Flashlight / torch use by the public less common?

[bykfixer]

People have gotten stupid.

Used to be you feared getting run over. These days the thought of getting run over is replaced with checking FaceBook and Instagram posts....

 

[ven]

People have gotten stupid.

Used to be you feared getting run over. These days the thought of getting run over is replaced with checking FaceBook and Instagram posts....

...............or taking a selfie of them getting run over!

 

[peter yetman]

People have gotten stupid.

Used to be you feared getting run over. These days the thought of getting run over is replaced with checking FaceBook and Instagram posts....

Or the fear of not getting a Like!
And I don't use exclamation marks very often.
P

 

[The Hawk]

I am surprised at the amount of people that do not consider a flashlight to be an EDC item. Several times I have been with friends at night and as we were walking back to our cars, I used my flashlight to avoid tripping in the dark. A couple of them commented that it was a great idea to have one. I have started giving them as gifts and they are appreciated.

 

[jon_slider]

I recently gave one of my adult children, and her partner, THREE flashlights. They use the Olight S1R to walk the dog, he uses an S1 Mini High CRI at work, she has an S1 Mini CW in her purse.

Imagine my surprise when the other night we got into their car, and my daughter said, my car has a water leak in the roof, and she proceeded to illuminate it with her cellphone..

so, Why did I give them Three Flashlights? Because I Love them. But now I think I wasted my time giving away lights.

Where I live there are Often bicycles on the road, at night, with no lights. I dont see as well as I did in my youth. I live in fear of running over a bicyclist.

When Im walking, day or night, I like to use Strobe to alert cars when I am crossing the street. It is Extremely effective. I love strobe for use in the Urban Jungle, where cars are always in a hurry, and they act like they have right of way, and ignore pedestrians standing on a corner, waiting to cross. Pedestrians here know cars wont stop for them. They wont step out onto the street until there are no cars, rare, or until a car stops, even more rare.

A flashlight with no strobe, is not very useful for getting across the street.. here.

There should be a Law that requires bicycles to have lights on at night.. actually there IS, but, do people obey the Law? Nah, they can see fine, they dont feel the need to bother.. Of course they are Only thinking about Themselves. No clue how their behavior affects others.. Thats the curse of the Me First cult of the Individual. They think Laws apply to other people, but clueless about realizing they are Not Alone on the road.

Rude, selfish, and unaware of others.. thats how I see the behavior of others. Of course I dont do those things, Im Enlightened, and I definitely dont want to get run over by some Me First SOB. So I carry a light with a Strobe!

 

[Modernflame]

I agree, Jon. You're enlightened. From now on, you should just give lights to us.

 

[peter yetman]

I recently gave one of my adult children, and her partner, THREE flashlights. They use the Olight S1R to walk the dog, he uses an S1 Mini High CRI at work, she has an S1 Mini CW in her purse.
Imagine my surprise when the other night we got into their car, and my daughter said, my car has a water leak in the roof, and she proceeded to illuminate it with her cellphone..
so, Why did I give them Three Flashlights? Because I Love them. But now I think I wasted my time giving away lights.

That's so frustrating. I have a friend who lives on a farm and spends a lot of time outside in the dark. I like to think she has a decent light on her and have given her about 3. Whenever I see her after dark she still doesn't carry one.
What do you do?
Actually I say nothing and find her another.
She's probably selling them on Ebay.
P

 

[jon_slider]

LOL Peter
selling them on Ebay?
Im going to check right now ;-)

Modernflame, as soon as I buy them back I will send you one..
waiting to exhale..

yes, other people have other hobbies, which they consider necessary, much as I try to convince myself I need flashlights..

I already dont turn on house lights to walk through the house, and go to the bathroom. I need more excuses to use my flashlights.. Maybe if refrigerators came without lightbulbs inside, That would make more people use flashlights.. LOL

 

[Modernflame]

On a positive note, my aforementioned friend who fell into a swimming pool for lack of portable lighting has warmed to his new maglite. He carries it with him after dark while walking his dog. Even used it during a four hour power outage. Score one for the team!

 

[LogansRun]

On a positive note, my aforementioned friend who fell into a swimming pool for lack of portable lighting has warmed to his new maglite. He carries it with him after dark while walking his dog. Even used it during a four hour power outage. Score one for the team!

Nice! :goodjob:

I echo some of the comments here and will share a story as well about most people not using torches. I've been meeting with former colleagues for the last 20 years over a monthly dinner that we have an, over the years, I've had many different lights on me (from RCR123, AA, AAA to usb-rechargeable lights) and the reactions I received was always annoying, "Why do you carry around a flashlight??", "Oh, it's so weird that you have a flashlight". But, now that it's 20 years later, our collective eyesight is not what it was so, of course, many in the group now pull out their mobile phones and annoy everyone around us with the one-level with wide spill, light. Meanwhile, I use my light discreetly on Low.

