No one is impressed with your hobby?

[chanjyj]

If you want to have fun with people...try what I do at parties: I bring some of my bright lights that strobe, turn them on to the strobe, and hand them to kids, and tell them to run around and shine them at everyone. They do it, and love it. I just love to watch all the reactions, gasps, yelling and commotion. Very funny!

Ooh. Should try that with my SR90 strobe one of these days *biggrin*

 

[kubus_pl]

Well, im still thinking that having more than 2-3(pocket edc miniature light e.g. lummi raw, travel light e.g. surefire 6p/px pro and tactical light like surefire a2) lights is some kind of weird.
Anyway, I didnt talk with any of my friends/girlfriend about flashlights or knives(only with a brother whos a genuine japanese katana-freak - he already spent over 3000euro on those...) but im sure they wouldnt understand spending more than 20-30euro(30-40$) on a flashlight...

 

[nfetterly]

Use them in industry (pulp & paper) - I was in a mill with a senior researcher with a (supplier) chemical company. I was using SST-50 4500K (Mac's EDC) - he was VERY impressed that it wasn't a "blue-white" LED and he could actually see what he thought was the true color of the foam in the equipment.

I try not to have more than 3 or 4 with me.

 

[SlickSlabMcKnab]

It's been said many times already, but don't get into a hobby just to impress people and/or expect people to be impressed by it. The latest wow I've gotten was on a trip back from a shuttle launch heading out of Titusville. Hoardes of traffic on a two lane road with nothing but picth black woods off the highway. My cousin grabbed my Rayovac Sportsman Extreme AAx2 that I keep in the car and shined away. For an inexpensive light it knocked some socks off, lighting up some trees pretty well along with some big electrical lines. Had some stares from other drivers too. :thumbsup:

 

[HotWire]

I showed my friend my Leef 3X 18650 with 2900 mAh Redilast batteries and an 1185 in the Surefire KT1 Turbo head and an Oveready tri tailcap. I lit up his backyard. "My brother got one of those at Home Depot" was his response!

 

[Monocrom]

. . . "My brother got one of those at Home Depot" was his response!

:sick2:

Oh please tell me you set him straight!

 

[KiwiMark]

:sick2:

Oh please tell me you set him straight!

Is there any point? Sure, you can explain why your light is eleventy times as good as the home depot light - but he doesn't care and sees either as being capable of providing illumination as needed. He doesn't want or need an explanation and almost certainly wouldn't understand why it would be worth spending many times as much money on something that performs the same function of the home depot light.

Beyond "oh, this one is a lot brighter" there isn't really any point in trying to tell a non-flashaholic why your over one hundred dollar light is better than a five dollar light.

 

[Monocrom]

Busting ignorance is reason enough.

 

[woodentsick]

Busting ignorance is reason enough.

I find that most people will continue to remain ignorant about why anyone would spend serious money on quality flashlights, even if you try to explain it to them. It's because they couldn't care less.

 

[RedLED]

Ooh. Should try that with my SR90 strobe one of these days *biggrin*

Trust me, Dude...people will be very impressed, and they are also angry, mostly with me, after a child infested strobe attack at night, after several drinks. No one is ready for this kind of display!

So, you see, there is a reason to have a strobe in your lights after all!

 

[chanjyj]

Trust me, Dude...people will be very impressed, and they are also angry, mostly with me, after a child infested strobe attack at night, after several drinks. No one is ready for this kind of display!

So, you see, there is a reason to have a strobe in your lights after all!

Now I know 1 advantage the SR90 has over HIDs... strobe. Nearly blinded myself by shining it on the floor (the light reflected back). I'm not sure if it's wise to point it at someone's eyes, seriously. The term "lasting damage" has new meaning

 

[Outdoorsman5]

I've had some good experiences with people noticing my lights. Once a year or so I show my lights to my brothers. My machinist brother gets fired up about em, but doesn't miss a chance to make fun of me about them. He goes camping once a year, so I have given him a fenix LD20 Q5 and recently an ITP EO3 upgraded edition - loves em. Shortly after I gave him the ITP, he called me asking where I got it because he uses it every day & the guys he works with wanted one...nice.

My oldest brother (aerospace engineer) is mildly interested because he & his two sons are in boy scouts, and go camping regularly. I got him a Fenix LD20 R4 last year becase he was still using the LED Lenser I'd given him several years earlier. He, his wife, & two sons all loved it & would fight over it. So, I got his two son's each a Fenix LD20 R5 last month. They were blown away by them, and one of em said, "I'm going to be the coolest kid in scouts with this thing." Love it. That brother makes fun of me a good bit when I start talking about lights, but I deserve it I guess.

