Torches: outdoor use

About the drawbacks of using torches outdoors. In the films, torches are ubiquitous. In reality, less so.
One very cold and dark night, I shot this, and enough for another couple of videos. When I am not presenting to a camera at night, and so don't have to worry about lighting my face, I do not have to keep adjusting my hood.
www.LloydianAspects.co.uk

[@birdiemcchicken1471]

This explains why in stealth sections of videogames, the guards can only see you if you stand directly in the torchlight o.0

[@DanteTorn]

Styx: Master of Shadows is a good example. Skyrim is not, because when your stealth skill is high enough you can stand quite literally directly in front of someone and they can't notice you until they directly trip over you.

[@Aechelian]

Dante Torn My Skyrim game broke to where as soon as I crouch, I'm instantly detected by every enemy in the area.

[@PossumMedic]

😂💀

[@scholagladiatoria]

Hi Lloyd, in case you don't already know, the main reason 'peasants' or at least townspeople and city folk carried torches in medieval England was because it was illegal not to after curfew (ie. after dark). If you were caught walking around town without a torch by the aldermen after curfew then you could be deemed a trouble maker and fined or imprisoned.

[@ixxxxxxx]

reminds me of kingdom come deliverance haha. also nice seeing you here

[@peterknutsen3070]

That certainly sounds very plausible.

[@mathieuvart]

I'm beginning to feel quite hungry

[@SquaredbyX]

You use torches in the daytime to avoid night blindness... obviously

[@nickhighland799]

+Cabbage Head of course! how did I not realize before xD lol

[@armanhammer]

+SquaredbyX That's why you're in charge, boss.

[@chriscooke109]

I am rather embarrassed that I hadn't realised this sooner. I had been holding it against my forehead then crossing my eyes to maximise the retina's exposure to light; how foolish....

[@sedoskovelha123]

Torches were used in sieges to burn down iron gates. - Creative Assembly

[@TheObscuran]

haha brilliant!

[@BaldPolishBiotechnol]

Well, use enough torches and the gates will surely melt. ;-)

[@d4n4nable]

Torches can't melt steel gates.

[@jorgejohnson875]

@@d4n4nable iron gates*

[@Robert399]

and iron windmills - From Software

[@lazyobs3901]

For the night is dark, and full of torches

[@James-en1ob]

And let's not forget lamps

[@PaltryPete]

"Torches and pitchforks, those are the two ingredients you need for a peasant rampage. Oh, three. You need peasants." Reminded me of the Spanish Inquisition

[@chrisforsyth8323]

+PaltryPete I didn't expect that.

[@DreadnoughtAdventure]

+Chris Forsyth NO ONE expects t-h-e Spanish IN-qui-siTION !

[@bassemb]

Nobody expects that.

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

Our two main weapons are fear, surprise, and a supreme devotion to the pope; three weapons!

[@tatsu280]

Don't forget ruthless efficiency.

[@barrythebluebear]

As a Scoutmaster, I would tell the new boys that if they wanted to see at night, turn off the flashlight Mom had given them. Rarely believed me till they noticed the older Scouts had no flashlights. Then when we played night hide-n-seek, they learned. (Yes, you can see even in starlight.)

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Barry Smith and then they noticed the older scouts did have flashlights but only used them when looking for something their buddy wanted from a pack inside the tent or when telling scary stories in the tent when it rained too much for a ring around the camp fire :) Funnily enough, the how of using artificial light is also the easiest way to spot inexperienced soldiers that's not yet had any night raid defence exercises in their field training.

[@ThePandoraGuy]

Or let 'em parents buy them military surplus flashlights, they got a red filter. Red light doesn't fuck up your nightvision, with red light, you don't have a cooldown to see in the dark again with bare eyes again.

[@FirstLifeFan]

OR just turn off your torches...as Barry said...;-) Because most people will have an easier time adjusting their eyes to the semi-darkness which most nights outside are than buying a thermal camera...;-) Our eyes are pretty amazing instruments, just give them a chance to do their job.

