What are the reasons for carrying low-lumen lights?

vph0107

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
45
Location
MN
Hey guys! Looking at this forum, I'm seeing a lot of people who EDC lights that max out at 200, even 100 lumens. What's the benefit of it? Please help me understand, I'm by no means a devoted user of hotrods and pocket torches that give a good 5 seconds of fame, but I can't realistically see how 200 lumens does much. I usually go for something around 500 or 600 lumens to increase my visibility. Even with high CRI, I'm not entirely sold on lower levels of output. What am I missing?
 

nbp

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
10,970
Location
Wisconsin
Well, the dark isn't any darker than it was a couple of years ago when 200 lms was the best we could get. :) For many, it's still plenty for our daily usages, especially if you live in a rural area without much light pollution.

Also, A lot of us like older limited run and custom stuff that isn't available now, and they often were lower output due to the tech at the time, and we like the lights too much to abandon them for a whiz bang new trophy wife. :)
 

richardparker

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 16, 2018
Messages
38
Following. I have also been trying to crack this. I am also just a fan of nice flashlights and do not have near the understanding as many here. But I don't understand mcgizmo sapphire being 5 lumens and that kind of thing. I also agree doesn't have to be a rocket and appreciate good run time and think 500-600 lumens is a sweet spot For most tasks.
 

archimedes

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
15,780
Location
CONUS, top left

vph0107

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
45
Location
MN
Well, the dark isn't any darker than it was a couple of years ago when 200 lms was the best we could get. :) For many, it's still plenty for our daily usages, especially if you live in a rural area without much light pollution.

Also, A lot of us like older limited run and custom stuff that isn't available now, and they often were lower output due to the tech at the time, and we like the lights too much to abandon them for a whiz bang new trophy wife. :)


I definitely understand that sentiment. It's like a faithful companion, right? Customs sure are addicting. Don't get me wrong, I love the McGizmo Haiku, and it certainly is useful in a pinch, but I can't see it as a heavy duty light. That is, of course, heavy in terms of illumination, because it certainly can withstand just about any sort of physical trauma.
 

richardparker

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 16, 2018
Messages
38
Great thread, and please know I mean no disrespect to the amazing makers on this forum. But the OP wasn't saying a single output level, he asked about the MAX level. Even if you mostly use your light at under 50, aren't there times lighting a room or walking outside you would want option for higher max?
 

vph0107

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
45
Location
MN
Everyone's needs are different. Although addressing a slight variation on this topic, my thread linked below contains quite a bit of useful discussion and thoughts on "optimal" output ...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?415773-If-you-had-to-choose-only-a-single-output

Might be worth a look ? :shrug:

To specifically address OP's question, most of my flashlight use occurs at well under 100 lumens, and often less than 50 lm.


Thanks for that link, it does help me see some different perspectives. I guess I could see the lower outputs being great in smaller indoor spaces, and just in general for their reliability and run times. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I'm missing details when looking with a 50 to 100 lumen light. Of course, using the higher rated lights causes things to appear overwhelming and over tinted, but even so, I can feel like I'm seeing the whole picture if that makes sense? Do you feel like you're seeing plenty with the lower lumens, or is it more like you have an adequate view? I understand lux is also an important factor, and not just lumens.
 

archimedes

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
15,780
Location
CONUS, top left
Great thread, and please know I mean no disrespect to the amazing makers on this forum. But the OP wasn't saying a single output level, he asked about the MAX level. Even if you mostly use your light at under 50, aren't there times lighting a room or walking outside you would want option for higher max?

Yes I understand that, but if most of my EDC flashlight needs can be met with a single output of around 30 lumens, then lights with 500 - 1000 lumens are not especially necessary in most cases.

What does one give up or trade off, for those massively higher outputs ? Even if they are multi-mode, runtime and efficiency may be impacted. Quality of light may be lessened, as high-output emitters tend to be cooler in tint and lower in color rendering. Very high output lights often include more "modes" and complex user interfaces. They may cost more, or build quality may suffer, as heat becomes a bigger issue. They may be larger and heavier. They often require multiple cells to power, which can increase safety risks. They may be less flexible in choice of battery chemistry. Components may be more stressed by the output, reducing reliability and durability. I'm sure there are other potential issues, but those were simply the first few that came to mind.
 

bykfixer

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
20,351
Location
Dust in the Wind
Before LED's the typical flashlight put out a lot less lumens yet that was good enough.

I see it as having cars that can go 200mph while the speed limit is 70 or less. So for some 0-60 in 6 seconds is important. Some feel 0-60 eventually is good enough. So regarding lower output flashlights many times 100 or less lumens is plenty. Take a SureFire 6P for example. In it's day it was a very useful light for most needs. And like NBP said, dark hasn't gotten any darker.

For me the about only time I need more than a couple hundred lumens is when I'm surrounded with light pollution and all of its crazy shadows. Recently my work had me on Main St USA and my 650 lumen light struggled to adequately light objects more than a couple dozen feet. Tonight, out in the country the low setting on my SureFire G2x Pro is plenty of light to walk around with. So I'm actually using a 1972 2C flashlight the most. But I prefer a throwey beam so that seems brighter than a pure flooder as well.
 

idleprocess

Flashaholic
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
7,197
Location
decamped
Hey guys! Looking at this forum, I'm seeing a lot of people who EDC lights that max out at 200, even 100 lumens. What's the benefit of it? Please help me understand, I'm by no means a devoted user of hotrods and pocket torches that give a good 5 seconds of fame, but I can't realistically see how 200 lumens does much. I usually go for something around 500 or 600 lumens to increase my visibility. Even with high CRI, I'm not entirely sold on lower levels of output. What am I missing?

