I don’t think you need it too bright. I used an 850 lumen Nightstick light and got so much reflection it was almost too bright. As for distance, how far is the longest shot you have in your house?

 

I agree with Bama above. A light that is too bright can be a detriment indoors with bounce back off walls and such. Generally speaking, 100 - 500 lumens is plenty for target identification. I have a WML that is quite a bit more (Olight PL-2 Valkyrie) on my night stand pistol but firing angles/distance for me in my house, using this particular pistol could be up to 25 yards across a large open room so bounce back isn’t an issue. For down a hallway a 100 lumens, like a TLR-6 is more than sufficient. A lot depends on your floor plan and likely angles and distances of fire.

As an example, from a review I did on the TLR-6 on my P365XL about a year ago whole my new house was under construction:

*

Some beam shots I took tonight out at the property with the P365XL w/TLR-6.

I was standing to the right of a 25 foot wide space between houses. The black tarp in the distance is about 100 feet away, perhaps just a tad more. The end of the house is about 77 feet distance from where I was standing. This was about 9:15 tonight and it was very dark without the WML activated. Dark enough that you would not have seen someone towards the back of the house.

This is standing just in front of where my front doors are going to be. The back of the lanai is about 75+ feet away. Again, the black tarp beyond is a tad over 100 feet away. I would have easily seen someone clearly standing on the lanai. So that would be a 25 yard shot to the lanai and perhaps a 35 yard shot to the end of the backyard give or take a foot or so. In person it is clearer as this was taken on a cell phone. I would have easily been able to identify a man sized target in the backyard.

One of the hallways in the house. Distance to the back wall is about 33 feet give or take a foot.

For only being 100 lumens, I feel the TLR-6 is more than sufficient for most likely scenarios. I feel I'd have no issue identifying a target out to 35 yards. With the XL I know I would have no issue hitting a target at this distance. I've done so in matches with the shorter barreled P365 in dim light conditions. So while a brighter light would be nice and could have it's uses, I think the TLR-6 is a good light for it's size, run time and lumen output. Although I'm sure it could happen, it's hard to imagine a SD scenario where one would need to take a shot at a distance longer than this light is capable of reaching. It's also worth noting that I could easily and clearly see the night sights with the TLR-6 activated.

****

This isn’t to sell you on a TLR-6 but rather show you what a 100 lumen light is capable of for comparison purposes. Keep in mind that you don’t get the full effect from a cell phone camera and it was even better/clearer in person.

 

For only being 100 lumens, I feel the TLR-6 is more than sufficient for most likely scenarios.

100 lumens is 1990s tech, and no, it is NOT sufficient.

I really find it perplexing why people keep pushing low light output, especially for EDC.

 

Do not get one with a strobe. In a stressful situation manipulating the controls on the light are going to be difficult enough. Simple on, simple off. Also, a strobe can also affect the user when it's painted against a white surface or mirror.

 

I went with Baldor S with green laser on my G45.5 MOS. Not focused like the LEP but I wanted a green laser for home defense. When olight upgrades the LEP with a green laser I'll buy it.

 

To ID a target without muzzling it requires a certain amount of 'spill' from a light. A narrow beam will likely encourage you to point your weapon at a target (that could be your spouse or child) to see it; not ideal.

Larry

 

Lights aren't just about IDing, they are about control. Also keep in mind these lights only maintain the full rated brightness for a short time with a fresh battery. The brightness drops rapidly. So your 1000 lumen TLR-1 HL is rapidly going to drop to 550. And that's not just heat throttling, it's voltage drop from the battery.

"Too much light" is like saying "too much ammo". There's no such thing.

 

How often are you running your light for 6+ minutes? If you’re just walking around with your light on the whole time you’re doing it wrong….


OP, Olights aren’t known as a quality brand, you’d be much better off with a SF/Modlight/Streamlight/Rein etc.

Secondly, lumens is only one part of the comparison.

Lumens is total light output of a light source.
Candella is the amount of light produced in a single direction.

Just because you have 1,000 lumens doesn’t mean your light is brighter than a light producing less.

I run a Weltool LH3 LEP on my rifle, while it’s “only” 335 lumens with a fresh 18650 battery, it is stunningly brighter than the 1,000 lumen TLR-1 HL on my nightstand pistol because it’s so much more focused. It’s not really getting dark here yet, I’ll try and get some comparison photos

TLR summary: No such thing as too many lumens. Only people who don’t know how to properly use them. Get a quality light and instruction in low light usage

 

In addition to having a WML/handheld light, think tacticalizing your house. Add motion sensor lights where appropriate, such as the stairway up into your bedrooms. You can get a whole fixture or just one bulb that has a motion sensor.

Take a low-light shooting class.

 

Guns, fast cars and flashlights are the inanimate objects that I'm really interested in.

Some of the new flashlights are scary bright. One on Battery Junction reaches out over a mile and has an incredible candella output.

You light someone up with one of those at even moderate ranges and I think you could quickly damage their eyesight. Major lawsuit which you'll almost certainly lose soon to come. Don

 

Unless you live in a super liberal state I’d bet on the home owner, much like a SD shooting

 

I agree with the others. We have gotten WMLs for pistols too bright.

