I have realized something about this community.

LED Flashlights – General Info
11

I can’t believe this has to continue to be done for the purpose of educating gun magazine cowboys. A flashlight is not tactical in nature. Neither is any other tool. That is what a flashlight is, a tool.

Definition of tactical
1 : of or relating to combat tactics: such as
a(1) : of or occurring at the battlefront
a tactical defense
a tactical first strike
(2) : using or being weapons or forces employed at the battlefront
tactical missiles
b of an air force : of, relating to, or designed for air attack in close support of friendly ground forces
2a
: of or relating to tactics: such as
(1) : of or relating to small-scale actions serving a larger purpose
(2) : made or carried out with only a limited or immediate end in view
b : adroit in planning or maneuvering to accomplish a purpose

Again, a flashlight is a tool, nothing about it is tactical. If a flashlight was tactical then any device used to service anything you think is tactical would be tactical too. So every die, drill, lathe, screw driver, etc etc etc, would have to be tactical as well. See where this will easily get out of hand?

Now since we know that a flashlight is a tool and performs really no tactical duty. We can now have sub sections of people using flashlights. Ya know, sorta like we have sub sections of people who collect guns or anything else. Hobbyist, copper lovers, titanium lovers, cri lovers, high lumen lovers, looking for crap in the closet folks, police officers, firemen, SAR folks, the list could literally be never ending. Still, not a single example makes that light tactical.

Think about this. As Recoil magazine and any other rag that uses the word tactical every other sentence steer you towards Streamlight and Surefire. Know that those two companies alone provide millions of dollars to Gun rags everywhere to make sure they gets lots of pages in ads and lots of pages in reviews. Not a single person ever working for a gun mag has ever had to pay money out of his or her own pocket for a Streamlight or Surefire. Both of which have failed miserably on more than one weapon of mine. Now I buy host lights and build and pot my own.

Now I am sure all the firearms forums will gladly welcome your bias towards your so called tactical flashlights. Most people try and stick with folks who share their same interest. Not walk in the front door and insult them. And that sir, is exactly what you have done.

12

Todd, Nicely stated man. All of us guys on here come from different backgrounds but lighting encompasses our lives. But for the most part we understand each other. The OP really DOES NOT know meaning of ” Tactical “.

13

I always wondered what part of a light was the tactical bit. I’m pretty far removed from the US forces so it was just another thing I didn’t understand about the military. Thanks :slight_smile:

Also pretty interesting that you highlight the many subsections of light enthusiasts. It used to be a flashlight was a flashlight (or a torch where I come from), but nowadays it’s a bit more like the car you drive and the clothes you wear, an extension of ones personality (at least for us flashaholics anyway) and it means different things to different people.

I don’t think OP ‘intended’ to insult anyone and the fact that he started this particular thread indicates he’s learning (or at least trying to) about this particular forum. I’m good with that :beer:

14

There may be some other tools here besides the flashlights. Just maybe.

Love this term you used;

gun magazine cowboys

Classic!

15

operator - a person who operates a telephone switchboard, especially for a telephone company

16

I see you’re getting it now. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and MANY uses for a skinned cat. On BLF you’ll find lights as works of art (looking at you, CRX and pinkpanda), as regular use tools, sometimes as a defense-oriented accessory… the list goes on and on.

Now, if you’re so into what you call “high quality, tough-built” torches, why not mod or build one yourself? Get a decent host, a driver that suits your needs, the emitter of your choice, solder the pieces together, pot the crap out of the result, and Bob’s your uncle. I am legitimately interested on how you would go about it, with your view on what a solid flashlight should be. Will it be different from that one guy that potted a Convoy M1 and it resisted an assload of mechanical resistance tests? We’ll see.

