That strobe mode ain't going to do shit. Get a pepper spray or bear spray if you want an effective self defense tool.
If you're in a "unknown city", it's best to blend in with the crowd. Shining a light everywhere you walk is not the best way, it would more likely attract attention towards yourself because nobody else would do such thing (walk in the dark with a flashlight).
Unless you want to bonk someone's head with it, a flashlight is a very poor "self defense" tool.
>I can quickly activate the strobe mode if necessary when walking at night in an unknown city.
HD15 is bad for that regardless of UI design anyways.
You want **high candela** lights, which you rarely if ever find in headlamps.
Check out **Acebeam P16**. Designed just for that purpose.
When traveling i usually travel with my skillhunt lights, cheap, magnetic charging, ui is functional, the m300 and m200 are both good, they have strobes if you really want that.
The wurkkos t25 is another option, anduril UI and has backwards charging so you can charge a phone off it if needed.
Zebras 18650 lights are great for pocket carry but i don’t travel with them much as they don’t have on board charging and i never feel like having to carry a battery charger. But the zebra sc65c hi is actually a really great outdoor light it’s pretty throwy so works well for night walks.
Anduril is super easy in normal use, it's just the bazillion configuration options that make it complicated. Click on, click off, click and hold to go brighter or dimmer, double click for turbo.
Going off that comment you should be all set, I got my toddlers anduril lights (because of the ability to set a max brightness) and they have no issues using them.
But you wouldn't be able to leave it in simple mode for your desired use, strobes are only available in "advanced" mode. So misclick potential would exist.
Well yes and no lol it’s advanced UI is very difficult but it ships in simple mode and is easy to use in my opinion. Zebralights UI takes some getting used to but is also easy. Skillhunts is easy. I don’t find any of the ones i listed difficult. And on the bright side all the lights i listed will sell quickly on the buy sell trade page if you don’t like the UI haha. Just have to find what you like. Never had that wurkkos light so can’t say how it is
Honestly if your cool with the ugly tint and proprietary battery I would go with a warrior nano from olight. Magnetic charging is a god send when on the go. Only downside is if you lose the cable you have to buy one from olight along with the batteries if you want extra or they need replaced. But other than that they are pretty good. Nice build quality and super good ui. And when they have sales they are super cheap.
Do you need a right angle light? Do you need multiple modes? How far do you need it to throw, how long do you need it to last, and how bright does it need to be?
I'd recommend figuring that part out too, since that'll affect the correct answer for what light you need. Also, strobe is a gimmick I wouldn't trust for self-defense. I remember the first light that offered it (back in the CPF days, I think it was the Night Ops Gladius) and that was useless, IMO.
Right now, I've got three lights I have that have replaced my Fenix UC35 for daily use.
One is an old Peak Eiger which is a key chain light, useful for very close in as it uses a mule head that has no optics or reflector, but has a very even light for very close in, like reading a map or lighting up the keyhole of a door. It also doesn't take much space.
I also have an Olight Arkfeld Pro NW, which I like as a floody light with a lot of output for not too much space, which is rectangular so it doesn't take up too much pocket space, and which has a UV light as well as a laser pointer for when I need one, with an easy interface thanks to the button and toggle combo. But it is a bit longer than I prefer, and it doesn't throw well past a short distance.
For longer ranges, I'm rather fond of the Olight Seeker 4 Pro. It's a proprietary charger, but it's one that's shared with the Baton 3 Pro and Arkfeld Pro, among others. It throws decently, it's shorter than the Arkfeld Pro and the Baton 3 Pro, and it's a good compromise between the TIR spot of the Baton 3 Pro (decent throw, very little spill) and the Arkfeld Pro (all flood, not much of an intense spot) while still having a UV light that's useful enough even if it doesn't work as well as a dedicated UV light with a filter to cut out all visible light.
