Posted: 10/31/2012 6:02:28 PM EDT
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I never carry a light. I just dont have room in my pocket for either of my Surefires.
Tonight I was headed to the gym on campus. I cant carry any of my carry pistols so I took my benchmade folder in my right coat pocket and just for the hell of it stuck my really bright Surefire Exec in the other pocket. As I walked the dark and rainy half mile to lift I passed an alley (I live on a nice street, even the allies are lit and generally empty aside form the occasional jogger cutting through) and glanced down it. In the light cast by one of the street lights I saw a dog that was sniffing around. Not sure if it belonged at the houses but when it saw me it freaked out. As it barked it came towards me slowly and I picked up the pace away from it, bringing both my light and my knife to my side. The dog came after me quickly and by the time he was about 15 feet away I had turned, taken a few steps towards him, and shined the light right in his eyes trying to head him off. At that point I saw that it was clearly a pit bull and it was pretty pissed. The light stopped him dead in his tracks (it worked incredibly well, actually), and I turned (while watching him) to try put a little distance between us. Again he came at me, and again I turned, yelled at him, and put the light in his eyes. Thankfully he stopped for a final time, and angled away from me still barking and growling. Anyway, to make a long story short the light worked really well. It would probably be better off for our neighborhood if that dog was dead but I am really glad I didnt have to try and kill it with my folder and deal with the mess that would have made (both literally and figuratively). Carry your light, it could keep you from having to use your weapon (knife or gun). I will be carrying mine from now on. |
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Darn good idea. I guess I never really thought of using a blinding light as a defense mechanism, only a way to, obviously, combat darkness. I have a Kobalt light I picked up after work at Lowes that has a Laser Pointer on it as well. I figure a flicker of that in someones eyes might get them to stop. Might also confuse a dog, but could also make a two-legged creature think I was more heavily armed than I was if I put the red light on his chest and say "Stop or Else!"
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Quoted:
Interesting story! I carry a Streamlight ProTac2AAA everywhere. I don't know if 80 lumens is enough to stop much, but it sure is a different kind of comforting to have on me. And it's small enough that I don't really mind carrying it. I would carry the light anyway, and get a brighter one if you can. I think my light was bright enough to surprise and scare the dog (he was already obviously startled) into rethinking his attack. |
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I carry this one. 110 Lumens and strobes with a dim setting.
http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=200 I got the CR123A because I already use them in my surefires, and EOTech. |
Here's my latest EDC light: http://www.jet-beam.com/links/pro/rrt01.aspx. 500 lumens in the coin pocket of my Levis 501s 
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Quoted:
I carry this one. 110 Lumens and strobes with a dim setting. http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=200 I got the CR123A because I already use them in my surefires, and EOTech. I have the ProTac 2L and love it. OP, the flashlight really is a great tool. Defensively, I put it above the knife. A hard beam of white light in the eyes and a hard thump somewhere that hurts are great conversation starters. 
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I carry a Streamlight PT2L anytime I plan to be out of the house after dark.
Not a perfect system, but sometimes I don't have room in my pockets for a gun, iPhone in an Otterbox case, flashlight, reload, keys, knife, wallet, and anything else I may need. I have multiple lights in my truck so if I need one for something they are available. |
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Quoted:
I carry this one. 110 Lumens and strobes with a dim setting. http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=200 I got the CR123A because I already use them in my surefires, and EOTech. I just grabbed a Streamlight PT1L, as well. I'm really happy with it, and I'm a Surefire fanboy all the way. That being said, the blow to my pocketbook for a PT1L was significantly less than had I purchased a Surefire Titan which would have been the only other pocket-light I'd have considered. We'll see how it goes, but at less than one fifth the cost of the Surefire I had to give it a chance. Streamlight makes good stuff. I just purchased a TLR-3 that I'm very happy with, too, for the time being. As with anything, we'll just have to see how it holds up over time. |
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Next to your firearm, your light is the next most important.
if not more in some cases. If im going ANYWHERE where I think I may even run across a dark shadow, or be out anywhere near dark..I bring my light. gun light knife don't leave home without them, everything else is secondary. |
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I carry an E1B at all times. It is probably the most useful thing in my EDC kit. I carry a folding knife, a SAK, gun, spare mag, pen, headphones, and that light everywhere, the light gets by far the most use.
I used to carry an E2D but I lost it one night drinking so replaced it with the E1B. The Defender never bothered me when I was carrying it, but after using the backup, I won't be switching back. It is much easier to carry, and the ability to use it as a headlamp on a hat bill is awesome. |