The Theory of Smallness

I have a theory that in general, once a smaller flashlight is available at a given level of brightness, anything significantly larger becomes undesirable. There are two versions of the theory, one involving physical size, the other involving number of batteries the light takes. There are also lots of exceptions (one being the deliberate choice of a larger light to get longer runtime, another when a police officer chooses a large light for its secondary value as a weapon, and there are many more), but still I think the general rule holds.

For example, if someone had a 1-watt LED light in a Surefire E2E housing, then later a 1-watt LED light of equal brightness became available for a E1E housing, seems to me the person would prefer to carry the E1E light. In this case, both size difference and number of batteries (feed it one 123 cell, not two!) come into play.

The corollary of this theory for modders would be: if you're going to build a large flashlight, it had better be bright! In fact, brighter than anything already available that's smaller, unless you're specifically designing your light for some special need.

Think these musings make some sense, or am I out to lunch? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

If the modded E1E is as bright as the E2E, it would also have to run as long as the E2E to be considered a replacement 100% of the time. If I can get 4 hours from a modded E2E (DB400 & 1w LS maybe?) and perhaps only 1.5 or 2 from the modded E1E (BB400 & 1w LS maybe), I'd pick the E2E for extended-use situations.

Jon

no i definitely agree with you.

the smaller the light, the less space it takes up, and hopefully the less expensive it is to run it!

the only way i'd revert back to a larger light is if it had a beautiful balance and felt good carrying it.. (examples: the brinkmann rebel 2AA LED and the SL Luxeon. i luv the feel of these lights)

but after i open my Arc LS on Christmas i think there will be no going back unless i truly need something noticeably brighter.

and hopefully someone will develop a new battery with a much longer energy life and shelf life..

Milky,
What you say maybe true for us flashlight nuts, but I find that the general public doesn't care about size vs. brightness. I buy CR123 cells in quantities of no less than 25 at a time, as I'm sure a lot of us here do. Try to convince your father-in-law to do that when you give him a light! No way! They want familiar lights that use "D" cells, that's what I'm finding. I have made quite a few 1W LS MAG 2D with ZLT converters, mechanics and handymen love them for their brightness and whiteness. I sell the 2D's for $70, and have no complaints because all they have to do is feed them with a pair of "D's" every 10 hours or so. I tried it with Mini-mags, no one liked the fact that they only got 2 hours runtime. It's not a problem to me, as for AA's all I use is NiMH, and I have over a hundred cells to rotate. But, the average individual is not going to buy an expensive MAHA charger, and keep topping off the cells as they should. So, I guess it all depends on whether the owner of the light is a nut like us, or a typical person who just wants to reach for a Mag and have it work when they need it!
Rob

Your thoughts make sense. At least to a point. Your theory breaks down on runtime. I think it also breaks down on what I would refer to as "findability" for the light. Little lights are harder to find & easier to lose. It is easier to find a big light on a shelf than a little light lost in a drawer. It is also a lot harder to lose a 2D Mag than an E1.

For most people I think price is the most important, then size, then amount of light. For flashaholics, it is probably amount of light, size, then price. I guess we have our priorities backwards.

Within this venue I have to agree with Scott/Milky, because with Flashoholics all practicality goes out the window. They want extremems most of the time (longest run time or smallest or brighetst or, God Forbid, a combo of ALL THREE). Sure, we each have our practical lights, I have a rechargeable PolyStinger for work and a couple of DD 1W/3W big Mags that run on common Cs and Ds (AND they are bright and long-thorwing as heck, too), but there is also a raft of lights I have in my "flashlight bookcase" that I feel guilty not activating every once in a while if for nothing else than to keep the batteries from leaking!

Nothing practical!

The opposite is true of my (non-Flashoholic) friends and family, and among whom probably represent the majority of the world's flashlight-procuring habits, and if I had to predict which company would enjoy profitability and longevity into the foreseeable future, even starting from today taking all modern advancements such as LEDs into account, I would have to say -- Maglite!

For me in day-to-day usage, Smaller/brighter rules and run time isn't an issue. I carry 3 lights: my CR2 R2@750mA (At least to start, and with 2-3 hrs of "moon") an Arc AAA converted to N when I don't want to mess up my night vision, and an underdriven LS about the same size for in between. I keep spare batts in the truck.

Larry

Scott,

I agree in theory to a point and certainly in "carry", small is better. In use I think there is an optimal "small" size of about 5 to 6" of length for the average hand. We have all pretty much agreed on the laws of physics in that larger gives you more run time and tighter beams. If these issues are of importance, shrinking a size goes against you.

- Don

An example from my perspective:

I like the size of my E2e and L4. If I could get identical runtime, brightness, and throw from an E1e, I would be inclined to stick with my E2e. The E1 is small in my hand and not as easily operated.

But turn it around a bit and compare the 6P to the E2e and I'll take the E2e even though the brightness and throw may not be as good as the 6P.

Aesthetics and ergonomics play a very large part in my choices for EDC and sometimes the smaller light is not the simplest solution.

I second the last two opinions. Ease of activation is an issue, and unless you're going for keychain lights, there is a certain size that is too large to activate with a clickie or push switch...

StoneDog, like I said, there are many exceptions. On the other hand, there are going to be a lot of cases where that extra runtime isn't necessary. And due to the nature of the regulation circuit (if any), in many cases the extra voltage from the second cell will simply be wasted, and no additional runtime results... or there's a little extra runtime, but not double as the light operates at lower efficiency. And I could just as easily carry a spare 123 cell with me, giving me the same or more runtime as the hypothetical E2E in my example.

BlindedByTheLite, you're getting an Arc LS? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

robk, I should mention that I didn't mean specifically to pitch 123 cells, I think the same trends hold with lights using any particular cell configuration, like 1aa vs. 2aa lights, 3aaa vs. 2aaa, etc. To be honest, I didn't think about the implications of movements BETWEEN battery types (like 2aa to 123) much at all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif As for the non-flashaholics, well, I think some of them will do the same thing, but you're right, many won't, with the key reason being that they just don't think about their lights... at all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Cool about your little market of quality 2D lights for the workmen! I wonder how they'd react to a 1D light that ran for 5-6 hours? Actually, I'd love to hear more about how you got into this niche. PM me with your story if you like! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

jhereg, I considered the runtime issue one of the exceptions to the rule, mainly because I think it's only an issue if you need the additional runtime, which often you don't. To take out the trash or look around my yard runtime's not really an issue, but if I were taking an hour walk in the dark, I could see it becoming more important.

But my ideas aren't necessarily the right ones! Just wanted to stimulate a little discussion on the topic, and discussion we got! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif I'm learning from all this too.

MR Bulk, I'll take care of some of those flashlights in the bookcase if you like. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

This whole idea came to me when I realized that my single 123 E1E with lambda copper pill mod has become the first light I reach for to take a walk outside. I have other good choices like a MiniMag I modded with MM+Q3 and (gasp!) an LGI Classic, so I wondered why I didn't seem to grab those? On the other hand, why am I so happy to take my MR-X outside, when it's a freakin' 2D Maglite!?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

Bottom line: size matters! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

McGizmo, I would classify the tighter beam in the "brighter" category, thereby justifying the larger size, even though in reality tighter doesn't necessarily mean brighter. As for the 5-6" optimal length, for me it's more a matter of being able to hold and activate the light one-handed, and at some point on the smallness scale it's simply not possible. But size also applies in width of the light, and to a lesser extent even in the weight of the light. But your points are well taken! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Milky-
I'll PM you tomorrow, I'm too tired to get into details!
Rob