once a year I email my favorite flashlight manufacturer to ask if they’ve finally made a flashlight that just turns on and off when you push the button, and every year they’re like, “no, but thanks so much for your feedback!”
be honest, have any of you ever used the flashing feature on your flashlight? did it actually come in handy? handy enough that I have to scroll past it every single time I want to turn my flashlight on or off
I guess I haven’t used a flashlight recently
Some are absurdly bad in this regard!
“Oh, you want to reduce the brightness? Scroll through 7 modes, including 4 epileptic seizure-inducing strobe modes, before you can get to low brightness mode.”
The mighty Kingdom of Anduril takes grievance against this sentiment.
i like him better when he was still Narsil.
I have two Fenix lights that both have 2 buttons, one on/off and a second mode selector.
The LD12 is perfect as a daily although the side/mode button is kinda awkward to use, the main button is perfect though.
My PD35R is a bigger one that’s really bright, but also too big for normal carry, so I only use it for work when it’s too dusty to see. It has 2 buttons on the back, one small one for mode selection and a nice big one to turn it on/off.it should just be, big button for power on and off, and another button for mode/cycle.
I don’t mind a long-click to turn off/on, and a short click to move between SOLID modes (high/low). But for the love of Christ and all the saints, any strobe mode should be a special key combination (i.e. double click).
Flashlights that have you moving through multiple strobe modes before you can get to a different brightness level, or before you reach “off” are infuriating.
My Emisar flashlights have a single button that does a hundred different things that you need a fucking map to navigate
But if you click it right, it goes into Muggle Mode… where it acts as a normal flashlight. Click to third on, click to turn off.
“Muggle Mode” is for Anduril 1, Anduril 2 usually comes in “Simple UI” by default, and requires unlocking which is probably better for most users. Anyone familiar will be able to detect it and unlock, other people are less likely to burn themselves.
Aha! My D4v2 has the old firmware, and my DT8 has the new one. I don’t really dig deep—I mainly use turbo and step-up on them both. I love them so much.
Honestly, they should just have an on and off button.
Who even uses all the other modes?When your flashlight has enough power to burn holes in your pockets, you may want to dim it sometimes.
When your flashlight is burning holes in commonly worn fabric, it shouldn’t have passed safety checks nor be on the shelves.
Some flashlights I own have a lockout feature to prevent this from happening accidentally.
The one bike light that doesn’t have this lockout mode, or the ability to disconnect the battery by unscrewing the cap, burned through a dry bag I had it in…
Still a good light, but I had to tape a metal ring over the on/off button, so this never happens again.
I’m starting to think torches burning right through pockets is a common occurrence, now.
At least here, I’d never think any of my or someone else’s torches could ever become hot; there are hot lamps but they are their own market (i.e. chicken farms)
False
It’s really nice when working ambulance and trying to work a patient at night. I’m able to illuminate the scene well enough that everyone can see.
Have also lit up yards while looking for patients/hazards.
I’m talking about normal-people off-the-shelf torches, those shouldn’t burn through your clothes at random that’s far too dangerous!
Medical equipment is a different story.Also, lighting a scene such as an entire yard is done with a big light, rather than a small but powerful light.
Those also don’t burn through fabric.It’s a personally owned light, not medical equipment. And, I also can use it on moonlight mode to check pupils, works better than the lights we are given.
And, why carry a big light if a small light can do the trick? I have a bigger light (noctigon K1) with a 1 mile throw, I can’t lug that around in my pocket.
I mechanically lock out the light in my pocket so it doesnt accidentally get turned on. It’s my choice to carry a light with those capabilities, it’s also not that dangerous…
It’s only dangerous if youd don’t take some precautions. My D4V2 lives in lockout (needs 4 rapid taps of the power button to turn on), clipped to my pocket. Pretty much no way for anything to press the button even once.
Mine does that. It has a big button on the back that just turns on the brightest setting and then turns it off. The button on the handle will let you cycle through 3 brightness settings and then the strobe effect.
It’s just some off brand, probably from Amazon, that my uncle bought for my dad and I took when my dad passed away.
Surprised not to see any posts referencing the Arbitrary List of Popular Lights or [email protected].
