Maximum lumens for a flashlight in field?

[DoctorPimp]

Hey,

I was looking out for buying a flashlight on dx.com and, since they got so much good prices, I can afford a really good one. But I was wondering if there's a certain amount a lumens can be too much for the rules of the field / can be dangerous for the eyes of the opener. The goal here is certainly not to blind others forever lol.

Would buying a strong flashlight for night operations in wood environment and buying a weaker one for indoor cqb be a good idea?

Any flashlight I should be looking for in particular?

Thanks.

[lurkingknight]

I'd say 200 is probably a good amount.. it's like a search light when you turn it on.

[Cobrajr122]

I would not go above 200 lumen as a MAXIMUM for CQB. Any brighter than that and you are blinding yourself.

Outdoor, anything goes really... I use anything from 300 lumen Fenix PD31 to a 1500 lumen Armytek Predator, and many in between...

Keep in mind that the super cheap lights from china are likely not rated properly.

[MultipleParadox]

Consider the following:

"Strong" does not equal "good";
Prices on DX are great but as with everything, you get what you pay for.

My after and I bought plenty of DX flashlight, of different models, types and strength

They are decent, but not really good, so just don't expect surefire quality when paying a tenth of the price; they use real CREE emitters, and that's definitely a good thing. But the Drivers, PCB, Casing an Switch are often subpar in quality.

For instance, the aluminium casing is soft, and (un)screwing over and over will damage the threads, if you don't align the threads correctly, you'll strip them very quickly. The heat generated by the led is often not well dissipated, and will sometimes result in solder melting out. Tail cap switches often breaks. Etc.

So yeah for the price it still is good though, but just don't expect it to last for very long;

Also, more on topic, the lumens rating is often bumped. A torch rated at 200lm on DX is probably lower than this. Look at candlepowerforum, there's tons of reviews of them and some guys are well equipped to test the lumens output of torches, and I've seen some reports on that over there. That was a while ago though

Hope this help, just so you make an informed purchase

[Kos-Mos]

Depending on your gameplay style, you might want a weaker light.

I almost never use a flashlight because it gives away your position. I have one on my gun with a momentary switch just so that I can navigate (my light has a low power mode) and occasionally light my target when not 100% certain it's a tango or friendly. It's not like Battlefield where you blind people 100m away. Even in night (especially in night), you only show to everyone where you are, and kill your own natural night vision.

[CR0M]

Ive got a couple of dx flash lights,

funny thing, I got them for night games, but never use them. Reason being, they give away my position, and even if somehow it didnt, it resets my natural night vision, then I got to wait 20-30 minutes for my eyes to readjust properly to the dark...

cqb with a strobe, or outside with a red filter on it... thats the only things I might do with them, but even then, its meh

[Styrak]

You can't really have a handheld flashlight that is dangerous to the eyes. Yes, annoying as hell and maybe you see spots after for a few minutes, but it's not damaging. Your eyes adjust to the light it's taking in.

[pusangani]

200 lumens is fine, see if u can get a filter to put over it as well, and buy extra batts, I find most of those "fire" type batts hold less charge than they're rated for