Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when taking a late night stroll to a store?

Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when taking a late night stroll to a store?

It's 1:30AM and you need to pickup some beer across the way. You have what can be
considered an officers duty light, as big as your forearm, and it is yieldingly bright.

Irrespective of looking like a lunatic, would you?

Am I going to get stopped and questioned?

[Insert dramatized pic]



(SST-90 2,210 lumen EagleTac MX25L2 depicted)

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Doubtful.

I carry my primary light clipped to my gun belt extremely conspicuously in broad daylight.

And, to be honest, I couldn't care less about what others think about it.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

I've never been stopped and questioned for carrying a big flashlight. And I am considered to be a suspicious looking character.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

enomosiki said:

Doubtful.

I carry my primary light clipped to my gun belt extremely conspicuously in broad daylight.

And, to be honest, I couldn't care less about what others think about it.

Click to expand...

I'm talking about a BIG light.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Overkill? - No. I sometimes carry an 18" Ebay 75w HID when walking with my family around the suburb.

Legal? - Please check with your local law enforcement.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

ledmitter_nli said:

I'm talking about a BIG light.

Click to expand...

Nope. Still not an overkill.

Used to carry these as my EDC on my belt, in holsters and pockets;


Never had any problems.

Now, if you were to replace your EagleTac with something like, say, a TK70, you'd draw some attention.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Here the light that is most prudent to carry at night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkkU0UO3sek

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

I read somewhere on here "There is no such thing as overkill. Ther is kill and no kill." I'd say that's 100% true about a tool you carry to actually use. When it comes to carrying stuff just-in-case, I'm more of the common sense type: do you need to make an extra effort to carry it around? If yes, then I'd call that overkill. Personally I normally do my night runs with one or two or twelve single CR123 lights.

Can you pass for a lunatic for carrying that around? Some people might think you are, but then again we all are lunatics to those people anyways.

Can you get arrested because you carry a flashlight? If you can't get arrested for carrying a hammer or a baseball bat where you're going, then no. A flashlight is just a tool unlike a knife or a gun. The police could still ask what you're doing out of curiosity, but they usually have much better to do unless they're looking for a suspect. If you're trespassing, then I'd say you definitely can get arrested. I recently had to take thinking time myself to realise that because flashlights are not seen often in public doesn't make them a dangerous item, just unusual.

OP: did you take that picture BEFORE or AFTER drinking the beer? LOL Still, it's a nice picture.

Enomosiki: wow, I would definitely want to call all that overkill, but depends on how badly you needed all those.

HighlanderNorth: THAT'S a pocket EDC - more LED's than lumens I remember that one from a while ago. I wonder how big the battery compartment and fans would have to be to make one with 500 XM-L's.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

^^ I live in a city so there is riff raff here and there. Just like to carry something a bit more business like.

That pic was really a brief photochop of something I found on Flickr.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

ledmitter_nli said:

^^ I live in a city so there is riff raff here and there. Just like to carry something a bit more business like.

That pic was really a brief photochop of something I found on Flickr.

Click to expand...

You might want to check the local law on self-defense, but from my past research non-weapon objects won't normally get you into (much) more trouble for using them as a self-defense tool unless your opponent is unarmed. If that goes in Canada, I doubt the law is tougher in individual states (with one or two possible exceptions.)

I thought it was weird that the hand in the picture was so clear compared with the rest. Nice job, though... really looks like drunken vision

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Cataract said:

You might want to check the local law on self-defense, but from my past research non-weapon objects won't normally get you into (much) more trouble for using them as a self-defense tool unless your opponent is unarmed. If that goes in Canada, I doubt the law is tougher in individual states (with one or two possible exceptions.)

I thought it was weird that the hand in the picture was so clear compared with the rest. Nice job, though... really looks like drunken vision

Click to expand...

High-powered flashlights are considered as less-than-lethal weapon in some jurisdictions.

There's a huge grey area regarding that in NY. Any objects that are used to inflict physical harm will be considered as dangerous weapons by law. This means that you can use a backscratcher to smack someone in the head and it will end up being used against you in the court. The difference is whether if you were using it in self-defense or not.

