Cool Material: A tactical flashlight is one of the best, most useful things you can carry on a daily basis. Not only can it be used to illuminate dark paths, hard-to-see keyholes, and other late night mysteries, but it is one of the best self-defense tools you can have. Unlike knives or other weapons, a tactical flashlight won’t draw the attention of authorities, and it can be extremely effective in a threatening situation—bright enough to momentarily blind an attacker, and tough enough to use as a blunt object in an emergency.
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I really enjoyed this article. West Side Story has some of my favorite choreography in it. I think as time has passed since it first opened in 1957, it has become more acceptable to show highlight the force behind the characters through the means of dance. Paramount's production of WSS is said to be as powerful as it is because of the way the dancing emphasizes the lack of control the Jets and the Sharks have on their bodies, minds, and the world around them. Sadly, a lot of times, choreography is intended to only look good and has no meaning behind it. I am very glad that this production put a concept behind the choreography rather than just being pretty. I would really like the chance to see it, probably won't have time to. But I do hope this inspires other choreographers to include more story in their dancing and affect the audience visually and intellectually/emotionally.
Ignore the comment above, thanks.
These flashlights are in intense. By the way they are described in the article, I'd say any flashlight is like a Tactical flashlight. Not in the way of quality and brightness but in the way as it being a self defense weapon. There have been many-a-nights when I would take a flashlight with me to check out what "that noise in the living room was"; not even for a source of light, but just incase i needed to hit something. I think these Tactile flashlights are very useful in any setting when necessary. The fact that they have the power to temporarily blind an assailant makes it a good tool to have in sketchy situations, along with it being blunt enough to knock the guy out. I think tools like these are far better to use as a "concealed weapon" than things tasers, and small guns. You'll get the job of defending yourself done, and avoid any permanent damage to someone. Just enough so the authorities can deal with them after. The brightness factor is also great. Being in technical theatre, I often find myself in a lot of dark setting and need a light as bright as the article describes. Definitely a tool to look into... not literally (because it's bright).
I have never considered a flashlight to be a weapon in any context, except maybe those big beefy maglites that probably weigh as much as I do. However, someone apparently brought this concept into the light (ahahaha) and now all tactical flashlights can be used as weapons if need be. I have to admit I am more comfortable with the idea of carrying around a flashlight as opposed to the standard pepper spray or taser that most college women are expected to have on hand. Plus, I am in the market for a new flashlight and having one that could blind someone might actually be useful on my nightly walks through the ghetto of South Oakland. I also apparently did not know the definition of what makes a flashlight a tactical one until now, so that is also some good things to know in the tool and apparently self-defense industry.
I find it a little strange that it seems as though the main reason this article sees in having a flashlight is as a weapon. It essentially says, yeah you can use it to see in the dark, but really you can use it to fight people off. So I guess with that said there is a different set of criteria you need when looking at a flashlight.
First off, you don’t want the brightest light in the world backstage. It is dark backstage for a reason, keep it as dark as possible. Next, whether it is a bite light or not, it will end up in your mouth at some point so a really big light won’t do either. Now, I love a really bright flashlight and would use it in my daily life but I wouldn’t want it backstage. This list gives me some really cool options even though a lot of the prices are not as cool.
I agree with what Kim and Drew said in their comments. It feels kind of odd to refer to a flashlight as a weapon, especially these flashlights. I get the blinding an attacker idea but they loose me at hitting someone with one of these. With the maglites Kim was talking about you basically have a convenient club with you, you could definitely hit someone with that and have it do something, these maybe not so much. They’re designed to be lightweight and small, you can’t exactly hit someone with one, maybe keeping it in you hand to reinforce a fist would work but at that point you’re basically just punching the other person. Nitpicking over calling them weapons aside, these do look like they’d be a convenient size for use backstage, and the multiple brightness levels that some of them have would mean you could avoid blinding everyone and making the lighting designer sad by spilling bright light everywhere. Although it might be nice if some of them offered alternate color modes.
I was interested in this article for laying out the pros and cons of tactical flashlights because after screwing in the deck floor from below in the dark with a crappy flashlight, I’m in the market for one. I assumed tactical meant military grade, but I didn’t know we were straight up going to compare these flashlights as weapons. I will say there have several times when I’ve been walking in the pitt when I would have loved a flashlight and a weapon for comfort, but that being said this article pretty much gives all these flashlights the exact same pro’s and cons. The brightness wavers a little bit, but they’re all bright enough to blind an attacker and built with good enough materials to be used as a weapon. And to be honest, most objects are in a pinch? I liked when he told us about the water proof one, tell me if it can stand up on it’s own, if it has focus to zoom, etc.
I don’t know if there’s such a thing as the “perfect flashlight”. The situations in which one would need portable illumination vary so widely that I don’t think one could cover all these situations. In the case of working in the theater, I want something that gives off a large bright beam for looking up to the grid in the dark and something that gives off a low power beam for looking at small things in the dark during a show. Out of the eight listed, I would probably go for the Solaray flashlight. It is extremely bright and has multiple modes so that you can use it at various outputs. I can’t find information on the lumen output for each setting. The downside would be that in order to get to the lowest setting, you may have to cycle through each of the brighter outputs. In a dark theater during a show, that may not be an option. For my everyday carry, I currently carry the 2AA LED Maglite. It is bright enough to do what I want it to do most of the time, but it would probably be too bright to use backstage. In the end, I say buy what feels good to you to carry around and is bright enough to do want you want it to do.
Wow – I had never realized the potential for using a tactical flashlight as a tool for self-defense. But I guess once you consider the solid construction and extremely bright output of these gadgets you realize that they have more uses than just lighting up the dark. I think the prospect of these lights as a self-defense tool is most appealing because it is a tool that is also useful for many every-day occurrences. If you carry pepper spray, or a key-chain “cat-claw” like knife for self defense, you’re carrying that gear for this infrequent but serious occurrence. If you’re carrying a tactical flashlight, it’s a tool with many uses. I would love to see some research into the practicality of using these flashlights in self defense. I have been considering buying a more-legit flashlight for a while, but have never actually decided to spend the money. This may be because these lights can be pretty expensive (though that less-serious $13 model looks like an appealing intro-level product) but also because I like the hands-free element of a headlamp. I’d buy a brighter headlamp, but I’m too worried I’d accidentally be shining it in people’s eyes! As Drew commented, brighter isn’t always the best option… The dilemma continues…
I think this is the most I’ve ever laughed while reading an article on the green page. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone describe a flashlight as a defense mechanism. That is almost like saying a paper airplane can carry passengers and still fly. Next, I expected they were going to tell me it could double as a taser. Don’t get me wrong-- having a flashlight that can work in any condition and have the potential to save my life in a stick situation, sign me up. The only problem is that I don’t think you will get the general public to agree. Most people will probably say “ why would I have to buy a flashlight if I have one right on my phone?” The times are changing and people like the idea of compact. Even carrying my leather man can sometimes get in the way. I can image adding a flashlight to the mix wouldn’t be any better. Let alone the fact that it wouldn’t match any of my outfits.
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