Losing a flashlight stinks

[etc]

All of my Malkoff lights take either 18650 or 123s.

There are many lights which only take 123s. case in point Elzetta, some Fenix lights. Mostly everything by Surefire. Ever heard of *that* brand?

It's very common for a light to take only 123s and not 18mm cells. Much less common for a light to take only 18mm cells and not 123s. It has to be some kind of custom one of a kind custom bult device with a gazillion lumens.

A light that can only take 18650 has to be exceptionally bizarre, I mean why would anyone get a device which lacks the flexibility.

123s are perfectly fine for occasional usage, when the car breaks down or bump in the night situation. Normal people do not run their lights for 45 minutes every day like the average here. They probably store them in their glove boxes or end tables. It's not an every day part of their life like spoon and fork is.

Then there are lights that take regular AA, AAA, D and C cells. Or some esoteric CR2 which is also found in the stores and it's ok to buy once for $7.99 and then realize it's much cheaper online than CVS.

Get acquainted with the Amazon or Ebay and sellers that ship to Canada. I do not pay 24.99/pair.

Great. Go ahead and throw it out for someone else to pick up and actually use it.
See how well it all works out.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

All of my Malkoff lights take either 18650 or 123s.

There are many lights which only take 123s. case in point Elzetta, some Fenix lights. Mostly everything by Surefire. Ever heard of *that* brand?

Surefire, yes I've heard of them. Way overpriced, underpowered, and ridiculously expensive batteries. Skip.

Again, there's ZERO chance I'm going to feed overpriced batteries into an overpriced light. If I find a Surefire, into the garbage it goes!

It's very common for a light to take only 123s and not 18mm cells. Much less common for a light to take only 18mm cells and not 123s. It has to be some kind of custom one of a kind custom bult device with a gazillion lumens.

A light that can only take 18650 has to be exceptionally bizarre, I mean why would anyone get a device which lacks the flexibility.

Zebralight 18650 lights don't take CR123s. They wouldn't fit, anyway. Any light using a FET driver wouldn't take 123's, because in series they'd fry the light (and in single they wouldn't power it). Frankly, I find your assertion that every 18650 light also takes CR123 is bizarre, as it's clearly untrue.

123s are perfectly fine for occasional usage, when the car breaks down or bump in the night situation. Normal people do not run their lights for 45 minutes every day like the average here.

Normal people don't buy $100 lights. They buy $10 lights and feed them with alkalines. They're not going to use CR123s.

Get acquainted with the Amazon or Ebay and sellers that ship to Canada. I do not pay 24.99/pair.

Why? I'm perfectly happy using rechargeable 18650s, which provide more power, and are way cheaper. I'd rather pay a couple of cents per charge, than a couple of dollars.

 

[ArmoredFiend]

I'm sure it's happened to at least some of you at some point, but I lost one of my lights and worst of all it was my EDC. An Olight s1r Baton. I loved that little light. It had everything I want in an EDC. It's very easy to pocket with or without the clip. The lockout is easy to engage or disengage. It's very bright for a cr123 light. It was always reliable for me. Lastly the magnetic charging tail cap is so convenient to charge and to stick to anything metal.

I've looked around and it's looking like there is no other light that has all those features that would be an upgrade so I'm probably going to be out $65 and have to buy another s1r. Oh well I guess...

Well if you have friends in Malaysia, you can have them get it for you as last i checked, they are having promotion/discounts and costs between USD$40~45 each.

 

[bwDraco]

My flashlight collection actually started with a Mini Maglite LED—the original 69lm Luxeon Rebel model—which I lost in a bus during a vacation. I then picked up a Fenix LD20 after shopping around for a better AA light (and that light still works nearly seven years later). By the time I was in grad school, I decided 180lm wasn't enough and got myself a Nitecore SRT7. Now I have an SRT7GT and MH20 in addition to that venerable LD20, plus a Nitecore Tube on my keychain.

It's funny how hobbies start...

Draco

 

[Kindle]

Being in the Coast Guard, taught us the value of tethering also. If you couldn't tether it (pens,change), get it out of your pocket (imagine the damage a penny can do to the top of someone's head from 200 feet up)....

Little to none.

 

[MikeSalt]

Losing an S1R Baton is a sad loss, I am currently EDC-ing one. However, at least they are still available.

The lost light that I remember the most was a Lummi Wee Ti. There's a chance I may find it when my parents disassemble their sheds, but it has been 8 years now.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

imagine the damage a penny can do to the top of someone's head from 200 feet up

Little to none.

Yeah, Mythbusters tested that, and found it's BS.

http://mythbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Penny_Drop_Myth

 

[MikeSalt]

I believe that the original calculations for that assumed falling in a perfect vacuum. Of course, anywhere we can breathe, there's an atmosphere, and so the terminal velocity of the penny is reached before it is travelling fast enough to do serious harm. I wouldn't recommend dropping anything from height where there are pedestrians though.

 

[richbuff]

Most things that I lost temporarily were located under the car seats, between them and the center console, around that area. Good idea for a Lounge chat off-topic: Look thoroughly under, between, around your car seats. What did you find there?

