My impressions of being a flashaholic

[leukos]

Yeah, right!

I'm not sure it is possible to hang around here and NOT buy new lights. But good luck.

+1

These threads pop up every now and then where someone says they are done buying lights. The only one fooled is the OP. If you were really done with this hobby, you wouldn't bother posting about it.

 

[Nyctophiliac]

Hey Bushman5 ( Is Logan your brother??) - sorry to hear about your bad fortune with torches all and sundry.

But I do think you have had an uncommon deal with your lights. Six months of collecting/fetishising torches of many types ( presumeably ), yet you cite battery blowouts, drop in failiures and all.

I must confess, I've been collecting all sorts of torches my whole life since I can remember and I have yet to have any kind of battery blow out. I should think any proprietary type of alkaline wouldn't have even leaked in that time!
Also I can't think of too many faults with the drop ins or emitters or bulbs either.

But I suspect your acquisition of all things luminous has been fast, frenetic and fuelled by sheer chutzpa and should be celebrated as such.

I hope you'll continue to be rewarded by CPF and hope one day you'll see something that catches your eye :devil: .


Expecting to see your wares on BST soon!


Be lucky...

Happy Flashlight Day...

 

[Flymo]

$300 CDN on shipping costs, Woh, that is a lot of money !
What not buying from Dealextreme ? There prices is including shippingcost and they have very good flashlights and there service is excellent.

 

[Spence]

Wow, if you think flashlight enthusiasm is expensive, try a $200 a day heroin habit, now that gets costly! Ha, just kidding. But really, I've been at it as long as you, Bushman, and I've had disappointments and frustrations here and there. But I've had alot of fun and enjoyment anticipating my next acquisition. I quit buying the cheap thrills lights and now I'm only interested in SureFires, primarily, and the high quality and practical, reliable performance they provide. I have some lights on rechargeables and others strictly using primaries. As for the cost of the CR123's, it's just an incidental expenditure for my enjoyment, like the tankfulls of gas $$$ I put into my 13 year old Mazda Miata (my other passion). Everything is relative and if you look around or glance at a magazine rack, you'll get an idea of some really expensive pastimes and hobbies others have. Motorhomes, ski boats, hunting trips, bass boats and fishing tournaments, traveling and on and on, thinking about the tremendous incidental expenses they have. Payments, storage, $35K tow vehicles, insurance, trips, lodging, repairs and maintenance. Man o man, my little interest in high performance flashlights is pretty harmless and nothing I can't control. After all, I quit drinking after thirty years as an alcoholic...now there's a costly, out of contol, problematic habit! So you see you could always do worse than plunking down $135 for a new SureFire L1 CREE that you'll cherish 'till the day you die, like me!
Good luck to you, friend...don't forget to write.
Spence
:twothumbs

 

[spoonrobot]

*SNIP*

Next time do some more research before throwing such a huge chunk of cash at the hobby and you'll have a much more enjoyable time. Seems like all your problems could have been avoided if you spent a few hours using the search function before buying anything.

 

[da.gee]

I jumped into the hobby fast and furious and made some missteps along the way. Those missteps went to the Marketplace. I almost think you have to do that. As a newbie you can't fully imagine the actual size of a light, the way the modes switch, how it feels in your hand or pocket, how it functions in actual application, 75 lumens vs 175, etc. Now that I've run through quite a few lights I have a better idea of what I like and how they can be used. When people compare X light to Y light I now have some frame of reference. I have also separated in my mind those lights that I simply desire and those that fill gaps in my expected uses. Some are both. Anyway, it can be an expensive pasttime but very rewarding on many levels.

 

[ltiu]

Been a holic for 7 months now and still going strong. Just spent my whole Christmas bonus on lights and batteries.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Got several items inbound from DX. Sure, it's a crap shoot.

I made some mistakes back several thousand posts ago. Some really crappy cheap LED lights and one or two incandescents that did not live up to snuff.

That said, of the over 120 lights I have now, I'd never consider ditching more than say 80 of them.

Various reasons too. Lights I've had a long time before CPF including Grandpaw lights. A few Elektrolumens creations, a Milkyspit creation, A Lambda LUXIII minim*g pill and a Chop modded KL3 are among the NEVER leaving.

