Dog walking torch

im not gonna go into depth to talk about how theres different dogs (not dog breeds, dogs), and more importantly different dog owners, i think its pretty common sense these days to not generalize anything in any category.

i dont know why you seem to keep running into apparently rabid dogs that just come at strangers to ATTACK, but i have never encountered such. i have encountered overly friendly and not well trained dogs that come at me and stand up to try to paw at my torso, which is admittedly very annoying, and ripped my $800 jacket once, but i dont see that as harmful. what i do see as harmful is the fact that a lot of owners with no ability to reliably recall their dogs still let them wander around loose, just because THEY think their dogs wont be aggressive, and then our dogs end up fighting, and usually their dog gets hurt, and they blame my dog, a german shepherd, because, well, usually they are small dog owners, they think their tiny dog cannot hurt anybody, so if anything happens, its always the big dog’s fault. but what they dont realize is that because they dont train their dogs, the dogs tend to be aggressive towards other dogs, cuz they think they are king of the hill or some shit. and big dogs, some have some patience, some have none, but even those with patience, if the owners dont call their dogs back, the big dogs definitely will not deal with that kinda aggressive provocative barking. so of course they gonna bite your head off. and they are seen as the aggressive one, such bullshit.

of course all of this can apply to big dogs as well, it applies to all dogs that have been been properly trained, i just personally seen more cases of untrained smaller dogs because the owners think they can handle them even if they act out, so they spoil them and let them do their thing.

anyway, went a bit off topic here, my point is, i dont think a gun is necessary for loose dogs even if they do come at you, chances are they are just friendly without boundaries, a swift kick is more than enough. i have never seen any dog be aggressive towards a human without any provocation. im not saying it cant happen, but unless they have rabies, i really cant imagine that happening.

Even for something as simple as dog walking needs can be completely different. I walk late at night in a 100+ year old neighborhood. I need to see sidewalk heaves, ice, the poop of course, etc. I don’t want to disturb my neighbors so don’t use any more light than I need to. Favorites for this are a Ti3 V2 clipped to a cap, and SP40 on its band, or a TH20 clipped to my coat. Any of these do what I need very well. However, there are some foxes that I have needed to move along, times when I want to see what is 100 meters or so away, etc. My current EDC, SC31 Pro takes care of that very well. Usually my winter coat will have a C8 in the pocket and that throws a bit further. As others have mentioned more than one light is good;-)

Have been fortunate in that the only off leash dogs we have encountered just wanted to join us for the company. My 100lb Rottie doesn’t have a point to prove and I think even other dogs find our Cojack cute;-)

your sc31 pro can let you see 100 meters out?? are you sure its not 100 feet? mine sees about 100 feet tops. i mean sure the light can maybe reach 100 meters, but no way it can light up the area to let me see if its a skunk or a ferret or cat or something

Do you have a hole in the beam on your FT03?

Throw is SO subjective… but with my SC31 Pro ON TURBO, at 100 yards… I’d be able to tell a skunk from a cat or dog IF It’s moving. That said, I’d have a hard time at that range with say a possum Vs. a skunk sitting still, looking at me. It’s all in how they move at that range where the SC31 Pro is pretty done with any real definition (color). But at 50 yards, it’s pretty good in my use anyway. YMMV.

technically yes, its noticeable enough that you can visibly see it, but its not noticeable enough to be overly annoyed by it.

maybe in total darkness, but in my area, i have occasional street lamp and house lights from nearby, so its barely noticeable after 50 yards.

Thing is, you will have to sacrifice something, since its always a tradeoff.

Its either throw (Far) Flood (near) or a tradeoff somewhere in between (with any variance towards throw or spill)
You cant have all.

I think the emisar D4 or D4s would be a good choice, since it has a Tir with multiple LED’s but it lacks USB charging (Hank, are you reading this?)

Just did google maps on a school that I have tested the SC31Pro Turbo on. Maps has it at 367 feet. Perhaps I wouldn’t know if it were a cat or a skunk but I could see well enough at that distance to know it was a critter and not a rock;-) This is standing under streetlights not total darkness. Mine is the 6000K version FWIW. Agree that 50 Yards much more visible. Now that I have that measurement I am going to have to try again to see just how well I do see and how much difference from the XP-l HI C8.

hm…i may do that too, i only used it a few times outside cuz usually i walk my dog with ft03 or v6, but ima try with sc31 pro tonight and see how it goes. i mean at 100 meters, def you can see if something is moving, but to be able to tell what it is, i have my doubts for now

Thanks for all the suggestions. They give my lots to look at and to research.

Tonight I took 3 torches with me. A Q8, a Convoy C8 SST20, and the Nightwatch Stalker.

The Q8 gives a really nice wide beam so you get lots of peripheral vision. On turbo it appears to throw pretty well - until you turn the C8 or the Stalker on.

Unfortunately, just using the C8 or Stalker gives you a more ‘tunnel vision’ effect.

Having the Q8 and the Stalker on at the same time was really nice - excellent throw and excellent spill. Not very practical though.

I used to dog walk wearing a wide beamed head torch and a C8 in my hand. That was a pretty good combination . Perhaps I need to revert to that if I can’t find anything that fits the bill.

omg you know what, you are so right, sc31 pro is a lot more powerful than i remembered!

this is off

this is on

the pictures dont do it justice, with my eyes, i cannot see the fence at all without the light, but with it, i can very clearly see the fence and if there was an animal around there, i think i should be able to tell what it is too! and that fence is easily over 50 meters away, i would say maybe 60-70! and technically i can see past that too, not too well, but if something is moving, i can def spot it, so ya…pleasantly surprised!

“I’d appreciate any comment or suggestions.”

comment: we have had four dogs. headlamps work the best for us.
suggestion: carry TWO of your choice. a mid-walk failure is not fun.

It’s not true of Arizona or anywhere else.

I know what he is talking about. I find the flood on the FT03 to be annoying because I use it just for the flood. I’d rather that it didn’t light up the area close to me so much but for dog walking where someone said they wanted throw and flood it does seem appropriate.

I think the lighted dog harness paired with a small basic floodlight would be a good choice. You just need to know where the dog is rather than be able to light up the world between the walker and the dog.

Wonder if I got lucky with mine. Just tested it now and I have to hold it this close to something to get a hole in the beam.

Glad to hear it. Last time I was in Az was 1996!

really? mines more noticeable farther away, closer actually looks better…you should shine it on a white wall, thats not a good test, yours looks green lol

Low current I think all the XHP50’s have a tint shift. As least all I’ve seen. Higher current the whiter they get. That was also ramped well down so as to get the hole more visible on camera.

No white walls in my house and I wasn’t tall enough to see the hole on the ceiling. Further away beam looks great. Literally you have to be closer than 6” to get the hole to appear. Same as many of my other lights.

I use Astrolux FT03S and MF01S for night walks with my dog.They are quite large but still fit in pockets and it’s hard to find something better of this size.