I never lost any of my 18 real lights. I hope you find yours.

 

[TA_ls1]

Yeah, I looked everywhere possible but still can't find it. Maybe it'll turn up someday and I'll give it to my gf, but I did buy a replacement. At least Olight gave me 20% off the new one. It also came with a free I1r eos because I ordered on the 15th which is pretty nice.

 

[Rstype]

I will never forget losing a surefire e1l the updated 90 lumen version I believe it was. Bought that thing almost retail. Had it for a bit and lost it on a job. I have a guess which job it was but that was 6 years ago plus don't remember the house. Used to love that thing. This was when I used to carry only two lights.

now I carry 4-5 daily in each pocket

 

[malJohann]

I recently ordered two Foursevens Quark Smart QS2L-X flashlights, they connect to an app on your phone via Bluetooth and one of the features is remembering where you left it with GPS coordinates. Neat.

 

[sld]

Could have used the GPS tracking on my Olight S1 Mini, it went missing sometime between Thursday evening and Saturday morning. Searched all the places I could but not all I had been in that time as it included three counties. Late Saturday evening I gave up and ordered a replacement. About an hour later I found the lost light in the waste basket by my desk. I guess I'll have a spare now.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Could have used the GPS tracking on my Olight S1 Mini, it went missing sometime between Thursday evening and Saturday morning. About an hour later I found the lost light in the waste basket by my desk. I guess I'll have a spare now.

It sounds like a neat feature (if you don't mind the privacy issues), but in reality how useful is it to find a light you misplaced indoors? It can't tell you on what floor it's located, and most GPS devices don't seem particularly accurate indoors anyway. It's a bit like knowing you lost your car keys somewhere in your house. Well, okay....

 

[Dicaeopolis]

Not sure if you have any idea where you lost it, but it may turn up. I lost a decent Benchmade folder once for about a year and found it on a closet shelf. I must have set it up there while doing something and walked away. I also lost a Malkoff Hound Dog 18650 that I use for work in the winter months, but got lucky and tracked it down. Found out a maintenance guy picked it up and was using it. He gave it back.

 

[billbebob]

Losing a flashlight or flashlights, in my case can be painful. Three years ago l lost an HDS and an Elzetta Alpha at the same time. I did not realize it until a I came home. Needless to say, my initial thoughts were less than religious. I retraced my steps, and everyplace I had been with a fine tooth comb. I have moved on but still have not replaced those two lights yet.

 

[Modernflame]

Found out a maintenance guy picked it up and was using it.

Refresh my memory. Why did we stop tarring and feathering people?

Losing a flashlight or flashlights, in my case can be painful. Three years ago l lost an HDS and an Elzetta Alpha at the same time. I did not realize it until a I came home. Needless to say, my initial thoughts were less than religious. I retraced my steps, and everyplace I had been with a fine tooth comb. I have moved on but still have not replaced those two lights yet.

That is very painful. I've become much more focused on gear retention lately.

 

[bykfixer]

I'm a creature of habit. Let's just say the 70's were fun but I'm paying the price now.

So memory issues make habits a good idea. But then there are those hurried times where you think "awe yeah I'll remember where I put that (insert item here)" then later have no flippin' idea where you placed it. "Well did I leave it at (insert location here) then obsess over it... "did I leave it at work, did I drop it, did it get stolen? What".... But it seems to turn up at some point. At least with flashlights. Pocket knives is another matter....

 

[HighlanderNorth]

Duplicate

 

[HighlanderNorth]

I'm sure it's happened to at least some of you at some point, but I lost one of my lights and worst of all it was my EDC. An Olight s1r Baton. I loved that little light. It had everything I want in an EDC. It's very easy to pocket with or without the clip. The lockout is easy to engage or disengage. It's very bright for a cr123 light. It was always reliable for me. Lastly the magnetic charging tail cap is so convenient to charge and to stick to anything metal.

I've looked around and it's looking like there is no other light that has all those features that would be an upgrade so I'm probably going to be out $65 and have to buy another s1r. Oh well I guess...

I lost my Zebralight SC52 about 3 years ago.
It had a nice, screw on pocket clip, so I simply slid the body of the light inside my front left pants pocket, with the clip over the front edge of the pocket, so the light didn't just drop all the way down and get mixed up with keys or change. The problem was, there were 3 separate times where it's clip got hung on a bush near where I was working, and caused the light to come out of my pocket and hang on the bush for me to find a few days later. Or it became attached to my keys and fell out of my pocket as I pulled the keys out. That happened twice. Then, finally, I lost it for good in roughly 2015.

I started carrying my Spark SL5 220CW for a few months, til it's switch stopped working. Then I carried my Zebralight SC600 mk1 in a holster for a long time.

Finally, I bought a Jetbeam Jet II mk a few months ago. Its smaller than all others I've carried. I decided to attach its lanyard to the light, dropped it into my right front pants pocket, but then I loop it's lanyard around my belt, so even if it comes out of my pocket, it can't go anywhere, because it's attached to my belt. Granted, I wish it had a quick-release lanyard, because I have to unlatch my belt if I want to hold the light higher than 9" above my waist line when using it! But at least it can't get lost.