Flashlight Manipulation
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 5:36 am
It's rather difficult to explore when you can't see now, isn't it? So we all carry flashlights of some shape and fashion on the operation. Learning better ways to employ your flashlight can save you headaches and allow you to focus more on having fun and less being paranoid.
First off, let's talk about selection and carrying. Today's technology allows you two ideal designs for operations; standard tube shape and headlamp bezel. Although the microlight is an amazing piece for the size and weight, they can turn on at inappropriate times, get lost easily, or are easily damaged. Light output similarly comes in all colors of the spectrum in varying degrees of intensity. What you choose comes down to preference here but you will need to control your light better with brighter and more intense colors. I personally prefer a system that allows both red and white output, red for basic navigation without ruining my nightvision and white for exploration so I can see colors better.
As for carrying, I highly recommend using the methods outlined in this topic:
http://www.nightops.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1890
Not only will this help secure the light to you in a low profile manner that will not negatively effect mobility, but also gives you better in-hand security. More on this below.
When you're ready to employ your light, there are always two questions you must keep in mind:
1 - What is your light illuminating?
2 - Can the bulb be seen from a distance?
These are the two issues that will land you in hot water. Light in itself is not the issue if you can see it but nobody else can. So we must take care to remind ourselves of this every time we prepare to turn on the light.
With that in mind, you can imagine it's stupid in most cases to just turn a headlamp on while it's still on your head. Although the headlamp brings promise of hands-free usage, in night ops you actually want to have a hand on your light. Take the lamp off your head and wrap the band around your manipulation hand so that the lamp rests in your palm facing outward and cannot fall until you unwrap the band. With a tube light design, if you followed my carabiner advice in the linked topic you can attach the lanyard to your watch, a glove with a D-ring or velcro strap, shirt cuff, etc. making it harder for you to drop and lose the flashlight.
Now that your light is deployed and secured, you're going to use a special hand technique to manipulate where the light hits with precision and prevent your bulbs from being seen at a distance. To illustrate this right now, take your right hand and touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. Now lift your remaining three fingers. This is the universal hand signal for OK, as a reminder. Now take the remaining three fingers and hold them together while keeping your index and thumb together. This is the basic shutter design your hand is going to perform whenever you are using your flashlight. If you have a tube, grab your flashlight at the bulb as close to the end as possible in between the thumb and index with the light shining toward your palm. With a lamp, you can just grab around the bezel or keep it tight against your palm and use all five fingers as the shutter if desired. You'll notice that by moving all fingers in unison, you can narrow the light output to any width you desire, and with wrist manipulation you can change the angle and direction of this flat beam.
Use this method to control your light with precision. You can block light so you can inspect near doorways and windows without actually shining light through them. You can see what is in front of you without anyone who might be somewhere in front of you seeing the brightness of your bulb. Remember, at night your flashlight can be seen from potentially over a mile away if the angle is right! You can also use this to completely turn off your light without having to manipulate your switch by covering the bulb completely with your fingers and, if needed, pressing the bulb against your body. This is far more instinctive than worrying about the switch and can be used to your advantage in multiple situations. For example, if you need to keep the light off, you can use this method and THEN turn the light switch off. Or, say you have a potential attacker, you can use your hand manipulation to strategically blind, move, then blind again as you employ defensive measures or strobe if needed by rapidly rotating your wrist back and forth with your fingers out, hitting the attacker rapidly with on and off light.
When finished, close your fingers, return the light to your body and flip off the power switch. You can then resume carrying in whatever method you use.
Have fun and stay safe.
First off, let's talk about selection and carrying. Today's technology allows you two ideal designs for operations; standard tube shape and headlamp bezel. Although the microlight is an amazing piece for the size and weight, they can turn on at inappropriate times, get lost easily, or are easily damaged. Light output similarly comes in all colors of the spectrum in varying degrees of intensity. What you choose comes down to preference here but you will need to control your light better with brighter and more intense colors. I personally prefer a system that allows both red and white output, red for basic navigation without ruining my nightvision and white for exploration so I can see colors better.
As for carrying, I highly recommend using the methods outlined in this topic:
http://www.nightops.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1890
Not only will this help secure the light to you in a low profile manner that will not negatively effect mobility, but also gives you better in-hand security. More on this below.
When you're ready to employ your light, there are always two questions you must keep in mind:
1 - What is your light illuminating?
2 - Can the bulb be seen from a distance?
These are the two issues that will land you in hot water. Light in itself is not the issue if you can see it but nobody else can. So we must take care to remind ourselves of this every time we prepare to turn on the light.
With that in mind, you can imagine it's stupid in most cases to just turn a headlamp on while it's still on your head. Although the headlamp brings promise of hands-free usage, in night ops you actually want to have a hand on your light. Take the lamp off your head and wrap the band around your manipulation hand so that the lamp rests in your palm facing outward and cannot fall until you unwrap the band. With a tube light design, if you followed my carabiner advice in the linked topic you can attach the lanyard to your watch, a glove with a D-ring or velcro strap, shirt cuff, etc. making it harder for you to drop and lose the flashlight.
Now that your light is deployed and secured, you're going to use a special hand technique to manipulate where the light hits with precision and prevent your bulbs from being seen at a distance. To illustrate this right now, take your right hand and touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. Now lift your remaining three fingers. This is the universal hand signal for OK, as a reminder. Now take the remaining three fingers and hold them together while keeping your index and thumb together. This is the basic shutter design your hand is going to perform whenever you are using your flashlight. If you have a tube, grab your flashlight at the bulb as close to the end as possible in between the thumb and index with the light shining toward your palm. With a lamp, you can just grab around the bezel or keep it tight against your palm and use all five fingers as the shutter if desired. You'll notice that by moving all fingers in unison, you can narrow the light output to any width you desire, and with wrist manipulation you can change the angle and direction of this flat beam.
Use this method to control your light with precision. You can block light so you can inspect near doorways and windows without actually shining light through them. You can see what is in front of you without anyone who might be somewhere in front of you seeing the brightness of your bulb. Remember, at night your flashlight can be seen from potentially over a mile away if the angle is right! You can also use this to completely turn off your light without having to manipulate your switch by covering the bulb completely with your fingers and, if needed, pressing the bulb against your body. This is far more instinctive than worrying about the switch and can be used to your advantage in multiple situations. For example, if you need to keep the light off, you can use this method and THEN turn the light switch off. Or, say you have a potential attacker, you can use your hand manipulation to strategically blind, move, then blind again as you employ defensive measures or strobe if needed by rapidly rotating your wrist back and forth with your fingers out, hitting the attacker rapidly with on and off light.
When finished, close your fingers, return the light to your body and flip off the power switch. You can then resume carrying in whatever method you use.
Have fun and stay safe.