• ReallyZen@lemmy.mlEnglish
      17·
      2 months ago

      Some have many modes (high-mid-low beam, fade output, lock switch,… A lot) but most only have 1 push button - the combination of hold / click / double-triple click can get complicated.

      My Thrunite has “only” 4 main functions that I use, and probably at least 2 or 3 more that I am not aware of.

      Disclaimer: I’m a tech for theatre, I live in the dark and use it all the time!

      No, I don’t get the gender part either. Tho I would go with rechargeable for someone not used to them, it’s easier to plug when needed rather than cry because the batteries are dead and the shop is closed.

        • ReallyZen@lemmy.mlEnglish
          6·
          2 months ago

          Mine’s not bad: Long press will activate 2lm crawl-like-a-ninja mode, single-click activates Last State of normal operation, and back button bangs the 2000lm output

          When switched on “normal”, long press will fade up or down

          It took a bit of research I must say

      • ReallyZen@lemmy.mlEnglish
        11·
        2 months ago

        Serious, use everyday:

        • ultra-low 2lm output for crawling in aisles, not bothering/disturbing anyone
        • ultra-high 2000lm for pointing at things, and for emergency illumination where the brightest, the best (point at ceiling to not blind anyone)
        • fade-up or down the mid-range for general work situations where ambiant light isn’t sufficient (or you’re just getting old, uh)

        Some people would argue about the strobe and S.O.S functions out in nature, or even sell the 2000lm as defence against aggression

      • EmoThugInMyPhase [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
        5·
        2 months ago

        Very low, low, medium, high, turbo

        Enthusiast/custom lights may have more complicated lights that have different patterns, custom programming, presets, etc

      • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        The instructions for my Emisar flashlights look like a map to a pirate’s treasure but in space

  • Big_Bob [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    28·
    2 months ago

    This is what happens when someone is so hollowed out by hyperconsumerism that buying a fucking flashlight becomes a substitution for an identity.

    This sad motherfucker soyfaces over flashlights like they were funko pops and knows more “boutique” flashlight brands than he knows people.

    He has strong opinions on every minute detail of his purchases like the bevelling on the glass rims or the best method to turn the fucking light on.

    He probably follows the companies’ management on twitter and has intense opinions on the companies, in the way a lib redditor will know every minutiae of his political party’s niche actors and figures.

    A perfect consumerist zombie with no thoughts or actions that aren’t filtered through consuming his Product™.

    Absolutely horrifying.

    • tactical_trans_karen [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      4·
      2 months ago

      I got sucked into the flashlight subreddit years ago and have a small collection (11) of cool lights. I have some that can actually start fires, customizable UI, lots of fancy shit. I will say, having a good flashlight has actually saved my ass and likely helped me save lives more than once when happening across car accidents. I literally helped outfit a small group of people to rescue a husky that got out in the middle of the night one time. Power outages and camping too of course.

      Do I need all the ones I have? No, and there’s probably only 3 that I would keep if I sold them off. But they’re fun things to tinker with, the charm wears off after a while though. Some people go on that subreddit and just show off their disposable income to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, individual lights that cost $1k+, it’s wild.

      • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        8·
        2 months ago

        and likely helped me save lives more than once

        “Mam! Are you alright!?”

        "OMG she’s having a seizure!

        “Mam!?”

        “She’s an epileptic, turn that fucking strobe function OFF!”

        “Oh shit!” click click

        “Turn it off!”

        “Fuck!” click and hold

        “WTF ARE YOU DOING!?”

        “It’s a new UI!”

        “What dose that even mean?!”

        • tactical_trans_karen [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
          7·
          2 months ago

          che-smile

          This is gold, thank you!

          The actual story is I’ve come up on accidents when it’s completely dark out and the lights on the crashed cars were inoperable from the battery being broken. I have a diffuser wand thing to attach to the light to redirect traffic. Other times it’s been in fog or white out conditions.

      • SpikeEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        In my oppinion it never hurts to always have a few tools at hand. A knife, a light, and something that can be improvised as a screwdriver or a hammer is ideal (most of the time that may be the knife and a sturdy flashlight). Man or woman or anything in between or out of bounds, does not matter, having things, when they are needed, is always helpful.

        Ofc you could also go the “survival” route and pack survival kits and emergency bags, to have everything for every opportunity at hand, but that may be overkill.

  • kristina [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    22·
    2 months ago

    you can go onto so many places where people will argue about like… the water taste in new york vs boston and form a mob to kill you if you have the wrong opinion

      • machiabelly [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        24·
        2 months ago

        My aunt and uncle went to Lebanon to visit his extended family. They were extremely lovely hospitable people to my Aunt and Uncle. They were also visibly disturbed that my aunt and uncle pronounced words like a Syrian, the Arabic tapes they were learning from were Syrian. Also apparently it is very bad to buy Syrian Za’atar. Based on the way my Aunt told the story they’d absolutely be willing to throw hands over who makes the best Za’atar. So, I think feuding over niche inconsequential things is pretty universal.

