Is there such a thing as too much light ??

furet

furet

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Looking at 'adjusting' my weapon light systems and I am not sure if more light (lumens) is always better.

I am a big Surefire fan and they range from 65 to 500 lumens for simular size packages.

I am not investing in IR illumination because I have no night vision gear.
I see a lot of 6P-LED (120 lumens) type weapon lights on carbines and SMG's.
I like the idea of 500 lumens, but I am thinking that for indoor use in a CQB environment that might cause issues.

So is there such a thing as too much light ??

Also, clicky button or tape switch ??
 
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i run a multi setting fenix on mine... one goes up to 600 the other is 740..
i guess it depends on what you want.
 
Yes, at one point it can be blinding to yourself if you shine it on something too nearby.
That and the brighter the focal point, the darker everything else around it is.

It's all about finding a good balance.

I've dabbled in flashlights quite a bit.
 
Conte said:
Yes, at one point it can be blinding to yourself if you shine it on something too nearby.
That and the brighter the focal point, the darker everything else around it is.

It's all about finding a good balance.

I've dabbled in flashlights quite a bit.
Click to expand...

Do you think 500 lumens is too much for indoor use, I am thinking about the X300 ultra to run on an SMG type gun ?? I have the X300A @ 170 lumens which I like very much for my Glock.
 
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I think that there can be too much light, but the throw pattern has a lot to do with whether a given number is too much or not enough.

I have an X300 Ultra/500 lumen light on a carbine...it works really well outdoors and I do know guys who clear buildings with them.

On my G17 I have a 170 lumen TLR and I find it to work very well inside. A couple of years ago, I ran it on a carbine out to about 50m and actually it worked fairly well, although the X300u crushes it at that distance now.

I have also seen 200 lumen lights with really sharp, "spot light" throws that I found really unpleasant and the back splash was terrible - worse by far than the 500 lumens my X300u puts out.

"Lumens" is like "gallons per hour" and "brightness" is like "pressure". They are related but not the same thing. Is a 1000 GPH pump a high-pressure water pump? Depends on the diameter of the outlet.

A typical 100 watt light bulb puts out 1500-1600 lumens...but they aren't concentrated in one spot, so it's not blinding.

I have been told by people that 500 lumens is too much. I have not been told that by anyone who has actually used the X300u much (although I am sure it's possible).

I also have a 63 lumen SF 6P...which seems ridiculous today, but it actually works quite well at inside distances. Even on the outdoor range I found it functional out to about 40 feet.

Bottom line...I think if you buy quality, the specific number of lumens is secondary.
 
I like going with an old school Surefire M652 which uses the P60 style drop in

Throw out the Surefire P60 light bulb

Then go buy a custom LED P60 drop in

There are lots of custom module builders @ candlepowerforums

You can order the module any way you want

For example, here is one I just ordered

XM-L T40 3500K
Potting
3 level Low / Med / High Regulated w/ memory
2.8 amp to run on 2 CR123 Primaries
OP reflector
Sub total =$45


You can choose the LED they use ( I chose Cree XM-L ) , and the color temperature ( I personally don't like the cool white color of many cheaper leds

I like 3 level so I can change the output

I choose orange peel reflector when I want a bit more flood

If you are running CR123 s ( vs the rechargables that you can pull far more current from ) you don't want to order more than 2.8 amp draw because it can explode the battery

These guys make the reflector and mail it in less than a week !

XM-L T40 3500K
Potting
3 level Low / Med / High Regulated w/ memory
2.8 amp to run on 2 CR123 Primaries
OP reflector
Sub total =$45

Its harder to do this with a surefire scout light since there are far less drop ins available for surefire E series. You can go with a LU60A adapter however and put a P60 style head on the scout if you want

BTW - surefire LED modules are old school compared to what these flashlight geeks build
 
Got a 800 lumenum flash light for $55 shipped to my door. And my friend has the surefire 500 lumenum one my not only beats it on longevity of use but also on the light out put and multi-function role.
Although all you really need is somthing around 200 lumenums to cause temporay blindness to achieve the upper hand ;)
 
I have the PD32 UE, works good with a offset 1" mount. I got it because of the low and high settings, making it useful in any environment. Plus I wanted a strobe setting. Definitely worth the $100 I spent.
It also is momentary and will use whatever lumen setting you had it on last for the momentary switch.

83TC said:
I'm thinking the Fenix PD32 UE is my next light, up to 740 lumens. :D I love my standard edition
Click to expand...
 
Hmm, I use a 5.11 ATAC L2 at work, advertised as 222 lumens, and it is extremely bright. For 500 lumens in a same size package I'd say you're good for signaling aircraft. The special strobe mode for defense against epileptic people is fun, it's like a techno rave in your pocket!

So yeah, there's such a thing as too bright. But that depends very heavily on your specific curcumstances. If you're clearing houses with lots of picure frames and mirrors and windows that 500 lumens is going to be blinding you more than anything.
 
Something else to maybe keep in mind:
I don't know cr@p about circuitry and stuff, but from what I've read (not sure if it's true) is that, all other things being equal, a single output light is more resistant to shock/recoil than a multi-output light.
In principle it makes a bit of sense. More complicated (non-redundant) things are generally less robust than simple ones.

I'm sure somebody here can shed some more light on this, hehehe.
 
Misanthropist is right about the 200 lumen lights, some can concentrate the beam so much that the reflection can be blinding due to back splash from walls (usually painted), etc.

He was on my lowlight course last week and I was telling him I'm not a huge fan of the 500 lumen lights on building clears due to my belief that the throw was too much and was blinding for the user. We had quite a few 500's on the course in the form of 300 ultras and I noticed that there was quite a bit of splash off of any reflective surfaces but that the overall throw of the light was great for ID'ing targets out to 50 yards.

When I got home, I had a 300 Ultra waiting for me and have been comparing it all week to the Inforce APL which is 200 lumens. I am really liking the features and brightness of the 300 Ultra and would certainly use if if I was still in a Tac team role. It is great for illuminating dark room and the reflector angles are such that the concentrated beam isn't over-powering to the user.

For general compactness, concealability and brightness the APL is great on a defensive handgun or even a carbine. If I was back in harness, I'd probably go 300 Ultra and 500 or more carbine/SMG light for over-powering and disorienting a subject.
 
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