Why are flashlights so interesting? Why are LED flashlights a hobby?

[naiter]

thread title hit me. I thought "i don't know. Why do I like flashlight SO much?"
then I read this:

At a basic level a light is just a tool. The big difference is that as a tool your light makes it possible to use all of your other tools in the dark. That makes it an uber-tool.

People into flashlights are doers of things.

it makes more sense now...
Plus, who doesn't try to get the best tools that they use constantly. Add in a spice of "extreme" to the personality, and you've got a flashaholic.

I know I go overboard on things that peak my interest. I'm either completely utilitarian or way overboard. Most of the time it is bare minimum, but if it hits the spot i might prefer to have one $300 tool Vs. a similar $5 tool i'd eventually replace 10x.
every now and then i get lucky and get a $9 tool that will stay with me for life. like this gerber EAB utility blade holder w/ cheap titanium blades from Home Depot is always sharp:
http://www.gerbergear.com/Industrial/Knives/EAB-Pocket-Knife_22-41830
this utility knife beats out my $300 Microtech ultratech (as my secondary EDC knife - SOG trident w/ tigerstrip is 1st)
not to try advertise again, but i've seen SOG tridents at Walmart for $50. before they hit Walmart they were $130.
guess i'm so broken it has to be extremely utilitarian, or just extremely awesome. being in the middle just is too easy.

sorry it turned into an add... but i think everyone should have this well designed blade holder. i know i have always searched for the best one of these, breaking and replacing many of them over the years. when i found it, it was like finding the holy grail.

 

[N/Apower]

Back in 2008, I wanted a light, small, bright light with long run time for use on my carbine. Noone made anything like that, so I had to lego it togather. That brought me here. Since then, its become a hobby. People ask me to build them stuff, I give it away for Christmas, etc.

 

[Tapis]

Nobody mentioned their phallic shape? I bet most members here are males.

 

[dirobesh]

I started collecting flashlights when early in my thirties and now in my forties I'm still spending far more than I should on them. Luckily I have a very understanding wife and two little girls who are already showing early signs of being enamoured of flashlights.

Never really considered why I collect them, I dont have them on show and am quite happy to lend them to my neighbours who probably think I'm slightly eccentric, but are good enough not to say anything.

There are far worse things to spend your money on. :thumbsup:

 

[Zarniwoop]

The biggest difference I see is that the widely available lights are not as flexible.
1. I want to carry only 1 flashlight.
2. I want it as small as possible.
3. I want as low of a moonlight mode as I can get
4. I want as much lumens as possible when rare occasions demand it without defeating #2

What can you get out of most consumer retail lights? One or two modes pretty much. A moonlight mode? Infinitely variable? Not a chance. What does a consumer light have to be to have high lumens and/or throw? A huge D-cell Maglight or a car headlight screwed onto a motorcycle battery... And consumers BUY THEM! Tell Joe Consumer they could get a light way smaller and way better for just 2-3 times the price and they will politely or rudely get away from you as quickly as they can.

For #2 and #4 reasons my first CPF light was a VB16 but over the years I've preferred the ability to use AA because I can get Lithium AA's for light weight and shelf life reasons for emergency kits/BOBs and 90% of other gear I use is on AA's as well. For #2 and 4 reasons I also have invested in 14500 cells and that is what I EDC, with my most recent light being a Sunwayman V11R and AA extender. In this fashion I can run any cell I wish, and I do still keep CR123's in my drawer because I do have a few CR123 lights from my early CPF days in various emergency backpacks that I know will work 5 years from now.

To be completely honest, I do have a #5, and that is the pricelessness of pulling the smallest possible little toy-looking thing out of my pocket and seeing the expression on faces when they see the turbo mode. Most recently it was the HVAC guy who borrowed my light when he was looking in the ceiling at work. I just know every time he gets out his maglight or whatever now he's thinking "Dang, what was that light again? SomeWhatMan?" :laughing:

 

[parnass]

Using a flashlight, you can reach out and "touch" something far away while you are standing still.

