Having been stranded without way to signal on a large body of water with 2 diabetic children without their insulin and testing equipment for a whole night, I want a true SOS available if the light lacks an ability to manually signal via a reliable switch. Likely, I will never need it, but its good to have it available.
I use strobe regularly on my property (wooded with no area lighting or neighbor in sight). It really helps warn off critters and such before I let my dogs out.
I personally find it more useful than strobe mode, not that I need to ever use either of them.
TBH sos can just be done manually too if really necessary.
Same here! I love it! I’ve never used it, hopefully never have to. But I like it to know it’s there just in case. Of course you can sos manually, but for how long if you’re bleeding badly.
Yes, all these disco modes must be well hidden. I also like fast and slow beacon…
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Can anyone fond any situation where the S-O-S blinky mode actually was useful
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yes. unfortunately, lol… i once posted a couple years ago? that i finally found a legitimate use for blinkies mode… as a delivery driver after dark for years? some customers insist on placing an order then “hiding” in thebasement with headphones or loud movies…
i “blinkied” the house windows with my little zoomie, and it brought them out. they said they thought the “police were there” and “had forgot they ordered”
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if i were a COP or security guard? i would defiunitely make myself a small light with “disco” mode always first mode on power on… i demonstrated it once at work, as several of us carried daily for work. guy was making fun of my flashlights, he had a gun, etc etc…
i held the light up at him (off) and he looked right at it, and laughed. having suckered him into looking at it? i clicked it on in disco (had cycled the next mode to do it…lol) and he screamed and held his face. i KNEW what he was seeing, a gigantic green blob covering his vision. this was in daytime, in a well lit room to boot… i calmly walked around him, and took his .380 out of his exposes holster and tossed it onto the counter and backed off laughing as he flailed around like a blind man holding his arms in front of himself for a couple minutes.
=
but… bringing customers out of “hiding” was the only use i ever found for disco mode… used it about once every couple months after discovering that trick…
and like i said if i were a cop or security guard? i would definitely want a light that always powered up in disco mode for blinding and disorientation.
i can see where if you practiced with disco mode on the right light? it would be as useful as the gun itself…
What I really want is a signaling strobe, about the frequency of a car’s flashing hazard lights. That’s more useful in getting someone’s attention without causing seizures or other annoyances, especially if I’m trying to catch the attention of a driver.
Also, I want a “ramping” signaling strobe. Instead of instantly blinking between on and off, ramp up to max then ramp down to off.
When I used to commute by public jeepneys I carry my nitecore p12 in memory mode of strobe. So whenever it comes useful I am ready. Robbery on public vehicles are rampant at night. So a dedicated tactical light with strobe function is good but I don’t want strobos on my plain edc light.
I voted yes, but I wish the poll had been set up differently. I would have voted no for just a hi frequency strobe, I don’t have a use for that ever, even hidden. I just don’t find myself in those situations, but it sounds like other folks do. I voted yes because I think either a SOS or beacon is useful as a hidden mode.