The winter chill is here and even worse than the cold (from a situational awareness standpoint) is going to and from work or other daily activities in the dark. Today the sunrise is 8:20am and the sunset is 4:54pm.
We were all probably afraid of the dark at one point in our lives, and even as adults this predisposition can persist. Possibly for good reason! It’s much easier for a predator to hide and ambush us at night. A great piece of equipment that you should buy, before that fabulous shirt you will look great in, is a powerful flashlight, which can possibly save your life. (If you’re wondering, the shirt won’t.)
In our Situational Awareness and Self Defense Mindset courses, the Surefire flashlights were really received well by the crowd as a way to increase their defensive hardware. Here is some more information.
With flashlights, one way to measure brightness is in lumens. I happen to like the brand Surefire and you can buy a pocket carry version from 100 lumens (really bright) to 500 lumens (wicked bright). Either of these would disrupt any potential predator. Just so you know, there are other great companies (Streamlight, FourSevens, and others) that have less expensive lights, and some can be found for less than half the cost of a Surefire. I’ve just had great luck with Surefire for years since they’re made in the USA and they feel like a quality tool that will last. Plus they have a lifetime warranty.
If you really do the research, all lumens are not reported equally, so seeing for yourself is the true test. There are other considerations as well for picking a defensive light, one of the most important if the light is “dual output” is that the “first click” of the switch is the bright setting. Some activate the low setting first, and you need the bright first in an emergency. As you learn in our classes, during high stress moments the less you have to remember is the better, and remembering to click twice is something you don’t want to be required to do for maximum effectiveness.
We have flashlights you can hold and try out at our classes. One of the Surefire flashlights we recommend (yes, they are the cost of a pair of designer jeans) like the Defender Ultra have metal projections called a bezel that can be used as a strike device in a critical encounter and is a confidence inspiring defensive tool, and the most popular choice of our students. In the picture above (left to right, all Surefire) Kristen is holding the Defender Ultra, Beth has a pistol mounted X300, and Miranda is holding a Backup EB2.
Thankfully, your flashlight is most likely to be used in non-critical encounters. Pull out your Surefire flashlight and be thankful that you were prepared.
Be Safe. Be Empowered. Be Loaded.
Related Posts
Beth is the founder of Pretty Loaded. On a mission to install strength, awareness, and confidence, Beth began her journey as an educator and National speaker after a close encounter with a would-be predator. She has trained thousands of people in person, and through her online training and videos around the world. Her safety videos reach millions globally! She is responsible for starting the National Situational Awareness Day and this was approved by the registrar of the National Day Calendar. Beth has been featured on Consumer Reports, Reddit, Yahoo!Finance, Elite Readers, BuzzFeed, ViralNova, and many more networks. Beth loves spending her time reading, playing tennis, cooking, and painting. She is married and has four wonderful girls, a supermicro pig named Clover Smalls, and lives on an organic produce farm and vineyard.