Human eyes are extremely good at adjusting to different light levels - it’s why anyone with decent eyesight and health can go from walking around in 100,000 lux sunlight, and then later on night lit only by a sliver of the moon and still able to see to a fair degree.
You know how it goes. The aggressor creeps up from behind, then stops and shouts: “Hey, I’m going to attack you now.” You turn around, pull your light out of the holster … “just a second please, Mr. aggressor” … and point your light towards him in full turbo. Only seconds later he’s ash. You know, villains always make some small talk, talk about their plans and so on. Plenty time.
I recall reading one anecdote on CPF years ago where someone successfully used a flashlight to defend himself.
He was walking along at night when he saw a group of young men approach him looking to perhaps mug him.
He pulled out his flashlight and shined it at them while asking “How can I help you boys?”
The would-be muggers instantly jumped to the (incorrect) conclusion he was a cop. They said “no problem” and abruptly changed changed course to get out of his way.
I’m no expert, but I think the fast paced strobes are more useful to disorientate someone than just a bunch of lumens trying to blind someone.
If they’re teeth look like this that might actually happen…
I’d ask for an autograph first.
Then burn him down. The autograph will be worth a fortune.
how “efficient”?
not very much.
in my opinion.
here is one positive opinion:
I don't think the light from a flashlight is very useful for defending yourself.
Depending on what is legal where you live, you're better off with pepper spray, a knife, or a gun.
I don't like the idea of carrying a gun, so I go with pepper spray and a pocket knife.
My pepper spray has tear gas and ultra violet ink in it, and that would be my first line of defense if running away is not possible.
If the aggressor happens to be on his way to the toilet in the middle of the night 20,000 lumens
should be enough to keep him from falling back to sleep after the attack
There are statistics you can look up. If it’s a random attacker your best bet is to run, unless you are carrying a firearm.
The only use for a flashlight in such a scenario is a weapon-light.
I agree, bet your friend you can tag them in the shoulder and hand them the light. See if it defends effectively.
Also, I’ve always said that the light source just tells you where to aim…
Efficient self defense tools were not designed for illumination, therefore they are extremely inefficient as illumination tools.
Efficient illumination tools were not designed for self defense, therefore they are extremely inefficient as self defense tools.
Form and function. One looks like an Underwood loaded G29, and the other looks like a MS18. I have both. I just don't confuse their form, therefore I do not confuse their function.
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/61143/3
That’s why I carry one of these with me every day.
Nice warm CCT :+1:
They mostly come out at night…mostly.
It’s a pretty big flashlight, so you might be able to swing it against your attacker. That’s the only advantage in a self defense situation.
If anyone wants to provide me with a MS18 then I’ll happily be a test subject.
This was asked on Reddit too.
Here’s what I replied:
Let’s do some maths!
The MS18 is rated at 1350m throw. That means a surface 1350m away has 0.25 lux cast on it. That’s as bright as things lit up by a full moon. Once eyes get used to this then it’s easily enough for a night hike. Of you looked at an MS18 from that distance then it would look as bright as a full moon.
If you half the distance then there’s 4 times as much light hitting a surface.
- At 40 meters there’s about 250 lux. That’s about the same as room lighting. Shine a MS18 at a room across the street and your neighbors will think they left a light on. If they looked at your flashlight then it’d be like looking at a light bulb in the same room.
- At 20 meters there’s about 1000 lux. That’s like an overcast day. Looking up at the sky where the sun is can start to get uncomfortable.
- At 5 meters there’s about 20,000 lux. That’s the same as a shadow on a bright sunny day.
- At 2m there about 100,000 lux that’s like a bright summer day. So that would be as bright as looking directly at the sun (don’t do that). The sun is mostly dangerous due to UV though, so while the MS18 would look bright, it still wouldn’t hurt.
It might buy you a few seconds.
Light by itself is minimally effective at best, since attackers always approach from behind. You won’t even see it coming. Only way an attacker presents himself to his victim is if they’re stoned, drunk, determined or raging pissed. Under such mental conditions light (by itself) once again is not stopping them.
IMHO light is more of a preventive tool to evade and avoid a situation. Identify threatening situations, and avoid before they are close enough to become threatening.
Best left to identifying your target.
You need high candela to blind someone, at least 100,000 candela is minimum. I was blasted in the face with a catapult v6 on turbo with 140,000 candela and I was completely blinded for 10 seconds and for minutes after my vision was impared. Use something like a lep like the weltool w4 that has 1.8 million candela. It will blind someone for a long time for sure and probably cause your attacker permanent vision damage.