[@FirstLifeFan]

Obviously this is true... I was just pointing out that a thermal camera is very high-tech, and not many people will have one. Now eyes, on the other hand...;-)

[@daytonasixty-eight1354]

You sound like a fucking pervert.

[@gloweye]

Well, they are useful if you're in the dark woods looking for someone who got lost and wants to be found - they can see and move towards the torches.

[@LarsaXL]

Good point, torches make it very easy for people to locate each other. Sometimes that is a useful thing.

[@qwertyqwerty-ek7dy]

Wouldnt makeing a lot of noice do the same? Yelling or useing a horn could work better.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

+qwerty qwerty We are visually oriented creatures, a bobbing light at night is a much better reference point than a voice coming from the shade somewhere over there.

[@robo3007]

+qwerty qwerty True but it wouldn't be as obvious where the noise is coming from.

[@qwertyqwerty-ek7dy]

Robin Powell Well the surrounding trees and rocks might break the sound a bit... It could be the best to try both.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

That's why search lights, flashligths, lanterns and all that sort is not 360 degrees. It's to light the target without blinding your eyes.

[@Gabdube]

Many historical lanterns were essentially three walls with an opening in the front.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Gabdube and the opening in the front could often be regulated with a sliding lid, sometimes with one or more slits in it.

[@GregTom2]

I've done some "larping" a few years back, and I was an assassin. I can say a few things about being all creepy crawly in a forest with no source of light: It depends on stuff. If it's winter, everything is white, and you see perfectly all through the night without any source of light, provided your eyes are used to the dark. Otherwise, sometimes you will see everything quite well (although in shades of grey), and navigating a forest isn't difficult (although I got lost twice for several hours at a time). However sometimes (clouds, no moon, who knows) all you see is absolute darkness... and absolute grayness slightly upwards. So you just follow the trail of gray above because you know that's probably not a tree, so you're probably following some track. I would advise against using a "new shortcut you've never seen" in the middle of the night, whatever the lighting is... One time I found my way following battle-shouts... the other time the sun rose before I could find my tent.

[@azurebeast]

Matt Colville sent me here. Really cool video! I plan on showing it to my D&D group

[@Sergei_Ivanovich_Mosin]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't lanterns already exist in the medieval period and even long before that? Seems like a far better alternative to a torch really.

[@GameNubQuin]

He did a follow up video about torch alternatives that said about as much. Apparently they would use primarily tallow candles for light, with lanterns really just being candles in a box. I gather from all this torches were mostly for certain fiery acts of war and maybe signaling.

[@Sergei_Ivanovich_Mosin]

GameNub Quin Maybe warmth as well, if it's cold but you can't stop to make a fire why not bring the fire with you right?

[@GameNubQuin]

***** I didn't think of that but it might make sense for winter, although since he said they're a bit expensive I don't know how common that'd be. I mean we don't use torches in winter travel, and winter clothing hasn't really changed much.

[@jonathanwells223]

Torches are cheap

[@einkartoffel4323]

@@jonathanwells223 Torches cost money, as opposed to a cloak (something he's made a video on) which doesn't cost anything, given you already have one

[@fringis1]

torches, check. Pitch forks, check. Alright we're ready... shit, the peasants!

[@seyfersnake]

fringis1 Oh, no Robert not again. You keep forgeting the peasants!

[@logical-functionsmodel9364]

fringis1 not to mention the shit on the peasants ;)

[@beejmeister6668]

i'm so happy I found this channel.

[@GoldenKaos]

I must certainly applaud the ingenious method of setting thatch alight that you have mentioned.

[@h0lx]

I noticed this when we went to explore some catacombs while teenagers. I ended up holding it above my head so it would be out of my sight. Nice torch wave transition btw.

[@qhutt4865]

Was looking for a comment that mentioned that transition.

