E01 and my Photon Rex are really all I need in the house, the E01 is too bright with adjusted eyes, but the Rex's low is perfect.

I agree.

I was constantly after brighter and brighter pocket lights, but I've seen the light.

I got a Photon Freedom Micro and I love it.

I constantly use the lowest setting which is very dim indeed, but perfect for most tasks in the dark.

most definitely more than enough!

FrogmanM said:

I love using the least amount of lumens when needed! Actually I have set my TR70 for red/0.8/10 lumens for maximum runtime.

Mayo

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Me to. Now that I've matured a bit I'm past the blazin bright obsession. I'm most impressed by runtimes that run for weeks

HoopleHead said:

most definitely more than enough!

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Those new Makos your getting should fit the bill :laughing: