Not in my face!

We live in one of the darkest areas in the lower 48, there are even laws on the books pertaining to outdoor lighting to prevent potential light pollution for our local observatory. One of the things that are a must have item are flashlights, I keep one or two in my truck at all times, I prefer two but one is usually being used to get me up and down the hill in the dark.

When we have family and friends over, I try to have enough flashlights to go around for everyone to use, and because we actually USE our flashlights, they are often in varying states of power, some being brighter than others. In practice, I have come up with a list of flashlight etiquette.

• Do not shine a flashlight in anyone’s face, it is rude, it will blind the person and affect their night vision for quite some time. Shine your light down as much as you can instead of up. If you must shine it at a person, shine it well below their face so they aren’t blinded by the light, this also includes dogs, cats or other animals, they don’t want to be blinded either.
• Try to have enough flashlights for everyone, or at least one for every 2-3 people.
• If you don’t have enough to go around, be sure to give them to those who would be most experienced with them, those old enough to be able to help illuminate the path for someone else.
• Be sure to give the brightest flashlight to the one who needs it the most, it’s up to you to decide who that might be.
• If you are walking with other people and your light happens to be brighter than theirs, keep your light away from them, their eyes will grow accustomed to the brightness of their light, if you shine your brighter light around them, you will overcome their light and they will have a harder time using their dimmer light while their eyes re-adjust to their amount of light. If they ask you to light something for them, then go ahead, but don’t just shine your brighter light in front of them.
• If you are in a situation where there aren’t enough flashlights to go around and you are holding the flashlight, walk behind or beside the person without a flashlight but shine your light around them or in front of them, you don’t want to walk behind someone and shine the light on their back, that casts a shadow directly in front of them, making it even harder for them to see the path.
• Instead of turning your light off and on as you need it, if you only need to turn it off for a short time then right back on, try covering it with your hand or pushing it up against your shirt or pants, that helps extend the life of the light and the switch.
• Before turning on your flashlight at night, cover the light end first, that way you can slowly bring the light up by uncovering it, and if you have one of the new multi-function lights that has the blinking or flashing function, sometimes that can come on the first switch and you don’t want a strobe effect when you first turn it on. By covering it first, if it does start to strobe, you can make it stop without blinding or annoying others or yourself.
• When I walk up and down my hill at night, I will often cover part of the light with my fingers so the light is slightly dimmed, I point it on the ground in front of my feet. Keeping the light dimmed this way allows me to keep my night vision in better shape and if I need to see something better, I just need to uncover the light. I don’t have people camping around me, but if you are in a camping or hiking situation with other people around, keeping your light dimmed is a courtesy to everyone else.
• If you are in a camping situation, don’t shine your light toward other people’s vehicles, campers or tents at night, it’s disruptive, rude and might get you hurt if you offend the wrong camper.
• The main rule though is never shine your light in someone’s face, it’s really an easy thing to accidentally do, but keep your light pointed at the ground as much as possible.

I’m sure there are other tips and pointers, if you have some, let me know in the comments below :)

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

🔌【Multiple Charging Ports】: 2* Pure Sine Wave AC outlets (110V 350W ), 2* USB-A ports (5V, 3.1A total),1* USB-C port , 2* DC Outputs(12V 8A; 24V 3A) and 1* 12V DC car port to charge your devices, and 1 * 10W wireless charging pad are also equipped. 🔋... read more

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off $149.99 $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

120WH CAPACITY: The power station has a power capacity of 120Wh/33,000mAh which the camping power supply can power most electronic devices efficiently. It can fully charge mobile phone 10+ times, the laptop 2 times, the CPAP machine 3 hours (the time... read more

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY: With a 22% high conversion efficiency of this 60W mono crystalline solar panel, it’s able to produce electricity in low light outdoor environment (Recommend > 40000Lux) to charge your devices in shorter time. 4 OUTPUT PORT... read more

10W USB LED Light for Camping Garage Warehouse Car Truck Fishing Boat Outdoor Portable Bulb, Emergency Light, Children Bed Lamp

Now retrieving the rating.

$9.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

【10W USB LED Light】: With 6 Feet long cable, this is a super bright camping lantern to your outdoor event with a 10W decorative dimmable hanging LED Light! Let it be your yard/garden/patio/porch/ barbecue or birthday party USB powered Led light. 【3 C... read more

EnginStar Portable Power Station 300W 296Wh Battery Bank with 110V Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet for Outdoors Camping Hunting and Emergency, 80000mAh Backup Battery Power Supply for CPAP

Now retrieving the rating.

15% Off $259.99 $219.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

PORTABLE BUT POWERFUL: EnginStar Portable Power Station with ETL Certification, and the portable size of 9 x 5.5 x 7.5 inches, weights only 6.5 pounds, but armed with 296wh capacity and 300W AC output, EnginStar portable power station can provide eno... read more