What did you use your flashlight for today?

[Pierssy]

Well I used my LED Lenser H7 headlight to see what I was doing when I cleaned a circut board in my Humax PVR and then I used it again to take a close look at the styli on my Stanton 500v3 cartridges. I love this light for years I have been cursing not being able to see what I'm doing, It always seemed that I would cast a shadow or if I brought a lamp it then it would be in the way (I live in a very small flat in London UK). Now I just pop my H7 on and light when and where I want it , fantastic.

 

[Monocrom]

This was more than a couple of days ago . . .

Used my Peak Eiger S.S., single-AAA keychain light to take a closer look at what I thought was a huge bug at my parking spot inside the garage I share with my other neighbors. Place isn't exactly well lit. Turned out to be a piece of plastic. At the time, I was clearing out several items from my trunk before getting ready to drop off my car at the collision shop early the next morning. Minor fender-bender. But Geico is dragging their heels getting the investigation completed. I'd waited over a month and was fed up driving around with my baby looking as though she'd fit in nicely at some ghetto neighborhood. So, used my collision coverage to get her fixed. Got a call from the shop. She's ready to go. Unfortunately, got the call right before the shop was ready to close today. Didn't want to rush over like a lunatic with my head chopped off. So, since they're closed Sunday, I'll be picking her up early Monday morning. Thankfully, one less headache in my Life.

 

[jabe1]

Just got to use my new Eiger SS lug neutral to check my overly rambunctious 4 year old sons possibly broken nose!
It very well may be busted, but not much I can do except cold packs and ibuprofen. The little dude took a straight header into the floor running at full clip while playing with "the bigger kids".

I have to say though, the light is fantastic....

 

[buds224]

Usually, bedtime stories are read under the light of my PC10, but last night, I tried my XT11 on low mode, and it wasn't too bright. I was very pleased.

 

[OCD]

Used my HDS 200 to illuminate my cousin's 4yr old daughter's thumb while my wife used my Leatherman Squirt P4 to pull a splinter out of her thumb. It was sticking out enough to grab hold of and ended up being over an 1/8" long! Light and multi-tool to the rescue!

 

[buds224]

On our way home from shopping, kids in a double stroller, I gave my daughter, in the front seat, my ST Cycler to light the way as we headed home. Had it on Medium with beacon mode. Cars definitely saw us coming.

 

[hkneoh]

Wildlife spotting at night. I use a zoomable torch set to flood to locate them. Once I find something, I use another one set to throw to guide my DSLR in by providing enough light to autofocus. The flash does the rest.

 

[Richub]

Impressed the crap out of a security officer yesterday evening.

He came to me to tell me I wasn't allowed to take photographs in a certain location. After showing him the pictures I already took, I had to delete two of them.
All of this was done in a relaxed mood. He was calm and friendly, and that goes a long way with me.

While we were doing this, we heard some weird noises coming from a dark corner. He whipped out an old 3 C-cell incan flashlight and tried to light up that corner. Not very successfully.
I already had my trusty EDC Fenix PD31 set to turbo ready, and lit up that corner as if it were daylight in there. The noises came from 2 cats growling and fighting over some food leftovers.

Seeing the amount of light coming from my PD31 made him drop his jaw, seeing the size of it made him drop his jaw on the floor. oo:
After that he asked what brand my light was, and where he could get them. From the look on his face, I could tell he wanted one straight away. (Talk about causing flashlight envy there, LOL)

Besides that, my PD31 is now my favorite bicycle headlight, the TK15 turned out to be too much of a thrower for this.

And several EDC lights get daily (ab)use to annoy friends an coworkers with.

 

[Kitchen Panda]

a) Cleaning up before the party - I get to do all the high dusting which needs a step stool. The Fenix HP11 on high spots the dust in the crevices and highlights any part of the counters and cabinets that need a wipe down.
b) Cleaning up after the party - again, headlamp on high shows if the stemware is *really* clean.
The extra light helps make up for my nearsightedness...

