Guess i did not need as many lumens as i thought i needed

emarkd · 2019-01-27T11:54:34.000Z

Walking through the woods is probably not the best use case for a high-lumen light. Too much up-close stuff for the light to reflect off of. High lumens are more useful in large open areas.

…but then my most-used flashlights only make a few hundred lumens and suit me just fine. Most of us above a certain age grew up with incan maglites and the such — flashlights the size of baseball bats that make maybe 40-50 lumens, and we thought they were great back then. 40 lumens is still 40 lumens. Most of us do not NEED 1500 lumens in our pockets, we just want it.

P10pablo · 2019-01-27T14:10:32.000Z

My first LED flashlight was 3000+ lumen, I had to have it! I now realize i actually just want about 350 to 500 lumen, I just don’t want it to step down too fast. And I think I want it to be a 14500.

P10pablo · 2019-01-27T14:18:52.000Z

That is a interesting body with a curious clip; and a lil pricey. If it could really hold the brightness for an hour and the moonlight lumen is as low as they say, it could be worth it?

toddcshoe · 2019-01-27T19:28:31.000Z

P10pablo:

That is a interesting body with a curious clip; and a lil pricey. If it could really hold the brightness for an hour and the moonlight lumen is as low as they say, it could be worth it?

I have been wanting one but, I am having a hard time convincing myself I need yet another 14500 light, and a $50 one at that. Maybe a used one will pop up for sale on here sometime in the future.

koziy · 2019-01-27T20:20:23.000Z

emarkd:

Walking through the woods is probably not the best use case for a high-lumen light. Too much up-close stuff for the light to reflect off of. High lumens are more useful in large open areas.

…but then my most-used flashlights only make a few hundred lumens and suit me just fine. Most of us above a certain age grew up with incan maglites and the such — flashlights the size of baseball bats that make maybe 40-50 lumens, and we thought they were great back then. 40 lumens is still 40 lumens. Most of us do not NEED 1500 lumens in our pockets, we just want it.

I usually would only use an LED headlamp shining at around 100 lumens max around camp, and that’s floody, diffuse light. Depending on where I’m camping, I might like to have a flashlight with some throw as well, but that doesn’t necessarily mean lots of lumens. I think the spot reflector in my Fenix HP25 is perfectly adequate for checking on animal noises in the woods beyond my campfire, and that headlamp is only rated for 360 lumens on max.

I also grew up with Maglites and the like; however, I can remember a few instances when I was night hiking in the woods with incandescent headlamps and not being able to reliably follow the trail because the yellow incandescent light was just so dim. I really like a 1000 lumen flashlight or headlamp for when the leaves are covering the trail and there is no other way to reliably follow the path than to spot the slight depression in the forest floor. The extra light lets you find the blazes on the trees, people’s footprints and other clues that would be obvious in the daylight.

nquinn · 2019-02-24T02:11:13.000Z

I did a rough test recently with my Skilhunt H03, and I think an ideal range is somewhere between 50-100 lumens for enough brightness without a ton of battery drain.

A throwier light might need less power.

Around camp itself even l lumen is more than enough in the dark. For walking around you can pretty easily get by with < 10 lumen.

sbslider · 2019-02-24T04:40:57.000Z

nquinn:

Around camp itself even l lumen is more than enough in the dark. For walking around you can pretty easily get by with < 10 lumen.

I went 3 weeks in September on the John Muir Trail using a Thrunite Ti-3 (AAA) with a single lithium primary. Never used the highest mode, just firefly or the 10 lumen low. Still had juice left after the trip, just a single AAA battery. If you are not hiking at night, you really don’t need much light in the outdoors. I guess if you are in the middle of lots of trees that could be different, but the canopy in the high Sierra is not very thick.

moderator007 · 2019-02-24T04:55:39.000Z

Buy a Ultratac A1, install a 17mm mtn boost driver and change the led to a XHP50.2 on a cooper MCPCB. Do a spring bypass or install a less resistance spring.
Use a Efest IMR14500 and you’ll be about at 2250 lumens OTF from a AA sized light.
And when it’s cold you can use it as a hand warmer.

