From the blog: ten great flashlights!

[olivero]

Very interesting article.

I never really got into different color lights as I don’t see the purpose of it.

I’ve had 3 of the LED LEnser P5R.2 flashlights for $100 each and they all broke and I’m too lazy to get em sent in for warranty.

I now have a LED Lenser inspection light, it seems lights that go in my pocket by clip have a much greater chance of survival. I don’t like large flashlights hanging on my back and stuff like that as it gets in the way, my phone gets knocked around enough as it is.

I prefer inspection lights or pen lights, especially rechargeable ones.

[techtownmayor]

I never knew how much I’d love inspection lights till I saw the Coast A9R – quite the little marvel of technology! 

The amount of light they can pump out of an LED chip nowadays is incredible. The amount of innovation in the past 2 decades into LED lighting is mindblowing. 

Companies like CREE have essentially killed the entire CFL market for residential lighting. 

Even LED replacements for fluorescent tubes can push out more light, all without having to change the ballast! 

[olivero]

Wow, that’s crazy.

Gotta love this stuff.

[fixbear]

I don’t know about the blue, but the red and green are to preserve your night vision.Just a small exposure to white light knocks down what you can see in the dark by about 80%.  If you sit in a totally dark room for 30 min’s minimun but 2 hour for the best effect, You can go outside and navigate with no light,  However, red will preserve that ability to some extent. Has to do with the Rods and cones in your eye and there sensitivity to light.

[olivero]

I had no idea.

Who would’ve thought.

[fixbear]

I’ve never cut a 48 inch T-8 LED apart yet to see how it’s made, but It has to be remarkable.  Dropping 850 volts down to a electronic voltage of  less than 5 volts is amazing.  Especially since the ballast voltage varies so much with the input voltage.  After all, a 4 foot florescent bulb is a single thin blue arc of 46 inches that excites the phosphors in the tube..

[fixbear]

In military war zones, Every thing goes to red light at sunset.  If you have th3e mid watch you have to go a 1/2 hour early to a red room before watch to read your orders. Absolutely no white light. Even lighting a cigarette will ruin your night vision. Today they have some very neet goggles, but the screen is green.I found that your night vision decreased slightly with them.

[olivero]

Interesting.