Are Tactical Flashlights Effective?
When it comes to lighting options that double as personal protection and self-defense, tactical flashlights are a great option. If you’re a camper, rider, night jogger, or hiker, you know the importance of having a good flashlight. Now imagine if that light could also give you the peace of mind that if you absolutely had to, you could defend yourself against an attack.
A tactical flashlight is an effective tool for self-defense. It can produce light powerful enough to deter an attacker, optically disorient them, or be used as a blunt force self-defense weapon. They are commonly used as an everyday carry or mounted to a gun to light up a target.
Originally designed as a permanent fixture on a gun, they are still extremely effective as a weapon-mounted light.
What Is a Tactical Flashlight?
A tactical flashlight is more than just the ordinary flashlight you keep in your kitchen and reach for during a blackout. Tactical flashlights are specifically designed and intended to be used by people of service like the military, police, search and rescue, and any other type of security or law enforcement agencies.
One of the major differences between a tactical flashlight and a regular flashlight is the high-durability, damage-resistant metal housing. They are more compact and made of sturdy, military-grade materials to ensure maximum durability. Tactical flashlights are not just meant for shining a light in the dark; they are also ultra-bright and have longer battery life.
Even if you’re not in the military or police, and don’t own a handgun or pocket knife, a tactical flashlight can be your first line of defense. They are perfectly legal and can be carried into places like theaters, offices, airplanes, and other places where guns are not allowed. Let’s get more into how you can use tactical flashlights, armed or unarmed.
What are Tactical Flashlights Used For?
As stated previously, the use of a tactical flashlight is way beyond just simple illumination. Tactical flashlights have a range of uses in all different kinds of situations.
When tactical flashlights were first designed, they were meant to be attached to rifles, pistols, and shotguns for easy identification of targets during low-lit shooting applications.
A tactical flashlight allows the shooter to aim the weapon and illuminate the pathway to target without using a separate flashlight.
With a tactical flashlight, marksmen, soldiers, and law enforcement officers were able to concentrate a powerful light beam to disorient almost blinding their enemies.
A tactical flashlight goes beyond military use and serves several other functions. Here are some of them:
Self-defense
Tactical flashlights are sometimes overlooked when it comes to self-defense, but they can be very effective depending on how they are used. Darkness aids in the advantage of attackers/enemies and increases their chances of successfully carrying out their acts.
With a flashlight, you can easily identify whoever is lurking in the shadows and eliminate that advantage. In most cases, simply shining a powerful light on the attacker will surprise them and cause them to flee, which is the main objective in self-defense.
However, if the sudden beam of light causes an attacker to lunge towards you, you can shine the powerful beam directly in their eyes, temporarily blinding and disorienting them. With your attacker struggling you have time to flee or defend yourself further.
Illumination
Tactical flashlights are compact, so they can easily fit in your pocket, handbag, or backpack.
If you find yourself walking alone at night and sense you could be in danger, you can easily reach for your flashlight and illuminate the path you’re walking on. When a potential assailant sees such a bright light, their advantage has been compromised, and they will think twice before attacking you.
Besides helping to protect you from a potential attacker, a bright tactical flashlight will give you the advantage of seeing your environment clearer, perhaps preventing you from hitting your foot against a rock or falling into an unforeseen hole.
For Emergencies
Usually, when the power goes out, the first thing we all reach for is a flashlight. Most times, it’s somewhere tucked away in the back of a kitchen cupboard, in a closet, or under the sink. If your car breaks down at night, or you’re involved in or witness a nighttime car accident, the first thing you would want to reach for is your flashlight.
While a regular flashlight is good in such situations, a tactical flashlight is even better. The powerful beam will help you navigate your way out of dangerous situations, signal for help, or enable you to escape safer.
For Signaling for Help
As mentioned earlier, a tactical flashlight can be very useful when signaling for help. If you find yourself in an emergency situation where you think you’re lost or need to ask for help from drivers on the road, the first thing that comes to your mind is to make sounds by yelling or movement by waving your hands.
