Here is a life tip—do not wade into a niche interest and proclaim a shared tenant of that interest to be invalid. Those that inhabit that niche interest will not like you.

For example, don’t do what I did and comment on a Star Wars fan Instagram that you liked the Last Jedi. Star Wars fans, of which I consider myself one, are oddly orthodox for a sub-fandom of science fiction, which is perhaps the most heterodox type of writing. You have to like certain things (Darth Maul, Prequel memes) and dislike others (Jar Jar Binks). If, for example, you liked the one movie in the Saga that truly was surprising people decry you as a lunatic. BTW, Empire wsa not surprising, it was a placeholder second movie in a trilogy…the fact that the good guys lost was a requirement—I still love Empire, but it is not a surprise or a twist. Because in niche interests orthodoxy, as opposed to clear thinking, is more important.

This is true of nearly all niche interests—politics, movies, gear, religion, law—everything. Over time ideas concretize and pushing back on those foundational notions is hard to do. Sometimes you can come in blow things up. Sometimes, like in science, there are verifiable correct and incorrect answers, you can prove people wrong. But in areas of opinion, like Star Wars movies, there is no way to move orthodoxy. Everyone has an opinion.

So imagine the uproar when I posted a video on YouTube about the Noctigon KR4. Its a cheap, well made light that throws up a lot of lumens. It also happens to have the flashoholic-beloved UI Anduril. So when I said I didn’t like it and that I didn’t like the UI, which was developed by the exceptionally skilled ToyKeeper, people went bananas. Here are some of the comments (which are tepid for YouTube comments):

Mark Duran wrote: “Must not be familar with flashlights.”

Well, I have written about then for a decade now, so maybe I am a little familar.

Ed Curtis wrote: “Mmm... Not sure this 'incredibly complex' flashlight is the right one for you. If it's too much then perhaps stick with the simple ones that have low, medium, high modes and use batteries you can by locally?”

Ed, I don’t mind complexity when it serves a purpose or is necessary. Here it is neither.

Someone wrote this: “ok boomer.”

And another person wrote: “andril ui is the best ui on the market. you are starting to sound like a boomer...”

When I suggested, heresy that it was, that the HDS Rotary’s UI was the best on the market I got this reply: “@EverydayCommentary now you are trolling. hds is the ultimate boomer light. you need to move forward. that light is a relic,”

Here is the thing, there is really no way to convince these people that they are wrong. Not only is the niche groupthink too powerful, but for their use cases, they’re right. These flashlights are fidget toys or Poke balls or pogs or whatever. They are reviewed on YouTube in their most taxing use case. That, or posed in IG pocket dumps. So in those use cases, the commenters are correct. Anduril is great.

But I use my lights—a lot. For example, once a week we take a walk in the woods after dark. Its at least forty five minutes and sometimes it ambles on for an hour or two. We need the lights to work. That is, they need to be bright and they need to run for a while without: 1) overheating; 2) dropping off a cliff in terms of output; and 3) not getting lost in some crazy mode. In short, the best UI for real world use is a simple, robust one.

There is a reason that hammers are simple to use. There is a reason that a table saw is simple to use. There is a reason that screwdrivers are simple to use. The Hoku above, is dead simple to use. Unnecessary complexity is not helpful for tasks that require specific execution. Tools need to work and my lights are tools. IG photos don’t tax a light. A two hour walk in the dark deep in the woods is a good challenge. Very few lights make it the whole trip, even ones I have given good scores to. And when you need light, having party strobe or lightstorm mode is just dumb.

I get it. I love the engineering oomph that makes Anduril possible. But it is not something you need on a tool. Its something that makes your toy more fun.

But this is not just me be crotchety (though I am certainly doing that too). I am also being snobby. Good design is very, very hard. Something as simple as the UI on the HDS is hard to make work. It is also hard to conceptualize unless you use your light as a tool regularly. The combination of detailed and reasoned forethought and engineering prowess is a challenge. It is why Apple is so good at consumer product design. It is why, after years of others making shitty MP3 players (of which I owned many) the iPod decimated the market. While not anyone can make a UI for a flashlight, engineering both the UI and the light itself is more skill intensive. Doing these things well is even harder and a rarer skill. Its not surprising that there would be very few truly superlative lights or UIs. There are always less truly superlative things.

But crotchety and snobby are not the primary drivers of this rant (that will go some place, I promise). Its fuction. When I hand out lights I am giving them to: 1) my 42 year old PhD Professor wife; 2) my 69 year old engineer father; 3) my 62 year old Masters in Education mother; 4) my 10 year old son; and 5) my 5 year old son. There are lots of ages and levels of technological sophistication. My wife, for example, is more technically savvy than I am by a long shot. When her chemistry equipment isn’t working, she takes it apart and fixes it. Suffice to say, she is probably closer to being able to make a flashlight on her own than I am. My 5 year old, however, is neither as savvy or as patient. Both hated my Anduril lights. With a fiery passion. To them, for totally different reasons, the lights didn’t work. My wife hated all of the “features” and my son hated not being able to get light on demand (which, you know, is a fair criticism of a flashlight as that is its only function). In the end, what I liked and what everyone wanted, was a simple light—press the button get photons. More than tint, color rendering, or output—function won the day. Form, it seems, and stop me if you have heard this before, should follow function.

To this end, from now on, I am going to specifically address a light’s resistance to being bricked in the UI section, with an eye towards rewarding simpler to use lights. Anduril lights score poorly. Similarly, a light like the Ttan Pro will below average. The small, fiddly body and the twist and twist again UI isn’t great for non-flashoholics.

And this is not me pandering. This is not a blog that caters the the lowest common demoninator. I just gave great marks to a knife that has a non-steel blade, no lock, and costs almost $300. This is, instead, a nod to the true emblem of greatness—broad accessibility. The 9th Symphony is plenty complex, but its appeal lies in the fact that even non-music fans love it. Broad accessibility allows things to stand the test of time. And buying great gear not only saves you money (fewer replacements), but it also provides another joy—cherishing greatness in whatever form.