Do you like flashlights that remember last mode?

I noted a proliferation of flashlights that remember the last mode used. I think the memory can be useful only with a selector ring that let me choose in advance a level in an easy and fast way, otherwise I hate to switch on the light and find the last level used!!! For me this feature is very annoying and I avoid every flashlight with it.

Am I the only one? What's your opinion?

Hate it. Won't buy it.

Its not a deal breaker either way for me. I have both memory and non-memory multi-mode lights plus single mode lights. I use them all and a few taps / clicks is no big deal.

I can't say I love this feature but in general I am 51% in favor of it. In many cases I hate to have to go through several levels to find the one I use most often especially with small EDC lights.

Generally, I don't like it, and a memory with strobe is a deal breaker. If the light has only two [maybe three] modes, it can be good, although I totally agree that a selector ring is way better.

a few thoughts:

It is old technology, old thinking, and lack of creativity and/or effort on the part of the manufacturer. I don't like it. It is better than a light that only turns on at one specific level every time.

I like the ability to go direct to a specific brightness level (low or high) via a great UI.

I think a lot of the appeal of the new HDS Rotary is that you can 'Dial it Up' before you 'Flash it Up': For me, then, this is the most useful addition to a range of Flashlights that is pretty near perfect; and hopefully the protracted wait for the new 'light will not be for much longer.

I hate it in the way it is implemented in most lights. However, there are exceptions, such as the manafont XM-L drop-in which remembers the last mode if turned off for more than 0.5 seconds, with this way of memory it is easy to stick to the mode you like all the time and only change when you need to, a truly great interface and so incredibly simple!

It really annoys me that many manufacturers decide to have memory based on it being on for a period of time, or off for a stupid amount like 5-10 seconds. 0.5 seconds and under though is a great interface to have.

I bought & returned a couple of Thrunite Neutron 2A's. I mainly returned them because they were too floody, but I also didn't like that the light had memory of the last mode when the head was loose. Not a deal breaker for me, but I'd prefer the light come on at its lowest setting every time like my Fenix LD20's and my Quarks.

I find it sometimes useful. One disadvantage is that when my TK45 remembers the 760 lumen mode, and I turn the light on in the middle of the night it just blind me.

Depends on intended use of the light.

Ideally it should be programmable like with the Armytek so you can decide what mode the light will come up first.

However the memory works in some cases - lets say you use the flashlight as a night table light, and once you selected "low" that's how it will stay due to memory.

Worst case is for tactical use - you would want it to always come up in turbo/high but the memory could bring up some "firefly" mode lol.

So I didn't vote....

Nap.

Hmmmm...... interesting comments so far, especially since I think it's one of the most valuable features and I actually search out lights that have it. I find that I use the same mode (medium) most of the time, and most lights either come on in high or low...... so without mode memory I'm out of luck.

Of course, the best solution is with a light like the NovaTac 120P (my favorite), which lets you customize the UI anyway you want. I can turn the memory on or off, and set the turn on mode to any of 21 levels..... or strobe..... and then set the 2nd and 3rd levels at any of the those 21 levels as well ..... with max output available at any time with only a push and hold.

That truly is the best of both worlds and precisely why I bought it. The only downside is that I haven't really found it necessary to buy to many more lights since I got the 120P...... it's just about perfect.

RedForest UK said:

It really annoys me that many manufacturers decide to have memory based on it being on for a period of time, or off for a stupid amount like 5-10 seconds. 0.5 seconds and under though is a great interface to have.

Click to expand...

I think a lot of this is technical limitation. Lights with parasitic drain are able to work with "time off" as a variable, but lights without it don't have a hope.

Say you have a light with a switch. You turn the switch off and power is instantly lost to all the computer components inside. Because the power is off, the clock stops running. This means your light has no way to tell how long has passed between the loss of power and the next time it turns on. The light has no way to tell if it was off for 2 seconds or 2 days.

When programming a memory mode in a light with no parasitic drain, you can only work with the time that the light is on because while there is power, the clock is running and you can tell how much time has elapsed.

I'm in favor of parasitic drain myself, but a lot of lights (like the venerable P60 dropin) were never designed with parasitic drain in mind and so they are forced to use the clunkier memory method.

Yes. I like it. When I'm using the light inside the house, I want it to come on low. When I turn it off and back on, I still want it to come on low. If I'm outside in a camp site however, I want the light to come on medium or high every time I fire it up without having to scroll through modes.

Of course, I've grown really used to the zebralight interface where I can get to low or high immediately (and medium with just a double click) but that's another story.

I prefer the infinite adjustment ring however I also prefer memory to starting in low mode. I always like to start in max super boost turbo mode.

My favorite interface is I believe called a Shark driver. It is in a nodded 2D Mag with an MC-e.
bump the switch and it comes on bright. Push and hold a second and it comes on dim. In either case hold down the switch to ramp.

But that is a big light!

For pocket carry I have many small lights. PWM is the deal breaker. But I settled on the Fenix P2D as my pocket light because it has a superb interface! Click-low. Bump-brighter. Bump-even brighter.
Rarely even see SOS of Strobe.

nope its annoying

I'm not too fond of lights that remember the last setting. I got a SWM M10R just to try out a light with a selector ring and now prefer lights with that such rings.

Like others have said, it's good in some instances, and not in others. That's why flexible or programmable UI's are important to me. That's why I really like LiteFlux and Zebralight.

Geoff

My L-Mini II has mode memory, and I like it very much. If I am in the house, I usually put it back on the table in low, so I don't ruin my night vision. If I am out in the woods, I usually leave it on medium. I just received a Preon II today, and I have been playing with it. I like that it comes on low indoors, but wish it came on medium outdoors. Since I intend to treat the light as an EDC, this isn't a big deal to me, as I will most likely use the light 90%+ of the time indoors. However, when I walked back to my bike before riding home this evening, I was glad I had it, as low was plenty of light to put on my socks and velcro closed my bike shoes. If I am going on a hike, I would have a 18650 or 26650 light as primary, but I am envisioning modding the Preon II to a neutral tint and maybe hiking with it. It needs to prove its reliability first, though.

I think the key point here is choice. The user should be able to determine, to the finest detail, the UI of their light, including whether the light has mode memory. I think an indoors light is better always starting on low, while as GeoBruin described, a light that comes on in medium is preferred (by some) for the outdoors. But give me the freedom to decide, and I'm a happy camper through and through.


LEDAdd1ct