I just tried a couple frosted optics for the first time, a single and a triple, and I kinda like them. These flashlights were built for indoor use, power failures etc. and I'm finding that the frosted lens really lends itself to indoor illumination. No irritating hot spot, just nice even subdued lighting. I think I'll try other frosted optics with wider beam angles.
I latched onto one of those silly LED candles at a thrift shop a while back for the translucent milky housing it was in.
I Dremeled out a couple of circles and fitted them into a couple of old Garrity 3-AA headlamps that I’ve modified with neutral XM-L2 emitters. They have smooth reflectors and were all ‘spot’, but now they’re perfectly floody. Went from irritating and useless to very nice indeed.
I’ve also had good luck making diffusers from semi-clear bottle caps. I’d like to try some of that diffuser film I’ve heard guys talk about but I don’t know where to get it.
Somebody here sells the diffuser film, hang on it’ll come up, I bought some quite a while back and it does work better than anything else.
Being lazy I often use Scotch Magic frosted tape to test how a light will work; putting that on half or 2/3 of the reflector of a spot light gives both more flood and a useful spot.
OP: I normally like throwy lights with a tight hotspot, usually even indoors. On headlamps it’s a different story, because to me a headlamp is for very short-range illumination. One headlamp I have has a diffused optic, the other has diffuser film. I also do have two lights with frosted carclo optics, because it does give a very nice even beam. Even so, I chose the narrowest beam angle I could find to keep it from being a total mule.
I’m a big fan of frosted TIR lenses and OP reflectors for the smooth beams they produce. Most of my uses for flashlights is within 75 feet, and I am a big advocate of leveraging night vision whenever possible. On traditional reflector lights, I generally find myself using the spill to see things instead of the hot spot, which defeats the purpose of having a reflector in the first place. With the frosted TIR lens, the entire beam is even, and is much easier on my eyes. It leverages my night vision very well, especially in lower modes. These days, the only place where I prefer a reflector light is in my vehicle, where range is a priority.
I am also a fan of diffusers. My first (and last) production flashlight was a legacy Ra Clicky 170, into which I put a Nichia 219a. I picked up a Surefire diffuser for it, and it lives on that light. Having access to either a floody or (fairly) spotty light is (in my opinion) the best of both worlds, but once I realized I was using the diffuser nearly all of the time, I started using frosted TIRs. Another diffuser that I really enjoy is the Fenix AOD-S. It fits my Convoy S series lights and my Ra Clicky. It basically converts these lights into lanterns. I find it to be extremely useful.