 

[Andy13186]

they are also always improving and new more powerful more efficient batteries, LED's and other technology is constantly emerging.

 

[Tesla89]

My parents bought me a flashlight in 1970 because I am afraid of the dark. I WILL not walk into any where there is not a light on or I can see. I am 50 now and still feel the same way. Exposing my self now. Any how I found this forum and have gained alot of information. never knew there was so much to learn about light. Now I have learned about color temperatures, cree bins ,lumens and so on. There is no cheap hobby if you have an interested in it. I started fishing with a $12.00 fisihing rod now I have about $3000.00 worth of fishing rods reels and tackle. I was into computers for a while spent about $7000.00 on computers chasing technology that did not work out to well you will never win always something better and faster. Now it is flashlights and my my yard. Anyhow flashlights are cheaper than me building a Shelby 428 AC Cobra. Morale of the story is if sewing was your hobby there woud be the holy grail needle that was $4000.00 you would have to have it. Hobbies can get to be expensive. There is no cheap hobby if you are interested in it. Sorry to ramble. Thank you to everyone on this forum that has helped me learn

 

[wjv]

My parents bought me a flashlight in 1970 because I am afraid of the dark. I WILL not walk into any where there is not a light on or I can see. I am 50 now and still feel the same way.

I'm just the opposite. Love the dark. I'd rather have every light in the house off, and wander about with a Eagletac D25A set to1/2 lumen, then turn on a light. But at the same time it's nice when you go outside to be able to lite up half of the block.

And it is a relatively cheap hobby as long as you don't buy a new light every 2 days! I have ~18 lights. I still have more guns than lights. . So compared to guns, flashlights are darn cheap! And when I'm driving down the road and some guy pulls up in a fully restored 1970's muscle car where the rims alone cost $5,000. . . It makes me realize that collecting flashlights is a paltry sum compared to some other hobbies!

 

[Swedpat]

I'm just the opposite. Love the dark. I'd rather have every light in the house off, and wander about with a Eagletac D25A set to1/2 lumen, then turn on a light. But at the same time it's nice when you go outside to be able to lite up half of the block.

And it is a relatively cheap hobby as long as you don't buy a new light every 2 days! I have ~18 lights. I still have more guns than lights. . So compared to guns, flashlights are darn cheap! And when I'm driving down the road and some guy pulls up in a fully restored 1970's muscle car where the rims alone cost $5,000. . . It makes me realize that collecting flashlights is a paltry sum compared to some other hobbies!

Yes, but that's extreme! One new light every week is enough...

 

[Nightflash]

These gadgets allow us to be independent from the grid. It´s all about freedom and get Your light wherever You are, no matter which circumstances, heavy rain, heavy storm far from civilization or just in the garden and around the house. Since starting to use the new generations with long runtimes I can´t go anywhere without one, let´s say better 3 multi-purpose flashlights handy. They operate in different ways, You just need different unique features like high beam intensity or endless runtimes in low mode or a magnetic tailcap or ruggedness and waterproofness. They are useful and they look good:laughing:

 

[LedTed]

I've been converting flashlights from incandescent to LED since back in the early 1990s. In fact, one of my early conversions was once used in the Iditarod.


I've just found something magically alluring about the glow of LEDs. I mean think about it, light without heat.


Of course today's LEDs are much brighter and therefore heat up. But it's those brighter LEDs which have given me a new love for modern production LED emitter flashlights.

 

[groutboy_1]

I was once told by CPF/ incandescent fanfolks that my love for LEDS was misguided. That I should revert to the years of the" Hotburning" wire! That I should bask in the dim, sicky orange- yellow of incandescents of yesteryear...Have I been wrong! ? Should I surrender my Olight Warrior M22, Lumapower vx2 d mini, Magtac, Fenix Tk11r2, Nitecore EA 4 Pioneer, etc...Give them up...Instead, should I collect chunks of flint, iron, dried moss, and lichen for a fire kit....Keep it In a buffalo scrotum carry bag, and move to the CPF incandescents section with all 9 of its occupants...And re-live the glory days! When there was barely any future science...Where fire, hotwire, and vacuum tubes were like the Star Trek tech of the days...Or should I press head, and continue to support the amazing evolution of the LED !

