Is if Just Me? I hate Flashlights with Multiple Sttings

[Tidybuoy]

It's a slow day at work.....

I was just wondering...does anyone here Ever use the blinking feature that seems to come on all flashlights these days?

I like the fact that you can get a cheap 3-pack of pretty bright flashlights at Costco and other places. But, they all have multiple settings; Dim, Blinking, & Bright. I find myself scrolling thru to the bright setting which I sometimes miss the desired setting and have to go thru all the settings again until I get to bright. Seems like 6 pushes to get to the desired setting is too much.

Why can't we just keep it simple with On/Off? Am I the only one complaining?

[Jim Richards]

Yup

[RWebb]

Fellow Hater here!

I'd like to release feral cats at their factory

[Sebscst]

Ha! I was complaining about this last night. Who the hell uses a flashlight for something and thought to themselves “ this is too bright I wish it was dimmer”

[JackDidley]

+1 more. I have 3 or 4 of the damned things.

[Yorkie]

I have 23 years in the flashlight world so here are some observations - Law Enforcement likes flashlights with a few settings: strobe for disorientating perps, broad beam for looking for shell casings at crime scenes, tight, high lux beam for looking down alleyways. Same with the outdoor crowd - spot to flood, bright to dim, depending upon what they are doing around the campsite. Maintenance guys often want a dim setting option as high lumen lights can be so bright they reflect off polished surfaces and obscure the thing you want to look at. A dim setting also lengthens the battery life.

That said, in my experience, most users want the brightest light possible with a simple on / off switch.

[masraum]

I don't want/need the blinking, but I do like to have 3 brightness settings. I would also appreciate being able to adjust from wide to spot. When I'm doing astronomy, I also like the ability to run dim red light.

[porsche930dude]

Yes but i mostly just want one bright enough to see what im doing that doesnt have a dead battery
I only get the free harbor freight ones they have two settings and even thats annoying. Iv got a 18v dewalt light with on and off thats the main one i use and its great

[unclebilly]

Remember when Maglights were cutting edge? I just want a super bright one of those that doesn’t need 4 D cells to be awesome...

A AA sized Maglight with LED technology is what I think most of us need / want.

[porsche tech]

I have the very ones you speak of from Cosco (3 pack). Really nice LED lights but about my only use is to retrieve the dog's poop when walking him in the dark (didn't see that in Yorkie's description of uses). Having to run through all the options just to turn it off is aggravating. I feel fortunate that this is one of the few things I have to complain about in life!

[ckelly78z]

Around the house, I use my Dewalt 20V aimable flashlight for projects on the farm. You can look into the next zip code with that thing, and have it sit stable on any magnetic surface.

[asphaltgambler]

Yes, dumb. Bought a mini mag rechargeable light that I use daily. 3 settings: off / low / hgh. Really? If I need to spread some sunshine why would I want to barely illuminate something?

[Rusty Heap]

I've used the flashing light several times, at a auto crash scene, or to mark an object to find later.

There is no "DUMB" feature, only one you're not going to use..........(just like on a stereo that has 200 settings)

cheap 500 lumen costco units are poor at basic illumination.

here is every choice in the world, and then some........


https://www.banggood.com/buy/flashlight.html

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Sebscst

Ha! I was complaining about this last night. Who the hell uses a flashlight for something and thought to themselves “ this is too bright I wish it was dimmer”

Me.
Looks like I'm a dissenter on this one.
Outside - the brighter the better, but if I'm trying to do something around the house where there are often reflections back at me from something I'm looking at up close, I like the light to be just strong enough to see.

[Por_sha911]

Oh the tragedy of first world problems.

Low light setting means it will last longer in a blackout. I never did get the flashing light thing but maybe people use that instead of a road flare?

[Scott Douglas]

I found some, what I think is cool, flashlights on sale at a Honda web site that was no longer going to be selling stuff. Bought a bunch of 'em as Xmas gifts. They have the flashing red, bright white/dimmer white and come with a very good magnet on the end so you can stick 'em up anywhere metallic. I don't know if I'll ever use mine, but it'd be good for changing a tire on a dark night at the side of the road.



Came with batteries too so I can't complain much.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

I have the very ones you speak of from Cosco (3 pack). Really nice LED lights but about my only use is to retrieve the dog's poop when walking him in the dark (didn't see that in Yorkie's description of uses). Having to run through all the options just to turn it off is aggravating. I feel fortunate that this is one of the few things I have to complain about in life!

Hold the button instead of clicking and it will skip other functions and turn off.

[RKDinOKC]

They need two switches. One does on/off, the other picks the mode, dim, bright, flash.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

They need two switches. One does on/off, the other picks the mode, dim, bright, flash.

Fenix PD-35. Great little light with two buttons.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by Yorkie

I have 23 years in the flashlight world so here are some observations - Law Enforcement likes flashlights with a few settings: strobe for disorientating perps, broad beam for looking for shell casings at crime scenes, tight, high lux beam for looking down alleyways.

Have to disagree there. For some reason, manufacturers like multi-mode tac lights, but 99.9% of LEOs out there don't use or want them (including "strobe" modes). That goes for both handheld and WMLs. The vast majority prefer/use single-mode lights with momentary switches. There are several reasons for this. The only "mode" that is preferable/useful is the ability to switch from momentary to constant-on. Typically, this is done with a single clicky switch (or a paddle in the case of a pistol WML) that gives you momentary with a half-press and constant-on with a full press.