Is flashlight an effective tool for self defense?

My side gig is as a bouncer at pubs and clubs and I have used a flashlight defensively a few times. Now if the Hell’s Angeles are all methed up and angry that you won’t let them in a flashlight is not going to save you on its own but a large dose of candela to the eyeballs in a dark environment usually gets you a startl response and takes people a few seconds to get their vision back and those seconds can be very useful. I don’t do it much anymore but I used to do over night static security and a high candela light was awesome for prevention light someone up for a few seconds a 100 metres away and they would turn around and jump the fence and go away saving me possible confrontation and paperwork.

Additionally in my country perper spray in illegal except for the police and so is “carrying tools for self-defence” but a flashlight as long as it’s not the size odlf a batton and doesn’t have huge spikes coming out raises no questions as well as if I light someone up who didn’t need to be lit up they can complain to the police but the police are very unlikely to do anything about if if no one was hurt/no physical contact was made.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I hear ya! If I ever need to shine my light into someone’s eyes, I’ll count on those critical few seconds and make the most of it.

I like your story about your time doing static security, reminding me of the art of fighting without fighting :slight_smile:

imho, one of the best ways to deter a dog is to have a walking stick, which IS legal in most places
(except in California if it is a straight cane, that does not have a crook neck, it can be considered an illegal billy club)

although that article suggest Not carrying a crook neck cane, there is a whole school of self defense that uses a weaponized crook neck cane (but any cane is better than no cane, against a dog)

I had a dog charge me, at the beach during the day, when a flashlight is useless.
Before he reached me, I picked up a stick and prepared to engage. He immediately stopped the charge, and ran. I made sure to keep hold of that stick until I was out of the area. The dog never attempted to reengage.

A separate problem with out of control dogs, is they have out of control owners… there is no reasoning with them either… The owner will get angry, will become abusive and claim their dog is friendly. In both cases, the stick sends a clear and silent message to define my physical boundary.

many of the USA members here, immediately assume they can use a gun… This is not an option in California, nor most other countries. (see what I did there?:wink: )

Agreed, using a gun is not always possible or the best option on a dog. A good strong heavy stick or staff, with or without crook at top; does make a very good deterrent / weapon. :white_check_mark:

I think ShyOne knows watt he’s talking about here. I mean just look at his avatar. :laughing: :open_mouth:

**** :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

IF attacked by a Wolf notta… I would definitely prefer a gun. A short barreled shotgun to be exact. :wink:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadliest_animals_to_humans

Every year, 25,000 people get killed because they did not have a [sarcasm]flashlight or a stick[/sarcasm].

Many, many millions more get severely mauled every year because they did not have a [sarcasm]flashlight or a stick.[/sarcasm]

Fresh-water snails?? Whaddey do, slime you to death?

Cone Snail sting can be fatal: Cone snail - Wikipedia

“Is flashlight an effective tool for self defense?”

what is topic drift?

Not if the snails are deterred by flashlights.
All the Best,
Jeff

I think I have several lights that would cook a snail faster than it could escape if not underwater.

It does deter them, but it takes you a few days to notice….

Flashlight as a weapon? Maybe with Wurkkos’ Strike Bezel, but there are better tools for the job.

You will need a flashlight of about 3000 lumens, but not in strobe mode, since it must be constantly held to disorient the enemy. If the enemy does not have a more powerful flashlight with him than yours, then the turbo mode will blind him for half a minute. I know this because I accidentally blinded a friend of amutorch e3s in complete darkness and for a long time he could not find where to run.

Son, what you need is the DuraProd 48 inch Hot Shot livestock electric prod. Guaranteed to get the attention of any animal less than 2000lbs, especially drunk animals in a rest stop.

This beauty sports a Rubber-grip handle with handguard that features an oversized trigger for reduced fatigue and ease of use, and a snap-on battery pack

Of course these can be modded to a 50,000 volt pulse, but usually not necessary

Not near as effective as my Sig P365.

and better know how to keep control of whatever you deploy.
nothing worse than getting your weapon taken and used against you.
awareness and preparedness is worth more than weapons.
looking like bigfoot keeps most of the flies away too.
i get called that all the time.
the few that even acted like they wanted trouble from me were intox or mental.
btw trying to blind me with a flashlight will simply add said flashlight to my collection.

you have to be way too close to your subject to deploy that.
a drunk might not be a problem.
drunk or drugged are already at a huge disadvantage.
but someone with experience will ruin your day if you get that close.

not relevant
the parasite, Schistosomiasis, that infects people, are in the water,
that the snails live in
the snails dont bite humans
its the waterborne parasites that burrow into your skin

the only thing the snails have to do with any of it, is that the parasites spend part of their lifecycle in the snail

Schistosomiasis is the second most prevalent tropical disease in the world, after Malaria.

Malaria is caused by another parasite, hosted by another waterborne organism (mosquito larvae). The parasites in the mosquito then enters our skin.

Flashlights dont help prevent Schistosomiasis, nor Malaria either. Neither will a Sig.