 

[iaboyeah]

What's so interesting about a flashlight is that on the one end of the beam you have the source of light made up of various shapes and sizes of chunks of metal and glass containing the latest circuits for boosting or bucking those little cans of juice to drive the latest highest efficiency most beautiful collored LED' to come down the pike. Then on the otherr end of the beam you have beauty, surprise terror, or what have you. You have wireless, you have a cell light. You have a two edged saber.

 

[callmaster]

My parents bought me a flashlight in 1970 because I am afraid of the dark. I WILL not walk into any where there is not a light on or I can see. I am 50 now and still feel the same way. Exposing my self now. Any how I found this forum and have gained alot of information. never knew there was so much to learn about light. Now I have learned about color temperatures, cree bins ,lumens and so on. There is no cheap hobby if you have an interested in it. I started fishing with a $12.00 fisihing rod now I have about $3000.00 worth of fishing rods reels and tackle. I was into computers for a while spent about $7000.00 on computers chasing technology that did not work out to well you will never win always something better and faster. Now it is flashlights and my my yard. Anyhow flashlights are cheaper than me building a Shelby 428 AC Cobra. Morale of the story is if sewing was your hobby there woud be the holy grail needle that was $4000.00 you would have to have it. Hobbies can get to be expensive. There is no cheap hobby if you are interested in it. Sorry to ramble. Thank you to everyone on this forum that has helped me learn

Not really a hobby for me. Darkness is my enemy. Hence all my lights. But you won't find me having 50-100 lights, I'm happy with 3-4 HDS and 3-4 Elzettas (updating when necessary).

 

[LanthanumK]

I never purchase a flashlight just because it looks great. Each one I purchase has a very specific set of uses. I am not sure whether it can be called a hobby, although I spend way too much time researching lights. When I buy flashlights, I want high value (features times lifespan) for the price. For example, my Photon Freedom could be considered a waste of money at $12 for a tiny keychain light. With my current usage methods, it will last a year or more on one set of CR2016. The flashlight is likely to remain on my keychain for the next 5 or 6 years. It turns out to be very economical, far more than a 50 cent "fauxton" that has its battery die unexpectedly and gets flickery from sweat/rain exposure, and doesn't even have a moonlight mode. Same goes for my $60 SureFire, which along with the $20 box of batteries could easily sustain my light EDC use for the next 5-10 years. I could get an xxxFire with an 18650 for $30, but the defects will become intolerable after a few weeks, and I will need to buy a new light.

Some people become obsessed with flashlights, purchasing more than they would ever need. As someone in the process of leaving their parents' home, I do not want to have large quantities of possessions taking up space. If it doesn't have an obvious use, it is discarded or given away. The same philosophy applies to any other gear that I have.

So while I am very interested in getting a great flashlight for the money, I do not consider myself a flashlight hobbyist.

 

[ArmoredFiend]

In Malaysia, i cant shoot guns unless i am filthy rich, hence i shoot flashlights...

 

[groutboy_1]

In Malaysia, i cant shoot guns unless i am filthy rich, hence i shoot flashlights...

Deleted! Taptalk not posting correctly!!!!

 

[credo]

For me I enjoy having an exceptional example of something that most people consider mundane. Most people have a £5.00 torch from the local DIY store, whereas I like digging a little deeper and finding forums like this that open up a whole new perspective on the subject. Then it's about appreciating the technology, pleasure of ownership, etc. I also like expensive cookware, and I also have an impressive arsenal of car washing equipment. The pots and pans cook food better, and my car is extremely well looked after. I have a lot of camera gear too, and a very powerful self-built (no relation!) PC. I just like doing things well I guess, whether it's cooking, car washing, photography, computing or illuminating things!

 

[tylerq219]

I cant put my finger on it, something about having a gadget that helps people.