My father-in-law was in town, and while I was at work he tried to fix our refridgerator in the garage. He called me & asked where's a flashlight, so I told him where my Olight M20 was. He called me back to ask me "where in the hell did I get that thing?!" He didn't seem interested in the type of batteries, but was very interested in how bright it was. I later got him a Quark AA2 tactical. He loves it, and has made a few comments about how great it is.

We are in a church group that meets at a friend's house. He lives in a great house in the woods with a lot of property, so I always bring a light or 2 or 3 or 4... Anyway, once I had a couple of quarks and a zebralight with me. He was so blown away when I pulled the first one out that it turned into a 2-3 hour conversation, and ended with me helping him buy a Quark AA and a couple of 14500 Li-ion batteries on-line. He & his sons now asks if I have any new lights, and if so he wants me to bring em.

In April our neighborhood (Little Rock Air Force Base) got hit by a tornado, and we lost power. We had friends over that night, and when the lights went out I pulled out several lights & passed them out. We turned a bleak night into a blast, and they were really "WOW'd" by my lights, especially the Quark 123x2 Turbo X and my EagleTac M3C4 XM-L. My friend & his wife fought over the Turbo X for the rest of the night.

Last week, however, I had a new friend, his wife, & kids over. I thought he would surely be interested because he is a Lieutenant Colonel (Pilot,) loves the outdoors, and is even an Eagle Scout. We had a fire out back after dinner, and when it got dark my daughter asked me for a light. I handed her my Quark Turbo X, and she took a look around with it. He saw it & didn't say anything. Later on the rest of the kids asked for some flashlights to play with, and I gave them a couple of quarks & fenix lights. He then asked to see my Turbo X, and mildly said, "that's pretty bright." We talked about lights for a minute or two, and he said, "you'd prolly like my light - I think it's a surefire." I asked what kind & he didn't know. Said it was a few years old, ran on a single battery, and was "pretty bright." The subject quickly changed as he seemed really uninterested. I didn't press the subject AT ALL because I've been there too many times before where guys look at you with a blank stare, or say "what do you need all those lights for" or "that thing is HOW MUCH" & on & on.

I have found that it's more fun to have them out (only when needed though,) and just not say anything about them. I wait & see if anyone seems interested. If they don't ask then no big deal. If they do ask then they get a glimpse into my excitement over lights & the outdoors. I have a great cover though because my wife, kids, & I go hiking & camping regularly, so we have a real "need" for them. Our friends are well aware of this because we invite other families to come along on our trips. Plus it's well known that I wake up before sun-up to go running, and use a couple of lights. Because we have a need for them the awkward flashlight conversations sometimes end up in discussions of camping, hiking, & running rather than my sickness with loving flashlights.

Other than these types of situations, I rarely if ever bring up the subject of lights. Most just don't understand & don't care to understand. I'm ok with that bc most folks have stuff I could care less about too.

 

[DLite57]

Seems the only person that shares my passion is my brother, but he buys these cheap-a** lights just to place around the house. Says you can never have too many, but don't think he's spent more than $25 dollars on one?
Thinks the multi LED ones are cool. Me? I hate them & would rather save up for a light that I think is nice.
If I showerd him my lights, he'd think I'm nuts, but might want to buy one himself. Maybe just one?
My wife definetely thinks I'm crazy. I need to buy a box of CR123's for when the lights go out, as I only have 18650's with a charger, so not much good with no power...:laughing:

 

[HotWire]

"Oh please tell me you set him straight!" (Monocrom)

I asked him to have his brother bring it next weekend! You know mine will be there!:devil:

 

[lasermax]

A friend of mine thought I was crazy buying a surefire m6 and a surefire m4 what the h#%* did I need those for well the older I get the more expensive my toys get you only live once enjoy it while you can

 

[qwertyydude]

When I turn on my 4.5 amp direct drive XM-L Uniquefire X8 no one is not impressed, especially at night when I can light up an entire yard with a light that fits in my pocket.

 

[Monocrom]

"Oh please tell me you set him straight!" (Monocrom)

I asked him to have his brother bring it next weekend! You know mine will be there!:devil:

Excellent idea! :thumbsup:

 

[HotWire]

"Oh please tell me you set him straight!" (Monocrom)

I asked him to have his brother bring it next weekend! You know mine will be there!

(HotWire)

:shakeheadHis brother never showed up!:devil: lol


​

 

[Monocrom]

I think deep down inside, he knew better.

 

[M@elstrom]

I find that most people will continue to remain ignorant about why anyone would spend serious money on quality flashlights, even if you try to explain it to them. It's because they couldn't care less.

Exactly... kids (especially my own) appreciate my light collection and high power lights in general, but I think people are generally spoilt by Hollywood and their interpretation of what a basic flashlight should operate like, thus people who spend good money on "just a flashlight" are considered weirdo eccentrics living on society's fringe.

Honestly, I don't care what people think of my flashlight hobby (addiction) I don't do it for recognition :thumbsup: