"Tactical" torches…

The tactical tissues are for wiping up the mess after the man has been dispatched.

So how do you kill a man with those tissues?

I could tell you, but then I’d have to sit on you and force the whole box down your throat…

The EDC concept is clearly bizarre to Europeans but I can understand the anxiety of not leaving the house with something you’ve come to regard as essential kit.

Who’s starting the EDC thread then?

In my work bag, I have:

Four different sets of earphones, plus one broken pair
Assorted painkillers, antihistamines, eye drops etc
A couple of plasters (from when I cut through my thumbnail and the plaster kept dropping off)
Pens
The straps I took off the bag because they dangled everywhere
A European plug adapter that I forgot to remove after my holiday
A Moleskine notebook I don’t really use
Some batteries (unknown whether they still hold charge)
My old Dictaphone
A Natwest card reader
Some of my old business cards
A few old receipts

There we go – ready for anything! 😉

My EDC consists of a phone and some keys. The keys are quite pointy though.

My EDC consists of a phone and some keys. The keys are quite pointy though.

Sounds to me like you’re carrying tactical keys 🙂

well here is my EDC, only thing missing is the Phone I took the photo with and the clean tissues in my pocket…

As you can see, I’m an extreme survivalist kind of guy, ready to take on a bear with a 15mm spanner and a USB key 24/7. I can also administer pain killers once I’ve subdued the Bear (being a nice kind of survivalist).

EDC Tactical Survival Kit by Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

I understand not getting someone else’s hobby or interest, but there’s a fair bit of heckling here that many others would throw back on the demographic here

– why do you need that shock when this one will do
– why are you buying carbon/titanium blah blah, who do you think you are, a professional athlete?
– why do you need more than 1 bike?
– why do you need different types of bike?
– why do you wear that ridiculous lycra?

Not getting it is fine, but I reckon we’re pretty much slam bang in the middle of a glass house and we’re lobbing stones all over the place

Right… as you were!

My old DX torch has what’s known as an “Assault Crown”

Looking at my bike ultrafires in a new light 😀

Thanks all, just made my planning for the zombie apocalypse/Brexit a whole lot easier

I understand not getting someone else’s hobby or interest, but there’s a fair bit of heckling here that many others would throw back on the demographic here

– why do you need that shock when this one will do
– why are you buying carbon/titanium blah blah, who do you think you are, a professional athlete?
– why do you need more than 1 bike?
– why do you need different types of bike?
– why do you wear that ridiculous lycra?

Not getting it is fine, but I reckon we’re pretty much slam bang in the middle of a glass house and we’re lobbing stones all over the place

Yes, but while getting excited about things milled out of solid metal and anodised blue might be a bit sad and blokish it’s a different world when you fetishise the sort of stuff that Belgians keep in the cellar.

I use my “tacticool” torch as my commuting light..2 for a tenner! What’s not to like.

But to answer the question, I thought torches could be called ‘tactical’ if they were made from ‘aircraft grade’ aluminium that has been anodised black – like the T7 torches that my father and son both own. Of course, I’ve got the Aldi copy (that does the same thing for a third of the cost).

So how do you kill a man with those tissues?

stick them on his eyes so he can’t see where the angry blind bear is?

This thread is timely – it saved me starting my own after wondering (a month later) why my father in law decided the best thing he could buy me for my 40th birthday was one of these tactical torches (with gucci battery, natch).

I tried to use it when changing a bulb in my car at dusk but it was so bright the reflection off every surface of the engine bay left me with spots in front of my eyes and unable to proceed with the bulb change.

I put the insane torch back in the drawer and waited for tactical daylight to change the bulb.

Idiocy.

Of course there will be a loud tactical audio alert if user sits down for tactical briefing and the said tactical torch is trouser pocket making contact with personal weapon.

ourmaninthenorth

I tried to use it when changing a bulb in my car at dusk but it was so bright the reflection off every surface of the engine bay left me with spots in front of my eyes and unable to proceed with the bulb change.

I put the insane torch back in the drawer and waited for tactical daylight to change the bulb.

Idiocy.

So you used the wrong tool for the job and found it to be less than perfect?

Makes you think.

So you used the wrong tool for the job and found it to be less than perfect?

Apparently so. Never before did I realise that, when needing to see in the dark (because I don’t possess the low light ability of, say, a cat), using a torch could be the wrong tool.

Who’d have thought it?

In my head, the people that give any thought about whether their torch is “tactical” ; look like Mike here…

Tactical corsets[/url]

Tactical Kilt. I feel like they missed an opportunity by not calling it the TactiKilt though.

jimjam – Member

I don’t care how mean that bloke looks with his bullpup rifle, I am going to buy that nice skirt for me gf.