As long as you act in self-defense using the appropriate level of response, you'll be fine.

And, as always, if it boils down to having to defend yourself, do so, but make sure to seek a cop or file a police report at the earliest opportunity. If you fend off an assailant but do nothing to report it afterwards, and the assailant files the report first with his version of the events, and should there be no witnesses or recordings of the event unfolding, then you will be at a severe disadvantage at court. He got his word out first, and you will be at a severe disadvantage having to defend yourself against his story, not the other way around.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Given a choice I would rather have overkill than underkill!

It is only overkill if your light prevents you from carrying enough beer home!!!

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

enomosiki said:

High-powered flashlights are considered as less-than-lethal weapon in some jurisdictions.

There's a huge grey area regarding that in NY. Any objects that are used to inflict physical harm will be considered as dangerous weapons by law. This means that you can use a backscratcher to smack someone in the head and it will end up being used against you in the court. The difference is whether if you were using it in self-defense or not.

As long as you act in self-defense using the appropriate level of response, you'll be fine.

And, as always, if it boils down to having to defend yourself, do so, but make sure to seek a cop or file a police report at the earliest opportunity. If you fend off an assailant but do nothing to report it afterwards, and the assailant files the report first with his version of the events, and should there be no witnesses or recordings of the event unfolding, then you will be at a severe disadvantage at court. He got his word out first, and you will be at a severe disadvantage having to defend yourself against his story, not the other way around.

Click to expand...

I think carrying it is more for deterrence. And if the beam goes on an approaching "pest" that's a few yards away, that should at the least throw a wrench in their OODA thinking loop, that is, if the club sized "apparatus" hasn't done so already.

As an FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Where I live, there's nothing wrong with carrying a light at night, but you're likely to be questioned as to what you're doing by the police. Naturally, if you're using the light as a tool to light your way, it's not a problem. If you say you're carrying it for self defence, then it's a weapon. That's bad. All in the wording...

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Well actually, I carried my 3D Maglite with me to every store I shopped at in the aftermath of Hurricane Issac. The lights in the stores weren't fully on yet and some of these stores were in dangerous parts of my town. In other words I was using it as an illumination instrument but also a self defense weapon. I was never harassed by anyone (LEOs and criminals alike) but I definitely felt safer.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

matt4350 said:

Where I live, there's nothing wrong with carrying a light at night, but you're likely to be questioned as to what you're doing by the police. Naturally, if you're using the light as a tool to light your way, it's not a problem. If you say you're carrying it for self defence, then it's a weapon. That's bad. All in the wording...

Click to expand...

Wonder how I could use wording to carry my 2 handed sword around :devil:
J/K Never mention you carry something for "self defence" to a police officer; that means you're looking for trouble to them.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Cataract said:

Wonder how I could use wording to carry my 2 handed sword around :devil:
J/K Never mention you carry something for "self defence" to a police officer; that means you're looking for trouble to them.

Click to expand...

LOL - "Officer, I carry this to disable myself in the event of being attacked, to attempt to minimize the possibility that that my attacker might be accidentally injured...."

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

TEEJ said:

LOL - "Officer, I carry this to disable myself in the event of being attacked, to attempt to minimize the possibility that that my attacker might be accidentally injured...."

Click to expand...

You can also use that line with a 10"+ flashlight. "It also has the benefit that I can blind myself, insuring I cannot identify my asssailants or even give a rough description."
That would definitely pass in a Canadian court if you can demonstrate without hesitation.

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

no problem with that size light. I proudly "strap up "with several duty EDC LED lights (strong side carry). In Maryland that is about all most law abiding citizens can "carry"

Re: Is it overkill to carry your 10" (light!) when making a late night walk to a stor

Every time I take a walk at night I have my Eagletac T20C2 clipped to the inside of my pocket, outside if I have a jacket. No one has ever noticed and I don't feel stupid at all carrying it.
occasionally when it is cold enough to wear a heavy coat I even carry my M3C4.