ledmitter_nli
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but outside? You can't flood illuminate the sky.
So why do you prefer a mule?
So why do you prefer a mule?
Why a mule and not a reflector or optics? I can see indoor flood for 180 degree use,
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ledmitter_nli
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I concur and understand your point.
But a mule is very inefficient in meeting that point. A lot of the emitter lumens are lost bouncing around the inside of the bezel. Wouldn't an optic be much better?
That's why mules have the LED located toward the front of the light. Even LEDs with wide viewing angle (take XM-L's 125°, for example) will have all of its beam projected, without being lost inside the head.
ledmitter_nli
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That makes sense. I tried taking the lens off a quad nichia and half the OTF lumens where lost. Nichias too close to the edges. A single centered nichia's cone angle would be better.
skeeterbait
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There are times when 180 degrees of light are important. Your peripheral vision is nearly 180 degrees and it is surprising how important that peripheral vision is to balance in difficult terrain. I have a headlamp that is nearly 180 degrees and is specialized for cave exploration. But even for traversing difficult terrain outdoors it is comforting. It can assist others in your party lighting their area also. True the light cast from 10-2 oclock is probably wasted in some cases but in a wooded environment it can assist with avoiding overhead branches. Once you spread your lumens out over half a sphere it reduces percieved brightness though so it takes a good bit of power to be useful.
An incan bulb is sending out light in a sphere. An LED projects forward, not to its rear too, etc.
A real mule is positioning the LED forward of a dish, etc, so you can get 180º emission.
As described, if you burst into a room with a TIR, and sweep it all over the room trying to piece together what's out there through the moral equivalent of looking through a paper towel tube...you might got shot a few times by the guys who are not in your paper towel tube yet. The guys not in your tube also KNOW what you DO see, as THEY SEE your beam, and that circle of light sweeping about too. If its NOT on THEM, they know they are not seen, and whatever they are doing, you can't see.
If you burst into the room and its as though the lights were on...you see the WHOLE room at once...And - THEY ALL know you can see them.
If moving fast down a trail for example, where there might be roots, snakes, branches, etc...a focused light beam is showing you a little at a time, and you don't have visual references for balance, awareness of roots/snakes/branches, at the same time, you are constantly switching between them. If you have a floody light, you can see where your feet ARE, as well as the branches, roots, snakes, and the bend coming up plus balance references, etc...its more like daylight.
As mentioned, the downside to having daylight with you at night, is that it requires more power and a potentially larger form factor, etc....to get it. It does WORK much better though.
PS - Flood doesn't equal bounce lighting.
Pointing ANY light at the ceiling can light a room from the reflected light, with the DEGREE of light it provides of course benefiting from more lumens, etc.
A mule lights the entire room up WITHOUT having to aim it at the ceiling.
A real mule is positioning the LED forward of a dish, etc, so you can get 180º emission.
As described, if you burst into a room with a TIR, and sweep it all over the room trying to piece together what's out there through the moral equivalent of looking through a paper towel tube...you might got shot a few times by the guys who are not in your paper towel tube yet. The guys not in your tube also KNOW what you DO see, as THEY SEE your beam, and that circle of light sweeping about too. If its NOT on THEM, they know they are not seen, and whatever they are doing, you can't see.
If you burst into the room and its as though the lights were on...you see the WHOLE room at once...And - THEY ALL know you can see them.
If moving fast down a trail for example, where there might be roots, snakes, branches, etc...a focused light beam is showing you a little at a time, and you don't have visual references for balance, awareness of roots/snakes/branches, at the same time, you are constantly switching between them. If you have a floody light, you can see where your feet ARE, as well as the branches, roots, snakes, and the bend coming up plus balance references, etc...its more like daylight.
As mentioned, the downside to having daylight with you at night, is that it requires more power and a potentially larger form factor, etc....to get it. It does WORK much better though.
PS - Flood doesn't equal bounce lighting.
Pointing ANY light at the ceiling can light a room from the reflected light, with the DEGREE of light it provides of course benefiting from more lumens, etc.
A mule lights the entire room up WITHOUT having to aim it at the ceiling.
Last edited:
tam17
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I don't have any need to own a mule when I can EDC a flashlight with decent throw and a 2-layer high translucency diffuser film inside the battery tube. Conversion takes about 15 seconds and the result is flawless, uniform 150 deg. wide beam without a hotspot. Yes it's cheap, but works just fine.
Cheers
Cheers
ledmitter_nli
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An incan bulb is sending out light in a sphere. An LED projects forward, not to its rear too, etc.
A real mule is positioning the LED forward of a dish, etc, so you can get 180º emission.
As described, if you burst into a room with a TIR, and sweep it all over the room trying to piece together what's out there through the moral equivalent of looking through a paper towel tube...you might got shot a few times by the guys who are not in your paper towel tube yet. The guys not in your tube also KNOW what you DO see, as THEY SEE your beam, and that circle of light sweeping about too. If its NOT on THEM, they know they are not seen, and whatever they are doing, you can't see.
If you burst into the room and its as though the lights were on...you see the WHOLE room at once...And - THEY ALL know you can see them.
If moving fast down a trail for example, where there might be roots, snakes, branches, etc...a focused light beam is showing you a little at a time, and you don't have visual references for balance, awareness of roots/snakes/branches, at the same time, you are constantly switching between them. If you have a floody light, you can see where your feet ARE, as well as the branches, roots, snakes, and the bend coming up plus balance references, etc...its more like daylight.
As mentioned, the downside to having daylight with you at night, is that it requires more power and a potentially larger form factor, etc....to get it. It does WORK much better though.
PS - Flood doesn't equal bounce lighting.
Pointing ANY light at the ceiling can light a room from the reflected light, with the DEGREE of light it provides of course benefiting from more lumens, etc.
A mule lights the entire room up WITHOUT having to aim it at the ceiling.
hehe. pointing a bright light at the ceiling was definitely my biggest WtF moment in beginning flashaholicism.
oo: Who knew such a mundane concept would be so "illuminating" Still prefer an optic of some type to direct some of that peripheral lighting forward.
