I Just Don't Get It. . .

[savumaki]

I had no problem accepting the costs attached to purchasing or building lights (other people look at me funny though);
the reason:
I once bought my first pair of Mephisto shoes and was sorely disappointed that they only lasted 15 years, despite costing $225 at the time. (I traveled for business and wore them daily.)
You get what you pay for.

 

[petr9999]

how did you guys get into flashlights? i owned a 2xAA maglite, and thought it was quite good, a couple years later, i bought some eneloops(a lot actually), and googled a better charger for them, thats how i found this forum...

Couple hours on this forum, and i though, why not get a fenix tk41(most powerfull AA flashlight at the time) to use some of my eneloops?

BTW, is there actually a toaster forum? a toaster that would stop based on the color of the toast(camera?) would be sweet!!

 

[A.O.]

Hey Guys - love the thread and thought you might like to see a project I am working on. It's a thick multiseed batch that should give me the perfect tint in 3 mins and no hotspots. With luck a great spread - not too sure about the throw however.

I'm enjoying this thread.. kinda new to the whole high tech light thing.. just surefires and streamlights till now... but .. this whole toast thing is a gas (I do need a new toaster, any reccomendations?) Anyway when you mentioned about not knowing how much throw this toast had...reminded me of... when I got married many many moons ago, at my reception someone put every one there up to a practical joke of sorts and when they said a toast to the bride and groom, everyone in the place threw a slice of toast at us. Sorry this thread just brought back some old "toast" memories!

 

[petr9999]

i know Catler (breville in the US) is considered to be one of the best toaster maker

 

[mhpreston]

He hee AO - bet the reception photos were full of crumbs!

 

[A.O.]

Well now that you mention it...

 

[wjv]

Do we need a Kitchen Appliance sub-forum?

 

[Norm]

Do we need a Kitchen Appliance sub-forum?

Back on topic guys teej's post was relevant unfortunately the posts that follow are way off topic. - Norm

 

[mhpreston]

Norm - I had to use my SC52 to help pick up the crumbs from my toasterholic project - does that help

 

[socom1970]

I really am enjoying this thread. Very funny and poignant for sure.

I agree with Norm about some comments being OT, but I also appreciate all of them because they help us to really understand how we flashaholics appear to non-flashaholics who are quite happy with their 2D cell plastic incan Wally World specials. I laughed out loud at some of the toast comments and realized how silly we might sound to others who "just don't get it".

I will admit that I did get tired of having a stupid toaster that didn't work very well, so I bought a much better toaster than my old one. Paid close to 100.00 for it and was much happier with the results. That and it made four pieces of toast at once and they were perfect every time. And that is the difference. I got tired of using a bad product, so I invested in a great product and got what I paid for.

That is how my flashaholism started. I got stuck too many times in situations where I needed a great, reliable, bright light to use and the cheapie ones weren't cutting it. So I bought a used MagCharger for 60.00, then later my first SF 6R setup in 1990 and the rest is flashaholic history. Now I have EDC lights on me 24/7. They are like body parts that I feel lost without. Being able to see in the dark meant enough to me that I did something about it.

I guess for some people, they've never been stuck in a bad enough situation with a junk light and no way to see that they decided to do something about it so that would never happen again.

 

[Outdoorsman5]

Yeah, if it goes on the AR, they get it...but, to most people, in their world, a flashlight is a cheap plastic thing you bang on periodically to make it stay on, etc...and is not a high tech or high quality tool.

It would be as if someone told you that you could buy a $1000 toaster...because the toast from it is SO much better. Your reaction would probably be that it can't possibly be THAT much better, because, in YOUR world...toast seems good enough, and even if your toast has lighter or darker areas, or occasionally burns, you just never considered it a priority to get the BEST toaster.

THAT'S what us talking about better flashlights sounds like to THEM.



For example, a toastaholic could ask what your surefire cost you, and then point out that for the same price, you could buy a state of the art made in america toaster that made perfect toast instead of the crap toast you were currently eating.

...And you'd run out and buy that toaster even though the one you got at target is still working etc.

So, in real life the toaster forum guys snicker at the morons who eat crappy toast because they dont know how good toast can be....

....and the flashlight forums are wondering why the toaster guys put up with crappy lights...

This is the single funniest post of all time TEEJ!!!....and sooo true!!!

With regards to quality lights, most folks just don't know what they are missing. Can't appreciate something you have no knowledge of.

 

[socom1970]

With regards to quality lights, most folks just don't know what they are missing. Can't appreciate something you have no knowledge of.

Agreed. For many people, it's a matter of it being a solution to a problem they didn't know they had.

P.S.: with a final toast comment, I find myself to be a bit of a tint snob; I prefer the warm toast to cool toast.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Agreed. For many people, it's a matter of it being a solution to a problem they didn't know they had.

I would say don't imagine having. There are two competing expectations: that there is infrastructure and that there will continue to be infrastructure. The first sets up the need for continuous lighting, once we get used to the increased productivity of doing things after dark, we keep wanting to. The second sets up the likelihood that it will be readily available.

