Flashlight diffuser, cone vs filter?

Hello, just wondering what the difference between using a cone vs a filter to diffuse light (no colour cone/filter) would be, and which one would be more useful most of the time.

Specifically I'm going to go with the appropriate cone or filter to put on my Nitecore EC2.

I figure a cone would make it lantern-esque?

A filter would just be more floody (and also more compact to carry)?

I'm leaning towards the filter because it is more compact, and am not looking to use my flashlight Tomb Raider glow stick style anyway, but just want to make sure my logic is sound.

Sounds like you're right on the money.

Norm

A cone is great as a beacon or traffic wand, but for general purpose use it makes it difficult not to blind yourself.

I have several of Fenix diffusers for different models. These are useful but are short cones and actually dazzle. I would prefer Fenix filters like Surefire F04 filter. This works excellent to E1L, E2L, E2L AA and E2DL and do not spread out the light around, but only diffuses the beam.

For handheld use, I prefer a filter. The cone style of diffuser does have advantages in some situations. When camping, the cone can be quite useful. I hang a flashlight by the lanyard from a tree branch, lantern hook, etc. The cone diffuser works well at distributing the light around the area where the light is hanging. In the tent, the cone diffuser spreads the light throughout the tent.