[@sebastiankuc3137]

Yeah same here. Cool transition

[@TheRomanRuler]

So that is why everyone is so blind in movies. Actually makes sense.

[@lindybeige]

Yes. Get used to shutting one eye when using a torch to read a map at night etc. Trouble is, an eye night-blinds very quickly. Having stereo vision by day is something I appreciate however. I once wore an eyepatch to a fancy dress party and I was amazed at how much worse my vision was in all ways - dimmer, flatter, worse at tracking movement, couldn't see to my right etc.

[@izaakfewton7536]

Have You ever made a boring, dull video??? Mate, You just save me from my depression this year. Thanks a lot!

[@LuxisAlukard]

I think this series about torches deserves more views!

[@TheBrett1890]

You can see colour and precision very well if something is lit, but when there is no light your eyes suck at colour and precision, however they are far better at seeing in the dark.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

In the old days a torch or lantern would let you walk home after dark without being chased by the Watch or the Customs Men. Many ordinances from late Medieval and Renaissance times of cities required that a person out after dark had to carry a light or have a light carried by an accompanying person. Especially if they were armed! A light-bearing person was not a thief or a smuggler or some other person undoubtedly sneaking about to no good purpose. The other good thing about having a torch or other light source is that it gives warning of changing ground conditions. If you have a torch, Lindy old chap, you will not walk into a ditch, stumble over a stone, or step into a foot-drenching puddle.

[@Wolham]

Half of the education in Lindy's videos is reading the comment section :')

[@wallabytrack9750]

Observations from the Bunker or on a venomous night tiger snake...as my brother found out the bloody inconvenient way.

[@alecmullaney7957]

Candle or lamp would do you well enough

[@CraftQueenJr]

Observations from the Bunker this is why you use a lantern, or candle. Not a torch.

[@nunya7502]

Imho, one of the big purposes of torches in night travel (or the only?) would be to say to Humans and other animals: "Here we are! See how many and grand and fearless we are! We have no need to hide from you. Really, best skulk back into your hole, you don't want to mess with us." In battle, the same, on a grander scale, with the added and very real threat those torches represent. They would be for psychological purposes as much or more than anything. Now in TV/Film, their primary purpose would be often mistaken for 'ambiance', but really they are just used so that there's enough light for the camera to get a decent image, because doing it with electric lights out of frame feels even *more* fake and cheezy. See Errol Flynn's Robin Hood for a good example (love the Film, cheezy as it is).

[@swedneck]

+Ernest Ruger So a big flaming stick isn't going to scare away animals? I think a torch would be great for travelling at night on the countryside, you scare away predators and it feels protective, especially if there are like 5 of you and two people have a torch,.

[@nunya7502]

Did you not read my post before repeating one of my own points as though it contradicted me? Just sayin', I said that.

[@lindybeige]

I made the patterns myself. They were all very simple. The jerkin was an old goatskin rug. The main tunic was a blanket from a charity shop.

[@Dezerado]

well... not torches but Lanterns ... My Grandfather told me that his Grandfather told him that when you looking for someone in the woods in the dark... you use 2 people ... one holding the lantern and another one standing out front near the edge of where the light ends

[@DaneStolthed]

It's funny when you actually experiment with these things you begin to realize how impractical they can be. To avoid being blinded I make my torches about four feet tall to keep the light above my head makes it a lot easier to see.

[@MariusThePaladin]

+DaneStolthed Or just use a lamp...

[@00LTCharles00]

+cman2223 Truth. Although I argue that even in their specializations, some people are relatively incompetent ; )

[@albinoman13bt]

Torches are a good way to deal with animals. Many carnivores are nocturnal, none of them like fire.

[@TemeriaForever]

An excellent point Lloyd. The night-blindness issue had never even occurred to me.

[@LostElsen]

This is the most intelligent and articulated medieval peasant rampager I've ever seen

[@jakeself1911]

Great history lesson, and also an excellent demonstration of how light is all too often used incorrectly at night in our modern world.

