Do strobe lights work in tactical situations?

JohnH1963 · May 10, 2010, 09:36 PM

In the following video is the Fenix L2d which has about the same illumination as the Mag-Charger. It works on 2 AA batteries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpFnThZXG4I

There is even a larger light which Fenix has which has 3 times the power and uses 8 AA batteries.

Each of these lights has a strobe mode. Does the strobe mode work in tactical situations? When confronting someone on your property...a stranger...would it be best to use the strobe mode? What do you think?

BTW, Fenix makes a 1 AA version of the light which is 3 inches long or about half the size of a dollar and fully pocketable. That version has a little more light then a 3 Cell-maglite and would make the perfect urban survival flashlight...

sakeneko · May 10, 2010, 11:28 PM

I wouldn't use a strobe light. They disorient me badly, especially after dark, and I get headaches if I'm exposed for more than a few seconds. Now, they *might* have that effect on an attacker, but before you try it, I'd suggest making very sure that you wouldn't disable yourself more than the other guy.

qcpunk · May 10, 2010, 11:32 PM

That could be the wrong way to discover that you're epileptic.......

But really, I don't personally care for strobes in SD situations. Yes they are very disorientating to the BG, but they can also be just as disorientating for the User as well.

juntau · May 11, 2010, 05:56 AM

Probably just have to experiment and constant practice.

Bill DeShivs · May 11, 2010, 07:49 AM

A standard light can be "strobed" by simply wiggling the beam across someone's eyes. There is no need for a strobe on a flashlight, IMO.

Maromero · May 11, 2010, 08:32 AM

A strobe light provides exelent results when matted to a disco ball.

ZeSpectre · May 11, 2010, 08:54 AM

I have one light that has a strobe function. It's supposed to be disorienting after dark.

So one night the wife humored me with a little experiment. I had her stand a distance away, hold the light in my eyes, and run at me. I was fairly blinded but I could tell that she was coming at me.

Then I had her do the same thing with the light in strobe mode...and I was quite startled when she touched me because the strobe effect somehow completely disabled my depth perception and I could not tell that she was getting closer to me.

I don't know if it works that way for everyone but it was quite an interesting test for me.

Double Naught Spy · May 11, 2010, 09:01 AM

I have a couple of lights that have the strobe feature, but it is a feature that I didn't particularly want and haven't been particularly impressed with. As noted above, they can disorient some people including those using the light via what is reflected back at them. Other people aren't bothered by it at all. My daughters liked playing with my light for dancing after dark.

What I find bothersome about the strobe feature is that it can actually help to delay the recognition of furtive movements by the person on whom the light is trained and strobing. You get a sort of stop-motion animation effect which means the person's movement appear in a series of frozen stages that hides much of the sense of motion and hence delay your identification of the furtive movement.

If you have any doubts, go in a dark room and have a person train the strobe on you. Then with another person, attempt to do some light, open-handed sparring where the goal is to touch the other person's body with your hand, but the other person is to try blocking your assault while at the same time trying to touch your body with his hand. The attacks will have a high level of success because the person blocking will miss most of your movement because of the periods of time when the light is off and because of the stop-motion appearance of your movements.

Rocked · May 12, 2010, 11:14 AM

Cant remember exactly, but I believe there was a bank security system that sealed the doors and pumped smoke into the room. Then a strobe light came on which was amplified by the smoke, making coherent movement almost impossible.

But at the same time, smoke detectors often have a strobe light attached as well. Though much slower pulse than most flashlights. And studies of those have shown how much it can aide even in pitch black room. Perhaps since the strobe is placed in one position you can gain a quick picture of your surroundings. Its almost like echolocation.

