1,000 Lumen X300U

[spinmove_]

...and inside the home with night adapted vision, compromising your own vision in the process. All I need is enough light to PID the threat and then use lead instead of photons to deal with the threat.

My experience does not mirror yours. When I go to identify something in the dark, regardless of what it is, it takes me longer to process what I’m looking at with a dimmer light than a much brighter one.

Conversely, if I’m not being bombarded with any sort of artificial light in the dark, but doing the searching myself with a bright light, I find that my night vision doesn’t really suffer much.

Have you tried using your lights and lighting techniques in a class or FoF environment? I’ve not had the opportunity to do FoF yet myself, but with the experience I have gathered thus far is taking me from a fairly simple light (Streamlight ProTac-2L set to ONLY high output (350 lumens) with a clicky tailcap) to an even simpler and far brighter light with retention (Surefire EDCL2-T with Thyrm Switchback 2.0).


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[NH Shooter]

For the past 15yrs, I’ve gone from asleep to being awoken by LOUD bells, BRIGHT lights and working as fast as possible well north of 4,000 times.

I suspect that when the loud bell rings and the lights come on, that your first task is to gear-up and get to the truck. By the time you get to the truck (60 seconds?) your vision is already adapting before you have to make any detailed observations (or life or death decisions).

Contrast that to waking up to a loud bell, but no lights. In the darkness, you must deal with a potential deadly threat perhaps within seconds of being rudely awakened, with vision fully night adapted. When face-to-face with a potential deadly threat, does doing anything to compromise your sight sound like a good idea?

To your point, it's all situation dependent. A one-size-fits-all solution of "all the lumens all the time" could be a poor one in certain cases.

[Dagga Boy]

My experience is a bit limited as I only spent 19 years of working weekend nights in patrol division and multiple shootings and tens of thousands of both interior and exterior searches. With that I want to attach the sun to my pistol if it is possible. The X300 series is the right size to lumen size and the new 1000 lumen variant is the one that is on my new bedside pistol.

[TCFD273]

I suspect that when the loud bell rings and the lights come on, that your first task is to gear-up and get to the truck. By the time you get to the truck (60 seconds?) your vision is already adapting before you have to make any detailed observations (or life or death decisions).

Contrast that to waking up to a loud bell, but no lights. In the darkness, you must deal with a potential deadly threat perhaps within seconds of being rudely awakened, with vision fully night adapted. When face-to-face with a potential deadly threat, does doing anything to compromise your sight sound like a good idea?

To your point, it's all situation dependent. A one-size-fits-all solution of "all the lumens all the time" could be a poor one in certain cases.

You’re talking about 2 different things, the ability to see, and the ability to think and process information rapidly.

I’ve never woken up shielding my eyes, rubbing them etc....just start moving.

We are going in circles.

I’m not as experienced as some on here, but I assure you high lumen output is a force multiplier. Seen it, done it kind of thing.

Set an alarm for 3am, wake up and shine the brightest light you have out of your bedroom door....I promise it will have minimal effect on YOU.






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[NH Shooter]

My experience does not mirror yours. When I go to identify something in the dark, regardless of what it is, it takes me longer to process what I’m looking at with a dimmer light than a much brighter one.

Understood. If my eyesight is already adapted to (for example) normal indoor lighting at night, and then I go outside to walk the dogs, I definitely benefit from more light.

At night when I get up to take a leak, I can easily get to the bathroom and pee in the 10-ring with just the ambient light coming in through the windows. If I accidently hit the light switch on the way in, it takes me a few seconds (and very squinty eyes) to recover and avoid peeing on the floor...and then I got to feel my way back to bed.

It's when I get up to pee in the middle of the night that I've determined the best level of light needed to see the scoring rings on the target set up in a stand at the base of the steps. With night sights on the pistol, I can easily see the rings and establish an A-zone hold without shocking my vision with too much light. In that situation with the level of ambient light and with my eyes adapted to it, 10 focused lumens looks like a search light.

IMO, I cannot think of any better way to determine exactly what works best for me in that specific scenario.