[@ogopolo]

TL:DR instead of a torch, look 20 degrees off center. The photoreceptors of the eye are rods and cones. Relatively higher amounts of light are needed to stimulate cones which sense fine detail, they are concentrated in the center of your field of vision. Smaller amounts of light can stimulate rods while not cones which concentrate at 20 degrees each side in your field of vision. Because more rod cells are connected to one interneuron (whereas cones are 1:1 for cone>interneuron.) less light is needed to stimulate vision detected by the rods (again strongest concentration 20 degrees.). You will not be able to see fine detail (because cones have less neural convergence; each cone is responsible by itself for detecting more detail than a rod is; for instance try reading this paragraph 30 or so degrees of center, it will seem to blend together because the general blend that you will see is what rods are capable of detecting.) but you will be able to use night vision. TL:DR instead of a torch, look 20 degrees off center.

[@absolutesilence]

I have practical experience with this from walking around the house at night with a candlestick when the power is out. You can't help but be dazzled by the flickering flame. It's quite irresistible. A book I read not to long ago had a character hunting down a group of thieves. The search party carried a lantern with the shutter completely closed and only opened it for a fraction of a second for just a glimpse of the thieves' camp. The thieves were night-blinded from looking into their camp fire.

[@GuiltyKit]

I love these videos. They're always good for helping me add a little touch of realism when I'm writing fiction or roleplaying (same thing really I supppose) or what not. Being as how I've never actually carried a torch around other than the flashlight variety, it's educational.

[@elgostine]

interesting to note that i discovered what you said while playing Skyrim, the engine was good enough to have that light adjustment facter, as someone whose entire strategy consisted of skulking about and catching people unaware, either icking their pockets or picking them off with a well placed stab, or arrow. torches are horrible for staying hidden, and I noticed, when dragons or fire magic people found me and used their magic, it was, for a moment, VERY hard to see because my eyes adjusted

[@Madalovin]

The torch transition was beautiful.

[@JCLeSinge]

Lindy, best tip on ancient night-vision - wear an eyepatch during the day, take it off at night. Presto: the previously patched eye is now hyper-sensitive to light, allowing you to see in a sort of grey-scale, provided there's any residual light at all (if truly pitch black, you can't see jack) The longer you wore the patch, the clearer the night vision. Good one when camping, protect one eye from being night-blinded from staring at the campfire.

[@MrTomte09]

So the moral of this story is: remember the peasants

[@yetanother9127]

Actually, the moral of the story is to remember to have at least one party member with infravision.

[@apollohateshisdayjob9606]

Or a spell caster with a light cantrip, maybe an alchemist that makes sun rods.. my human socerer would just carry a pocket full of pebbles and a sling. Light a stone, sling it 30-50 feet, when we get to it, pick it up and sling it again lol

[@DreadnoughtAdventure]

+Karl-Johan Embretsen Well the peasants are revolting !

[@seigeengine]

I just got an image of a dude with sun rods hurling them about with an atlatl at night.

[@tetsmega]

pitchforks and torches. Best opening statement i've seen from any of your videos haha

[@lindybeige]

You may. I am waiting for the weather to warm up a bit first.

[@xenophanesiamnot]

A bit related to this, I think, was a talk I heard on NPR a couple months ago about the super bright lights used to illuminate the outsides of many large buildings at night. The idea of course being that illuminating the outside so brightly will prevent any crime or suspicious activity. Apparently there's no evidence showing that such bright lighting helps, because it just white-washes everything. Additionally, they can be huge eyesores and problems for nearby residents who'd like to actually get some sleep. I'll see if I can find a link to to the bit, and post it.