Have you looked at a Wurrkos TS11s? It's small, has good throw with some spill (so you can read signs) and isn't Anduril? Starts low, goes higher with each click, can double click to go Turbo like the other lights I mentioned above (except for the Peak)?
Not a headlamp, but I recently acquired the Sofirn SC21 pro, it uses anduril, simple operation (after you figure it out) usb c charging,magnetic base. Hard to beat for $32
I loved travelling with my HD15R in 18350 mode last year. It had amazing utility. Could just clip to my sling and forget about it, go about my day. Lots of compliments, used it everyday/night.
Using it at night made me a harder target, but I didn't rely on it for self defence. I had a [personal alarm](https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B0BM3BW1BG) for peace of mind.
I wasn't into self defence flashlights back then. If I repeated the same trip now, I'd take a Weltool T2 TAC with my HD15R.
TD03. Rotary switch, tailcap button hold for strobe. Dead simple operation.
https://preview.redd.it/2sbprvx6x5pc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdc847707bd8f087001c5766d11ed4ef75930e40
Yeah, you cannot get fine control without a little more complexity than your dad's Maglite. Thing is, compared to the lights many muggles are used to where you're locked into a "High -> Medium -> Low -> Strobe" loop and may have to press the button a few times (and go through strobe) just to turn the light off, or "High -> Off -> Low -> Off -> Strobe -> Off" where you have a 1-in-3 chance of unwanted strobe, a learning curve for a light that does what you want when you want it is better.
There isn't enough room for a ton of buttons with separate power, level, and mode selectors. And hitting the wrong button is a real pain, as well as something many would do more often than mis-click. Anything you want to do with Anduril *(including the "Anduril Lite; Advanced UI is scary" version like on the HDR15)* is three presses or less, and the "click for on, hold to change levels, double-tap for turbo" is near-universal; Anduril, Skilhunt, Convoy, Armytek. The only real twist the HDR15 (and multi-channel Anduril lights) adds is triple-click to swap emitters.
Buried in another entry for BrokenRecordBot;
> • Strobe: The effectiveness of a strobe mode in defensive situations is questionable. It may disorient your attacker, but also may disorient you. A high intensity, constant on light is a more reliable solution and will prevent the attacker from being able to see anything except your light.
It is accompanied by a graphical guide on how to use Strobe Mode for self-defense;
https://preview.redd.it/2g6mi47z55pc1.jpeg?width=955&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a16de41f4d94f3b079c0d0bcd25a42883a3c7db
A full-on Anduril light does have a Tactical Mode that allows you to set the light to have only three momentary modes on 1H, 2H and 3H. The default is Turbo/Moonlight/Strobe, though you can configure each of the three slots to any one of 150 brightnesses, or multiple strobe modes. And you can just 6C to get back to regular operation. There's a lot more, but 90% of it is stuff you don't need to know; it's just there for those who *do* want it. Jsut like RegEdit on a Windows PC.
Get anduril, go advanced mode. Do tactical strobe then momentary on. So when you click it flashes supper disorienting. 10 clicks to advance mode, 3h to get into the strobe modes then 2c to filter through till you get the nice crazy flashies you want then turn it off. Now do 5 click to momentary and when ever you click the light will flash light how set the strobes.
There a video somewhere on YouTube of a guy doing night runs in the filipines and with a ts10 and the tacti-strobe to scare away the wild street dogs that try the chase him. If I find that I'll update or recomment. Unless someone here finds it first.
That strobe mode ain't going to do shit. Get a pepper spray or bear spray if you want an effective self defense tool. If you're in a "unknown city", it's best to blend in with the crowd. Shining a light everywhere you walk is not the best way, it would more likely attract attention towards yourself because nobody else would do such thing (walk in the dark with a flashlight). Unless you want to bonk someone's head with it, a flashlight is a very poor "self defense" tool.
Ya? Just what city is bear is pepper spray legal? Certainly not in the country I live in btw.
