{"id":111188,"date":"2019-06-11T12:46:16","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T16:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=111188"},"modified":"2019-06-11T12:46:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T23:29:51","slug":"tactical-flashlight-defensive-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/tactical-flashlight-defensive-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Got a Light? A Tactical Flashlight May Be Your Most Useful Defensive Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Got<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0<\/strong>The following is a syndicated article by author Ed Combs that first appeared in USCCA\u2019s Concealed Carry Magazine Volume 13, Issue 3 April 2016 under the title, \u201cGot A Light? The Tactical Torch.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the possible exception of the jacketed hollow-point projectile, I don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a single defensive technology that has progressed as far in the last 30 years as the modern flashlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What even 20 years ago would have only been in the hands of\nextremely high-level federal employees is now available for less than $50\ndelivered to your door. It\u2019s been a long road for those who might even remember\nthe days of carbide lamps attached to the front of hats. Now it\u2019s to the point\nthat we almost take modern flashlights for granted. A flashlight the size of a\nroll of quarters that\u2019s bright enough to temporarily blind an attacker is\ncommon today, but that wasn\u2019t always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OLD SCHOOL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The D-cell Maglite<\/a> reigned supreme in the law enforcement world for decades, and for good reasons. First and foremost, it\u2019s of very high quality and can withstand the knocking around that is the lot of a duty belt tool. Second, it\u2019s a dynamite impact weapon, especially if your department bends to political pressure and removes standard batons from your duty gear. I\u2019m not kidding; as I once heard a law enforcement DAAT (defense and arrest tactics) instructor quip, \u201cFlashlights used to be pretty normal, but then the city council took your batons away and what happened? The 4-cell Maglite, that\u2019s what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This aside, the old reliable 4-cell is actually much better\nsuited to unarmed (or \u201cunarmed\u201d with air-quotes after you\u2019re holding a Maglite)\nself-defense. Not only have many, many other options surpassed it in actual\nlighting utility, it\u2019s \u2026 well \u2026 it\u2019s a metal tube filled with D-cell batteries.\nIt\u2019s heavy, it\u2019s bulky and, as I was reminded every winter while directing\ntraffic, it gets downright frigid on a cold day. If you are absolutely barred\nfrom possessing a firearm, a 3- or 4-D-cell Maglite is a good impact weapon\noption. If you\u2019ll be carrying a concealed sidearm, you can do much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

POCKET VS. PATROL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many folks are quick to simply ask which flashlight\nlaw enforcement officers in their area use and then go buy one, there can be\nsome difficulties in doing so. Though I too usually adhere to the attitude of\n\u201cfind someone who uses it for a living and ask which he prefers,\u201d you have to\nbe certain you\u2019re asking for info on the right flashlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, most law enforcement officers carry at least two\nflashlights at all times: a belt-worn duty flashlight and a backup or backups.\nThe light worn on the belt \u2014 the duty light \u2014 will be extremely powerful and\nanywhere from 10 to 16 inches long. Though that might seem odd in this day and\nage of tiny super-powered units, there\u2019s an explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When issuing a citation, that officer needs all of the hands\nthat he can get, and one of them has to be kept free in order to draw a weapon\nif necessary. Hence, his duty flashlight has to be long enough for him to hold\nunder his non-dominant arm, pinned between his elbow and torso so he can then\nhold the citation in the hand that\u2019s in front of the beam and keep his\ndexterous hand free in case of emergency. This is the type of flashlight that you\ncan consider a \u201cnightstand light\u201d \u2014 a light that you won\u2019t have to worry about\ntrying to carry around all day in your EDC but that would be an excellent\nflashlight to keep around the home (or in the vehicle) in case of a potential\nlethal-force encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TAIL SWITCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I consider a tail-cap activation switch basically essential\nfor a primary defensive EDC flashlight. Even more importantly, the tail button\nshould not only turn the light on and off but should allow for momentary\nactivation, thus allowing the user to send extremely short flashes of light\nwith very slight amounts of pressure and without having to worry about turning\nthe light all the way on and off over and over again. The benefit of this is,\nof course, one-handed operation. If you need to use both hands to operate the\nlight, it will only be of so much use to you when you have it in one hand and a\npistol in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LUMEN REQUIREMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not a huge believer in there being a strict lumen limit\non EDC flashlights, but I will go on record that I believe brighter is better.