[@RAkers-tu1ey]

oddly, modern tactical mantra is to use a very bright light in your hand to aim ones weapon at an adversary. The light ( it is said) so blinds and disorients the adversary as to stupefy them. I am not prepared to test this wisdom at this time. Love your vids. Thx R

[@Casedilla73]

This actually makes the idea of a medieval spy so much cooler. The spy makes away in the night. It’s a game of cat and mouse where neither has the slightest idea where the other is. You’ll have to be the best of the best to escape the guards, without making a sound. Lucky for you, it’s now too dark to see anything, so they have to call off the search.

[@lindybeige]

Fire arrows existed. I have one. They were not as they are depicted in movies, though.

[@skyflier8955]

But aren't flashlights in England electric torches?

[@nicolag5254]

Laughing watching a historical explanation...that’s a first...it’s impressive how you can explain so well and be so funny at the same time, great videos!

[@wolf1066]

I've noted the same issue with candles, campfires and street lights - you don't want any of those in front of you at night time - so I always chuckle when the actors in movies wave their torches in front of their faces to see. I have had to find my way by candlelight in the past and holding it above and behind me but slightly off to the side (so I wasn't stepping into my own shadow) was the only way I was able to do so.

[@EforEvery1]

I'm happy to have found you! I look forward to watching many of your videos :)

[@olifantgamer]

I found this out too when I was camping in the woods with my paraffin lamp at night, so I attached it to a pole and leaned it over my shoulder and guessed that was the way for it to be used. By the way , by what you said about a moonless night I'm guessing you're not from the city. Where I live the cloudy nights are the lightest because the light of the city is projected onto the clouds and reflected right back. It keeps me up at night, I hate it.

[@guardiangarasu]

look. if you want someone to live through a video you cant start with a gem like the peasant rampage. i almost died from laughter.

[@6rasta6bhoy6]

The most dramatically-lit video so far. Nice!

[@gromit8023]

it's amazingly reassuring thou :) I've been out lost at night and we didn't care how bad the torch was it was light and warm.

[@lindybeige]

Great. Um... which one?

[@lindybeige]

Yes. It was warm.

[@lindybeige]

But the presenter in shot was a real person, and was reporting what his eyes saw (which was roughly what the camera saw)..

[@LarsaXL]

Well modern people have a very different reference point than mediaval people. We grew up with flashlights. If you give a torch to a modern person, he would try use it like a flashlight. At least at first until hw figured out a better way.

[@Norvik_-ug3ge]

British and Southern Irish people grew up with torches, as that is what we call flashlights over here. #Oldschool

[@LarsaXL]

@@Norvik_-ug3ge Heh indeed.

[@fedbia2003]

"I'll tell you what I can see right now. Fire.. and that's it!" I love this channel so much..

[@lalythil]

hahhahhaha just absolutely love those taglines at the end of your videos. also, awesome and inspiring videos as always!

[@nozero1]

The best trick for "night vision" is to look directly above or below the thing you want to actually observe. It's due to the way the rods and cone cells are displaced throughout the back of the eye. Cones are good for detail and colour, but they rest in the fovea - the focal point. Rods are better for light and dark, but rest around the fovea, outside of the focal point. I also heard that the eyepatch trick is only of limited effect because pupils adjust in tandem.

[@lindybeige]

Pretty similar, I suppose. You just have to make sure that it never gets in your field of vision as you look around, so if it is directly above you, remember to move your hand if you're going to glance upwards.

[@mouthforwar17]

Hopefully information like this will raise the bar for movies

[@lindybeige]

I see your point. It could work if you were alone and very disciplined, and the flames were not too large.

[@bud389]

I don't know what movies you're used to watching, but usually in movies they hold them off to the side or above their head. Not high in the air behind themselves, but I don't recall seeing any movies specifically where they hold them out right in front of themselves. I can recall some video games doing that though.

[@aisbn]

Nice opening! For a few seconds I thought a Shakespeare's Chorus was about to recite a play!!

[@lindybeige]

Find out in the next torches vid (one of possibly as many as four).

[@lindybeige]

In Britain it is illegal to carry a knife unless it has a short non-locking folding blade. These days I often carry a Leatherman pair of pliers.