Why am I getting this targeted ad on gmail I wonder?

STW you have a lot to answer for.

The Rechargeable of the Light Brigade.

But to answer the question, I thought torches could be called ‘tactical’ if they were made from ‘aircraft grade’ aluminium that has been anodised black – like the T7 torches that my father and son both own. Of course, I’ve got the Aldi copy (that does the same thing for a third of the cost).

This has become pretty much the norm, sticking a ‘tactical’ label on anything immediately makes it appealing to your average urban mall ninja, but some features can be useful.
The assault crown thing can me handy if, for example, you just want a bit of general illumination, you turn the torch on to a brighter mode and stand it lens down on a flat white surface, it’s more stable than trying to stand it on the tail cap, and you get a fair bit of useful light.
The crown can, as I pointed out make a good defensive weapon as a last resort, if some knucklehead starts throwing punches around; I was doing the shopping last week, and I went to pick something up and banged the knuckle of my little finger hard against the shopping trolley. I managed to avoid using extreme profanity, but bloody hell that hurt!
A week later it’s still tender, so holding a torch in your fist and using the metal edge of the lens ring against someone’s fist is really going to hurt them, or hitting any exposed part of their body.
Which brings me to this:

jimjam – Member
ourmaninthenorth
I tried to use it when changing a bulb in my car at dusk but it was so bright the reflection off every surface of the engine bay left me with spots in front of my eyes and unable to proceed with the bulb change.

I put the insane torch back in the drawer and waited for tactical daylight to change the bulb.

Idiocy.

So you used the wrong tool for the job and found it to be less than perfect?

Makes you think.

ourmaninthenorth – Member
So you used the wrong tool for the job and found it to be less than perfect?
Apparently so. Never before did I realise that, when needing to see in the dark (because I don’t possess the low light ability of, say, a cat), using a torch could be the wrong tool.

Who’d have thought it?
Um, did you not think to just select a less bright mode? Pretty much every LED flashlight has at least low/mid/high or mid/high/strobe, sometimes even a moonlight ultra-low power mode, available via the clicky button on the tailcap.
Or did it not occur to you to look at the instructions?
Of course, it might be too cheap to have multiple modes, but even the little cheap TrustFire torches I carry, which are about £9 from dx.com have three modes, the lowest being ideal for what you were doing.
Who’dathunkit, eh?
Oh, and something else I remembered about tactical torches; originally, they were designed to fit underneath gun barrels, with an auxiliary switch attached via a cable to allow fast on/off use to illuminate any possible targets in combat situations, without allowing the possible assailant a chance to get a bead on the police or army officer doing the search.

The facebook / google ads are a scam. Ignore them.

A decent 1,000 + lumens tactical torch will set you back £50-400, depending on brightness, size, battery capacity etc.

Look for those made by Fenix, Thrunite, Nitecore, Zebralite etc.

As devash sez. Add foursevens to the list, they’ve just added a new version of their CR123 torch, the Mini II, which gives 1000 lumens as a maximum output, but for around 30 seconds maximum, due to heat issues.
They also do a little torch called the Knight/Paladin, depending on material.
It has an optional ‘assault crown’ and a number of switchable modes:

The crown is either alloy or steel, and could inflict some significant damage, it has an instant on/off tail switch, which turns to give constant light. The crown also makes a very good stand when the light is on, throwing light out through the gaps. It’s a very small light, though and difficult to grip in your fist.

maccruiskeen – Member
The Rechargeable of the Light Brigade.

Oh, that’s good, that’s very good!

Dunno about this tactical stuff, but if I were to have an EDC, I’d prefer a glassbreaker and seatbelt cutter than sumfin to fump (or stab) sumwun wiv.
I have a torch in my work bag, but that’s because I need it for surveys and inspections. I use it most days and, happily, have not had to fump anyone with it.
I do own a nice gerber folding knife I picked up from a PX for next to nothing (PX’s are awesome) but that stays at home, I’d never leave the house with it.

Standard issue for STW Parking Tsars. Just make sure you get the matching concealed gun holster for it.

This is probably all the torch most people would ever really need, pocket sized, uses 18650 Li-ion rechargeables;

http://www.dx.com/p/trustfire-168a-t6-xm-l-t6-5-mode-1000lm-memory-white-led-flashlight-w-strap-black-1-x-18650-121721#.WBzSz-vfWK0

You could, possibly, at a pinch, smash car window glass with the bezel, as its stainless steel, but generally it does best at protecting the glass from damage if you drop it or place it face down on rough surfaces.
It wouldn’t be a lot of cop for thumping someone, like a big Maglite would, but it will fit in a jacket pocket.