EDIT: For now, just sit back and absorb the world you stepped into, if you will. And get ready to have your horizons expanded way beyond your previous scope. I know, I’m speaking from personal experience. If it wasn’t good, I wouldn’t be sitting here posting my 1500th comment, would I? :smiley:

17

IMO what you see here is pretty similar to what I’d expect you’d find in any other forum dedicated to a particular “thing”. For example, if you decide to join a generic or mfg (brand) car forum: rather than coming across tons of users/threads dedicated to the practical use and reasons why professional drivers choose Honda over Toyota it’s going to be mostly hobbyists or enthusiasts. I can imagine that gun forums would be very similar: I wouldn’t expect that the vast majority of law enforcement and military personnel are obsessed enough with the particular tools of their trade that they want to also dedicate hours talking about guns on forums. That’s much more in line with enthusiasts who are particularly interested in the subject and have an attachment to it.

I can at least vouch for woodworking forums where there are indeed many professionals but the most active users and the vast majority of users are the ones that have an affinity for DIY building and collecting tools. For them it’s not about practicality but the joy building and collecting another new shiny tool brings them. I find that the more someone uses a $4000 table saw every day for professional reasons the more they desire to talk less about its 300 features and specifications and quickly cut to whether it works or not and the one or two things they like about it compared to their old saw.

Forums dedicated to things are most commonly going to be places where people like the subject from a collector/modifier/fascination point of view rather than professionals who use the tools every day and still manage to have so much love for their tools they willingly dedicate even more non-work hours talking about, reading about and giving advice about their tools.

18

Yes indeed, some were so good they were even celebrated in song:-

19

My first thought reading this was that there's another forum that takes itself too seriously...

Anyway, this is mostly a hobby site. I have questions about the validity of "tactical" flashlight application, but that conversation gets political rather quickly for me so I'll avoid it here. You did seem a little condescending in your thread about lights to depend on with your life, which suggests you already had ideas going into the conversation and the answers didn't mesh well with them. I'd recommend that you can probably get the answers you're looking for if you're a lot more specific or technical with your questions. For example, you might post questions about lights with potted electronics, or lifetime warranties, or specifically suitable for weapon (handgun vs. long gun) mounting, or only using lithium primaries, or whatever aspects of flashlight design are already important to you. Such a broad question was bound to find broad interpretations and answers.

20

Hey! What about my Tactical Sunglasses? “Tactical” is right in the name. And the guy on teevee even said so!

I mean… they’re even polarised! That’s how I can see a blank screen turn into a Murrcan Eagle just by putting ’em on! If that ain’t tactical, I don’t know what is…

21

The tool of the jester is a toy for the lady.

22

If you’ve ever seen James Bond then you should know that any tool can quickly become tactical with a few modifications… lol you thought the “modders” on BLF were simple flashlight modders did you?

23

I would accept that as an axiom.

24

I don’t think the jester should be waving that around in polite company.

25

I know of a few carp that think my sunglasses were pretty “tactical” :sunglasses: :wink:

26

CREEXHP70LED said:

Some of us also “operate” differently and in different environments.

27

Watch out everyone, we got a badass in here!

28

Maybe Gecko45 was already taken.

29

Oh man now there’s a throwback Thursday.

30

You are totally wrong and you probably need more time to realize that there are a lot of different people with different concerns about life in general and flashlights in particular.
All I see here is a lot of diffrent people with their own opinions and tastes…and budget.

A few are machinists, electronicians, programmers, etc, and all this people can help you to turn your most crappy flashlight into a gem of reliabilty because the more reliable and durable flashlight in the world is not made by a happy few over-rated USA manufacturers but it’s the flashlight you can flash, reflash, improve, repair, swap/replace parts, etc.
If you are fine with sealed products from brands that will never share their knowledges, patented design, electronic scheme drivers, etc, again it’s fine but you are totally dependant of reputation that won’t avoid failures with time. With every brand there are models that are more reliable than others. Everything should be judged on a particular basis, case by case. Taking things for granted, for example a reputation, is just a way to reassure ourself, to be convinced that we have made the right choices.

You have a preconceived idea about this community and what a flashlight should look like and should be, it’s fine, but personnaly I don’t need a community to have the same ideas than me about life and flashlights. I don’t need people to validate my own tastes, opinions and concerns about life and flashlights.

Anyway…you appreciate flashlights from brands that I do not appreciate for my own particular reasons but who cares, you are welcome here.