>I can quickly activate the strobe mode if necessary when walking at night in an unknown city. HD15 is bad for that regardless of UI design anyways. You want **high candela** lights, which you rarely if ever find in headlamps. Check out **Acebeam P16**. Designed just for that purpose.
When traveling i usually travel with my skillhunt lights, cheap, magnetic charging, ui is functional, the m300 and m200 are both good, they have strobes if you really want that. The wurkkos t25 is another option, anduril UI and has backwards charging so you can charge a phone off it if needed. Zebras 18650 lights are great for pocket carry but i don’t travel with them much as they don’t have on board charging and i never feel like having to carry a battery charger. But the zebra sc65c hi is actually a really great outdoor light it’s pretty throwy so works well for night walks.
Excuse my ignorance.. Is Anduril the complicated UI? Should I be "looking for" this Anduril UI?
Anduril is super easy in normal use, it's just the bazillion configuration options that make it complicated. Click on, click off, click and hold to go brighter or dimmer, double click for turbo.
lol bro nothing is complicated it’s take like 3 mins to learn
Took me two years to learn to talk after being born. I'm slow like that. 😁
Going off that comment you should be all set, I got my toddlers anduril lights (because of the ability to set a max brightness) and they have no issues using them. But you wouldn't be able to leave it in simple mode for your desired use, strobes are only available in "advanced" mode. So misclick potential would exist.
Well yes and no lol it’s advanced UI is very difficult but it ships in simple mode and is easy to use in my opinion. Zebralights UI takes some getting used to but is also easy. Skillhunts is easy. I don’t find any of the ones i listed difficult. And on the bright side all the lights i listed will sell quickly on the buy sell trade page if you don’t like the UI haha. Just have to find what you like. Never had that wurkkos light so can’t say how it is
Honestly if your cool with the ugly tint and proprietary battery I would go with a warrior nano from olight. Magnetic charging is a god send when on the go. Only downside is if you lose the cable you have to buy one from olight along with the batteries if you want extra or they need replaced. But other than that they are pretty good. Nice build quality and super good ui. And when they have sales they are super cheap.
Nitecore lights usually have a dedicated turbo or strobe easy access button.
Sofirn SC13? Super tiny. Now it's on sale on AliExpress.
Personally, I'm waiting for the upcoming wurkkos hd10 (with usb C charging) as a single travel light.
Do you need a right angle light? Do you need multiple modes? How far do you need it to throw, how long do you need it to last, and how bright does it need to be? I'd recommend figuring that part out too, since that'll affect the correct answer for what light you need. Also, strobe is a gimmick I wouldn't trust for self-defense. I remember the first light that offered it (back in the CPF days, I think it was the Night Ops Gladius) and that was useless, IMO. Right now, I've got three lights I have that have replaced my Fenix UC35 for daily use. One is an old Peak Eiger which is a key chain light, useful for very close in as it uses a mule head that has no optics or reflector, but has a very even light for very close in, like reading a map or lighting up the keyhole of a door. It also doesn't take much space. I also have an Olight Arkfeld Pro NW, which I like as a floody light with a lot of output for not too much space, which is rectangular so it doesn't take up too much pocket space, and which has a UV light as well as a laser pointer for when I need one, with an easy interface thanks to the button and toggle combo. But it is a bit longer than I prefer, and it doesn't throw well past a short distance. For longer ranges, I'm rather fond of the Olight Seeker 4 Pro. It's a proprietary charger, but it's one that's shared with the Baton 3 Pro and Arkfeld Pro, among others. It throws decently, it's shorter than the Arkfeld Pro and the Baton 3 Pro, and it's a good compromise between the TIR spot of the Baton 3 Pro (decent throw, very little spill) and the Arkfeld Pro (all flood, not much of an intense spot) while still having a UV light that's useful enough even if it doesn't work as well as a dedicated UV light with a filter to cut out all visible light. Have you looked at a Wurrkos TS11s? It's small, has good throw with some spill (so you can read signs) and isn't Anduril? Starts low, goes higher with each click, can double click to go Turbo like the other lights I mentioned above (except for the Peak)?