I've had an obsolete and well-worn Fenix LD01 on my keychain for a decade or so. I believe it peaks at 85 lumens, which is a nice step up from its predecessor - whose designation I forget - that sported a Luxeon I LED that might have produced an entire 30 lumens. I've contemplated a replacement - and in the AAA formfactor one can likely get much brighter with 10440s - but its output is sufficient for my keychain EDC needs.
 

ampdude

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
Messages
4,584
Location
USA
I still carry a Surefire E2e most of the time. It's not the quantity of light, but the quality of light that I prefer. 60 lumens is the average output with 80-100 starting out on fresh batteries. It's usually plenty! A lot of times I use the MN02 lamp assembly which reduces the average output to 25 lumens and this is usually enough light as well.
 

Katherine Alicia

Enlightened
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
836
Location
Central UK.
some of My uses (reasons) are reading a book, getting up in the night, looking inside other flashlights and things (you don`t want high lumens for that!), a night light, finding dropped things in the cinema, using lots of low lumen incan mules instead of candles for having a bath.

these are just a few of my low lumen uses, they may not seem much but actually constitute over 95% of my runtime, very rare I use High Lumens for anything, and I`v got them to use! ;)
 

scout24

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
Messages
8,869
Location
Penn's Woods
The benefits? Usually size and runtime, as mentioned. I find outdoors at night the temptation may be to use more light than I need, just because it's fun. To paraphrase Ron White, "I didn't know how many lumens I was going to need to see over there, but I knew how many I was going to use!" I certainly have lights for that, and enjoy them. Running out to the car to grab the phone charger I forgot? Low lumens will do. Making sure the chickens got locked in at night? Same. I, personally, also don't enjoy drawing too much attention if I can help it.
 

ma tumba

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 7, 2013
Messages
1,344
Location
Russia
I think the answer largely depends on 2 things: 1) how far you want to reach and 2) the amount of ambient light.

In a park where they run some sparse lights I need a few tens of lumens of flood light to watch my step and at least a thousand lumens of throw if I want to spot a hare or a squirrel. For now I am happy with an incand M6 with a 20W axial bulb (600lm perhaps) but I would be happier to have twice as much
 

Lynx_Arc

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 1, 2004
Messages
11,212
Location
Tulsa,OK
If you get used to a certain amount of light having more than what you are used to costing more and requiring more often battery changes isn't necessarily more attractive. I love having a light that on turbo gets up around 1000 lumens but for working on things and dropping the light and getting it all dirty and scratched up having a very sturdy inexpensive light that does 100-200 lumens is perfectly fine. I just bought a cheap $8 2AA plastic light at HD the other day that is about 50 lumens because it was cheap and plastic and I don't have to worry about it getting damaged or the cheap alkaleaks destroying it and it is waterproof. I bought the light to sit around waiting to be used in my garage where I am rough on lights I wouldn't trust a nice powerful $30+ light with multiple modes to stand up to the abuse and get lost down in an engine compartment.
 

PaperKnife

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 3, 2020
Messages
49
I wouldn't say you're missing anything per se.
For example: Walking outside and hear something creepy, imagination running wild? You're right! I'd want a pocket sun so I can see what's going on.

Working on something small on a work bench? Bingo! I don't need a light capable of signaling UFOs if I'm working on something 12inches from my eyes 👀

In general (for me), a bright light is going to reflect off of a lot of surfaces, so I prefer to have lower lumens and illuminate the item, not roast it. More often than not, I just need to find something close by or observe something in the correct lighting. Lower lumen lights does that for me 👍🏽

My $0.02
 

vph0107

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
45
Location
MN
I wouldn't say you're missing anything per se.
For example: Walking outside and hear something creepy, imagination running wild? You're right! I'd want a pocket sun so I can see what's going on.

Working on something small on a work bench? Bingo! I don't need a light capable of signaling UFOs if I'm working on something 12inches from my eyes 👀

In general (for me), a bright light is going to reflect off of a lot of surfaces, so I prefer to have lower lumens and illuminate the item, not roast it. More often than not, I just need to find something close by or observe something in the correct lighting. Lower lumen lights does that for me 👍🏽

My $0.02

I see. Yeah I guess it is true that if the light is too bright up close on an object it actually obscures your vision. I guess I don't find myself in the dark indoors too often, and most of the time I'm using a light it's outside. Maybe I've just become used to liking higher lumens because I'm using my lights in bigger spaces a lot of the time.
 

Hogokansatsukan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Messages
5,243
Location
Tucson
I hike every morning into the Catalina mountains on a goat trail. It is rocky, twisty, surrounded by cacti, and rattlesnakes abound. When I use my light, it is set around 3 lumens. I prefer to use my night vision (as in the rods and rhodopsin in my noggin). If I use max (300 lumens) it is only for things 200+ yards away. I don't want my night vision destroyed and then HAVE TO use the flashlight for the rest of the hike. There is no light pollution where I hike and even a half moon with a clear sky is enough. I only use the 3 lumens if I want to check something out.

If I'm out in the Jeep at night exploring, night vision is gone from all the lights on the Jeep, so If I get out and want to see a few hundred yards off, I need more lumens because of the lack of rhodopsin in the eyes. So there is a dedicated light in the Jeep with more lumens and a tighter beam.

It is all what you use it for and what the ambient light around you is like.
 
Top