Children like flashing modes. The cheap ones will start hiding them like the more expensive ones already do, so they are not bothersome. Flashing is one of the things that leds do well.
Maybe they will come out with ones that flash to music, for teenagers.
i dont mind a strobe mode as long as it HIDDEN. and i like a lower low too, a 5 mode is even better with a Moonlight/Firefly mode. my ideal flashlight mode selection would be: Moonlight-Low-Medium-High-Turbo/overdriven, and a hidden strobe with a hidden beacon mode.
Also they need to be more realistic with their ratings, especially the Lumens & runtimes.
They need to realize by now that nobody here is buying or falling for their over-exagerated lumen claims on 90 % of their lights.
I’ll agree with that. If they ever wanted to start selling here they would have to get realistic with their stuff. Most of the lights sold on the usual list of vendors will still blow anything currently on the market out of the water.
I don’t like the flashy modes either. Even though if lost in the woods or something, the flashy modes might come in handy. Very bright eye catching flashes with extended run time over just constant on. I still don’t care to much for them though, especially having to cycle through them just to get in the mode I want.
To me Dr.jones has some of the most well thought out and user friendliest code around. China should take lessons.
Some lights I own like the D40A and EA4 really get the hidden modes right, and I like that the D40A has shortcuts to turbo and moonlight mode as well. I also like the way the Olight I3S hides the strobe behind 7 quick twists. In normal use you will never see it, and when that day comes you need it, 7 twists isn’t too much to ask for.
In fact, if the user interface is done right, I’d like as many modes as possible just to have that flexibility. I’m really liking my new SRT3 which has pretty much every mode I’ve even seen. And with one quick turn of the wrist, I can cycle through every mode on the light and even do it by feel with the slick way they did the detents on the control ring.
So, I think the Chinese are listening with the high end makers. It’s time for the budget brands to step up their game. It’s happening, but slowly. I still browse through sites like DX and see 99% of the budget lights with that same horrible 5 mode driver they seem addicted to. Time will tell…
In the U.K. we are not allowed items for self defence. It sucks but there it is. I keep my EDC lights set to strobe in the hope that if the worst happens that it would disorient an attacker enough to give me time to think what the next move is.
SOS and beacon modes are also useful.
The Nitecore MT2A that I use as my main EDC I’ve set to come on in strobe but turbo is available depending on whether the head is tightened or loosened. this is ideal for me but might not suit others
I have drop-ins for my Solarforce lights with and without disco modes but most are 5 mode with SOS and strobe.
So, for me, it’s keep the “disco” modes but ditch the PWM.
I hate visible PWM worse than I hate strobe.
I wish they would go back to side switches and maybe forward clicky manual flash ability. A mode switch on the back and an on switch on the side would be ideal for one handed use. Manual flash was originally because the early acid dry cells couldn’t sustain a useful output, and later ones still couldn’t when they were worn down, but it would be handy when you just want a look at something in a dark corner.
Another thing I would like that is not very common is auxiliary red and maybe UV leds. Green might even be useful in a moonlight mode, because it is in principle more efficient than white or red and the color of a moonlight mode doesn’t matter. I have an old Nebo that has UV and green as well as the main white led, but red only in a laser. (If I use a wet paper towel as a diffuser, I can see close up with the laser.)
I think the issue is low is simply lazy updating -an xre puts out about 300 lumen, so 5% is about 15 lumen, not bad.
An xm-l is much closer to 1000 lumens, an xm-l2 is over, 5% then looks a little bright.
In real life, I have a trustfire t2. I modded it with an xp-g 4c, a fairly low output emitter and added a 350ma 7135 to a 4*7135 ak47 driver. The low on that is good enough that its the light I choose to carry when around the house or just generally out and about. On high, its easily enough flood and throw to check out all of my back yard, its just a really good little light.
All this is pure pot luck, I’ll be honest, but the driver has the standard 5 50 100% mode spacing (I think) and with the lower output xp-g, the low is low enough to check my kids at night without disturbing them, thats what is really important to me in a light I use about the house.
Yes this strobe or sos should be hidden modes just in case?
In my X country no one would even care to help if SOS mode on they would say “something is flashing out there… Strange… never matter I go to sleep”.
With strobe mode on my bicycle to be noticeable in traffic? Some drunk driver would probably think that alien is attacking him and he would run over me or bounce himself off the road into canal or some kind of concrete pillar…
Maybe for civilized countries but in X country these modes are not to good.
Strobe as self defense? CS is better for this. Spray and run or spray and then beat the hell out of him/they. Or maybe flashlight shocker combination for mutual satisfaction 
Curious as to whom X’s neighbouring countries are and where X resides upon the world map 
$1.30 M5 says it's a post soviet country.