 

[pipspeak]

That said, of the over 120 lights I have now, I'd never consider ditching more than say 80 of them.

What does one do with 120 lights?!

 

[ltiu]

What does one do with 120 lights?!

Flashlight party!

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

What does one do with 120 lights?!

Look at many of them. Keep several ready for the next disaster.

It's as much a mental goof-up as anything else.

 

[cal..45]

I have over 120 lights, so you bet your booty I'm a flashaholic!

120 lights? wow, thats a lot and I thought I were already nuts owning currently 12 watches and planning to buy two more....:wave:


regards, holger

 

[Big_Ed]

I have approx. 180 or so. If I see one I'm interested in and I have the money, I buy it. As others have said, there are worse things to spend money on, and worse things to be addicted to!

 

[Hitthespot]

That 'ice storm' that wiped out power to 100,000's of homes in the central
USA last week and some are still without. You can bet the real hero's are the folks with flashlights! ie the local flashaholics.

While it's true that the above could happen to anyone or anytime, I always feel like I could probably get through the rest of my life without ever using/buying a flashlight if I had to. It would cause inconveniences YES, but probably nothing that could not be overcome by a candle, a oil lamp, a fire, a match, or the car lights.

A true Flashaholic is one who realizes the above but buys one light after another anyway. (Especially beyond the first one ). Not out of the need but out of the passion. Not to say that a need isn't there, but its not usually the motivation in a true Flashaholics purchase. Nothing is as fruitless to explain to another individual as a mans ( or womans ) passion.

So I keep buying the expensive lights, the expensive batteries, replacing the bulbs (the leds) with the next brighter one, and complaining I'm never happy just like you. So many lights and so many batteries.... wait

I gotta go I just remembered there is something I need to check back on the Surefire Web site.

Merry Christmas everone!

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I have approx. 180 or so. If I see one I'm interested in and I have the money, I buy it. As others have said, there are worse things to spend money on, and worse things to be addicted to!

SEE! I'm not so bad after all! And my total is right close to 120 at this time. Subject to change Monday night and when my package from DX arrives....

 

[Burgess]

I hereby vow not to buy ANY more flashlights,

until NEXT YEAR ! :devil:



_

 

[LED_Thrift]

I hereby vow not to buy ANY more flashlights,

until NEXT YEAR ! :devil:


_

WOW! What resolve. We are proud of your self-control. :wave:



It's going to be a L - O - N - G ten days.

 

[dulridge]

Flashlight party!

Is that where the torches sit at a toy table with the dolls while a little girl pretends to pour tea for them?

 

[Monocrom]

I'm done.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I must admit that living in NYC has been a big aid in my positive flashaholic experiences. Although this city is far from being the glam or trendy place that fashion magazines like to pretend it is; there is no shortage of B&M stores that sell various different brands. With the exception of Fenix and Peak lights, you can find all of the major brands in B&M shops. In fact, all but 3 of my lights from my far-from-small collection are from B&M shops.

Manhattan itself has several Authorized Surefire Dealers within a few miles of each other.

Also, I tend to favor stock lights. Still have several Lux models, and no desire to upgrade them to Seoul or Cree LEDs. Not messing around with too many After Market parts has left me happy. I think of flashlights the same way I think of cars.... You can sup up your ride with high-performance parts, but you lose a great deal of reliability. But if you use "Genuine GM parts" in your Impala, you're good to go!

But that's just me. Overall, not too many negative experiences. Also, I don't keep track how much I've spent on my collection so far.... I just know my wallet hates me.

 

[Bonky]

- its expensive, especially if your Canadian. I bought a total of 7 lights, at a high cost of approx $800. Plus what I spent over $300 CDN on shipping costs, return shipping costs and duties alone for the various lights i bought.

I don't understand how 7 lights could have cost over $1100 CDN. Are Canadian dollars equal to the peso now or something? Doesn't make sense to me. :shakehead Unless you're buying (overpriced IMHO) Surefires exclusively.

Or did you mean 70 lights? Now that would be an addiction! :thumbsup: