How many lumens do you need on weapon mounted light?

[Dr. No]

I was a patrol guy, now I'm a full time swat guy. I have a 300, fury, 300U, and 2 cell scout on my rifle. The 300 has gone in the safe. The U and fury are prime time. The scout is woefully underpowered now. I'm considering mounting the fury on the rifle until the upgraded scout heads come out. The U has so much more throw that it reveals much more detail than the 300 ever could. I can more effectively discriminate targets because I can see them better. The other nice part is if I come into a room at a low ready, the splash from the U illuminates so much more of the room that I can effectively clear without having to move the light around. This instantly gives me more information. I also find that the more intense beam conceals my position better than the lower powered light - in force on force encounters, bad guys have a hard time looking into the light and therefore a harder time shooting at the light. This can only be a good thing.

I have gone from completely dark in the van to illuminating targets in a room with the U. I have not experienced 'flash blindness' nor found more lumens to be a detriment in any form or fashion.

If you think that you will ONLY use your light at 15 feet, you probably only need to practice shooting at that exact distance, right? Because nothing will ever happen closer or further than that? Come on ...

[Dan_S]

I'm no expert on using a light on a carbine or pistol - in fact, I don't have a clue what I'm talking about in that regard, but I will address one comment I read regarding "blindness" from lights...

I'm very used to seeing in very dark places without external lighting sources. I have (apparently) good night vision. All I can say is that if you suddenly turn a light on when my eyes are adjusted to a dark place, I'm gonna have a hard time seeing stuff for a minute or two....

So, I don't think that it is a myth that you will be blinded by a light that is too bright...

Just my two cents worth (if that).

[TCinVA]

Application is key here. The average joe isn't searching urban blight for crack heads. The average police deployment of a light isn't in a nice suburban home painted with pastels and festooned with mirrors that the lady of the house insists on having because they make the space look "bigger".

My EDC light is a Surefire E2E with an LED conversion. I think that's about 100 lumens...and it's fine for an EDC light. If I were I'm uniform, I'd want a more powerful light that throws a nice hotspot down range in case I had to go search the kind of place where people cook meth.

The human eye's physiology is well known...too much light and your night vision gets zapped into uselessness and will take some time to recharge. How much light it takes for you to see what you need to see, how much light it takes to wipe your night vision, and how long it takes you to recover some of that night vision will all vary from individual to individual...and will even vary for that individual based on a number of factors that change through their life.

We sometimes forget that we each see the world uniquely. Nobody else sees the world exactly as you do because nobody else is doing it with your hardware. Some experimentation and adaptation will be required.

[Jay Cunningham]

TC applies common sense filter.

[Sparks2112]

TC applies common sense filter.

I didn't think that was allowed on the interwebZ?

[Dr. No]

The human eye's physiology is well known...too much light and your night vision gets zapped into uselessness and will take some time to recharge. How much light it takes for you to see what you need to see, how much light it takes to wipe your night vision, and how long it takes you to recover some of that night vision will all vary from individual to individual...and will even vary for that individual based on a number of factors that change through their life.

I hear people talk about this factor all the time and it's never made sense to me. If you're going to use white light to search, then what are you trying to "see" when you turn the light off?

For me, it's moving through a structure or around one ... if I need to actually get details about what is in that area, I have to use white light. Once I white light it, my vision doesn't go to complete blackness and then fade back in..... I can still see hallways, doorways, furniture, etc. If I need to see what is IN the couch, I'm not going to be able to see that clearly without white light regardless if I have used white light in the last five minutes or not.

I do agree, different equipment for different situations. The whole 'too much lumens is going to melt your face' is silly to me. Turning on most interior lights is just as bright as a 100 lumen light, but it has a lot more throw and dispersion because it's on the ceiling. 500 lumen reminds me more of a businesses fluorescent.

[ToddG]

For me, it's moving through a structure or around one ... if I need to actually get details about what is in that area, I have to use white light. Once I white light it, my vision doesn't go to complete blackness and then fade back in..... I can still see hallways, doorways, furniture, etc. If I need to see what is IN the couch, I'm not going to be able to see that clearly without white light regardless if I have used white light in the last five minutes or not.

Just curious, but how old are you?

While I'm sure it varies even separate from age, I'm personally experiencing the effects of age in terms of my night vision. Whereas it used to come back quickly from less than direct light bursts to the eyeballs, now I will see afterglow spots for many seconds or even minutes depending on (a) how dark the environment is and (b) how bright the light was. Things that I used to take for granted regarding operating in the dark (which doesn't just mean shooting but driving, etc.) now no longer apply and I have to be much more cognizant about controlling my night vision and compensating for its loss.

I have absolutely blinded myself due to my own light (AMIS last year, popped my strobing 350 lumen light at a mirror about 10' away... literally couldn't see things mere inches from my face for many minutes in the dark). Odds are I wouldn't have recovered that much faster ten years ago, but the experience definitely made me realize how much my vision had changed.

And before anyone suggests them... here, thank you.

[DocGKR]

When I had a 60 lumen light, I thought 100 would be better.

When we got 100 lumens, I wanted 200.

When we received the 200's, I desired 300.

When we bought the 300's, I lusted for 500.

Now that we have the 500's, I am thinking 1000 would be pretty good.

In short, I want MORE.

I have yet to find a situation, inside or outside, where I had too much light.

[Spr1]

When Surefire 6P's first came out I thought they were a miracle. Now when comparing one to a Fury outside the 6P seems like holding up a candle.

[Drang]

Pfft. You kids. I remember when Mini Mag Lights were considered to be blindingly bright.