People make investments in gear when 1) the likelihood of needing it is high, 2) the cost of not having it is high, or 3) getting it/having it makes them feel good. Guys spending $4 on a light feel none of these, they have 100 light sources on their block (including cars and candles), they don't figure a night in the dark is a big deal and won't turn into two nights, and gain nothing in knowing their light won't let them down.

Each person's reality comes down to percentages and tolerance. Can you live with less than 80% continuous light availability? 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99? Each extra percentage might cost $20, until you hit 95, then $50 until you reach 99. That last percent might be an extra $100. For many, it's cheaper to buy extra lights and hope the others work when the first dies.

 

[petr9999]

what kind of grease do you use on your toast guys?

 

[ledmitter_nli]

Yeah, if it goes on the AR, they get it...but, to most people, in their world, a flashlight is a cheap plastic thing you bang on periodically to make it stay on, etc...and is not a high tech or high quality tool.

It would be as if someone told you that you could buy a $1000 toaster...because the toast from it is SO much better. Your reaction would probably be that it can't possibly be THAT much better, because, in YOUR world...toast seems good enough, and even if your toast has lighter or darker areas, or occasionally burns, you just never considered it a priority to get the BEST toaster.

THAT'S what us talking about better flashlights sounds like to THEM.



For example, a toastaholic could ask what your surefire cost you, and then point out that for the same price, you could buy a state of the art made in america toaster that made perfect toast instead of the crap toast you were currently eating.

...And you'd run out and buy that toaster even though the one you got at target is still working etc.

So, in real life the toaster forum guys snicker at the morons who eat crappy toast because they dont know how good toast can be....

....and the flashlight forums are wondering why the toaster guys put up with crappy lights...

^^^ Comedy night at the Improv lolz.

But seriously, there's a much more qualitative and measurable benefit that can be demonstrated with the added cost. Toast is relatively finite. And perishable.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

I would say don't imagine having. There are two competing expectations: that there is infrastructure and that there will continue to be infrastructure. The first sets up the need for continuous lighting, once we get used to the increased productivity of doing things after dark, we keep wanting to. The second sets up the likelihood that it will be readily available.

People make investments in gear when 1) the likelihood of needing it is high, 2) the cost of not having it is high, or 3) getting it/having it makes them feel good. Guys spending $4 on a light feel none of these, they have 100 light sources on their block (including cars and candles), they don't figure a night in the dark is a big deal and won't turn into two nights, and gain nothing in knowing their light won't let them down.

Each person's reality comes down to percentages and tolerance. Can you live with less than 80% continuous light availability? 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99? Each extra percentage might cost $20, until you hit 95, then $50 until you reach 99. That last percent might be an extra $100. For many, it's cheaper to buy extra lights and hope the others work when the first dies.

For many, an iPhone 'Flashlight' app offers more than enough security. They can do it all. It even has maps and a compass. :sick2:

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I would suggest that most proponents of $3 emergency flashlights have never had their lives (or the lives of others) or even their fingers and toes depend on the performance of a cheap light.

I would also bet that 'preppers' who see themselves as well prepared with that class of light have probably fooled themselves with poor decisions about many other types of things that they hope to rely on in an emergency...

 

[degarb]

I certainly don't get it either?

Today I waited for hours for the fridge repair guy to show at my sisters house as a plastic part broke on her new $1500.00 stainless fridge and of course they sent a giant assembly to fix it?
The guy was helpless in general and I couldn't understand how he was sent to do this simple repair in the first place.
It was in a dark spot and I can't see anything anyway with no light but he never even tried to get any light on the subject so out comes the ZL SC52 of course and he loved it and remarked that he couldn't believe how nice it was.
So it motivated him to get batteries into his light.

Of course it was a huge cheap HF style light that takes 3aaa cells but barely lights up too.
It is the nicest light he has ever had he says and he is so glad that he spent $14.00 on it after trudging along up till now with cheap lights!

Geez,its a tool buy good tools!

This happens everywhere,all the time too.

Everything just goes faster, if you can see what you are doing. The better, the better. And maybe, resulting in a lower service charge (at, I bet $150 for first hour and $75 thereafter).

Trade secret, really, that is why I wear my headlamp under my hat.

A headlamp is tool -like your eyeballs- that really crosses all trades, unless you work in front of a computer. With fixed lighting, you cannot customize the lux and must deal with shadows. I even prefer to read old fashioned paper by headlamp, so I can control the lux to a much higher level than my home lighting.

My wife refuses to clean with a headlamp, since seeing would mean the necessity for a higher frequency. I have one worker that hates headlamps; it makes her feel like there is "something in her head". A rare feeling, I guess.

 

[ElectronGuru]

For many, an iPhone 'Flashlight' app offers more than enough security. They can do it all. It even has maps and a compass. :sick2:

Yup. Camping recently, the iPhone was my only communications device and keeping it charged was a constant concern. Cant imagine using it for lighting duty, too.

 

[A.O.]

Yup. Camping recently, the iPhone was my only communications device and keeping it charged was a constant concern. Cant imagine using it for lighting duty, too.

You can get a small solar panel made especially for recharging a phone and it doesn't take up much more space than the phone itself..