I want a high and a low with a green laser that is intuitive.

The longer throw focused beams, the only thing I put them on is ARs for night matches.

 

Definitely don't need thousands of lumens in your house. If more people tested their HD lights properly, they'd probably switch things up.
I keep my nightstand light set on 300lumen and it's more than enough.

 

Definitely don't need thousands of lumens in your house. If more people tested their HD lights properly, they'd probably switch things up.
I keep my nightstand light set on 300lumen and it's more than enough.

Lumens are less important than candela.

 

I would have the freaking sun as my light (handheld or WML) if possible, indoors or not.

If it's "too bright" on your end (which it isn't) imagine what it's like on the other end.

 

I would have the freaking sun as my light (handheld or WML) if possible, indoors or not.

If it's "too bright" on your end (which it isn't) imagine what it's like on the other end.

You'll have to imagine it, because you certainly won't be able to see it.

 

WAAAY too bright for indoor use. Next time you wake up at night, try turning on one of those lights. You'll blind yourself, even if you bounce the light. Try it.

"Too much light" is like saying "too much ammo". There's no such thing.

Its all about context

 

I bought the 300 lumen TLR1 for my G20 and it's perfect. I heard/saw a lot of guys with the TLR1-HL that had fogged up lenses after a lot of use. Too bright even for the lens.
You don't need 1k lumens.

 

“Too much light” only means “I don’t know how to use it”

There’s a reason the most commonly issued weapon lights are not 100 lumens in 2022, and it isn’t because “they’re too much”

You should take a night fighter course, it will literally open your eyes

 

I taught them

 

I believe that.

 

If one feels there can not be too much light, they don't understand how the human eye deals with light, and the gradients thereof. That is the kind of person who will tell you other things that are inaccurate as well. Hyperbole becomes rampant when the ego can't deal with the facts.

 

Is that why almost every commonly available weaponlight is 300-1000 lumens and literally not a single one of the major weapon light brands is a 100 lumens?

I do agree with the last sentence 😂

 

Non rechargeable batteries in the Turbo is a deal killer for a night stand gun for me.
like my Valkyrie mini the Pro can stay attached to its magnetic charger while mounted on the pistol.

I find my mini to be a perfect size and also plenty bright for its intended use.

 

Something to also keep in mind is that 100 lumens is actually pretty bright (depending on the tint, spill, flood etc as those factors play a part in how well the light works for various tasks). As a comparison, an incandescent 5D cell Maglite like LE use to use in the 80/90's was only 39-59 lumens total (IIRC) yet it was a standard issue for many agencies. And the options were limited in those days. And of course the light output was yellowish and very ringy. By comparison, a typical modern 100 lumen LED has a brighter hot spot, less spill, no rings and better overall throw.

So again it isn't an absolute and if one wants more lumens they are there for the taking. Simply that for most typical SD situations a good 100 lumen light is sufficient. I'm comfortable out to 100 feet with it for a shot as that is what I determined through testing and shooting. For longer range shots or more spill a higher lumen light is fine.

 

I used the TLR-6 first on my G26, which at the time was my off-duty. It was one of the few (perhaps only) WML that fit on a G26 because it attached on the front of the trigger guard since there were no rails. I came to like that light quite well. When I switched to the P365 I again went with the TLR-6.

Now to be clear, I'm a 'flashoholic'. I belong to BLF and have even modded flashlights changing out LED's and drivers. Having the 'sun in the palm of your hand' has specific, definitive uses such as in a tactical flashlight used for SD. Having something like a BLF-A6 at 1200-1600 lumens (depending on the quality of the 18650 battery) to shine in someone's face can provide big advantages. On the flip side, you mentioned SF with an 80ish lumen light and that is also viable because in their situation they may want a light that doesn't broadcast their position.

As far as an EDC pistol, I like the TLR-6 and usually pocket carry either a Convoy S2+ or Nightcore EA11. The Convoy is a solid 500 lumens while the EA11 is 900+ on Turbo. Gives me a nice range of options.

 

Yeah sometimes you’re stuck with what you have because of gun size/make/policy

The first time I cleared a house for real it was with a G2 taped to the (non railed) handguards of my M16A2 because we couldn’t put our own rails on.

Not ideal, but we went with what we had.


We’ve certainly come a long way in lights. Hell some of the new lights are pulling 300 off a AAA.

I would agree for a hand held, which gets far more GP use, 100-200 is a solid all around light that you can use with a gun if you need to.

But for a dedicated pistol light? I’d still argue the SFx300 is probably the standard of pistol lights, and most common single unit around. And those are 350/500/1K which is too much for looking for my keys behind the couch, but far better for looking for things that need to have a gun pointed at.

(Edit, also a flashlight nerd. Still have several dozen incandescent lights with malkof leds and rechargeable lithium’s)

 

I just stay away from olight one handgun light failed on my and a handheld has been recalled.
Terrible customer service and no support at all.
Streamlight has very good options and good prices with great service.

 

I’ve been considering this new Olight but if it’s not rechargeable then I’ll wait for the next generation.

 

This industry tries to sell you a new thing every week...
I will be fine with my Surefire light no need to buy every single thing that "They" try to sell me...