One of the requirements to make it on the list is:
A user interface where a single click turns the light on in a reasonable mode, and another single click turns it off.
you know I was expecting mostly what I got, people commiserating, people giving explanations for why they exist, people talking about how their flashlights don’t do that, but something genuinely useful, that I did not expect.l
Just wait till your flashlight needs to connect to wifi via an app that you download and log in via Facebook or Google and only works if gps is enabled and it also has to have access to your contacts and it gets your first born child.
Watch this short video on your phone so that you can turn on the flashlight
deleted by creator
Just
- on off switch/button
- rotate the head for bright-dim-wtf
That’s it. That’s what I want.
yeah but rotating the head is usually focus
all these super bright LED flashlights you buy on amazon, or at the checkout counter of the hardware store, I just now realized they don’t have adjustable focus and I’ve never needed it with them.
You should look into Anduril UI flashlights. They are enthusiast grade flashlights but you have so many setting for it. It one click on one click off double click for max brightness and when the lights is on you hold the button to make it brighter and a double click and hold makes it dimmer. Also when it is on and you double click it goes into a turbo brightness which is the brightest setting.
My daily driver uses the Anduril UI, but that can be mind blowing if you get lost in the settings.
Where can you buy them. Google search seems odd
I’m too lazy to look it up but there’s a flashlight community on Lemmy. It has a bunch of the really active enthusiasts who made the old flashlight community on reddit good. Tons of guides and recommendations.
I have a Noctigon KR4 it puts out about 2000 lumens. I haven’t been in the flashlight scene for a while so only flashlight brand I can recommend is Noctigon and Sofirn. You can buy Sofirn flashlights on Amazon for fairly cheap.
I know reddit=evil but, r/hanklights is a good starting place for anduril lights. I’ve been EDCing the D4V2 for seferal years now and love it.
Start here with what kind of one you like to find some options
The old FourSevens Quarks used to rotate the tailcap the switch between modes. I’ve got one of the older QT2L-Xs that’s probably my favorite light ever for that reason. That and it’s the perfect size for pocket carry while still being decently bright. The newer models since they got bought out ditched it which sucks because it was such a simple interface.
I got a couple of Fenix lights recently that I don’t hate. They still do the “cycle through modes with a button” thing, but it’s at least a dedicated button separate from the tailcap switch.
Thank you for copying the top comment and contributing nothing.
/s
They put them in all the flashlights because of a combination of minimum features required and cost savings.
To keep heat at a minimum and improve power usage, LEDs benefit from being run by a driver circuit.
If you’re going to use a driver circuit you might as well allow for dimming if you’re going to allow for dimming you need to have timed button presses.
There’s only a couple of companies out there that make the circuitry that does the LED driver / lithium ion charging, so everybody just uses the same chipset.
If you want to flashlight that just turns on and off and doesn’t have a lot of features try to find one that doesn’t have lithium ion batteries. If you don’t need the lithium ion charger they’re more likely not to use one of them more extensive chipsets.
You’re describing a UI that I’ve only seen in cheap hardware store flashlights. Yes it’s infuriating when you can’t just turn a light on or off, and choose the mode you want. I use strobe when crossing streets at night but my lights make it easy to access that feature when I want it.
Who is this “favorite flashlight manufacturer”? I find it odd that you both have a favorite, and buy lights that act like this. There are thousands that don’t.
So like the way they blind enemies with a tactical flashlight?
Same with bike lights, no I don’t want 16 different strobes, it’s not a vibrator.
Thinking about it, vibrators should have a on/off button too.
My wife’s favourite has a button that scrolls through the various modes, but when you hold it for a couple of seconds turns it off. Shit’s a game changer. Even starts back up on the last used setting.
the vibrator? what brand
Pretty sure it’s this one. Enjoy!
My bike lights aren’t bad.
Hold to turn on (to the last mode used), hold to turn off, push to switch between three modes: High, Low, and Flashing.
Buy one that’s made for fire fighters. They must be compliant to norms and from what I see all of them are super easy to handle. On off with a physical button.
Right there with you.
Why can’t I get a light with super simple controls (say low/med/high/off) with like a 18650 battery?
