What is the Purpose of a "Pure" Thrower???

This question is really directed to everybody.

I am a newbie here although I find the subject fascinating. Flashlights have been a favorite "toy" since I was a kid.

Anyway, if anybody is in the mood to explain what I'm sure is obvious to you, what purpose is served by a flashlight that is a pure "thrower"? I like a wide flood that covers as much distance as possible but I can't understand the purpose of a lighting a 12 inch section of a tree from 300 yards away while the ground in between is a dark mystery?

It's hard to ask that question without sounding disrespectful to thrower fans and I really am not. I just am curious about the point of it? I could see it at sea as a signal light but on land I don't get the purpose?

Well, if you think if it like a searchlight, it's good for spotting targets or objects at long range where the intervening ground isn't important. Think like search and rescue maybe...also, a very throwy light will penetrate fog or smoke more effectively than a floody light, particularly if it uses a cool-tinted LED, which can struggle somewhat in low-visibility conditions. Personally, I prefer more of a balance, not too much of either throw or flood.

Mostly for people to take it outside, go "ohh, ahh" for a while, and put back in storage till next time.

jzmtl said:

Mostly for people to take it outside, go "ohh, ahh" for a while, and put back in storage till next time.

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Most people do this with most of their lights..

richardcpf said:

Most people do this with most of their lights..

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It's an oft-discussed point around here, but still important.

I think that I've changed a lot over the last few years on CPF. I went through a phase initially where I wanted "Maximum Throw" and now I too seek different types of balance depending on the task/purpose of the light.

Part of it is plain old awe factor; part of it is because it is something magical to project a beam hundreds of feet away I think. Finally, it's neat to see something taken to the limit (e.g., the DEFT). But I agree with the OP's implied opinion: pure throwers tend to be shelf queens for me and I gather for many others... And that is part of the joy of being a flashaholic!

Can you name some flashlights that you consider to be pure throwers? Are you talking about lights like the Tiablo A9, A10, Dereelight DBS, etc? These lights are throwers that use a reflector so you have some spill as well. Then you have lights like the Tiablo A9 with an aspheric lens and the DEFT which throw even more, but with no spill.

I like the outdoors and often go walking at night. The DBS is great for seeing what is down the path. At 300 yards you're lighting up an area much larger than 12 inches by 12 inches. I'm not sure what the size would be, but I'm guessing the hot spot would cover more like 20 by 20 feet.

I've also enjoyed using it on targets at close range, say 10-20 feet. It will turn a small area of darkness into day time. I like going around my folk's property and spotting creatures of the night, frogs, etc.

I have a lot of fun with my throwers and they have proven to be very practical and useful in many situations.

Reflector loaded lights that have a tight central beam with plentiful spill as a natural result of their reflector loading are arguably the most versatile lights you could use. While not ideal for close up tasks they will get the job done, especially if it's a multi-mode that can be toned down to an appropriate level for the situation. If you then need to spot something at a distance, you can do that as well with the same light. A flood oriented light will do the up-close tasks really well, but will never cover both applications. I'm a big fan of the concept "right tool for the job" and am more than happy to carry multiple flashlights to cover an assortment of possible tasks.

I assume though, that you are talking about optically focused designs that put almost 100% of emitted light into a tight central beam. These designs ARE arguably the least versatile of the bunch.

A thrower in this class may be useful for illuminating something up on a tower. Say you work for the city and are searching for downed lines on a given stretch, or fallen limbs on those lines. A light that is primarily throw with very little if any spill may be very useful, especially if it's being pointed out the window of a service truck as the vehicle is being slowly driven down a back-country road. a strong spill beam in this case would illuminate unnecessary things near the vehicle (like falling snow, fog, rain, etc), which would not be desirable while trying to drive. Almost any situation where you have something up on some sort of tower, where lumens dumped as spill are just lost to space, would be a potential application for a pure-throw beam profile. The beam of the Task Force 2C Cree comes to mind as a possible candidate for this type of work.

-Eric

recDNA said:

Anyway, if anybody is in the mood to explain what I'm sure is obvious to you, what purpose is served by a flashlight that is a pure "thrower"? I like a wide flood that covers as much distance as possible but I can't understand the purpose of a lighting a 12 inch section of a tree from 300 yards away while the ground in between is a dark mystery?