\nThe only time that dimmer is better is if you will be spending a decent amount\nof time reading off of white sheets of paper \u2014 ask any military vet or LEO what\nhappens when you shine a 100-plus lumen light onto a packing manifest or ticket\nbook and they\u2019ll laugh, squint their eyes and then feel around like they\u2019re\nblind. For such lighter-duty lighting duty, even the glow of a cell phone is\npreferable to a tactical light. Your night vision will be spared, and you won\u2019t\nimmediately broadcast your personal position like a lightning strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STROBE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to go on record as the man who brought the term\n\u201cCrime Disco\u201d to the tactical world. It came to me one night while patrolling a\ncampground in search of an individual who was even more dangerous than he was\nintoxicated, and when I lit him up next to a tent that he was trying to start\nwith his truck keys \u2026 well \u2026 it was one of those moments of inspiration in the\nfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a feature on the lamp itself that allows for a\nstrobe, or extremely fast-flashing, phase of the light. This becomes\nexceptionally useful when confronting a threat in the dark, as the strobe light\nis extremely disorienting and can even lead to loss of balance or seizure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, some models feature \u201cBeacon\u201d modes, which\nfacilitate long-term distress signaling by turning the head or tail cap. Doing\nso causes the flashlight to blink either a steady pulse or actual S.O.S. Morse\ncode signal for hours on end without requiring the user to sit there getting a\nfinger cramp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAKE AN IMPACT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the flashlight is operated in the non-weapon-hand,\nmanufacturers began to get field reports about what actually happened when\nusers of their products were involved in violent encounters. One experience was\nalmost universal: The flashlights were being pressed into service as impromptu\nimpact weapons. Picture yourself standing facing a potential threat with a\ntactical flashlight in your off-hand and nothing in your dexterous one. If the\nindividual before you begins to charge, what are you going to do? Well, you\u2019ll\nlikely start to move in some direction (preferably laterally), either go for\nyour primary weapon or at least get your dexterous hand up to defend yourself\nand strike your attacker with the chunk of steel or aircraft aluminum that\nyou\u2019re already holding in your off-hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this reality became common knowledge, light makers\nbegan engineering pointed scalloping into the faces of their products \u2014\nsarcastically called \u201cDNA Collectors\u201d in some circles \u2014 that are specifically\ndesigned to open a cut over an attacker\u2019s eye during a self-defense incident.\nSimilarly, other manufacturers began outfitting their units with carbide\nglass-breaking points as an added safety measure, especially for those who\noperate in environments with canals or other large bodies of water into which\nautomobiles often find their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BATTERY OF QUESTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s impossible to discuss tactical flashlights without\ndiscussing batteries, and it\u2019s a sore subject with some. On one side, there are\nthose who believe nothing but 123As will do in a tactical light \u2014 you know,\nthose odd little camera batteries that look like you took an AA, squished it\ninto a squatter shape and sold it for $4. Others are a little more forgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last few years, more and more lights stoked on AA\nbatteries have entered the market at very reasonable prices that are more than\nbright enough for EDC use. The difference is usually in intensity of beam. For\nan ultra-bright yellow beam that is so bright the unit itself gets hot enough\nto set your pants on fire, it\u2019s hard to beat the 123As. However, for economy \u2014\nif you can put up with a slightly bluer light at an intensity that isn\u2019t\nguaranteed to scald the hair off a hog carcass \u2014 the AA units are often more\nthan enough. Like with your sidearm, it\u2019s going to be a matter of personal\npreference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE THE LIGHT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting an EDC light can be a daunting, confusing\nproposition. The main guideline I\u2019d strongly recommend you follow is to neither\nspend $10 nor $1,000 on an EDC light; those ends of the spectrum will just not\nbe worth the money you\u2019re spending. Depending on your tastes and desire to\nspend money, something between $40 and $400 will almost certainly accomplish\nwhat you need done (and, as always, if you ever have any questions, please feel\nfree to contact us here at editor@usconcealedcarry.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modern tactical flashlight is the single most important piece of emergency lifesaving equipment that literally anyone can walk into a store and buy. Predators prefer darkness; deny them of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover how you can join nearly 300,000 responsibly armed Americans who already rely on the USCCA to protect their families, futures and freedoms: USCCA.com\/gunsamerica<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

***Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a>***<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the possible exception of the jacketed hollow-point projectile, I don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a single defensive technology that has progressed as far in the last 30 years as the modern flashlight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,234,340],"tags":[110,132,586,329,594,961],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-columns","9":"category-columns-ccw-edc","10":"tag-accessories-2","11":"tag-buzz","12":"tag-column","13":"tag-edc","14":"tag-flashlights","15":"tag-uscca"},"yoast_head":"\nGot a Light? 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