[@CorruptedOracle]

I've always wondered about torch usage myself. They're incredibly prevalent in movies and video games, but are they really that useful? I can't imagine a wooden stick and some fuel-soaked cloth burning all that long, and before matches were common, it might even have been a pain to get them alight at all. Did people really walk around with them, or did they prefer, say, lanterns? I guess lanterns wouldn't be as blinding.

[@1982rf]

Awesome video! Thanks so much for going the extra mile and going out at night in the cold and wet! Bravo sir.

[@eryllflynn4856]

Lloyd, yer a flippin riot!! That's wha I love aboot ya!!

[@MushVPeets]

Torches will quite nicely night-blind a camera, too. O_o

[@lindybeige]

For setting fire to siege works, torches; for lighting the table you are sitting outside next to on a fine evening, lanterns.

[@glenm99]

This video is now mandatory viewing for the players in my D&D game....

[@lindybeige]

Unfortunately, sound is usually a problem. I don't intend to shoot at 2 a.m. often.

[@MrClickity]

I work on a ship and we don't use exterior lights at night for exactly that reason. There'll be navigation lights on the mast and hull so other ships can see us but nothing on deck, otherwise they'll just blind the lookout. We keep the lights off on the bridge and dim the screens on all equipment to just barely-visible levels. Even on the darkest nights, you can see well enough to walk around without running into shit if you give your eyes time to adjust. I try to get that across to people I go camping with: 9 times out of 10, you don't need any flashlight to safely walk around. If you absolutely must use one, use a small red light (red doesn't ruin your night vision) and hold your hand over the top so it only lights up the area right in front of your feet. Nothing pisses me off more than finally getting acclimated to the dark and having someone shine a bright-ass light in my face.

[@keithdubose2150]

Torches were commonly used a lights for night time Mardi Gras Parade... some Krews still to this day have several ceremonial groups of torch bearers in their parades .. the torches have panels to prevent night blinding those carrying the torch, and hot bits falling down

[@lindybeige]

Metal is expensive, shiny metal is very expensive, flames make it go black. Torches were not for illumination.

[@MatteV2]

Let's face it, we all appreciate it. It just feels good picking apart movies from time to time.

[@lindybeige]

As you'll discover in the next video on this topic, I am using modern paraffin.

[@lindybeige]

In Jesmond Dene.

[@TheStigma]

What would be really interesting is a short introduction into how a period correct torch is constructed - and how long it will burn.

[@geordiekimbo2]

i trained myself to do a similar thing when walking at night.. if you see a car approaching shut one eye until it passes, then you won't loose all of your nightvision as the thing drives up and past you. My dad instilled in me a similar thing while driving... from a young age in a car he would say to not look directly at a light as it enters your field of view as most human beings seem to do this instinctively... it helps a bit.

[@HolmlundSWE]

How to make a torch fast and easy: One arm length wooden stick, preferably not dead. 1 wrap of cloth. Some tar. Drench the cloth in the tar(carefully to not get the tar on your clothes.) then wrap the cloth around the point of your stick. Let the tar drip back into the bowl/jar of tar and leave it like that until it it is dry. That torch will burn quite bright for 20 minutes. :) (My homemade version, might not be the best but it is a torch, not a complicated piece of machinery.) :P

[@LaughingOwlKiller]

I can only speak as an American and as a Southerner, but carrying a pocket knife is something we do from a young age as they can come in quite handy at times.

[@sirhamalot8651]

I'd like to see a video on the silliness of fighting with a sword on horseback. Yes, I would not want to go against a charging knight atop a horse, armed with a lance, but once his momentum stops, he's drawn his sword, and is in the fray, he is practically helpless. So many movies depict this fighting style (Henry V and the battle of Helm's Deep, LoTR, come to mind). In the fray, the rider can not dodge, can not move or turn easily, has both legs immovable and exposed to attack, and is an awkward position trying to swing a sword without cutting the neck/head of his own horse. Also, a right handed rider would have very limited reach with his sword on his left side. I've always found these depictions so ridiculous, I feel, even I could beat a sword fighter on horseback.

