The Flashlight Feature That Can Give You An Edge In An Emergency At Home

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There are plenty of emergency supplies that every house should have stocked, and a bright flashlight with functional batteries is near the top of the list. Most people imagine that it will come in handy during situations where the power goes out in the middle of the night, and this holds true — a reliable stream of illumination is very important if you find yourself having to fiddle with a fuse box or evacuate during a particularly nasty storm — but that isn't its only role. Many users disregard the strobe setting in favor of a more consistent beam, but this often-ignored feature could actually become a secret weapon in defending yourself from a burglar.

While it's easy to think that a strobe would only be helpful if you're trying to signal for rescue in a remote area, its quick flashing actually gives you a bit of a defensive edge. Protecting your home from intruders should involve more than shining a light at them, but a bright, flashing beam to the eyes is great way to temporarily disorient or even scare off an uninvited guest. If you find someone peeking through the windows or rifling around outside, a strobe is a non-harmful way to signal that you are aware of their presence and they are not welcome. If they managed to make it inside, the disorientation can give you a few extra seconds to defend yourself or get somewhere safe. With that being said, however, it's important to choose a flashlight that's actually up for the task — a weak beam will do little more than give the intruder a light show.

When you're shopping around for a flashlight to add to your organized emergency pack, you'll want to strike a balance between something that's blindingly bright and a model that's a good size. Unfortunately, flashlights can get hefty once you start to amp up the power, so many smaller options don't really pack much of a punch in the self-defense area. Go for a light that's over 1,000 lumens if you want to ensure that it's useful in this situation — the Energizer LED Vision Pro Flashlight, for example, can reach up to 1,300 lumens on its brightest mode, is only about 9 inches long, and includes a bright strobe setting.

So why does this work? If you've ever walked out of a dark movie theater in daytime or accidentally switched on a lamp while looking right at the bulb, you've experienced how disorienting sudden, bright light can be. With a tactical flashlight, this phenomenon is amped up to 10. A bright burst of light can completely interrupt an intruder's night vision, and because the strobe setting is consistently providing this switch from dark to light, they'll be left completely blind for a few seconds. Additionally, afterimages can linger for several minutes, creating a burn-in effect that makes it harder to see even after the eyes have adjusted to the new light level. While the exact amount of downtime in vision will depend on how bright the light is, how dark the room is, and how direct the intruder's eye contact with the light was, even a second or two of disorientation can make a major difference in how the emergency situation plays out.