Just How Bright Are You? Update-Post 23

[Kanewpadle]

Strictly speaking, lights used on a dedicated house gun whether hand held or gun mounted.

Just how many lumens is enough? I find 200-300 to be sufficient but know of others that use 800 and up. Is there such a thing as too bright? Overkill?

 

[ContinentalOp]

The exact amount is going to depend on each individual and their situation.

For me, I used to use a 360-lumen light, but after doing some low light work in my house I found the glare from bouncing off white walls to be pretty strong and somewhat disorienting. When I turned the light off, my eyes took a while to re-adjust to low light.

Now I use a 200-lumen warm LED light that does a very good job of lighting up my home but doesn't produce any harsh glare. Additionally, my eyes can now re-adjust to low light much more quickly after turning the light off.

FWIW, the EDC light I carry in my pocket when out-and-about is 180 lumens. It sits next to my computer when I'm at home while my 200-lumen light resides in the bedroom.

The only way to really determine how bright your flashlight/WML should be is to experiment in your home under low- or no-light conditions.

A brighter light might be worthwhile if you think you might need to use your light outdoors, but again experimentation will probably be the best way to judge what you need.

Just my opinion.

 

[Kanewpadle]

The exact amount is going to depend on each individual and their situation.

For me, I used to use a 360-lumen light, but after doing some low light work in my house I found the glare from bouncing off white walls to be pretty strong and somewhat disorienting. When I turned the light off, my eyes took a while to re-adjust to low light.

Now I use a 200-lumen warm LED light that does a very good job of lighting up my home but doesn't produce any harsh glare. Additionally, my eyes can now re-adjust to low light much more quickly after turning the light off.

FWIW, the EDC light I carry in my pocket when out-and-about is 180 lumens. It sits next to me computer when I'm at home while my 200-lumen light resides in the bedroom.

The only way to really determine how bright your flashlight/WML should be is to experiment in your home under low- or no-light conditions.

A brighter light might be worthwhile if you think you might need to use your light outdoors, but again experimentation will probably be the best way to judge what you need.

Just my opinion.

Pretty much my experience too.

I see some lights that are 1200 lumens and a strobe. I think the strobe is an unnecessary novelty.

 

[fredj338]

400lum seems plenty to me indoors. Strobes are just not suitable on a weapon light or handheld imo. It is distracting, I dont need a disraction when facing an armed intruder.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I see some lights that are 1200 lumens and a strobe. I think the strobe is an unnecessary novelty.

I took a class a few years ago. The instructor demonstrated the effectiveness of a strobing flashlight. He had a student try to resist while the instructor pushed on him. No problem. This was then repeated with the instructor using a strobe on the student. The student failed miserably.

I've also done some experimenting with strobes. It's nowhere near as disorienting to the user as the recipient, but still somewhat disorienting. Add in some strobing glare from walls, and it's even more pronounced.

I don't use the strobing function.

 

[andy52]

I have a 500 lumen mounted on my Benelli M4 that serves as my home defense gun and I think much more then that would be to much.

 

[armorer951]

The brighter the better. My "house light" is a Surefire XH35 with a an add-on grip activated switch, mounted on a Glock 21. Output is switchable from 300 lumens to 1000 lumens. Also a strobe option.

It has a very "broad" beam profile, which is better suited to small spaces.....like my tiny little shoebox house.

 

[Kanewpadle]

The brighter the better. My "house light" is a Surefire XH35 with a an add-on grip activated switch, mounted on a Glock 21. Output is switchable from 300 lumens to 1000 lumens. Also a strobe option.

It has a very "broad" beam profile, which is better suited to small spaces.....like my tiny little shoebox house

Tell me why brighter is better.

 

[SWMPSW]

I have a 100 Lumen on my Shield 9 and a 1,000 Lumen handheld. Trust me, if you shine a 1k Lumen LED light in someone's direction it will either blind them or disorient them. You then turn it off and move to one side because all they see is red dots in their eyes for a while. It has a strobe feature but the steady mode burns the retina's a lot faster.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I have a 100 Lumen on my Shield 9 and a 1,000 Lumen handheld. Trust me, if you shine a 1k Lumen LED light in someone's direction it will either blind them or disorient them. You then turn it off and move to one side because all they see is red dots in their eyes for a while. It has a strobe feature but the steady mode burns the retina's a lot faster.

Yes, but in low light 100 lumens will do the same.

 

[fredj338]

Yes, but in low light 100 lumens will do the same.

100 lum is pretty low power, but probably enough indoors at less than 20ft. 1000 lum indoor can work against you if you hit a white wall. You'll be just as blind as the bad guy.

 

[ContinentalOp]

100 lum is pretty low power, but probably enough indoors at less than 20ft.

FWIW, when I did security work back in the 90s I was carrying a Surefire 6P with 60 lumens. One of my co-workers wanted to check it out. I said, "Sure, just don't shine it in your eyes because it's really bright." Wanna guess what he did? Yup. He didn't believe me. It disoriented him enough that me and another co-worker had to help him to a chair and it was about 5 minutes before he could see clearly again. And this was in a well-lit room.

 

[SWMPSW]

100 lum is pretty low power, but probably enough indoors at less than 20ft. 1000 lum indoor can work against you if you hit a white wall. You'll be just as blind as the bad guy.

No white or light colored walls in our house. I can understand what you mean though. Mirrors and framed pictures with glass are a great reflector also.

 

[forrestinmathews]

The strobe is very disorienting. In a completely dark situation someone that is strobed will have difficulty maintaining their balance and orientation. I like it because it buys time and options.

1000 lumens is unreal inside. You are working against yourself. White walls become opponents. 300 lumens is ideal inside. Enough to see and enough to disorient at ranges you are likely to encounter another person. I have an 800 lumen streamlight TLR-1 HL S and it is a lot to work with inside, but very good outside where things open up.

Don't forget the use of a second hand held light is a force multiplier and assist in disorienting an opponent. Don't believe me try walking around in the dark with five other people randomly looking around with flashlights. Sure footing becomes scarce.

 

[bigggbbruce]

Pretty much my experience too.

I see some lights that are 1200 lumens and a strobe. I think the strobe is an unnecessary novelty.

Have someone hit you with 1200 and a strobe then run, see how fast "you" recover.

I have a 700 and 900..with lower settings.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Have someone hit you with 1200 and a strobe then run, see how fast "you" recover.

I have a 700 and 900..with lower settings.

I’m not disputing the fact whether they are or are not debilitating.

 

[Eric300]

Bright enough to identify and hit your target in a low light/no light CQB environment is all you need. Simplicity of operation is also something to strongly consider.

 

[bigggbbruce]

.................

 

[JayFramer]

Lumens are life.

I rock a 1000lm Surefire X300U-B on my P220 for dedicated home defense work.

If you think that’s too much, take a weapons light class. Proper technique and tactics means everything.

 

[Sheepdogged]

Strictly speaking, lights used on a dedicated house gun whether hand held or gun mounted.

Just how many lumens is enough? I find 200-300 to be sufficient but know of others that use 800 and up. Is there such a thing as too bright? Overkill?

I think it depends on the circumstances. I am like you in that I don't have a very bright light on my SIG P229, but Ernest Langdon makes a good point and recommends 800+ lumens (if I remember correctly) so that you can identify someone without having to point your gun directly at them. So for example, he says the light should always be bright enough to hit the ground in the low & ready position but still reflect enough light to light up the person you are identifying.