  • chair [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    19·
    2 months ago

    he’s just a guy who’s autistic for flashlights why are you all being so mean

    his point about the ui needing to be simple is immediately clarified by his allusion to their lack of flashlight enthusiasm or experience (not any disdain for the female brain)

    much better people to bully

      • Imnecomrade [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        7·
        2 months ago

        I like to imagine the person is just complimenting their strong mothers, aunts, sisters, etc. Obviously they deserve the right tool for the job, not some chintzy product that is colored pink. So many companies, which once made reliable products, no longer make anything worth the paper money needed to purchase them. Plus it’s a flashlight, less features means less ways to break, so it really needs one or two buttons. Some of the best tools are simple. At least the person didn’t use feeeemale as a noun.

        Probably a chud, though, but I like to give the benefit of the doubt.

    • EmoThugInMyPhase [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      Having small, cheap lights all around the house, car, backpack, etc. is pretty useful. The ones commonly sold at grocery stores often only run on alkaline which leaks before you can actually use them

      • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        Having small, cheap lights all around the house, car, backpack, etc. is pretty useful.

        But you have a light in your pocket 99% of the time. I cant think of single time I’ve been caught without it and needed a light. Can you give me an example that justifies having several small flashlights scattered around the house.

        which leaks before you can actually use them

        Right, because you have too many light laying around…

        How big is your house anyways? You can’t fumble your way to the kitchen cabinet or wherever. Are you walking around in a giant mansion in the dead of night traversing long hallways and desolate corridors to find the fuse box. I’m sorry, it doesn’t make sense to me.

        What people need is a powerbank, that way you can watch movies while the power is out or call the emergency service or… use it as a flashlight,

        • EmoThugInMyPhase [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago
          1. Phone flashlights arent bright enough for long distances - if you walk in the dark, you’ll see a couple of inches in front of you. You’ll have to be very up close to see finer details. A powerful flashlight can come in a small and cheap package and light up the entire block like a helicopter searchlight. Makes things safer because not every street is lit, and a tiny phone light can be ambiguous when seen by someone else.
          2. I dont want to pull out my phone for every single task
          3. “ Right, because you have too many light laying around…” What? You do understand that it will still leak if you have a single flashlight right? That’s how alkaline works
          4. If your phone dies, you won’t have a light
          5. Powerbanks will, again, drain as you use them. What happens when it’s gone?
          6. You can’t be hands free with your phone light
          7. An unused flashlight with proper batteries will last a long time. You will likely use your powerbank frequently and drain it.
          8. A dead phone requires several minutes of charging before turning on again, and even then you only have a few minutes before it dies, and you may not be able to afford to wait to get a decent charge. You can instantly swap batteries in lights and get it to 100% capacity.
          9. You can check the health of your battery cells ahead of time and be prepared. Your phone will likely have a vague percentage health indicator, and if you have an iPhone, replacing it with non Apple batteries completely destroys your ability to check your battery health. This could make charging even worse as it’ll drain even faster without any warning, or not charge at all
          10. Phones break. If you send it off for repair or drop it at certain angles, you break your screen or your flash lens, you no longer have a light. Good quality flashlights will not break if you drop it on its lens.
          11. Not everyone knows how to use or own a phone. A child or old person will intuitively press a flashlight and the light turns on. There is no gesture or swiping or pressing some icon. A child might not be able to afford or be allowed to have some smartphone with a light, but he can rummage in their drawer for a flashlight.
          12. Phones are getting larger by the day. I can carry a tiny flashlight and maneuver in tight spaces
          13. Sweaty or wet or bloody hands won’t be able to swipe around or press buttons on phone 100% of the time. You can simply press a flashlight button to activate it
          14. Phones can be tracked. Flashlights cannot
          15. Phones are expensive. Batteries and flashlights are cheap
          16. You might need your phone and a light at the same time. Certain apps or activities restrict flash usage, and certain activities require you to have exclusive retention of the phone so another person cannot navigate, or you may to create more problems by trying to shine your phone around while using it for other purposes. Do you want to put your phone on speaker while you’re walking around just to shine its flashlight at the same time?
          17. Although alkaline is inferior, they’re still more common which means you can quickly get a working light. You will not find a phone battery at a grocery store.
          18. Phones are planned obsolete items. It’ll get slower as time goes on, stop being updated and supported, or even deliberately sabotaged by the manufacturers (see apple). A good flashlight will last practically forever. Flashlights can have poor QC, but you will probably never need to wonder whether someone forgot to put a parenthesis in their code and brick your light a year from now.
          19. Your phone can be hacked and locked. Sure, supply chain attacks can work on physical items (see stuxnet, recent hezbollah pager bombings), but it’s unlikely that you will be a target for a flashlight bomb. You WILL be a target for phishing, scams, ransomware, viruses, etc. Especially if you use Android.
          20. Flashlights are faster to use. I’m on my phone right now, and I have to unlock my fucking phone just to adjust the flashlight brightness. Sometimes face ID will just be disabled and I have to press my passcode to unlock. Turning on your phone too fast makes it think you did it on accident. And certain phones lock your entire phone of all functions except SOS phone call if you enter the password wrong too many times. My flashlight can be adjusted to reasonable brightness within two clicks - again, intuitive and easy for anybody to use.

