What exactly do you guys use your 100k+ lux superthrowers for?

There are some things in life that I don't understand and take fun in figuring out. But some other things remain genuinely confusing.

I was looking at one of the recent discussions on throwers, with photos added, and some of them appear downright bizarre. For instance, can you easily identify what is being lit up here:



(Taken from this post.)

That's probably one of the more extreme examples, and this picture is actually really funny to me—I love how the flashlight is claimed to be amazing and powerful and whatnot but at the end of the day I can't even make anything out of what is being lit up!

Still, the question stands: you people with superthrowers like the Deft or Varapower or TN31S or anything else like that—what practical purposes are you using these lights for, and could any of them be adequately served by floodier beam?

Police work / Search and rescue etc

Do you use it as a part of your police/search & rescue work? Why wouldn't a multi-LED or a HID spotlight serve the purpose better?

for annoying annoying people

Nothing much different from buying a 280hp car when actually 70hp is enough for 99, if not 100%, of what's needed!

moozooh said:

Do you use it as a part of your police/search & rescue work? Why wouldn't a multi-LED or a HID spotlight serve the purpose better?

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Yes I use it for police work and that includes SAR/Marine etc etc. For example searching between houses without lighting up peoples windows. Endless scenarios where you dont want to blind others with a flood, pointing things out to other officers and the list goes on. HID is simply not as well suited for lots of reasons. What do you mean multi LED? I carry a flood as well like a t60cs.

I don't use them, but I can think of a couple uses for them.

If you are on a boat in complete darkness and are afraid you might run on to the rocks on the shore, you can get out your trusty thrower and the ship's telescope and try to see the land. This, of course, would be primarily for people who lived before the time of radar.

And for night hunters who want to 'freeze' their targets before shooting them with their scoped rifles at night at a great distance away, in the black of night. We're not sure how they know the target is there before they turn on the light, but I don't claim to understand all of life's imponderables.
Around here, hunting at night is illegal, but it might not be illegal everywhere.
That's a potential use for it.

And of course, the number one use for them is to measure the lux output and post it here on CPF, and put the light in the dresser drawer for the rest of its life, and possibly take it out once or twice a year when you have a party, so your friends can say, Ooooh, WoW! That goes a long way!".

But everyone has a right to buy any light they want and use it any way they want to.
Some lights just are more useful in every day life than others.

I have actually wondered what others use their lights for many times....... I don't collect lights......but I do go through quite a few via testing,damaging or losing them.

Most of us buy and use these throwers simply because they are cool. We play with them just for the fun of it. Who cares if they are practical? When I bought my $300+SR90 I knew it would never be used for any real purpose other than for me getting my jollies. And it does that nicely! I do have many small practical lights that I do edc. But 50% of my lights are simply too big, too powerful, whatever, to be used as a "flashlight". I have fun taking those powerhouses out and just shooting at trees or whatever, while admiring the visible beam or the serious amount of flooding light that particular light is putting out. I also have just as much fun testing these lights for lumens, throw, etc.. To me flashlights are just a hobby that also CAN have a practical side.
Simply put, many, likely most members buy these serious lights just because they want a bad-arse light that they can play with or simply admire. Something unique, something that can demonstrate light power through brute force. We get them just because we want them.

rdrfronty said:

Most of us buy and use these throwers simply because they are cool. We play with them just for the fun of it. Who cares if they are practical? When I bought my $300+SR90 I knew it would never be used for any real purpose other than for me getting my jollies. And it does that nicely! I do have many small practical lights that I do edc. But 50% of my lights are simply too big, too powerful, whatever, to be used as a "flashlight". I have fun taking those powerhouses out and just shooting at trees or whatever, while admiring the visible beam or the serious amount of flooding light that particular light is putting out. I also have just as much fun testing these lights for lumens, throw, etc.. To me flashlights are just a hobby that also CAN have a practical side.
Simply put, many, likely most members buy these serious lights just because they want a bad-arse light that they can play with or simply admire. Something unique, something that can demonstrate light power through brute force. We get them just because we want them.

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I think I would be this way if I didn't have such practical use for them. A good tool is something that I really respect. Take HDS for example....the quality of those lights are amazing and I find that just holding one is pretty neat, I see it as a piece of art that is made around function. I haven't jumped into the olight throwers only because of size but damn I have thought about many many times.

