I turn them down until they don't set the house on fire.

I dont like a light I cant weld with pd35tac is just about right.

Am I the only one who is amazed that only a scant few years ago 60 lumens out of a two cell light was THE TACTICAL OUTPUT!!!!

I am not that old but old enough to remember seeing MP5s as a kid with giant ass maglites or other similar lights on them.

Now.....I mean I have AAA lights that put out like 100 lumens+.

My older TLR-1 lights were plenty bright and still are but next to my 800 lumen one I feel like I have an oil lamp attached to my gun. .

I remember getting my first HDS 60 light and was gobsmacked that it put out 60 lumens on a single battery. (STILL A FANTASTIC LIGHT BY THE WAY).

We are basically to the point where you could have a 100 plus lumen light as part of a recoil assembly alla the red dots.

It’s pretty amazing how quickly LEDs have matured.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Am I the only one who is amazed that only a scant few years ago 60 lumens out of a two cell light was THE TACTICAL OUTPUT!!!!

I am not that old but old enough to remember seeing MP5s as a kid with giant ass maglites or other similar lights on them.

Now.....I mean I have AAA lights that put out like 100 lumens+.

My older TLR-1 lights were plenty bright and still are but next to my 800 lumen one I feel like I have an oil lamp attached to my gun. .

I remember getting my first HDS 60 light and was gobsmacked that it put out 60 lumens on a single battery. (STILL A FANTASTIC LIGHT BY THE WAY).

We are basically to the point where you could have a 100 plus lumen light as part of a recoil assembly alla the red dots.

It’s pretty amazing how quickly LEDs have matured.

Yep. My bedside light at the moment is an original 6P. 65 lumens for 60 minutes! I need to convert it to a Malkoff led.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I turn them down until they don't set the house on fire.

This sounds right. If you're leaving scorch marks on the walls or making the drapes smoke it might be too much.

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I turn them down until they don't set the house on fire.

This sounds right. If you're leaving scorch marks on the walls or making the drapes smoke it might be too much.

Co-workers used to refer to my flashlight as a death ray.

I recall when there was a light for the Ma Deuce that was 5,000 lumens. It was about $3,500.

Soon Harbor Freight will offer them free with a qualifying purchase

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
My older TLR-1 lights were plenty bright and still are but next to my 800 lumen one I feel like I have an oil lamp attached to my gun.

My brother managed to get ahold of a Surefire foreend for his MP5. He was pretty excited about it and when we got together, he was demoing it against the wall in late afternoon. It was visible yellow beam against the wall alright. I couldn't help myself. I went and fetched the Glock with the TLR1-HL and shined against his same spot and lit up the whole half of the room. He's been looking at an LED conversion since. He said much the same thing, cslinger.

Next thing you know, you're gonna ask us "How much ammo is too much?"


You can get away with 100 lumen.
You can get up to 5500 lumen.

It's all on how you use it.

Handheld flood lights are about 200 lumen, but throw out a lot of light over a wide area!
You can get a good weapon / handheld with a strobe feature that kicks out about 500 lumen.

How much do you want to spend? How big do you want? How long do you want it to last? Find a balance between amount of light and battery life.

You get a 3000 lumen output on two 123 batteries, and it's not last long at all. But the sun is gonna be jealous for about 30 seconds

You probably don't want a clunky 16 lb light at your nightstand either, but it's going to be on until the sun comes up.

If you shine the light into a mirror and it bounces back in your face... well, guess what
White walls, not so much with the newer LED and "softer" light bulbs. Again, it's all on how you use them.

I've got a Tlr-1s (s-Strobe feature) that's about 300 lumen on my pistol and an Inforce that's 400 & 800 on my AR that suit me perfectly.
Handheld? The Surefire, Maglights and Streamlight work great, and have lasted thru my use and abuse for years. Everyone raves about the Fenix lights.

Get something that's SIMPLE to use, and an EASY TO FIND switch.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Am I the only one who is amazed that only a scant few years ago 60 lumens out of a two cell light was THE TACTICAL OUTPUT!!!!

I am not that old but old enough to remember seeing MP5s as a kid with giant ass maglites or other similar lights on them.

Now.....I mean I have AAA lights that put out like 100 lumens+.

My older TLR-1 lights were plenty bright and still are but next to my 800 lumen one I feel like I have an oil lamp attached to my gun. .

I remember getting my first HDS 60 light and was gobsmacked that it put out 60 lumens on a single battery. (STILL A FANTASTIC LIGHT BY THE WAY).

We are basically to the point where you could have a 100 plus lumen light as part of a recoil assembly alla the red dots.

It’s pretty amazing how quickly LEDs have matured.

Excellent point.

My 6P LED or TLR-1's are more than enough for anything inside or immediately outside the house. If I had acres and acres of space I'd probably get semething stronger.

I'm happy with my Fenix PD35 Tac, it rarely gets turned down from 1000 lums.

I use a Nitecore P36. 2000 lumens with 10 lower settings. It covers all possible situations. It is outstanding for outside uses and lowers to 2 lumens on the lowest setting. I like it so much I bought a second one.

I find 350 to be perfect in both regular homes and in brick and mortar store sized buildings

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:
I'm happy with my Fenix PD35 Tac, it rarely gets turned down from 1000 lums.

I have that same light and agree. I am from the "more is always better" camp, because you can always "turn them down".
I have a couple 2200 lumen lights attached to my bike for night riding. Even those have different settings.