Forward Clicky question

I have mainly reverse clicky switches on my flashlights.

I do have one Surefire 6P incandescent flashlight. It has a momentary switch.

I hear people mentioning that forward clickies are mainly for single mode lights and reverse clickies are for multi-mode lights.

I'm a bit confused as to what a forward clicky is I guess.

I'm guessing that it's a momentary switch that can click as well to keep the light on when you remove your finger.

If it is used on a multi-mode light does it work this way...
half press as in momentary and light comes on, keep half pressing and you cycle through the modes, when you get to the mode you want you use a full click to lock that mode in.

Is that correct so far?

Then, if you want to go to another mode, you full click to turn the light off and start over with a momentary half press again and cycle through the modes again.

Have I got it correct?

If this is correct then it's still good for multi-modes as it allows for more quickly getting to the selected mode.

I'd like to make sure I understand this.

Yes you have that right. That is how my Milky modded L4 works with its forward clicky and four modes. It's very functional I feel. Mode changes are easy, plus you retain momentary on ability, and you get to select your mode before locking it on. I personally like that setup.

Yes, you've got it right. You know that either switch opens and closes the circuit, but each one does it a little different. I prefer a forward tail switch also, and the only thing I can think of that you should be aware of (other than what you've already mentioned), is multi mode lights where the mode is controlled by a resistor in the tail cap/switch. e.g., Tiablo A9 with two mode tail cap/switch.

Correct up until the part where you say its quicker to get to the other modes.
No matter how you look at it bumping a reverse switch a few times is quicker than clicking right off, momentary to the mode and full click again.

It is quicker from the off position since you select your mode and then turn it on rather than the other way round. If the light is already on, then you are correct, shark za.

its funny cause Im running my 3mode in my C2 which has a
forward (mcclicky) and my 1mode in my L2P which has a reverse.

It should be the other way around IMO but I use the 3mode
for semi EDC and preffer the C2s clip - the L2P is a bike beater
so Im not gonna bother getting a McClicky.


not really into reverse personally but Im not too picky
either.

the older I get the more appealing 1mode lights
are becoming...

gcbryan said:

If it is used on a multi-mode light does it work this way...
half press as in momentary and light comes on, keep half pressing and you cycle through the modes, when you get to the mode you want you use a full click to lock that mode in.

Is that correct so far?

Click to expand...

Correctomundo, Señor!

It's a matter of taste, I suppose. A forward clicky is good when you need momentary on, and is easier to set to the mode you want as you're turning it on initially, but more complicated if you want to change modes once it's already on; a reverse clicky is easier to change modes once it's on, but doesn't allow momentary, and in my experience is more prone to changing modes accidentally.

For the record, I use momentary a lot, and HATE accidental mode changes. So I'm a forward-clicky kinda guy.

Thanks for the feedback guys! It's good to have that confirmed so that I'm sure I understand them.

I'm going to try to replace two reverse clickies with forward and wanted to make sure I had the logic down.

As was pointed out earlier, when I said it was faster I meant from the initial off position. Once I've got a light on in the mode I want it in I'm not too concerned if it takes a bit longer to change modes again.

Now that I've got strobes out of all of my lights adding a forward clicky is the final touch as far as getting things the way I prefer.

This brings up a question. I have the E2DL- a 2 mode LED that I believe has a forward clicky.

A half or soft press gives momentary on high, but, if it is half pressed and released and pressed again within a second or so, it changes modes to low, which must either be held momentarily, or clicked on for continuous. This is good for general usage, but could be a problem for those who want to use momentary on for signaling or morse code, as you'll get alternating high and low outputs.

Would this be considered a hybrid or an exception to the rule of clickies? :thinking:

Forward or reverse, doesn't matter, using switch to change modes makes signaling problematic. The driver has no way to tell what you're trying to do when you switch it on & off rapidly.

For that application you would want a single mode light with a momentary switch.

gcbryan said:

I'm guessing that it's a momentary switch that can click as well to keep the light on when you remove your finger.

If it is used on a multi-mode light does it work this way...
half press as in momentary and light comes on, keep half pressing and you cycle through the modes, when you get to the mode you want you use a full click to lock that mode in.

Is that correct so far?

Then, if you want to go to another mode, you full click to turn the light off and start over with a momentary half press again and cycle through the modes again.

Have I got it correct?

Click to expand...

This is how I have all my Quark "regulars". I can't stand reverse click switches because they don't turn on until you take your finger back off them so I fitted forward switches to all my non-tactical Quarks.

If it's already on and I want to go up one level I just click off them back on, if I ned to move more than one level I click off and momentary press until I reach the level I want. I find it works well and there are no accidental mode changes which I found occuring when I used the original reverse switches.

Having my "regular" Quarks set up this way does allow "momentary" but obviously it will go up a brightness level with each momentary use unless you wait for it to "reset".

A forward clicky is a clickable switch that offers momentary on. A reverse clicky is a clickable switch that offers momentary off.

A pushbutton ball point pen typically has the equivalent of a forward clicky. When the switch is engaged momentarily or fully clicked, the end of the pen appears (like a flashlight turning on). If the pen had a reverse clicky switch, then a momentary press or full click would make the end of the pen disappear back into the body. The switch would have to be disengaged in order to write.

JCD said:

A pushbutton ball point pen typically has the equivalent of a forward clicky. When the switch is engaged momentarily or fully clicked, the end of the pen appears (like a flashlight turning on). If the pen had a reverse clicky switch, then a momentary press or full click would make the end of the pen disappear back into the body. The switch would have to be disengaged in order to write.

Click to expand...

that must be the UI of the old Eveready Penlight......................