Nope, you want a 18650,you get all sorts of goofy UI crap. Uggh.
I do have some Duracell led flashlights that use 4 AAA, with a single button, low/med/strobe (uggh)/off. OK price as a multi-pack from Sam’s or Costco, about $7/ea.
But their runtime is about the same as an old incandescent, just with a lot more light.
I don’t know how it is with four AAA, but I had an Anker that had the three AAA cassette, where it holds them all side by side. the cassette broke, and when I called asking for a replacement part, they told me they weren’t making that anymore so no more parts, but these three cell AAA cassette could be replaced with a single 18650
Check out the Nitecore T4K. Not an 18650, but usb-c rechargeable, 4 brightness levels (1, 15, 65, and 200 lumens), plus a 4000 lumen turbo mode that it can maintain for about ten seconds before it has to drop back to 200 to cool down. Separate power and mode buttons, and it remembers what mode it was in when you turned it off. Great battery life, and small enough to fit in your pocket. The only downside is the price ($90), but.it’s worth every penny.
Why does it need to be low/mid/high/off?
What’s the benefit of those modes, and when would you use it?I’m genuinely asking as I’ve never thought of using all the other modes and am just cycling through them every time to get to the bright setting or to off.
I use mine for either hiking, skiing, or biking. Skiing I want as bright as possible and will have extra batteries, hiking I want it to last a long time and be lightweight (lower light setting), biking I don’t want to blind people, and a red light for camp is nice. I don’t like cycling through, a dedicated intensity button with memory and a dedicated on/off locking toggle would be great.
Wurkkos FC12
18650, tail cap on/off, side button for modes, stays at the last brightness setting when you turn it off and on, built in USB -C charging port. Available on Amazon for about $30 on sale.
I carry one with me everyday at work.
Used to EDC one of those. Switched to an Emisar D4DV2, it’s way better.
Looked it up, lack of a tail cap switch is a bit of a deal breaker for me. Might get one as a backup, but probably won’t replace my EDC.
Tailcap switch could be nice, but I haven’t missed having one.
My SureFire has a tailcap switch and it would keep getting turned on in my pocket.
I hate SureFires… Had a Polytac that I carried for a while but same issue of pocket activation and the batteries wouldn’t last because of it basically running all the time. I was constantly checking to make sure it was off.
Haven’t bought anything from the brand since.
They have their place, but it’s not my preference for EDC
I have a few of these. Honestly don’t understand why more companies don’t make flashlights like this.
The convoy has this, 2 modes, one with flashy and one hi med low
Most have modes that you can click or hold to change, but a simple click will turn it on or off. I’ve only noticed the forced mode cycling on cheap hardware store lights.
I don’t know, but I hate that, too. Modern flashlights have every advantage over the ones of old, but they ALL seem to have stupid things like that.
Clicking through multiple brightness levels is one thing, but strobe, SOS, and 5 levels is ridiculous. Just give me on/high, low, and off.
I’m a slut for Emisar, they have one button and a stupid amount of functions, but you can put it in Muggle Mode where it’s just PRES BUTAN TO TURN ON, PRES BUTAN TO TURN OFF if you don’t wanna deal with all that.
I like it with all the functions though, the software is mega easy once ya learn a couple basic functions. Also I’m a dweeb.
But man they do not appear professional.
Their about page is just a broken English “We are flashlight company”, their delivery information page just says “Delivery information”, they added every SNS icon under the sun (even ones that were disbanded years ago) to their footer but they all just refer to the front page, and the “FREE CALL” from the settings menu(??) is just a second mail to link.
This website reads like a scam mail, my guy.
It’s one Chinese dude. I’ve ordered a couple flashlights from him years ago and they’re all still in daily use for me now. It may sound weird but my experience has been excellent.
Edit: also you have not linked to intl-outdoor or whatever site I got them from, I linked it in another comment
I linked what seems like their official website, though.
Fair. It’s just some Chinese dude that makes em. Intl outdoor is where I got mine from. They’re wonderful, but I can see why they would seem sus.
Because it’s cheap for them to jam functionality into the circuitry and more expensive to actually add physical buttons. They want to advertise lots of features but deliver them in the cheapest way possible.