Best deterrent flashlight recommendations? Plus W30 question

I was walking along the other night and a bunch of kids were being not very nice and I had the TN42 pointed in their face, it definitely did something but they kept following me, it turned verbal then I had to go away cause I didn’t want to get into a fight with a bunch of 16 year olds… what light should I use if I want to scare the crap out of someone? I was thinking W30 but can that blind someone if they are like 10 ft away?

Shining a light in someone’s eyes will NOT scare them off, it will make them angry. This is a very bad idea. Spend your money on a class on de-escalation or self defense, not a flashlight.

Yep, that’s good advice.
The only “light” deterrent would be your phone dialing 911.

Leave this sort of crowd control thing to the professionals.

A few years ago I had to confront a group of strangers in the woods near our campsite because they were shooting and bullets were flying over our location.
I circled around and walked in on them talking on my ham radio, finishing up their vehicle description.
They turned out to be nice guys, they’d just driven “halfway across the National Forest” to find a private site, which put them right up against our family that had also driven in halfway from the other side to place our tents.

They told me they were ex-Seals and that if I’d confronted them with a gun they’d just have jumped me, but that walking in while in radio communication with …. someone out there …. was far more powerful.

Check your local laws, think about pepper spray. Also file those complaints of harassment with your local police. If it escalates it becomes more than their version vs yours. It becomes their version vs yours, plus a list of prior documentation. Their it just happened or it was a miscommunications story fall flat with a history of harassment. Flashlights are a quick distraction and used to limit their night vision. It’s not a weapon and if you’re not prepared to follow through with other deterrents like pepper spray or force then your end will be a solid negative experience. Our agency policy is ask, tell, enforce. You can ask them to stop, then tell them to stop, then pepper spray if in fear of your safety or call police if not in fear of your safety. If you do spray them then also call the police. The UV dye will keep them glowing for about three days under UV lighting. If they continue afterwards most state classify retaliation as a felony.

I'd imagine shinning a flashlight in their faces may not go well either. De-escalation first and if all else fails, whipping out an L6 may calm things down a bit.

W30 would likely cause permanent eye damage. Foolish to use on naive kids.

What are you guys smoking?
You don’t bring a flashlight to a gunfight.

I have walked seven miles per day in a nice residential neighborhood for three and a third years, 50 miles per week, 8,000 miles in 40 months. I have had two self defense cases. A flashlight would have been utterly useless to stop either of the two ambush attacks.

For more than a few months, I walked nights in my neighborhood with two X65s', one in each hand, enjoying the exhilaration of the combined beam performance. I do not do that anymore. When I walk at night, I carry only one light in one hand, and the other hand is empty, free to grab what I need to grab if I am ever ambush attacked again.

Lights are great for illuminating what you want to see. Successfully defending yourself against the hostility and/or evil of the surface of this earth necessitates other equipment.

AMEN

I recall reading an anecdote several years ago on CPF.

The CPF member was walking along the street at night. He noticed a bunch of thugs approaching him, possibly to rob him. He immediately took out his flashlight and shined it in their faces and said “How can I help you boys?” The trio of thugs immediately changed direction and left.

In that case it wasn’t the flashlight alone that scared them away. It was the combination of the light, the statement, and the projection of confidence that all came together into making the thugs think he was a police officer. This seems like a risky bluff to try.

I think some of the previous posters have the best advice. Do one of the following:

  • Attempt to de-escalate the situation; or
  • Call 911 on your phone; or
  • Use an actual weapon or self-defense technique (not recommended if you’re facing a group); or
  • Run

Do NOT attempt to scare a group of thugs away with just your flashlight. No amount of bright light alone is going to be enough to scare people away. If anything it will just escalate the situation by making them mad.

Here in New York, one of the most common thug defenses is to just stare back at them.
Probably 80% of them will decide you are a cop and walk away (I know this because been there done that a bunch of times, got that “Hello Officer” a lot. But then, I am a retired cop).
On the other hand, do NOT try this unless you have a gun on you, because the other 20% is going to kill you just for looking at them.

Scosgt has good points. Where I live, if someone is antagonizing you, walk towards safety (a crowd, gas station, convenience store), because they usually start shooting or stabbing if you confront them, or get on your phone and start dialing. I was a police officer and the best tool I’ve had since I retired is Siri. “Hey Siri, call dispatch”. It keeps my hands free in case i need them. When i got connected to the local dispatcher, I started describing the guys that were threatening me, and all but one of them walked off. The remaining one said “what if they don’t get here in time to save your ass?”, as he started walking towards me. I reminded him the dispatcher was recording the conversation and could hear him threatening me. I told dispatch I was about to pull my gun and defend myself and used police codes as I talked to her. I also gave her my description so they wouldn’t arrive and shoot me. He chickened out and walked towards his friends. During this time I’m looking for cover options in case I have to put something solid between us.

Guess what. I stopped bringing a gun home when my son was born. I was bluffing him, but he believed me because I remained calm and didn’t raise my voice or get into a shouting match. I kept thinking clearly and walked out of the park towards a convenience store which had cameras. The police arrived and took them all into custody because of juvenile curfew violations. They didn’t even ask me if I had a gun. The bigmouth had an ignition punch on him, and probably was about to steal a car.

The problem is, i was in the military and police departments for almost 40 years. I had some of the best training and survived some hairy situations, which a civilian can’t learn to survive in a few classes. You can preplan your route to avoid this but the unexpected can always happen. Think of the situation you were in and ask yourself, how could I avoid it next time.

I live in a crazy town and there’s danger around every corner so I’m always prepared. It still doesn’t stop me from enjoying my walks in the dark. You live in a nice town and become complacent.

NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.

Some of you young and out of town guys won’t get this, but many years ago (1985 or so?) I was riding the subway on the way home with three other off duty Officers.
There were two thugs harassing people (and they were black which was relevant as you will see).
So one of the guys I am with stares down one of the mutts.
The other one turns to me and says:
“What is that guy, a cop”?
And I replied:
“Don’t you recognize him, that’s Bernie Goetz”.
And they both headed for another car in a hurry.

BTW, I had one of the miscreants on my watch prior to the Goetz incident. I believe he was arrested in a Wilding incident, possibly the Diana Ross concert in Central Park.
These were not nice kids, and a flashlight would have been useless. They would have shoved it where the sun don’t shine.

If you have to worry about your safety every time you go for a walk at night, the best safety advice is to move.

I would only blind someone that is coming towards me to attack me.
I just saw a video where someone used a flashlight to blind someone

You are smoking some good shit.

I’ve seen some effective ways to use a flashlight in a fight. But simply pointing it in their face isn’t one of them. Get some training.

Get a Thorfire S70S and use it as an actual …

Start your own Guardian Angel’s Chapter…Neighbor Hood Watch…. Civilians for Safety Patrol… Angel’s Night Patrol…