Pleae tell me why I don't need one of these for personal use

[Dustdevil]

It's not a question of need. It's a question of what you can afford on an EMT salary, and still have money to pay for beer and whacker lights.

[WolfmanHarris]

I popped "Whacker" into Google.

I was both entertained, scared and then horribly depressed. It's been an bit of a roller coaster over the last five minutes.

HAMsexy

Oh wait. This is the perfect vehicle to put your flashlight in. (Look closely and read the side)

Or this one.

[web:b9de9cc198] [/web:b9de9cc198]

Done editing. Gonna cry a bit now; maybe throw up.

[web:b9de9cc198] [/web:b9de9cc198]

[Arkymedic]

LMFAO. Thank you Dust I needed that.

It's not a question of need. It's a question of what you can afford on an EMT salary, and still have money to pay for beer and whacker lights.

[Canadian Caesar]

Well, I'll just go ahead and admit that I happen to own this flashlight. Well, the LED version that Surefire offers, which has better battery performance and 2 brightness settings. Though a tad more pricey. Which Micheal might like even more...

http://www.surefire.com/E2DL

It was a gift from my girlfriends parents for the completion of my PCP program. (And since we have to furnish our own supplies for practicum, it was a well received gift.)

A few things I must point out.

1) The so called "strike-bezel" is just the same as the traditional bezel that all the Surefire penlights I have seen have. But with more pronounced "teeth." Even their regular penlights have the teeth and are a fraction of an inch shorter. And is smaller, more compact, brighter and more rugged than the issue Maglights that my Preceptors had. (Granted, they get theirs for free. They are issued equipment)

2) I have gotten VASTLY better battery performance than even the manufacturer claims. Which is quite refreshing for a change! I have not changed the batteries yet in mine and I have used it a few times over the last 6 months including a rather long period trying to break into a patients house.

3) The 2 brightness settings are handy. The "low" setting is good enough for most applications and not too bright for checking pupils. And the "hi" setting is blow-you-out-of-your-socks bright. Great if you are searching for an 85 year old farmer who collapsed in his 40+ acre field and didn't call for help on his cell phone until 23:00. :roll: But be warned, the light does get hot on this setting and it will blind anything you shine it at for a looooong time. (Be it an angry farm dog, old lady, preceptor or RCMP officer...) It takes quite a while to get hot so it can be used for short term translumination. The spectrum of light that I get from mine makes veins show better than some of the commercial florescent lightbulbs found in buildings nowadays.

All in all, a fun toy. If you have the money to spend, mine certainly hasn't let me down yet.

But I can think of better ways to spend the money at my point in life, maybe you can't. So get it Michael! lol

[Dustdevil]

3) The 2 brightness settings are handy. The "low" setting is good enough for most applications and not too bright for checking pupils.

I don't own this flashlight, but I would bet money that even the lowest setting is much too bright for you to be utilising it for pupil checks. A Mini-Mag light is too bright for that, and I'm betting this thing is much brighter than that. I had a written directive at the last agency I supervised that specifically prohibited the use of Mini Mag lights or anything similar for pupil checks.

[Niftymedi911]

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!

Dustdevil IS NEVER HAPPY!!!!

Now back you regularly scheduled posting...........

[crotchitymedic1986]

YOU WILL PUT YOUR EYE OUT !!! Just watched christmas story on TV.

You will lose it, or it will get stolen from the truck about 6 weeks after you buy it.

[Michael]

it will blind anything you shine it at for a looooong time

How long?

It takes quite a while to get hot so it can be used for short term translumination

What happens when it gets hot if the business end isn't in close contact with a living organism? What happens if you keep it on when it's hot? Thanks. I'm learning a lot.

[Canadian Caesar]

BTW just in case it discourages/encourages Michael... The things needs 2 special "123A" lithium batteries at ~$2 each if you buy bulk.

But like I said, mine has been really good with batteries so far.

How long?

Depends on if they are already using night adapted vision or not. But it is 10 times worse than any camera flash, easy :shock:

Of course I had to shoot myself just for stupidity's sake. I couldn't use 90% of my visual field for several minutes. The usual big blue dot effect.

What happens when it gets hot if the business end isn't in close contact with a living organism? What happens if you keep it on when it's hot? Thanks. I'm learning a lot.

It takes about 5-10 minutes of sustained use on the high setting to cause it to get very hot. I don't know if it would cause much of a burn. But it is certainly uncomfortable to touch. And if you absentmindedly put it back into your thigh pocket immediately after prolonged use, you would definitely know it!

I have used the bright setting for about an hour continuously without the thing blowing up in my hand and it doesn't get much hotter after the first 15 minutes or so. The low setting doesn't get hot at all and you could touch it to your face after 20 minutes and be fine.

Now I'll take a crack at Dustdevil, :shock: what exactly did your protocol determine was appropriate for checking pupils?

I agree that a minimag is too bright, do the small penlights with the pupil scale on the side satisfy your protocol? Or did you require something totally different?

There are a couple reasons I decided to use the light for checking pupils, please correct me if I am doing irreparable harm to myself and my patients... my retina's will thank you.

First, I tested it on myself. It was no more unpleasant that using the "pupil penlight" that my preceptor had, with similar sideffects with either device.

When shone at the wall, both seemed equally bright. Granted, the LED produced a whiter hue and a more even beam.

http://www.maglite.com/lampspecs_aaa.asp

As you can see from the link, the maglite output averages 15.6 Lumens over the life of the batteries.

The surefire flashlight low setting output is a mere 5 Lumens.

So the surefire light is less than 1/3 the brightness of the minimag when I use it for pupils.

So all in all, I couldn't find a reason not to use it on eyes. But Dust if I am hurting someone please let me know.

[Michael]

Julian Power, this is sounding more and more like a must-have... one can even cook with it! 8)