Unpopular Flashlight Opinion Thread

LED Flashlights – General Info
21

Unpopular opinion 1:
I love flashlights with inbuild charging :stuck_out_tongue: .

Unpopular opinion 2:
Copper in a flashlight is heavy and should be kept to minimum, I’d rather loose the weight and get rid of extra copper than gain the extra 2% output. Aluminium rules!
(ok, admitted, I rather like SS bezels)

Unpopular opinion 3:
I do not see the niche for the FT03, both battery choice and looks are a step back from the FT02

Unpopular opinion 4:
Around 3500K I really like some of the yellow tints way above the BBL, the pink 4000K 70CRI stock led of the Convoy T2 I find rather ugly.

Unpopular opinion 5:
I’m excited that the FW3A will come in smooth finish dark grey instead of the intended clear raw machined look.

Maybe more to come :innocent:

(fun thread, mr. needle :slight_smile: )

22

Unpopular opinion #1 - I like cool white LED’s at around 6000k-6500k
Unpopular opinion #2 - I only like tailswitch lights, no side switch lights

23

219b 9080 sw45 is a fine emitter, but highly overrated.

HDS lights are to big for EDC and ridiculous compared to their 16340 capacity.

24

I can relate to that one.

I keep my flashlight in my pocket most of the time, and side switch lights accidentally turn on.

Tailswitch lights don't.

25
  • Lights should not be shorter than 6 inches. 8 inches would be ideal. That way, I won’t drop the light if it slides through my fingers a bit while I’m wearing gloves.
  • I want a Convoy S2+ in stainless steel.
  • I want a 3×AA battery tube for my S2+ in nose-to-tail configuration. Oh, look, it’s 8 inches long - perfect!

Good thread, by the way :+1:

26

Lightbringer, this is a thread for unpopular opinions, not for forcing people to confront their problems!

27

“USB-C connectors are the wave of the future.

Quoting from tidbits.com:“:https://tidbits.com/2019/01/11/usb-group-moves-to-validate-usb-c-devices-for-safety-and-security/

More: http://www.eweek.com/security/usb-type-c-to-become-more-secure-with-authentication-standard

28

CRI is overrated. Especially when your behemoth of a light puts out as many lumens as my Emisar D4 :person_facepalming:

29

BLFers are actually in control of GBs…or were many moons ago.

Battery fitment tolerances are not rocket science for anybody.

Demanding that said tolerances are published/adhered to or alternate fitment methods provided/dreamed up here is ‘ok’.

There is a significant market for 21700 protected cell lights.

30
  1. I don’t like throwers or flooders - I prefer the in-between - like the TIR in the Olight S1A.
  2. I don’t really need a flashlight. Most of the time, I could get by using just the “flash” light on my phone for getting around in the dark.
  3. If I had to choose between my flashlight hobby and my hot sauce(s), I’d get rid of all my flashlights today and never buy another!
  4. CRI is NOT worth paying extra for! :smiling_imp:
31

i like cool white - hate too-yellow

i like side switches

i don’t like TBTC carry lights (too big to carry)

i don;t need the light to be a [bad] charger

i don’t like magnets

i don;t like[need] “throwers” and usually don;t like ‘floodies’ - like it in between or with a hot spot and lots of spill

ramping seems like a good idea but it;s too much trouble usually

32

1. Excellent color rendition is everything to me, efficiency be damned if so (with LEDs of course).

2. No commercial light should use spring bypasses, especially in small lights. Using dual BeCu springs is enough, and allows for universal battery fitment(see the PL47 for what a few mm less can do)

3. 21700>26650

4. I hate 14500 lights.

5. SST-20 is best overall HCRI LED.

6. Some people spend too much money on torches.

33

Let’s give it a try:

  • Keychain sized lights are rendered mostly obsolete by the introduction of smartphones with flashlight apps. I just have to draw a “V” shape on my locked smartphone to activate it.
  • Flashlight industry is at least 15 years behind of modern user interface technologies. No bluetooth/wifi, hardly any configuration or personalisation.
  • Two buttons next to each other to switch higher and lower make for a much better interface than a single side switch.
  • 99.9% of owners who buy a “tactical” flashlight have never and will never be in a “tactical” situation.
  • Strike bezels on tactical lights are useless. If you are good enough to strike someone with that without getting knocked out you are already good enough to win the fight.
34

I don’t mind Turbo mode for only 30sec-1min… On all my lights i keep it at a level enough to see, and only raise it to Turbo when necessary. If I need more than a minute to see a target from a distance I probably have adult ADD…

35

Opinions are like flashlights around here. Everyone has one.

36

IDK if this is a thread where we’re supposed to reply to other comments at all but…

in emitters like the Optisolis for example whites aand other colors are so accurate because there is good red rendering (+other parts of the spectrum in the correct proportions). If you have the yellow, green, part of blue, but very little red and deep blues like most low-CRI emitters white will not look correct and greens will be over-exposed or unnatural.

37

Mules don’t suck, infact they actually perform some jobs better than any reflector / optic could (photography for one).

38

I’m not a tint junkie and I don’t really care about beam pattern too much.

I have lots of tints and some are nice when looking at my orchids, or other flowering plants, but tint isn’t the ‘end all be all’ for me.

As for beam pattern, I don’t much worry about that, as I use my lights to find stuff in the dark, or light the way. I have SWM V11Rs and M11Rs and they’re ‘ringy’ as all get out, but using them outside, I never notice that.

I understand that plenty of us are ‘white wall hunters,’ sitting on the couch with a bag of Cheetos, but that’s basically where it ends, for me at least.

Chris

39

The budget in budget light forum has no connection with what you think it should mean

40

I agree with a lot of this. Arduino and Raspberry Pi are so small now they could easily be implemented in medium to larger flashlights, with GUI programmability and control on a phone instead of blindly clicking and praying. Remote light operation is a huge plus especially if it’s mounted or on a tripod. A GoPro is infinitely smaller than a BLF GT yet that can take 4K60 video with image stabilization, and send a live feed to YouTube through your phone. The only big issue would be the aluminum housing of most flashlights - there needs to be some outer plastic for the antennae to work. I think a combination rocker/pushbutton would make a nice interface. Even a slider. And I agree with the strike bezel - if the strobe didn’t scare the perpetrator away, you won’t even get a chance to use that strike bezel… unless you happen to be a Navy Seal or MI5 or something…