once a year I email my favorite flashlight manufacturer to ask if they’ve finally made a flashlight that just turns on and off when you push the button, and every year they’re like, “no, but thanks so much for your feedback!”

be honest, have any of you ever used the flashing feature on your flashlight? did it actually come in handy? handy enough that I have to scroll past it every single time I want to turn my flashlight on or off

  • The Pantser
    2•2 months ago

    The most logical programming is

    • Double tap for brightness level - cycles through low, med, high
    • Triple tap for sos - this whole setting is optional
    • Quadruple tap to reset to default
    • Single tap for on and off and it remembers last setting.
    • @[email protected]
      9•2 months ago

      There’s nothing logical about that to me. Double/triple click? No one outside the flashlight community would have a clue how to use these lights (and I own a handful).

      Sequential click through low/med/high/off is intuitive.

      I have labels on some lights so people can use them. Imagine that, having to read a label to use a flashlight. Oh, that’ll be great in a power outage.

      • @[email protected]
        1•2 months ago

        I’ve been commenting in this thread a lot, but I’m an Emisar slut.

        Click to turn on. Click to turn off.

        Double click to INSANE BRIGHT. do it again to MAXIMUM BRIGHT.

        Flashlight off? Hold button to slowly ramp up brightness. Let go and hold again to ramp down. Click any time to turn off.

        Then there’s a pirate’s map to all the other functions. But I’m pretty much just use “three clicks -battery level check” and the aforementioned things.

      • @FireRetardant
        0•2 months ago

        Do you just not read the user manual when you buy something? Thats how i learn how my lights work without being a flashlight nerd scouring forums.

        • bizarroland
          3•2 months ago

          I mean, yes, rtfm always, but at the same time flashlights are solved problem and they should not require a manual for anyone that’s over the age of six.

    • PhobosAnomaly
      4•2 months ago

      Banging idea, love this.

      Only changes I would make is changing out the SOS for a five-second long-press, and changing reset to a ten-tap - to make sure people aren’t just fucking about turning it on and off.

    • Ellia PlisskenOPEnglish
      4•2 months ago

      see, one of mine is supposed to be almost that easy. you press the button normally to turn the light on and off, and it always remembers the last setting. then, you lightly press the power button to cycle through modes. the problem is, there’s no way to press the button hard without also pressing it soft first, so most of the time you’re cycling at the same time that you’re powering.