Blind a group for $175 or less

Just for fun, what would you recommend for a handheld light that could overwhelm one or more people inside of 30 ft with blinding light? I could imagine this useful in an airsoft game. Cost factor is <$175.

MightyBright said:

Just for fun, what would you recommend for a handheld light that could overwhelm one or more people inside of 30 ft with blinding light? I could imagine this useful in an airsoft game. Cost factor is <$175.

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It would to a point depend on if you were surrounded by them, or, they were all right in front of you in a tight group.


(To make the math easy, we can call the ~ 30' ~ 10 meters.)

Essentially, whatever light the flashlight can generate can be more spread out, to cover a wider area, or, more concentrated, to only light up a smaller area.



What this all boils down to is that you'd need to specify something like how wide the beam NEEDS to be at 10 meters...in order to make a guess as to the other specs, and, then, a light WITH those specs.

I don't think you should be posting about intentionally blinding people.

Ryp said:

I don't think you should be posting about intentionally blinding people.

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I think, in the context of an airsoft game, he means with glare, as a temporary measure....not actually destroying their vision permanently.

The same way a LEO might talk about using HIS light to "blind a perp" during an arrest, etc.

TEEJ said:

I think, in the context of an airsoft game, he means with glare, as a temporary measure....not actually destroying their vision permanently.

The same way a LEO might talk about using HIS light to "blind a perp" during an arrest, etc.

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Yes, just to disorient someone temporarily.

Hmm, maybe 20 or 25 degrees?

MightyBright said:

Hmm, maybe 20 or 25 degrees?

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I was thinking more along the lines of a width in feet or meters at that range?

Oh, ok. Maybe 10-12 ft dispersion at 30 ft distance. I could go lower dispersion, too.

If I use ~10' wide at ~30' away, that's about 19º beam angle anyway, which is VERY wide for a hot spot.

Most hot spots are closer to 10º or less....but that would ~ cut your beam width in half.


So, you need a "wall of light" type light.

You'd want a ~ 20º beam angle (VERY Floody) AND ~ 90 k cd, a tough combo.


If they are all night adapted, you can get away with as little as a tenth of that output though, as it takes far less light to glare out someone's vision if they are fully dilated, etc, to start with.



I'd look at something like this:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?385627-WTS-MiniVN-Excellent-Budget-Flooder

Monitoring this thread closely. Using this premise for 'game purposes" is one thing. Otherwise, this thread will be closed.

Bill

Sounds to me you are using your light as a weapon and although it is in fun I cannot really go along with misusing high powered lights however innocent your intentions are.

mcnair55 said:

Sounds to me you are using your light as a weapon and although it is in fun I cannot really go along with misusing high powered lights however innocent your intentions are.

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I have to concur with mcnair55.

MightyBright, I see you're a new member here, and we're happy to have you, but on the whole, I think it's fair to say that we tend to discourage the use of flashlights for temporarily "blinding/disorienting" unsuspecting people "for fun" (as opposed to informing them before the game begins that you will be temporarily blinding them during play).

We've also had folks say they wanted to use their bright new lights as a way to deal with loud talking people in movie theaters, etc., These are NOT good uses for your flashlight.

These new high powered LED lights need to be treated with respect, and yes, they really can cause serious eye damage if used improperly.

Of course many lights include a disorienting strobe, often advertised as a way to fend of attackers, and we've had many threads discussing the real-world merits of these functions, but that's not what you're talking about.

I would simply ask you to think about what you are considering doing to your friends before you do it.

P.S. It's quite possible I'm just being an old fuddy duddy, and if so, I apologize. I also recommend not running with scissors .

Thanks for input guys. Let's just close it.

Bill