A tactical flashlight can enhance or replace those functions when they become unusable at night. It used to be that if you wanted to signal someone over distances using a flashlight you would put your hand in front of the light and remove it to simulate an on/off for Morse code. These days that function is built right into a tactical flashlight by means of strobe and SOS functionality.
What Makes a Good Tactical Flashlight?
Ideally, your tactical flashlight should be compact, durable, have a better output, and run for longer periods. If it isn’t any of those things, it’s no different from an ordinary household flashlight.
Before considering a flashlight as tactical, here’s what you should look for:
- Small and Compact. You want something small enough and convenient to carry with you just about anywhere. Your tactical flashlight should be able to fit in the palm of your hand. Your flashlight should be no bigger than the size of your palm.
- Light output. For a tactical flashlight to be effective, it should produce enough light to disorient an attacker. You should aim for a flashlight with at least 120 lumens.
- Waterproof. A tactical flashlight should be able to work in all kinds of weather. It should be waterproof so it doesn’t become damaged when used in the rain or other wet conditions.
- Ruggedly constructed. Your tactical flashlight should be made of strong, durable materials that won’t bend, break, or crack easily. Ideally, it should be made from aircraft-grade aluminum. It’s a tough yet light metal.
- LED Bulb Type. LED bulbs are the absolute best option to use. Incandescent bulbs aren’t very energy efficient. LED bulbs last significantly longer than incandescent and cause less battery drain. Also, LEDs are stronger and built like a tank, unlike incandescent bulbs that break easily when dropped.
- Light Modes. A good tactical flashlight should feature a strobe mode which allows you to flash the light very quickly at intervals. If the light is very bright, it can cause an irritating glare effect and disorient anyone in its path. You can also use it to signal for help by sending out codes.
- Battery. The type of battery your flashlight uses can affect its runtime, light output, and overall performance. There are several types of batteries that are used with tactical flashlights, but Lithium-Ion is known to last longer than other batteries.
Tactical Flashlights – Weapons hiding in plain sight
Why not have a tactical flashlight when you know you are going to be in the dark anyway.
Have the upper hand when you are in low light. It might initially seem unnecessary because every time you have your flashlight on you probably won’t go into stealth mode with your ninja skills ready to activate in a heartbeat. No one is usually ready to be attacked, but heaven knows it happens.
It happens when someone least expects it, especially when you are in less optimal conditions like the dark when you are more vulnerable. Why not help yourself have the upper hand in a situation where someone is already catching you off guard in the dark.
Protect yourself:
Event: Camping
Situation: Went to pee in the woods at night and stumble upon a wild animal
Uses:
- Shine bright light at animals, stunning predator, being able to leave the situation
- Animal tries biting and clawing you, you use the blunt of the light to defend yourself, you get away
- You are hurt and can’t walk, but can light signal for help and someone can help get you medical attention
Event: Normal Bedtime Routine
Situation: You are starting to drift off to sleep and hear a window shatter and an intruder breaks in.
Uses:
- You had your tactical flashlight in your bedside table, whip it out, turn it on, shine it their way, and deter a burglar. They flee with nothing missing.
- You keep your light off, hide, and wait for your moment to physically defend yourself if necessary.
- You go to your gun safe dial in your code and bust out your shot-gun with a tactical flashlight mounted and announce to them, “Get Out!”. Then, in the darkness you break the silence by cocking the shotgun, creating that even more ‘serious’ noise that should help deter a very large percentage of would-be robbers. If you still need to engage, you have the upper hand with an extremely bright light that can be set to certain ‘modes’ depending on the light you want. In this scenario where you have the upper hand as far as knowing your surroundings, you could set the tactical flashlight to strobe mode which could help you disorient the intruders enough for you to make your next move, whether it is lethal or not.
There are thousands of different situations that a tactical light can become a lifesaver, having one puts you in a much better scenario and hopefully, all you will have to use it for is lighting your way, but you never know.