So a caveat for me, most of my real experience with low light came in 3years of 7p-3a shift on a very busy PD. This was back before WML or even what we would today consider high output handhelds. I don't remember ever having any issues with being bothered by too much brightness. I think this was two fold, as mentioned lights weren't nearly as bright, and I was almost never in a completely dark environment for an extended period of time.I whole heartedly agree. Been to both, in multiples.
After your night vision has kicked in, it's a different experience. The older you get, the longer it takes for your night vision to adjust. Needless to say, it takes my eyes a while for night vision to work for me. Around an hour into full darkness, my night vision is running full on. Then, also very susceptible to self blinding.
Nothing compares to the experience of blinding yourself accidently, when under pressure.
Being too close to the white barrel that is your cover. Light on the wrong side for the cover you are behind. Freezing on the light switch or not getting it turned off before accidental blinding. Super bright light pointed to your path, even new white gravel in a range bay can cause a squint. Many many lumens hitting in front of your feet can be a problem. The same with a white ceiling, door or door frame. Not to mention, anything glass.
How much does squinting slow down your target acquisition and engagement?
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The last ten years or so have been mostly training and running around trying this stuff out at home. I have to say that sometimes I am bothered by too much splashback, but not often. Over a number of classes at student and instructor level, (though I do not claim to be an expert) I just didn't find that there was a such of thing as too much light. Sure there are times when it is not ideal, but that is more than made up for by the times when you want all the lumens. Like so much of what we do, even the experts don't agree on all of this which is why it behooves people to try it out for themselves in environments such as those they might be likely to find themselves in. I have to say I learned more about how dot guns work in low light doing low light cqb/fof than anything else. When I think about it, even my last CQB instructor school has been a number of years ago now and lights have definitely evolved even in that period of time. Low light is on my short list for this year. It is for sure time for a refresher.