[NH Shooter]

Set an alarm for 3am, wake up and shine the brightest light you have out of your bedroom door....I promise it will have minimal effect on YOU.

See my previous post. Even 60 lumens causes me to squint for a few seconds, which is obviously a physiological reaction to a sudden and large change in light level. And FWIW, that is the specific scenario I am discussing - waking up in the middle of the night with dark adapted vision. Not low light carbine classes, not clearing a warehouse as a SWAT team member, etc.

If all I need to do is PID a person inside my home in the dark standing 15 feet away, I sure as hell don't need a 1,000-lumen light and it's night vision killing liability to do so.

[NH Shooter]

The X300 series is the right size to lumen size and the new 1000 lumen variant is the one that is on my new bedside pistol.

Nice Beretta - lust!

I like the X300U-A with the QD mount. Since I don't carry with a WML attached, the QD feature would make attaching the light at night and detaching before holstering a breeze. And I'd run it with the red filter for the middle-of-the-night scenario I'm describing...

[s0nspark]

Even 60 lumens causes me to squint for a few seconds, which is obviously a physiological reaction to a sudden and large change in light level.

Due to previous eye surgeries, my eyes are overly sensitive to light. Up close I need very little light in order to see what I need to see. but at distance, I find I need more light than many might.

Even so, I routinely use a 600 lumen SF P2X Fury Tactical handheld at night going from near darkness to full-on, in small rooms, with just a brief ramp-up period, achieved by starting with the light bezel down on the nightstand or bed.

All of that is to say: (personal) needs will shape choices. Perhaps yours are just different?

[NH Shooter]

Even so, I routinely use a 600 lumen SF P2X Fury Tactical handheld at night going from near darkness to full-on, in small rooms, with just a brief ramp-up period, achieved by starting with the light bezel down on the nightstand or bed.

Yes, that works for me as well: gradually changing the level of illumination from low to high helps vision to adjust. But it's that brief ramp-up time that I consider a distinct disadvantage. I don't want to place myself at a disadvantage by illuminating the space I occupy while leaving a potential adversary in the dark - I would prefer to save the light for the actual confrontation and use my night-adapted vision to maneuver myself into position. I also don't want to then hit the adversary with such a high level of light that I need to "ramp up" my own acuity to fully discern the target. That ramp-up can be entirely avoided with a lower level of illumination so as soon as I illuminate the target, I can instantly discern all the detail I need to for a PID.

All of that is to say: (personal) needs will shape choices. Perhaps yours are just different?

Yes, we all have different thresholds for this. With dark adapted vision learning how much light is enough and how much is excessive for the purpose of PID is something I think is worth experimenting with. Outside with no nearby reflective surfaces, that level will no doubt be substantially higher before creating a need for the ramp-up you mention (if it even creates that need at all). On the other hand, the amount of light needed indoors with light bouncing between walls, ceiling and floor will undoubtedly be woefully inadequate outside, especially at longer distances.

It is that close quarters, enclosed inside situation with dark adapted vision scenario that I know for me the "all the lumens all the time" mantra becomes a liability.

[spinmove_]

Understood. If my eyesight is already adapted to (for example) normal indoor lighting at night, and then I go outside to walk the dogs, I definitely benefit from more light.

At night when I get up to take a leak, I can easily get to the bathroom and pee in the 10-ring with just the ambient light coming in through the windows. If I accidently hit the light switch on the way in, it takes me a few seconds (and very squinty eyes) to recover and avoid peeing on the floor...and then I got to feel my way back to bed.

It's when I get up to pee in the middle of the night that I've determined the best level of light needed to see the scoring rings on the target set up in a stand at the base of the steps. With night sights on the pistol, I can easily see the rings and establish an A-zone hold without shocking my vision with too much light. In that situation with the level of ambient light and with my eyes adapted to it, 10 focused lumens looks like a search light.

IMO, I cannot think of any better way to determine exactly what works best for me in that specific scenario.

Seeing scoring rings on a target is most definitely NOT the same thing as identifying whom might be in any given location with what they may or may not be holding in their hands.


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