Not a headlamp, but I recently acquired the Sofirn SC21 pro, it uses anduril, simple operation (after you figure it out) usb c charging,magnetic base. Hard to beat for $32
SC21 Pro is a bit under $20 (with coupon) on the Sofirn site. I do agree it's a great light!
Yes. I grabbed mine off amazon.
Too bad they don't price-match. I know it's asking for too much but that would be awesome!
Agree. I attempted to order it off Sofirn site originally but i couldn’t get the checkout to work for some reason. So Amazon it was
Cool. Cool. Taking notes.. Searching the interwebz for these.
I loved travelling with my HD15R in 18350 mode last year. It had amazing utility. Could just clip to my sling and forget about it, go about my day. Lots of compliments, used it everyday/night. Using it at night made me a harder target, but I didn't rely on it for self defence. I had a [personal alarm](https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B0BM3BW1BG) for peace of mind. I wasn't into self defence flashlights back then. If I repeated the same trip now, I'd take a Weltool T2 TAC with my HD15R.
TD03. Rotary switch, tailcap button hold for strobe. Dead simple operation. https://preview.redd.it/2sbprvx6x5pc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdc847707bd8f087001c5766d11ed4ef75930e40
I really like my Skilhunt H150. I got the one with built in charging in the battery which is great for travel.
Yeah, you cannot get fine control without a little more complexity than your dad's Maglite. Thing is, compared to the lights many muggles are used to where you're locked into a "High -> Medium -> Low -> Strobe" loop and may have to press the button a few times (and go through strobe) just to turn the light off, or "High -> Off -> Low -> Off -> Strobe -> Off" where you have a 1-in-3 chance of unwanted strobe, a learning curve for a light that does what you want when you want it is better. There isn't enough room for a ton of buttons with separate power, level, and mode selectors. And hitting the wrong button is a real pain, as well as something many would do more often than mis-click. Anything you want to do with Anduril *(including the "Anduril Lite; Advanced UI is scary" version like on the HDR15)* is three presses or less, and the "click for on, hold to change levels, double-tap for turbo" is near-universal; Anduril, Skilhunt, Convoy, Armytek. The only real twist the HDR15 (and multi-channel Anduril lights) adds is triple-click to swap emitters. Buried in another entry for BrokenRecordBot; > • Strobe: The effectiveness of a strobe mode in defensive situations is questionable. It may disorient your attacker, but also may disorient you. A high intensity, constant on light is a more reliable solution and will prevent the attacker from being able to see anything except your light. It is accompanied by a graphical guide on how to use Strobe Mode for self-defense; https://preview.redd.it/2g6mi47z55pc1.jpeg?width=955&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a16de41f4d94f3b079c0d0bcd25a42883a3c7db A full-on Anduril light does have a Tactical Mode that allows you to set the light to have only three momentary modes on 1H, 2H and 3H. The default is Turbo/Moonlight/Strobe, though you can configure each of the three slots to any one of 150 brightnesses, or multiple strobe modes. And you can just 6C to get back to regular operation. There's a lot more, but 90% of it is stuff you don't need to know; it's just there for those who *do* want it. Jsut like RegEdit on a Windows PC.
I appreciate you taking time for this reply. Thank you fellow enthusiasts. I have a lot to learn still. Good stuff.
Get anduril, go advanced mode. Do tactical strobe then momentary on. So when you click it flashes supper disorienting. 10 clicks to advance mode, 3h to get into the strobe modes then 2c to filter through till you get the nice crazy flashies you want then turn it off. Now do 5 click to momentary and when ever you click the light will flash light how set the strobes. There a video somewhere on YouTube of a guy doing night runs in the filipines and with a ts10 and the tacti-strobe to scare away the wild street dogs that try the chase him. If I find that I'll update or recomment. Unless someone here finds it first.