Fight Lights: Weapon Mounted vs. Handheld

[NH Shooter]

To further define the ideal attributes of a "fight light" that differentiate it from an "everything else" EDC flashlight, we must consider how to create an effective photonic barrier and any temporary flash blindness that can be achieved.

The brightness of a light source is measured in luminous intensity. For a flashlight, candela is the measure of luminous intensity;






Luminous flux is the measure of light output in all directions, the common "lumen" rating of flashlights. The lumen rating of a flashlight does NOT indicate how bright it is, only the total output of the light source in all directions. So in predicting how effective a flashlight will be for creating a photonic barrier and depriving an assailant of their ability to see where we are or what we're doing, it's the candela (cd) rating that needs to be considered.

So how much cd is needed to be effective in real life defensive situations?

A few years ago I had the opportunity (and pleasure!) to work with a LEO P-F member who was a warrant officer at the time. He had reached out to me for advice on a light to be used in warrant arrests, specifically the use of the light to more quickly subdue suspects who weren't going to cooperate. We started with a Malkoff M91T head (750 lumen | 20,000 cd) and he found that this level of brightness was pretty effective inside rooms that were not brightly lit. Looking to go a step further, he purchased a Modlite OKW (680 lumen | 69,000 cd) and found that when the narrow beam was directed into the eyes it was devastatingly effective. The problem was that the 69k cd hot spot was not very wide, so he then tried the Modlite PLHv2 (1,350 lumen | 54,000 cd) and found that the wider (though less intense) hot spot worked better for his application.

So based on this, I would say for the civilian fight light, we should consider 20,000 cd as the minimum.

Mirror Testing

There's nothing like being subjected to bright light yourself to see first-hand how blinding it is. Using a mirror about 12 feet away (equal to 24 feet distance between user and assailant), as I climbed the ladder to higher and higher cd lights, the effect became increasingly effective. It's very difficult to look past a 20,000 cd beam, and it's downright painful to even keep the eyes open at 70,000 cd. Keep in mind that brightness is inversely proportional to distance, but I think judging blinding effectiveness at around 21 feet is a reasonable measure.

One of the trade-offs of high cd flashlights is that as the beam becomes more focused, the more narrow the high cd hot spot becomes and the more difficult it becomes to keep the beam in the eyes of the assailant (this is what my warrants officer friend had observed as well). So the ideal fight light beam is going to have a beam brightness of at least 20,000 cd with as wide of a hot spot as possible. This is where the lumen rating finally has some meaning: more lumens can be used to expand the size of the hot spot. Here's an example - using the 1,700 lumen | 70,000 cd Malkoff Hound Dog Super vs. the Malkoff E2XTD 650 lumen | 70,000 cd head, the Hound Dog Super is not brighter, but the hot spot is wider giving broader "blinding" coverage. Of course, this Hound Dog Super is physically way too large for civilian concealed EDC.

Another trade-off of high cd beam is that it's far from ideal for all of those mundane tasks an EDC flashlight is typically used for. Illuminating something in the hand with a 750 lumen | 20,000 cd beam is blinding, but with a 800 lumen | 5,000 cd beam not nearly as much. For these mundane tasks, a low-cd flood beam is ideal.

Conclusion

In order to fully leverage the benefits being discussed in this thread of a handheld fight light, it needs to be configured in a fashion that renders it impractical for mundane EDC flashlight use. But having the handheld fight light for SA and defensive use is IMO well worth the very small effort to carry two lights.


Photo 1: 550 lumen | 44,000 cd fight light on the left, 800/5 lumen SF E2T-MV (low cd flood pattern) on the right;





Photo 2: 500 lumen | 35,000 cd Malkoff E2HT EDCLB Dagger fight light;

[Tackleberry40sw]

This came in my email last night and I thought it is applicable.

[NH Shooter]

To continue my dissertation on handheld fight lights;

One of the most important considerations (an aspect I have spent years experimenting with) is optimizing control of the light: specifically the tail cap design and switch optimization. Some of the common issues with tail cap switch designs include;

• Accidental latching of the switch while carrying (light on in pocket)
• Inadvertent latching while using the light in momentary mode
• Difficult access to switch while holding in ice pick/hammer grip

The first two issues are typically with the switch protruding overly proud from the rear of the light, making it too easy to latch. The third issue is typically with fully shrouded tail cap designs that place the switch deeper inside the rear of the tail cap, requiring a shift in grip in order to reach far enough in to latch the switch to constant-on.