May 10, 2010, 09:36 PM	#1
JohnH1963 Junior member Join Date: October 22, 2008 Posts: 416	Do strobe lights work in tactical situations? In the following video is the Fenix L2d which has about the same illumination as the Mag-Charger. It works on 2 AA batteries. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpFnThZXG4I There is even a larger light which Fenix has which has 3 times the power and uses 8 AA batteries. Each of these lights has a strobe mode. Does the strobe mode work in tactical situations? When confronting someone on your property...a stranger...would it be best to use the strobe mode? What do you think? BTW, Fenix makes a 1 AA version of the light which is 3 inches long or about half the size of a dollar and fully pocketable. That version has a little more light then a 3 Cell-maglite and would make the perfect urban survival flashlight...

May 10, 2010, 11:32 PM	#3
qcpunk Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Farmsville, AZ Posts: 305	That could be the wrong way to discover that you're epileptic....... But really, I don't personally care for strobes in SD situations. Yes they are very disorientating to the BG, but they can also be just as disorientating for the User as well. __________________ "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it." --Abraham Lincoln

May 11, 2010, 07:49 AM	#5
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,985	A standard light can be "strobed" by simply wiggling the beam across someone's eyes. There is no need for a strobe on a flashlight, IMO. __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

May 11, 2010, 08:54 AM	#7
ZeSpectre Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Shenandoah Valley Posts: 3,276	I have one light that has a strobe function. It's supposed to be disorienting after dark. So one night the wife humored me with a little experiment. I had her stand a distance away, hold the light in my eyes, and run at me. I was fairly blinded but I could tell that she was coming at me. Then I had her do the same thing with the light in strobe mode...and I was quite startled when she touched me because the strobe effect somehow completely disabled my depth perception and I could not tell that she was getting closer to me. I don't know if it works that way for everyone but it was quite an interesting test for me. __________________ "The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on"

May 11, 2010, 09:01 AM	#8
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	I have a couple of lights that have the strobe feature, but it is a feature that I didn't particularly want and haven't been particularly impressed with. As noted above, they can disorient some people including those using the light via what is reflected back at them. Other people aren't bothered by it at all. My daughters liked playing with my light for dancing after dark. What I find bothersome about the strobe feature is that it can actually help to delay the recognition of furtive movements by the person on whom the light is trained and strobing. You get a sort of stop-motion animation effect which means the person's movement appear in a series of frozen stages that hides much of the sense of motion and hence delay your identification of the furtive movement. If you have any doubts, go in a dark room and have a person train the strobe on you. Then with another person, attempt to do some light, open-handed sparring where the goal is to touch the other person's body with your hand, but the other person is to try blocking your assault while at the same time trying to touch your body with his hand. The attacks will have a high level of success because the person blocking will miss most of your movement because of the periods of time when the light is off and because of the stop-motion appearance of your movements. __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

May 10, 2010, 11:28 PM	#2
sakeneko Senior Member Join Date: May 23, 2009 Location: Nevada Posts: 644	I wouldn't use a strobe light. They disorient me badly, especially after dark, and I get headaches if I'm exposed for more than a few seconds. Now, they might have that effect on an attacker, but before you try it, I'd suggest making very sure that you wouldn't disable yourself more than the other guy.

May 11, 2010, 05:56 AM	#4
juntau Member Join Date: June 9, 2009 Posts: 15	Probably just have to experiment and constant practice.

May 11, 2010, 08:32 AM	#6
Maromero Junior member Join Date: January 21, 2009 Location: Outside the continental U Posts: 752	A strobe light provides exelent results when matted to a disco ball.

May 12, 2010, 11:14 AM	#9
Rocked Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2006 Location: North Florida Posts: 152	Cant remember exactly, but I believe there was a bank security system that sealed the doors and pumped smoke into the room. Then a strobe light came on which was amplified by the smoke, making coherent movement almost impossible. But at the same time, smoke detectors often have a strobe light attached as well. Though much slower pulse than most flashlights. And studies of those have shown how much it can aide even in pitch black room. Perhaps since the strobe is placed in one position you can gain a quick picture of your surroundings. Its almost like echolocation.