400 Lumens, NOT OVERKILL!

[cody6268]

Some time ago, I bought an LED Lenser P6X when it was on sale, as at the time, my main light was a plain old 2AA Mini Maglite. Xenon bulb, so output was pretty poor. It sucked on a camping trip so bad, I ended up mostly using a borrowed spare headlamp of a buddy (though keeping in with USA-made; I eventually got an LED 2AAA model--now its output is decent).  So of course, the high 400 lumen output impressed me.


First of all, I was already out in the yard with my P6X checking on what my grandmother thought was a bear; with the output of the light; I was able to quickly tell from the porch without looking--it was a reflection off a metal container hanging on the gatepost of the chicken lot.

Then, my dog started barking. So, I shined the light on high mode with spot focus  to scan around what was going on. Thought it was the bear; or something else as I heard an aircraft motor as well. Then, I noticed the reflectors on the back end of a small tractor on the other side of our  bottom field that adjoins two other properties; including one line that's often been disputed and has been heated arguments over. That's probably a good 400 feet from the house.  I was able to quickly pick up the reflective clothing the guy was wearing. Probably ended up blinding him; even though he was that far away. Oddly, the guy left not long after I did that, so I bet he was up to something.  Good light, good reflective clothing, and bad mistake by him for wearing it! 

[Aloha]

Coming from someone who has a 900lm light I'd say 400 is about right  .  The burst of high output is nice to have on deck when you want it.  My ZL running lithium cell can burst at 500.  Sure normal use we'll likely be using a lot less output but having more is not a bad thing.  With newer lights hitting 1000 plus lm those older incan bulbs seem like ancient technology. 

[Poncho65]

400 lm is always a good amount of light but I have the turbo mode of 1000 lm that I sometimes use on the newer model of the one that Aloha is talking about Hoping that you stopped the other people from doing anything that might have caused you guys problems

[Mechanickal]

I have a 900lm and 1000lm light myself and still won't consider it overkill.
Better to have and not need than vice versa.
I do agree that 400lm is sufficient for any day to day tasks. + the beam focus on a Led Lenser makes quite the difference too.

[ezdog]

Who actually suggests that 400 lumens is overkill in the first place?

I am confused.

These days this is really just a starting point for many lights and though I rarely need more than 100 lumens day to day if working inside it can be reassuring to have a lot more than that at other times.

The issue is that there is a direct trade-off between output and runtime and I am always trying to preserve runtime for practical reasons.
I also in general buy lights to EDC that are designed for long runtime more than high output though they usually will do both too.

I have a friend who on the other hand only ever uses his 1400 lumen light full blast all the time and some of us are just wired like that it seems and so I guess I am happy for them that there are lights that can go there no matter how briefly in the end!

I haven't found a Zooming light yet that I want to carry but I can sure see the appeal if I can.

[ddogu]

400 lm is always a good amount of light but I have the turbo mode of 1000 lm that I sometimes use on the newer model of the one that Aloha is talking about Hoping that you stopped the other people from doing anything that might have caused you guys problems

I think mortals like us call that a phaser gun...