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A fair question deserves a fair answer.
I recently set up a Tiablo A9 Aspheric modded with an R2 WH emmiter driven at 1600ma onto a long range varmint rifle for a fox shooter friend of mine. A small target at 300m such as a rabbit is very well illuminated in the crosshairs & no spill light is wasted outside the scope's field of view

cheers

Shining for deer comes to mind.

At the most basic/simplistic level... they are best used to illuminate far away objects. Theres really nothing more to it than that.

I really like the Taiblo A-10. It out throws all but the best aspheric designs... yet still has a little spill to the sides of its lightsaber beam. IIRC Gary measured it at ~230 Lumens (which is more than many aspheric throwers), so its both a high lux and high lumen design. Its also relatively small and light weight (for a thrower that throws this far), so it wont bog you down in the field.

It isn't the small area that throwers light up that makes them useful; It is the fact that their beams diverge less over a given distance than normal lights' beams do. If you can light up a square foot 30 feet away, it isn't very useful. However, if you can light a 20 x 20 foot square a few hundred feet away, it is much more useful. The "pencil thin beam" is not really what people like; it is just a byproduct of lights that throw far. Ideally, a light would light up both a large area and far distances, but this isn't really possible; so throwers with thin beams are one end of a compromise.

It's a real life LIGHTSABER!!!.... Minus the lawsuits for the destruction you leave behind lol

It looks like a cop spotlight for trespassers or unwanted guests...

objective?

Its fun! its really "Phun"....its useless but fun

Rexlion said:

Shining for deer comes to mind.

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OR our crocodialian friends! :thumbsup:

CaNo said:

It's a real life LIGHTSABER!!!.... Minus the lawsuits for the destruction you leave behind lol

It looks like a cop spotlight for trespassers or unwanted guests...

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LOL... some years back my daughter saw a drug deal going down in the front yard across the street. She hit them with my 6MCP Cyclops thru the window. They freaked, jumped in their car and sped off! Deal canceled.

I like them for two reasons... First, we have a lot of random critters in our yard at night, and I like seeing what is lurking at the edge of the property when I take our 9 lb dog out at night. Second, I play paintball, and during the night portion of the 24 hour games, it is a huge tactical advantage to light up the opposite players from a distance. I become a target, but my teammates get a clear shot. It's also useful for those rich turds using night vision

Edit: Though I should clarify, I still would prefer to have something that's balanced. I'd rather not have to carry 2 flashlights.

Rexlion said:

LOL... some years back my daughter saw a drug deal going down in the front yard across the street. She hit them with my 6MCP Cyclops thru the window. They freaked, jumped in their car and sped off! Deal canceled.

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Now can you say Daddy's Girl? haha
That is awesome! You definitely raised her well! :goodjob:

And its always nice to look at far off things when you go for hikes/expeditions.

I keep a pencil beam thrower in the car to read house numbers when looking for an address at night. You don't want to go along floodlighting the houses, just zero in on the numbers.

Also use a thrower at our cabin to look around for critters before setting off to the outhouse. Then I carry my floody EDC with me. We have bears up there and I don't want any surprises.

Even if the light is all throw and no spill, it can be used for closer up tasks. It's annoying, but it will work.

Randy

mdocod said:

.... Say you work for the city and are searching for downed lines on a given stretch, or fallen limbs on those lines. A light that is primarily throw with very little if any spill may be very useful, especially if it's being pointed out the window of a service truck as the vehicle is being slowly driven down a back-country road. a strong spill beam in this case would illuminate unnecessary things near the vehicle (like falling snow, fog, rain, etc), which would not be desirable while trying to drive. Almost any situation where you have something up on some sort of tower, where lumens dumped as spill are just lost to space, would be a potential application for a pure-throw beam profile. The beam of the Task Force 2C Cree comes to mind as a possible candidate for this type of work.

-Eric

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wow! this describes me 100% i currently work for a local power company and do just that. look for down power lines and/or other electrical hazards. i'm still looking for that perfect light. one that is portable, small and lite, meaning something in the size range of a 2D - 3D Mag. running in the 1 Hour + range.

the best so far that i have is a Mag85 but heat is the killer here and it can't be left on for any length of time. what i'm looking for is something that can be run for at least 30min continuous and have around 1+ hour total run time before recharge or batt change out.

any suggestions?