[@Darkwintre]

Amusing, seriously every time you make one of these video's I'm left thinking I never ever thought about that! Now I going to have to watch the ones about bows, swords, have watched the spiked armour one again though, did you answer that question about whether they kept their armoured shoes or whatever they're called on even whilst resting or sleeping? Indoor use the next part? Now that will answer some questions this video posed... can they detect concealed, secret door or pit trap detection?

[@maaderllin]

You might divide the group in two: One rank going further, without torches using their eyes, and the second line, staying in the back, far enough to avoid night-blinding the first wave?

[@theMedievalBadass]

Usually fatty animal oils are used, but kerosene, turpentine, and pine sap all work nicely, also if you have a little more patience to light even vegetable oil suites well(smells good too^^) And any cloth of natural plant materials will work excellently, but if you really need a long lasting wrap I would suggest Kevlar.

[@John_Doe4269]

Love your vids! By the way, I know you haven't covered as much armor as you have weapons in your videos, but jave you ever considered taking on lamellar vests or maybe those viking spectacle helms? Because I know there's a lot of mysticism formed around these two...

[@MrJherime]

Peasant Rampage...such a great name for a band.

[@Massivecarcrash]

Don't underestimate the power of your nightvision. Having spent a couple of weeks in the woods when I was in the army, you'll see alot more without a flashlight than with one, especially when theres a fullmoon, after 15 minutes in the darkness it will seem like it's daylight. It really depends on the weather, if it's raining, you won't see shit.

[@lindybeige]

There are very few animals that would attack a man, but perhaps if you were on your own there might be some danger. In a fantasy setting, a monster that is scared off by a torch isn't much of a monster. Fair point, even so.

[@steamcastle]

some good points. so sunglasses or hat, when outside on a sunny day? If one uses a torch and hood like that, how far back would you have to hold it for it not to be a problem ?

[@8o8inSquares]

I like the style of the video

[@SrgGoofy]

I discover this while camping last year. In Dungeons and Dragons, torch light illuminates a 30 foot area, but in real life, I could barley see 5 feet, and I could see better after putting the torch out, and waiting about 30 seconds.

[@starlight2009xxx]

I expect you know this lindybeige but people used "dark lanterns" to do things like search for people at night. That basically is the type of thing asoundlikesilence seems to be thinking of - it's a lantern that is only clear at the front so that all the light is directed forwards.

[@pmendes99]

This video was amazing. I felt that the "like" button just didn't do it justice, and had to type it in. Thanks for this!

[@apugalypse_now]

Apologies if this question seems to you as if it's coming out of left field (and do pardon the silly American diction), but I've been wondering: what sort of pocket knife do you carry? I believe the pocket knife is a man's most telling possession; is he a character of distinction with a fine, shapely whittler, or a more rugged one with a tough locking knife or even a bowie of some sorts? If I had to guess, you seem like you enjoy slipjoints of the Barlow pattern.

[@andy4an]

you should have held the torch both in front of the camera and behind it (he says 2.5 years late) so that we could see the persepective

[@andrewescocia2707]

+weesh ful good idea

[@JaniceHope]

Good theme! It's not like it is alsways pitch black at night. Sometimes I can see even colours when the moon is full and shining bright. A torch, lamp or other artificial light source would render me blind... I have done a lot of night marches, were one has to use compass directions, descriptions and parts of maps to find stations. With a light I am sure I would have gotten seriously injured.

[@HeatherSpoonheim]

I also love how movie mobs can at times just grab sticks and touch them to a fire, having them ignite like a torch and stay afire as they march through the woods. A good torch takes some designing.

[@Liutgard]

You are hilarious and I love the kit! Did you make your hood?