Flashlights

First manifestation of RP is the impairment of night vision (sometimes called night blindness).

That's why a RP patient could greatly benefit from a good flashlight.

For me, the ideea that I could walk in the evening without a "guide" (family of friend) was ... amazing. (I had a lot of "RP" moments in dim light, so having a very good flashlight in my pocket seems very tempting).

Typically I would use a flashlight :

a) for very close distance (up to 2-3 meters or 6-9 feet) when walking outside and

b) closer, for housekeeping tasks (plumbing anyone?)  / assembling a computer / searching for something in the basement / and so on.

In those conditions I would like a wide angle (60+ degrees) and very uniform lighting (so a "floody" type of light, not a "spot + spill" kind of light).

I used a "lux meter" application on my smartphone to measure the lighting level from my livingroom where I feel comfortable (given the fact I have RP and very bad cataract so I need a lot of light).

I think 200-300 lux would be fine for me.

To have 300 lux from a distance of 2 meters I would need a 1200 candela source (or in Ansi FL01, a light capable of maximum 69 meters at that particular power level). I guess 750 candela would be just fine as well (this gives 300 lux at 1.58 meters or 187 lux at 2 meters).

For a 60+ degrees angle this translates to around 400 lumens in continuous mode (not "turbo" mode - the turbo mode has temperature limitations).

Of course the flashlight should be a compact one (or EDC type - or Every Day Carry) - small but with enough running time at 400 lumens.

Two examples of the this kind of flashlight are Armytek Wizard Pro and Zebralight H600. Both are atypical flashlight (you can use those like flashlights in you hand but they give you a headband as well so you could use the lamp as a headlamp when camping or in different "hands free" tasks around the house).

Both are pretty expensive flashlight so I urge you to find a local dealer and try it before buying. There are many many more choices if you are not interested in the hybrid flashlight that could be use from hand and with the headband.

Here are some random youtube clips with this particular flashlight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC4P0VqX8lg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHkC2sTeS4&ebc=ANyPxKq9JRKCumAcBx61vOFl8XNLQAQkmynfmaxXVvPG1a3HaXESfjFNUXt-LFq9hEHfq3zBdCUrztU57dm1GnQfejUDdz9vQA

Keep in mind I will keep the flashlight in my hand so I will get a smaller "spot" (it should be a circle of about 6 feet in diameter projected to a distance of around 4.5 feet).

I bought that particular flashlight and I could say the flood is very good but it looks much better on youtube clips then in real life.

When using a flashlight you don't see the light but the reflection of the ligth from the objects around you and different objects reflect light in different ways. So any video on youtube showing light on white surfaces (like snow or a white wall) would look much brighter then in real life when you are projecting light on a dark asphalt road.

Please note that I have RP and cataract (cataract is affecting my night vision as well so I could be one extreme case of night blindness - I can't make a single step on a typical lighted city street). Having my flashlight I have a litle bit more courage. A RPer may find a good LED flashlight is a life changer.