Better to have light and not need it.....than need light and not have it......

I use my deft-edc (<100k) to write on walls. No reason I can't dream of something more powerful. Oh yea, that's not all I use it for. I find that the illuminated area matches nicely to the area your eyes can focus on anyways. No need to pump extra light where you don't need it.


IMGP2766 by ectro, on Flickr

jvc55349 said:

For example searching between houses without lighting up peoples windows. Endless scenarios where you dont want to blind others with a flood, pointing things out to other officers and the list goes on. HID is simply not as well suited for lots of reasons. What do you mean multi LED? I carry a flood as well like a t60cs.

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Ah ok, all of that makes sense indeed. I knew there had to be something to it that I missed, though of course I also knew the main point voiced by rdrfronty and twl about throw being a goal in itself. Thanks for educating me.

And by multi-LED I meant lights with more than one LED (such as the Olight X6), as they often throw pretty far as well, while also illuminating the surrounding area. But for cases like you described it would be counterproductive indeed.

twl said:

And for night hunters who want to 'freeze' their targets before shooting them with their scoped rifles at night at a great distance away, in the black of night. We're not sure how they know the target is there before they turn on the light, but I don't claim to understand all of life's imponderables.

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LOL! Yeah, I was thinking about it too at some point. Might as well use night vision goggles, seems more productive that way.

lightdelight said:

I use my deft-edc (<100k) to write on walls.

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Seriously, this must be the perfect use for this light. I'm very impressed!

Mooz,

Firstly, 200K lux is the old 100k lux. I wouldn't consider a full size light much of a thrower unless it at least that. But, how cool is it that we have, not short arc or HID, but LED lights that are doing this now! Come on, everybody here knows you don't need much more than a 5mm LED for most things. But I live on some open land and it can be nice to light up the wildlife to see what's out there. About a month ago, I had deer run across the decks and out into a field. When I went ouside they were already a couple hundred yards out. The light you linked to is the best thrower I've ever used. But, it's lego'd together with a VPT/DEFT. But since you're taking a 300.00 and a 400.00 light apart to use parts of each, I prefer just leaving the VPT and the DEFT as they are.

As far as being able to tell what you are actually seeing; well, deer are pretty distinctive with the glowing eyes that look at you then go back to eating. It's cool just to be able to see what's actually out there. I posted those pictures rather small for the comparison shots. Here it is bigger and then zoomed, and don't forget this is from 1,936 feet!

Control


VPT2 XPG-2 DEFT

Then Zoomed in...

Control Zoomed

VPT2 XPG-2 DEFT



No police SR or military uses here, just like them for the thrill of all that power and the occasional critter search in the fields. I love the multi-emitter lights too and I have a thread dedicated to lumen ouput, HERE, that I've been posting about these lights. But most of my lights are VaraPower lights and have 30-40 levels, so usually when you are outside I'll take a scan at full power then turn it down to 5 or 6 clicks up from the bottom.

I've heard of them being used for snipe hunting.

RBH said:

I've heard of them being used for snipe hunting.

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That too, might actually find them with one of these, lol:thinking:

Lighting up coyotes on the back acreage.

I just lit one up a few nights ago in the field behind my house at maybe 250 yards with my L3 K40.

Flight_Deck said:

Lighting up coyotes on the back acreage.

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Nothin but having fun and being amazed at what they can do. I realize there are those who do use them to some practical end, but it still surprises me how many try to justify really bright lights or crazy throwers by inventing uses for them. I'm a hobbyist. I do this because I enjoy it and I have the means. That' all.

I live on a deserted rd not far from a small city. People come in cars and wait for drug deliveries in front of my house. I shine my TK70 at them and they take off. They get the message.

I use mine mainly for having fun and impressing people, however it does have one practical use.

I often go camping at places where there is a long, open track leading to where everyone is camped. Some drivers like to approach the camp site with their headlights on Hi beam, thus dazzling all and sundry. I find a quick burst of focussed lumens reminds them to show a bit of consideration for everyone else :devil: Note that drivers "should" be driving slow in an area where people and dogs are wandering around willy nilly, so "should" be no danger of a blinded driver losing control after being dazzled by my light.

I have noticed I need to do less and less reminding these days.