So, I think it comes down to convenience and laziness... none of the folks - except for one lady who carried a rather large 3xAAA light for a couple of months - ever considered carrying a separate light but, since everyone's "smart" phone has a light, they now use them. I actually see this quite often in restaurants now and, as an aside, I always wonder why restaurants dim the light so low that you can barely see the menu, much less your dinner plate. But, perhaps, that's a separate discussion.

Interestingly enough, by contrast, I see a lot of cyclists these days with lights, which is good. The not-so-good is that the lights tend to be aimed too high.

I guess we can't win sometimes... but, at least, I've managed to show two of my friends and two family members the value of having reliable lights around the house. :twothumbs

 

[MeMeMe]

If you walk on the side of the road, reflective clothing or at least light colored clothing is a great idea ... in many cases, retroreflective clothing is more effective than a flashlight.

The rest of the time ... come on, get a life. I often walk without a light ... ON PURPOSE. It's called nature ...and I don't feel I need to always bring something artificial into it to enjoy it. Nothing like walking at night under the moonlight .... but moonlight alone. Heck, I have done it by starlight even. I would stop worrying about why other people don't have a flashlight ALL THE TIME, and start worrying about the obsessive need to have one.

Your post would be akin to me asking many flashaholics, why don't you use a headlight all the time instead of a regular flashlight. I mean really, why would anyone use a flashlight that does not leave both their hands free? It makes no sense ....

 

[Modernflame]

I would stop worrying about why other people don't have a flashlight ALL THE TIME, and start worrying about the obsessive need to have one.

It's possible you've overlooked the point of this thread. In post #36, for example, I said I understand why many people don't carry a flashlight every day. That was never the point. The idea was that walking in traffic after dark necessitates portable lighting. I hope my family members don't get run down, so I counsel them to carry a light.

I agree that nature walking without a light is enjoyable, but then again, I'm unlikely to end up under the axle of a car while walking in the woods. I find that this has been the general sentiment of this thread.

 

[MeMeMe]

It's possible you've overlooked the point of this thread. In post #36, for example, I said I understand why many people don't carry a flashlight every day. That was never the point. The idea was that walking in traffic after dark necessitates portable lighting. I hope my family members don't get run down, so I counsel them to carry a light.

I agree that nature walking without a light is enjoyable, but then again, I'm unlikely to end up under the axle of a car while walking in the woods. I find that this has been the general sentiment of this thread.

Ops Post, "I was out yesterday along a very dark path through the wooded park and of course I had a light (SureFire E2o) and the amount of people out in total darkness was a surprise. I'm glad I had a light as I don't like seeing people as just shadows heading towards me."

 

[bykfixer]

Carry a small light.

They have off switches ya know. And on switches too. What a marvelous idea.

Minimoog lives in a place where folks walking in the shadows often times are not your friend. So others walking without one can end up prey.

Where I live light pollution means that a light isn't really necessary provided you aren't wearing all black. And when I'm walking alone in the woods and hear footsteps in darkness, you bet your arse I'm able to seer some retinas if they end up in my 3' circle (1m in Mr. Moogs town)

 

[xevious]

Cellphone LED's are useful... but in a limited way.

1. Large -- holding a cellphone and trying to move it in tight spaces or to get the right angle can be problematic.
2. Damage -- a cellphone is an essential tool these days, so relying upon the LED frequently may put the cellphone at risk as it's usually not designed to resist the elements or being dropped.
3. Limits -- the LED has just one setting. Some cellphones have 2 LED intensity modes, but most do not. And there are significant limits to lumens output.
4. Power -- the LED is efficient but it does induce battery drain, so you can't effectively use the cellphone LED for long periods

Given all this, having a small form factor dedicated pocket flashlight has plenty of merits.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

some people have very expensive cell phones these days and to use them as a flashlight risking damage by dropping one accidentally vs paying a tiny fraction of the value of such phones for a light more suited for use is mostly ignored as a good idea.

 

[tech25]

Limits -- the LED has just one setting. Some cellphones have 2 LED intensity modes, but most do not. And there are significant limits to lumens output.

Good points but there are many apps that let you use a slider to control the brightness.

I see so many people these days unprepared for common occurrences. For example people tend to rely on Uber if it rains rather than carry an umbrella.
Even when transporting patients to the ER, I remind them and their family members the wait can be a while and to bring a phone charger- and some of these people are glued to their phones and annoyed to have to get off their phones to answer questions as to what prompted them to call 911. You would think they would carry around a small power bank and/or charger.

There is an uptick in the idea of "edc" but that appears to be driven by cool gadgets and whatever is trending, not necessarily what people actually need for themselves.

 

[bykfixer]

^^ Good post.

 

[Tejasandre]

Concert made me think of this thread. It was pretty dark. Cell phones lit it up

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Other than those who work during dark hours and require a flashlight, most folks rarely carry or use one, never have. As it has always been, most flashlights reside in a vehicle glovebox, kitchen drawer or lost, and likely have dead batteries.