One excellent solution to these issues is the "twisty" design that is momentary only and requires the tail cap to be turned tight to the flashlight body for constant-on operation. Personally I'm still a fan of this design;






The only knock against the twisty design is that turning the tail cap to constant-on typically requires two hands. To address this a tail cap with "clicky" switch is needed in a package that avoids the three issues listed above.

Early on I determined that a "semi-shrouded" tail cap design would be the best bet to achieve my goals of easy momentary operation without accidental latching in the pocket or while in use. For the E-series lights I determined that the "Tactician style" E2T tail caps from Lumens Factory would serve as an ideal starting point.

I perform a few modifications to these tail caps;

• Since the McClicky switch is not screwed into the body and is retained only by the boot and retaining ring, the switch has a tendency to tilt out of alignment if the retaining ring is too tight. To fix this issue, I use J-B Weld and bed the switch directly to the tail cap which locks it firmly in place.
• The tail cap comes from LF with a tall, soft press silicone boot which makes the switch easy to manipulate but prone to accidental activation in the pocket and inadvertent latching while being used in momentary operation. As an option I replace the soft press boot with a low profile, medium press boot which fully addresses the accidental/unintentional latching issues.

In use these modifications result in a switch that works admirably for the fight light application: use the pad of the thumb for momentary operation and the tip of the thumb to latch the switch to constant-on. In the heat of a self-defense situation, one can mash down with the pad of the thumb and the switch will not latch, and constant-on can be accessed with a minor change in the thumb position;








In combination with a clean (free of obstructions) knurled cylindrical body and a Grip Ring Kit (all pieces or a select few), control of the fight light is truly optimized.

[medmo]

it's more about the case for the "need" to carry one.

Maybe not everyone needs a WML but I do. We don’t all exist in the same environment. I live on acreage out in the middle of no where. It’s pitch dark here on no or low moon nights. I have a TLR-something mounted on all go to hand guns and long guns. My illumination needs are EDC hand held, head lamp and WML

[joshs]

I still really like the Malkoff E series 18650 body design with what I think is a now discontinued E2ST head that is a really good balance between throw and spill. The E series footprint just fits way better in my pocket than the P sized lights. The integrated mcclicky is well shrouded but still is easy enough to click for constant on.

[NH Shooter]

There are obviously many YT videos on the subject of EDC flashlights, WMLs and carrying a WML vs. a handheld light.

A few trends I've seen emerge over the last few years in regards to civilian EDC carry;

• While a handheld is universally considered mandatory, a WML on the EDC pistol is a "nice to have" but doesn't seem as "mandatory" as it once was
• A growing number of "SMEs" are foregoing a pistol WML for normal EDC to reduce bulk and carry discomfort
• Like the handgun, when it comes to lights the more powerful the better
• Like the handgun, there are ease-of-carry trade-offs to more powerful lights (larger size, heavier)
• There's a huge difference in requirements for military/LEO vs. civilian EDC

Here are a couple of recent videos on the subject from what I'd consider reasonably credible sources. IMO they are worth the watch;

[NH Shooter]

The E series footprint just fits way better in my pocket than the P sized lights.

Agree 100%!

I did this scaled illustration a while back, but here is a size comparison. The E-series lights give up little in performance but are WAY easier to carry;




IMO, the Dagger really hits the sweet spot in size/weight/ease-of-carry vs. performance (but I admit the bias);

[joshs]

I really like what you've done with the LF tailcap and clip. The dagger looks like the optimal compact pocket light.

[Noah]

Agree 100%!

I did this scaled illustration a while back, but here is a size comparison. The E-series lights give up little in performance but are WAY easier to carry;




IMO, the Dagger really hits the sweet spot in size/weight/ease-of-carry vs. performance (but I admit the bias);

Wow. As someone who carries my light loose/deep in my pocket in an office, that's a compelling comparison. All the other high candela lights are just so much larger than the Streamlight 1L-AAs I've been carrying with a rechargeable CR123 for the last few years.

[paperman]

Two is one, one is none

Streamlight TLR-7 w/cr123 2.64oz


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk