Got this baby in the mail a few weeks back and have been playing around with it a bit. The K2 Porcupine Light by PentagonLight is a 70 lumen xenon with an, um, twist ending:

Unlike ordinary tactical lights with crenellated bezel that can often inflict unnecessary harms to oneself, K2 features sharpened spikes around the bezel that protrude outward only when the spike protector is lowered. With the spikes protected when not needed, the fast turn threading allows the rapid retraction of the spike protector. These spikes are sharpened far more than those ordinary crenellated bezel light. Together with its powerful 70-lumen eye-blinding white light, the sharpened retractable spikes make K2 a powerful self defense tool.

Here’s a quick video of the K2 Porcupine in action:

Gizmodo called it an “all-in-one gadget for the frightened” and said “I’ve got no idea who’d carry this creepy thing around: I guess you’d have to be pretty scared indeed if something like this in your bag made you feel safer.”

Bill Quick at Daily Pundit responded with

In case you’re wondering where the mother-lode of namby-pansy gun-fearing wussiness comes from, behold it here in all its florid, fevered glory.

Only “frightened” people would want a flashlight that might be useful in self-defense. It’s a “creepy thing,” and you’d “have to be pretty scared indeed” to even think such a thing might make you feel safer (than what? Having cops perpetually five minutes away when you actually need them?).

Look. First of all, a powerful flashlight can be a weapon indeed if used properly. It can blind an attacker for a moment, giving you a chance to escape. If there’s no opportunity for escape, you’ve got a split second to do something before your semi-blinded attacker regains his wits, and hitting him might not be a bad idea. Even better if you can hit him with something sharp. Bonus points if you don’t have to look around for it first.

Using a flashlight for personal defense in a dangerous situation certainly isn’t ideal, but one does what one has to. Perhaps you want to visit one of the gun-free-zones that seem to attract mass murders. Maybe you just don’t feel comfortable carrying a gun. Maybe you have no intention or ability to ever carry a gun, but still would like to be armed with more than hope in the event things go south.

Whatever the reason, a good light can be a good friend. And if your friend is multi-functional, so much the better.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Lights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.