Why do a lot of you still carry a flashlight?

[Mikali]

Ok, as I'm reading here on the forum I noted a lot of your guys EDC equipment includes a flashlight.
Now my very dumb question is; what are the arguments of still carrying a quality flashlight, as most smartphones have a flashlight build in?

 

[Daddyo16]

Never hurts to have a spare....

 

[squidlegs]

One is none, two is one...

 

[cricketdave]

Cell phone flashlights are very dim in comparison to most dedicated flash lights.

 

[A.L.]

To add to the above answers, I think it's the same thing as why carry wristwatch when you have cellphone: reliability and practicality. And also, when you face nordic absolute pitch black darkness in the middle of the woods, you kind of want something that shoots more light.. not to mention that - especially modern - phones freeze up in cold and become unresponsible. Flashlights are also tougher.
Why carry knife when you can carry boxcutter?

 

[adams-usmc]

Takes me a solid 15 seconds to get my phone out, unlock it, scroll through my apps, and switch on the light. Then I have a light that is very dim.

Takes me about 3 seconds to pull my Nitecore MH2C from my back pocket, and dump 800 lumens into whatever I need to light up. Plus, I use a flashlight at work where cell phones are *allowed* but not encouraged.

 

[C_Becker]

-much brighter than a cellphone light, can your cellphone put out 100 lumen ?
-can put it in my mouth and have both hands free for work
-can carry extra batteries (AA batteries are readily available in every supermarket,gas station etc)
-damn smartphone batteries are always empty anyway

 

[sideways]

It's the whole doing one thing well vs doing many things OK. Some people need a devices that perform their dedicated tasks very well. It could be anything. I know engineers & students who still carry calculators even though their phone has an app for that. Others carry dedicated mp3 players, compasses, dumb phones, cameras, stopwatches, voice recorders etc. It is all about what people need to get stuff done.

People who spend time in dark places have lighting needs.
- beam pattern (throw vs flood)
- not wanting to waste phone battery on long illumination sessions
- swappable batteries
- hands free use
- etc

Other people just don't want to be caught out in the dark.

 

[madcap_magician]

Cell phones are well and good for finding something you dropped in the theater, but that's about it.

1. I don't have a smart phone, but most of the people I know who do (virtually everyone) complains about poor battery life. I can't replace my phone battery under any circumstances where I would want a flashlight, while the flashlight I have has six spare batteries in the same shoulder bag as the flashlight. Multitasking means the phone battery is more likely to be low at any given point.

2. The phone flashlight is much harder to access. You have to unlock your phone, find the app, and turn it on. Then you have a device that functions as a not-very-ergonomic flashlight with an effective range of only a few feet. Whereas my Fenix has a tailcap on/off click switch and has an effective range of several hundred feet.

3. A flashlight is mechanically and electronically extremely simple, and good ones are not prone to malfunction or breakage, whereas under rugged conditions a smart phone is likely to get stupid quickly.

4. Having a powerful flashlight on hand when it is needed makes you look cool and prepared, whereas hunting around for something on your hands and knees on the floor in the dark using your cell phone as a flashlight makes you look like a doofus. No one wants to look like a doofus.

 

[KP]

I was working at a client site on the 37th floor of a Manhattan building when the 2003 blackout hit. The backup generators failed and I had to evacuate the building down the stairs in the dark with everyone else. Cell phones and laptop screens helped but I have carried a small flashlight on me or in my briefcase ever since. Carrying a 1 AA flashlight isn't that noticeable and the peace of mind is worth it if I have a reliable light and can preserve my phone battery.

 

[stvpourciau]

I need light all the time and have recently only purchased a flashlight since getting a phone With no flash. For what it's worth, the phone has excellent battery life, 2800mAh, rocks android kit Kat, and at $30 performs better than an iPhone. Google and droid have really gotten smooth if you customize. Stick it ain't so nice.

The flashlight I picked up was a coast hp1 at 900 lumens, outshines everything I've ever owned but I thought would be a lot brighter. Guess I don't know squat about lumens.

Oh yea and I wear a wrist watch

 

[guns_and_labs]

Lumens, batteries and water-resistance.

 

[stabman]

Now my very dumb question is; what are the arguments of still carrying a quality flashlight, as most smartphones have a flashlight build in?

I don't have a smartphone, nor do I want one.
A flashlight comes in handy when it's dark. :thumbup:

 

[DAVE_M]

Who carries one flashlight? I usually have one in the pocket, one in the backpack, one in the truck, and I guess my phone counts too.

 

[Bigfatts]

I carry a Titanium Innovations Illuminati on my keychain. That's a 1 AAA light that takes up a negligible amount of room and is unnoticable when on my keys. It puts out a max of 110 lumens (I think). I've used it many times at work to save people the embarassment of using their cell phone lights. Cell phone lights are all well and good if you drop something on the floor of your car at night, but more than that and they're about useless.

Remember: At night, light is might.

 

[plumberroy]

As every one points out a flash light is smaller brighter and easier to use . Plus I don't want to need my phone and the battery to be dead because I was using it to see with

 

[sideways]

Remember: At night, light is might.

Yup. There is as much night as there is day in a year. So half the time you are relying on a nuclear fusion reaction 8 light minutes away for light. That is assuming you are out in the open or near reflective light. Indoors and underground you are relying completely on man made sources of light to get things done.

 

[beau5278]

I consider the light on my cellphone to be used it an emergency only and then it would only be if I didn't have another flashlight available.

 

[RevDevil]

Cell phone flashlights are very dim in comparison to most dedicated flash lights.

I agree. The lights offered on a phone are no replacement for a dedicated light, and are quite pitiful. If you have a specific type of job that requires you to work in areas that are not well lit, it would be pretty apparent why one carries a flashlight. Also, what else are you supposed to do when it gets dark?

 

[muphasta]

I cannot have my phone in my workspace, and I often need a light. The cell phone light is insufficient for most tasks, where my little light shines bright when I need it to.