          I find it very strange that you’re unable to imagine a single scenario where a flashlight is useful. If I’m in an emergency situation, I don’t want to risk my phone being damaged or dying because there’s no other way to effectively communicate. I rather have specialized tools because an all-in-one tool can break, and then it risks becoming a nothing-in-one. What’s the point of a screwdriver set when you can just buy a swiss army knife? I’ve had very few instances where I needed anything more than a small phillips head.

          • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
            1·
            2 months ago

            Tactical breakdown and analysis:

            1. I don’t need to light up an entire block, when would you need this? The flash is good enough for walking home, even in the forest, I use it to see ice patches in the winter.

            2. But you could, right?

            3. If you have one flashlight you’ll be able to drain the battery and switch it out in time before it starts leaking.

            4. pulls out power-bank

            5. Flashlight will also drain, no matter how many you have, they will eventually drain. What then, hu?

            6. put the phone down facing the flash up Also you need to hold most flashlights so…

            7. Nah, I have one in the kitchen that I only use for traveling and emergency power. It’s always charged.

            8. I plug in the power-bank before that happens.

            9. It’s the same technology used to indicate battery health.

            10. I fire up my old phone. I keep it charged for just such occasions.

            11. 90% of people know how to use a phone. And you still only need one flashlight in the kitchen. Again, how big is your house? Elderly and child accessibility is a good point tho.

            12. What?

            13. Dry your hands on your pants or/and make the tactile side button activate the flash when you click it.

            14. So in this emergency scenario you don’t want to be found?

            15. You can charge the phone (with a power-bank for example), you don’t need to throw it away every-time the a battery is drained. And you already have a phone, that’s the whole point. No need to buy even more electronic crap and ship it around the globe.

            16. put in wireless earbuds I’m out here listening to some guided meditation, trying to calm down because my hands all bloody for some reason. Hopefully they can triangulate my position using the cell towers. Right now I’m using the phone GPS to reach the closest road.

            17. What do you mean quickly, you have to go to the store to get it. If I can walk to the store I can find an outlet to charge my phone. If I have a car, I can charge the phone (and the power-bank) from the USB outlet.

            18. What? They’re not going to brick your phone when you’re using it. The flash doesn’t drain processing power, wtf are you talking about?

            19. So in this scenario, a unnamed shadow organization have hacked your phone, at the very moment you need a flashlight?

            20. dubble taps the side button

            Conclusion: Sir, I have demonstrated effectively and with high probability that 19 out of 20 possible tactical scenarios that could justify an array of Light Casting Devices can be condensed into a single form factor for easier deployment, accessibility and portability at a comparably cheaper price point than having multiple instruments and units deployed at the same time requiring less technical knowledge, serviceability and training to achieve the same results while using less resources to do so, sir!

            Sir! This WILL increase mission efficiency, sir!

    • ReallyZen@lemmy.mlEnglish
      18·
      2 months ago

      Mark your position in a rescue situation, combining very strong light output and limited power usage to have it effective for a long time

      • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        15·
        2 months ago

        Tactical scenario: You’re on your way from point A: the treat’n’slop to point B: your suburban MacMansion. As you’re reaching from the supersized slurp-slop and a squirrel runs across the road (for some reason there’s still pockets of resistance between out settlement where animal life still exists. Someone failed at their main mission to keep our trade routes safe, but I digress.)

        What happens: You swirl and find yourself with a blown out tire on your mega pickup. No worries, just climb out of the car to change the tire, it’s just a meter or so, you can make the jump.

        S.T.O.P!

        What’s this, your old sports ball injury is acting up from the elevated stress levels. First it stopped you from making the team, then it stopped you from making the border guard, and now it’s threatening your life. You don’t have enough paracord on your lighter for a makeshift rope ladder to make the climb. Neither your knife, nor your backup ankle multi-tool is big enough to thrust into the side of the truck to make a step so you could climb down. It would snap from the load.

        You’re stuck.

        You could reach for the phone, sure. But that would mean opening the Faraday pocket and reveal your location. And in order to access the Light Emitting Diode on the back you’ll need to remove the EMP-protection case on your iPhone. No dice.

        All that remains is your single, ultra-bright tactical 500mah 70lumen $300 titanium key-chain flashlight. You can turn it on and wiggle it back an forth to signal other cars zipping by.

        S.T.O.P!

        Turning that thing on will drain the batteries fast. You don’t know how long you’ll be stuck on this main road. But you remember from hours of pouring over the manual, testing several… Nye, dozens of flashlights, watching probably 100s of review and unpacking videos that this one comes with a S.T.R.O.B.E. function already programmed into it.

        10 min later, a fellow patriot stops and lend you assistance.

        Scenario over.

    • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      18·
      2 months ago

      It’s funny. When someone asks you to hold the light so they can work, you turn on the strobe setting and goes on a rant about saving batteries. Drives them absolutely bonkers.