Window Film Flood

I have mentioned previously that I prefer the flood lens on my Elzetta Alpha. My primary use case for an EDC light is lighting up a room – or the dark recesses behind furniture. Neither case calls for a spotlight with a lot of throw.

Last year I decided to finally allow myself to buy a ZebraLight headlamp, which I had been jonesing over for years. I knew I wanted one that ran on 18650 batteries, and I knew I wanted a warm temperature. The final decision required to land on a specific model was whether I wanted a lens with flood or a lens with throw. Unlike an EDC pocket light, with a headlamp I was pretty sure I wanted something with throw. My use case for a headlamp is to light up the ground a ways in front of me, not what is already right at my feet. Before finalizing my decision, I did a bit of searching on the World Wide Web to see if anyone else out there had a good argument against my inclination. They did not. I bought the H600c Mk IV.

However, what I did find is that a lot of the flashlight nerds buy lenses with throw, and then make them more floody by applying window privacy film. Specifically, the D-C-Fix “Milky” film was preferred. I thought this sounded great. Get your torch with a lens that offers nice throw, put a film cutout on there if you decide you want more flood, rip off the film when you decide you want more throw. Rinse and repeat.

I’ve been using my ZebraLight headlamp for 10 months now and haven’t covered the lens with the film once. For my applications, the throw lens is perfect.

But I did try using the film to cover the standard throw lens on the Elzetta Alpha. I switched back and forth between that and the flood lens a bit and decided I preferred the standard lens and film combination. Compared to the actual flood lens, it is just a little less floody, with a little more throw and bit more of a spot. I’ve been rocking that for the past 10 months, and I’m still really happy with it.

The moral of the story is that, if given the option, I probably won’t buy a flood lens again. Using the film lets me purchase one lens and play in whichever world I want. Also I’m afraid of commitment.