Oh, and don’t take walks longer than 20 minutes or you’ll be walking home in the dark. Carry a spare 14500.

gottobegeek · 2019-02-24T05:21:28.000Z

So true. High Lumen lights are necessary and great for many applications and also maybe fun to have and show off on occasion as a collector.
When I first starting collecting lights again I wanted the most bad ass Lumen producing light but I have since learned that for me, and I would say for most average folks in suberbia you really don’t need more than 1000 lumens or so for about any application you might encounter.
I also realized that even if I have a light with an incredible throw, my older eyes cannot see wtf is out 900 feet anyways unless I happen to have grabbed my old Tasco binoculars, lol.

pennzy · 2019-02-24T15:14:41.000Z

I want the lumens. Lions and tigers and bears you know.

Couchmaster · 2019-02-24T18:13:20.000Z

Walking through the woods is probably not the best use case for a high-lumen light. Too much up-close stuff for the light to reflect off of. High lumens are more useful in large open areas.

You say that until a wild animal starts tracking you are far off trail in the darkness of the deep wild. Then the thinking shifts to: wish I had an extra 1500 lumens. At least, that’s been my experience.

Lightbringer · 2019-02-24T20:23:47.000Z

pennzy:

I want the lumens. Lions and tigers and bears you know.

Oh my…

Lightbringer · 2019-02-24T20:27:26.000Z

Couchmaster:

Walking through the woods is probably not the best use case for a high-lumen light. Too much up-close stuff for the light to reflect off of. High lumens are more useful in large open areas.

You say that until a wild animal starts tracking you are far off trail in the darkness of the deep wild. Then the thinking shifts to: wish I had an extra 1500 lumens. At least, that’s been my experience.

To do what, though? Make for an easier getaway or try shining into the critter’s eyes?

Me, I never got chased by critters, so…

pennzy · 2019-02-24T21:09:20.000Z

Give me more advance notice than low allows. Then I can bend over and kiss my…….well ,you know.

djmcconn · 2019-02-24T23:26:13.000Z

pennzy and Lightbringer those comments made my day! Sorta tells you about my day!!!

Spartan · 2019-02-25T02:19:05.000Z

Sheesh….you guys go into the forest without a phone? I just take a picture of the beasts and let the Twitter mob brow beat them.

Snoman002 · 2019-02-25T02:39:57.000Z

I love my Emisar D4

Mostly because low is just a button hold away. I use the low mode the most on that little light. Occasionally I bump it up, but that is typically for ceiling bounce to light the room. I shouldn’t say that, I guess if I’m on an outdoor walk I use about 1/4 brightness.

That said, I wish that it had 4000 more lumens then it does now. It’s just fun to mess with. I carry it with me most of the time just for theusefullness and the possability of defense. I have never had to use anything in the past and this little light is handy, reasonably distracting with an eye shot, and a heck of a lot less annoying to carry then my 9mm.

Hugh_Johnson · 2019-02-25T03:45:32.000Z

For nearly any task I like the minimum lumens necessary. Indoor, lots of sublumen.

Exception? Walking through the woods. I don’t need all that much to make my way around, but lots of light feels like a security blanket. It’s the one place I love thousands of sustained lumens.

Agro · 2019-02-25T10:07:59.000Z

I still find Utorch UT02 my favourite light for walking through woods. I point it forward to see the trail ahead, the spill has perfect width so I can see below my feet.

GT Mini works just as well while being smaller but it dims down as battery deplates. And it deplates so fast…

It’s interesting to see how different are lighting strategies used around for seemingly the same task…
I’d like to note that most of my trails are fairly simple (sometimes there’s mud or some roots but nothing difficult). And have many straights.

mmalive · 2019-03-05T21:08:29.000Z

Walking through woods you would need a good 4000 plus lumens especially if dense deep forest.