How Do You Test Your Flashlight?

Let's all have some fun and list how you test (or play with!) your flashlights.

I'll go first: I like to take my arsenal of leds and incans. with me while walking the dog at night. Many neighbors comment and question the lights I carry.

Along the walk, I "test" different lights by shining them down long driveways and up into the trees.

One guy asked why I was shining my Stinger at his garage. Luckily and truthfully, I answered I'm part of the neighborhood Watch program - otherwise, I think he would've called the cops!

I do a little bit of the same in my backyard once the sun goes down. But usually I take a fair amount of lights with me camping and play in the woods. No neighbors to worry about there.
I have a co-worker who brought a UK 2L in once and insisted on shining it in my eyes over and over again during the course of the day. So...my M6 will be arriving Friday and I will pay him back. Heh Heh! Yo John, look at this....FOOMP!

I like to shine my 1,000,000 CP rechargeable spotlight and light up campers on the other side of a nearby lake.

They get really teed-off!

Sounds like Dim Bulb has a bright bulb!

I like to turn on my ARC LE while in theaters or other venues where the lights are turned down - and watch the stir it causes as I take my time checking out my wristwatch.

Many comment and ask about it's unusual output color. I guess they're referring to the lack of yellow that most flashlights emit.

I vote for Stingmon's Green Lasering of the Seattle Annual Xmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

It sounds like it was a real hit.

I live in a place where we have total darkness. Lots of woods paths and deep dark gullies. The CMG Infinity does a great job under these conditions. And so do my other 30 store-bought and home-built flashlights.

Also, we have a big, dark basement. I often take evening walks to check out the lights or shine them off the road reflectors 300 yards away.

My nearest neighbor lives 1/4 miles away. My binocular mounted red laser outfit is able to shine right into his windows. He thinks the UFOs are coming. This setup also is able to dance the red lights from highway reflector to reflector as the locals head home from the pubs.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dim Bulb:
I like to shine my 1,000,000 CP rechargeable spotlight and light up campers on the other side of a nearby lake.

They get really teed-off!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


You have a rechargeable spotlight too?? COOL! So do I, check out my profile, it's there.

Anyway, I like to test my lights at a local park that has a jog trail. As soon as i can overcome my fear of wide open dark spaces that are moonlit with fog rolling in, i will surely take the jog route deep into the park
Seriously though, i'm too scared to pass through a part of this trail becuase it looks like something straight out of a horror movie! I tried running with my Princeton Tec Attitude strapped to my head and my E2 clenched in my fist, but even those two lights alone could not ease my fears. So i stoped a third of the way through the trail and headed back...quick!

But yeah, that's how i test lights.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LEDagent:


...As soon as i can overcome my fear of wide open dark spaces that are moonlit with fog rolling in...

...i'm too scared to pass through a part of this trail becuase it looks like something straight out of a horror movie!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

hmmm, now tell us the truth, how many horror movies and book have you watched/read already ?

Walk up to the family kitty, who is a trusting cuss. Blamo!

Occasionally I blast my 20 year amazon parrot with either the E-2 or the Stinger when I'm raiding the fridge in wee hours -- it startles the $#@% out of him.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by FlashlightDude:
Occasionally I blast my 20 year amazon parrot with either the E-2 or the Stinger when I'm raiding the fridge in wee hours -- it startles the $#@% out of him.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I do that with my rat once in awhile.
When his back is turned, I'll green-laser him or blast the cage with a Legend LX on my way to the fridge or the can.

He usually jumps so high he hits the wire lid of his cage and nocks it to the floor!
Then he hears my footsteps coming to put the lid back on and of course he wants to come out and play. Not at 4am, thanks. Back to bed for you, Veemon!!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ClarkKent:
I vote for Stingmon's Green Lasering of the Seattle Annual Xmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

It sounds like it was a real hit.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That was a good one alright. There was almost as much applause when I lasered the tree & the Bon Marche Christmas star as there was when the lights on the two items finally went on. I wasn't quite expecting to see it on TV though.

Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex with TONS of nasty sodium lights everywhere (I believe Stingmon can empathize with this ). I can't even test a light when I go to the can at night since the whole apartment has an other-worldly yellowish glow from the "light pollution".

Fortunately for me, the ballasts on a number of the lights are going bad so they turn off as I'm out walking at night. This gives me the opportunity to test the throw and illumination of the various lights. Plus there are some dark nooks where the sodium lights never reach that I can light up for testing.

BTW: On a mischievous note; if you ever want to nail someone in the eyes with your light just for fun (NOT recommended for strangers - good humored friends/co-workers only!), get the light ready, and as you are bringing it up (in a very casual manner) to about chest height say "Hey, have you ever seen one of these?". It's an iron-clad guarantee they'll look straight down the barrel of the light. As soon as they glance down, nail 'em! The best part is, if you go away and come back between each shot, you can get them again, and again, and again!
(this works great with White Photons)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Quickbeam:
The best part is, if you go away and come back between each shot, you can get them again, and again, and again!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

EVIL!!!

YC

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Quickbeam:
Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex with TONS of nasty sodium lights everywhere (I believe Stingmon can empathize with this

). I can't even test a light when I go to the can at night since the whole apartment has an other-worldly yellowish glow from the "light pollution".
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sounds like you've got it even worse than I do. I have nearly opaque curtains in the bedroom that block out about 95% of that, and my bathroom doesn't have a window so I can make it totally dark just by shutting the door.
My kitchen gets quite dark too, since it also has no window.

But I have no regular long-range test site.
There's no place I can easily or regularly get to that isn't heavily bombarded by the ~589.5nm sodium line.
A stretch of road between the baseball park and FX McRorys is poorly lit though, so if I go to a night baseball game, I can test lights to some extent on the way home.
But it's a very dangerous place to be at night if there is no ballgame crowd in place.

I try to avoid shining SureFires at or in the area of the houses nearby. There is a great feild that I use and a wood beyond that. It doesn't get really dark but I can usually trace beams across the night sky.

Opposite the chipshop, there is a Church with a high tower that I light up from quite a distance.

One of the guys at work brought in his 6D Mag and I wasn't very polite about it. Biggest waste of Aluminium... We did some comparison illuminations on the way out of work (it gets dark before I leave at 17:00) and the M3T, 12PM and M6 trashed it (I fed it 6 fresh D Ultras too)

People sometimes think I'm setting off flares when I throw the SureFires about. The G2 is very good for this (especially on wet grass). I have a very muddy M3T on my desk right now. I'm still seeing if the Pyrex will break, and it's very easy to throw the M3T. I'm using the M6 quite a bit right now to test a couple things. Very impressive.
It comes back a dirty as I get.

Al

Last night I shined my freshly-charged Streamlight Stinger at a car - and quickly found it it was a cop car!!! He whipped a U-turn and asked what's the deal with flashing him.

I B.S.'ed and siad I thought it was another cop that I know...

He said it's the same model he carries on duty - and to cut the crap.