Flashlights are great, but how much flashlight is "enough?"
Answers vary...
I do believe, however, that it's possible to carry "too much" flashlight.
I do believe, however, that it's possible to carry "too much" flashlight.
This can happen when you wonder, "What if?" "What ifs" can induce over-carry. Will you ever really need to see what's in the tree-line 300 meters away? Doubtful.
Worse, that "second sun" you've pocketed might not be very useful of 90% of tasks you'll encounter. Over-illumination is just as bad as under-illumination. When buying, user-interface and adjustable brightness are important to consider.
Balancing those "what ifs" with actual need epitomizes the EDC mindset.
______________________________________________________________________________
"< 101" will be a series of posts consisting of less than 101 words on a certain topic or item. I hope to post them frequently and to cover a variety of disciplines and products.
I agree that you need a good balance of light, not too much or too little.
ReplyDeleteI almost always have a small LED light on me and I use it most nights when I take my dog for a walk... they definitely come in handy!
Finding that balance is the trick. There are a few manufacturers that are offering variable brightness coupled with good UI which make for great EDC options(Nitecore, for example, has their "infinitely variable" output models). Unfortunately, I haven't gotten my hands on one yet...
DeleteI have been a member of EDC Forums for a long while and it never really hit me until I read this, why people carry more than one flashlight.
ReplyDeleteI have minimized to just carry my phone and use that for my pocket carried light. Now I'm going to have to think about another light for my "throw" needs.
I don't really like the adjustable brightness lights. They tend to be more expensive and clicking them multiple times gets me all flustered.
What flashlight would complement the kind of light a phone can give off? Considering small enough to easily fit in a office pants pocket and fairly inexpensive?
In my travels I've been hard pressed to find a quality light without some form of adjustable brightness. Most manufacturers producing mid- to high-range lights typically try to work in a broad array of output features.
DeleteThat said, there are plenty of lights with UIs that are, in the grand scheme of things, are very close to on/off functionality.
Olight's M10, for example, has a tailcap switch which only functions to turn the light on and off. The alternate modes are accessed via another button on the side of the light. ( http://www.batteryjunction.com/olight-m10-xml2.html )
Nitecore's MT2C has a tailcap switch that, again, simply turns on and off the light when the bezel is fully tightened (accessing the maximum brightness of the light). Adjusting the brightness is accomplished by loosening the bezel a half turn and cycling through the various modes; the last mode selected will be accessible on the first click of the switch. In that sense, the light essentially has on/off functionality. ( http://www.batteryjunction.com/nitecore-mt2c-smo.html )
The Lumapower Trust Model 2 has essentially the same functionality as described above. As with the MT2C you can lock in a mode (meaning that the light remembers the output you have selected and refuses to adjust it unless a certain sequence is performed) if the full output isn't desirable. ( http://www.batteryjunction.com/lumapower-trust-model2.html ).
My best advice would be to look not necessarily for a light that has a single output, but rather one with a UI that allows simple on/off functionality.