How many lumens do you need on weapon mounted light?

[Zhurdan]

Tell that to my payroll department when they hand out bonus checks whilst I'm sitting in front of an internet connection!!!

Definitely a "want" vs. a "need", but the itch needed scratched.

[Odin Bravo One]

I'm probably just a NVG snob......but they are way expensive for 20 year old technology and capability. I couldn't do it. But I buy all kinds of shit other people couldn't justify either..........I actually buy a lot of shit I have to think long and hard about how to justify when the wife asks what I needed it for..........

[Tamara]

I'm probably just a NVG snob......but they are way expensive for 20 year old technology and capability. I couldn't do it. But I buy all kinds of shit other people couldn't justify either...

I know that Frank W. James sold a mess of buzzguns and turned the money into NVGs and thermal optics and looks set to spend his retirement years happily murdering hogs by the sounder in the dead of night. I guess it's all in what you want to use it for.

[Dan_S]

I'm probably just a NVG snob......but they are way expensive for 20 year old technology and capability. I couldn't do it. But I buy all kinds of shit other people couldn't justify either..........I actually buy a lot of shit I have to think long and hard about how to justify when the wife asks what I needed it for..........

That is understandable, but...

I don't have ten thousand (or more) to throw at any of the "newer" or "better" stuff, and I'm not going to be issued any NV equipment, so wouldn't the PVS-14 - even if it is overpriced for what it is - be a better option than *no* NV equipment....??

I've used NV (PVS-14 at that) just enough to know that it would fill a pretty big gap in my current personal inventory, and the most affordable option for me was a 14 through TNVC. If there's a better option out there, I'm all ears...

[Dr. No]

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.

Hah that is awesome

I'm in my 30's and I've had eye surgery in the past. I didn't think about retinal recovery, to be honest.

I think no matter how old you are, smashing your rods and cones with 350 lumens in a mirror is definitely going to bring on some fade vs. the splash from the light going the other way!

[Dr. No]

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.

Couldn't agree more Doc.

[Dr. No]

Because maybe when I was searching I stumbled upon a situation that's not really going to work well with my goal of continuing life functions and getting away from it without having a giant beacon advertising my exact location to said threats to my life functions is useful.

Maybe I've used some light to navigate to a position where I'm now in close proximity to a threat and perhaps they're in a bit more light than I am and it would be useful to have enough night vision left over to figure some stuff out about them without revealing my position just yet.

Etc.

Once the light goes on I may not have a reason to turn it off again. Then again, I may want the light on only momentarily because of the circumstances. If i decide it's to my advantage to turn the light off I'd like to avoid frying my natural night vision capabilities and being dependent upon it.



That might be true for your vision under a specific set of lighting conditions. It may be completely different for someone else's hardware under different lighting conditions. Lighting isn't static, nor is the way we perceive it.



That's more in reference to a light's ability to zap your night vision. Flashbulb effect, etc. It may not literally melt your face, but a sufficiently bright burst of light will zero out your ability to see unassisted in the dark. In some circumstances this could be no big deal. In others, it could be a deal breaker.

You're trying to have your cake and eat it too. If you are searching for a threat, once you find one you are going to need to effectively evaluate it and ensure it is a threat... or at least one you are willing to engage. If you need to eval the threat, you are going to need to illuminate it. If you illuminate it, you will then experience whatever negative effects you get from using said light.

You can play the 'what if' game with light all you want, I think. Honestly, my sentiments echo those of DocGKR's ... the more lumens I get in this world, the more I want. This comes from conducting numerous missions in the dark, in the day, going from light to dark and going from dark to light - all in locations I've never been in before and have to navigate. I've even done training in pitch black basements. If it's so dark that when you touch off 100 lumens you can't see crap ... it probably is a place where you can't see anyway!

Or ..... as a compromise to your position - put your finger over the bezel if you're going to nav with it. That will reduce its output and save your vision. Yes, I'm playing with big boy rules here.. You must be very aware of where your hand is relative to the bangy end. Then again, if you're using the light to nav you probably aren't pointing it at a threat.

I've found now that I have the 300U on my pistol and a scout on my rifle ... that I am anxiously awaiting the scout bezel upgrade on my rifle.

[Tamara]

I don't have ten thousand (or more) to throw at any of the "newer" or "better" stuff, and I'm not going to be issued any NV equipment, so wouldn't the PVS-14 - even if it is overpriced for what it is - be a better option than *no* NV equipment....??

A PVS-14? Yes. But not all night vision equipment is better than none at all under every circumstance...

True story:

Many moons ago, back in '02 or so, I picked up a set of crappy Russkie Gen 1 NODs on a lark. I guess they're better than nothing, provided that it's pretty dark, but not too dark, and you're not trying to run around too much. You could maybe use them if you were sitting still watching a game trail or something.

One night a few years later a friend brought home a PVS-7 from work to play with in the back forty. I dragged my old Russkie NODs out for a side-by-side comparison. Of course there wasn't any comparison at all...

Anyhow, it was a pretty dark night that night, and as we got down under the cover of some trees near the lake, the "Gen 1" Russian gear started having a hard time with the deeper shadows under the pines. I turned on the "IR illuminator" on my goggles...

"Uh, I don't think you would ever want to do that in real life," said my friend.

"Why not?"

"Because there's a really bright light between your eyes and... whoa!"

"What?"

"Well, I flipped up my goggles and that light? It's not just in IR. There's a dim red LED right in the middle of your forehead."

[Steve S.]

A PVS-14? Yes. But not all night vision equipment is better than none at all under every circumstance...

True story:

Many moons ago, back in '02 or so, I picked up a set of crappy Russkie Gen 1 NODs on a lark. I guess they're better than nothing, provided that it's pretty dark, but not too dark, and you're not trying to run around too much. You could maybe use them if you were sitting still watching a game trail or something.

One night a few years later a friend brought home a PVS-7 from work to play with in the back forty. I dragged my old Russkie NODs out for a side-by-side comparison. Of course there wasn't any comparison at all...

Anyhow, it was a pretty dark night that night, and as we got down under the cover of some trees near the lake, the "Gen 1" Russian gear started having a hard time with the deeper shadows under the pines. I turned on the "IR illuminator" on my goggles...

"Uh, I don't think you would ever want to do that in real life," said my friend.

"Why not?"

"Because there's a really bright light between your eyes and... whoa!"

"What?"

"Well, I flipped up my goggles and that light? It's not just in IR. There's a dim red LED right in the middle of your forehead."

Some of the early NVG were more "close to infrared" and slightly visible. I'm going to wager most of these early units have "shit the bed" - for lack of a better term.

Oh how technology has changed....

[TGS]

For those of you who are concerned about too many lumens affecting your eyesight, something you may want to look into is using lights with a lower color temperature. FourSevens (and probably other boutique light makers) has some lights with "Neutral White" and "High CRI" emitters, which give you a color closer to actual sunlight. It's less harsh on the eyes than the higher color temperature bluish tint most common with bright-ass freakin LEDs.