Bill

(and at the party I gave my brother...an HP11 headlamp. I hope he likes his as much as I like mine!)

 

[buds224]

Tail stand my TK41 on 2nd mode brightness to light up our laundry room while I replaced the fluorescent bulb in the ceiling.

I realized that there are these rare moments where being a flashaholic pays off.

 

[Monocrom]

It rained tonight. Used my Dorcy 3-LED, single-AA light to check the window in the living room to make sure no water was getting past the screen, and onto the floor. Didn't want to turn the lights on in the living room because a loved one is sleeping in there. The Dorcy's dim and angry blue beam provided plenty of light without being too bright. Truth is, it's really a good general-purpose torch for use around the home.

 

[chevboy167]

just used my new Jetbeam Element E3S on low to make a run to that little room we use in the nite!

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

T'was a bit before 3AM when I used moon mode to get to and aim at the loo.

 

[Richub]

I was walking home tonight, and saw a man lying down on the sidewalk, it was clear to me he had an epileptic fit. I stayed by his side keeping him from banging his head on the concrete.
I have experience with this, I have a friend with epilepsy since my teens, and he taught me what to do if he ever has a fit.

After a few minutes he came out of it, just as the police arrived. They must have been called by people living there.
While talking to the police I saw some movement in a small bush nearby, and without thinking I aimed my Fenix TK15 on turbo at it. (I already had that TK15 in hand to have an extra light source, I didn't have to reach for it in a pocket.)
At the same time I aimed that light at that bush, a guy ran out and charged me, cursing at me for blinding him.

The police officers immediately pinned him to the ground and asked what the hell he was doing? Remember, the man who had the fit was still lying on the ground, recovering from that fit.

So here was a guy hiding in a bush, charging me at the same moment I lit him up, and after being pinned down he threatened to kill me, the cops, and some bystanders too.
He kept resisting his arrest until he received a dose of pepper spray, but never stopped yelling, cursing an threatening us.
I might get a call to testify on this case later, everybody he threatened filed charges against him. I hope he gets put away somewhere safe, preferably in an asylum.

Seriously, I'm starting to wonder how many idiots a neighborhood can hold... I get to meet too much of them lately. :sick2:

The man who had the fit was OK, by the way. After 20 minutes or so he was able to go home, his wife got notified by neighbors and came to pick him up and she was really grateful for my care for him.

Before all of this, I used my Fenix E05 to light up the interior of a friends PC while upgrading some components in there. The floody beam is perfect for lighting up small spaces.

 

[Monocrom]

I was walking home tonight, and saw a man lying down on the sidewalk, it was clear to me he had an epileptic fit. I stayed by his side keeping him from banging his head on the concrete.
I have experience with this, I have a friend with epilepsy since my teens, and he taught me what to do if he ever has a fit.

After a few minutes he came out of it, just as the police arrived. They must have been called by people living there.
While talking to the police I saw some movement in a small bush nearby, and without thinking I aimed my Fenix TK15 on turbo at it. (I already had that TK15 in hand to have an extra light source, I didn't have to reach for it in a pocket.)
At the same time I aimed that light at that bush, a guy ran out and charged me, cursing at me for blinding him.

The police officers immediately pinned him to the ground and asked what the hell he was doing? Remember, the man who had the fit was still lying on the ground, recovering from that fit.

So here was a guy hiding in a bush, charging me at the same moment I lit him up, and after being pinned down he threatened to kill me, the cops, and some bystanders too.
He kept resisting his arrest until he received a dose of pepper spray, but never stopped yelling, cursing an threatening us.
I might get a call to testify on this case later, everybody he threatened filed charges against him. I hope he gets put away somewhere safe, preferably in an asylum.

Seriously, I'm starting to wonder how many idiots a neighborhood can hold... I get to meet too much of them lately. :sick2:

The man who had the fit was OK, by the way. After 20 minutes or so he was able to go home, his wife got notified by neighbors and came to pick him up and she was really grateful for my care for him.

Before all of this, I used my Fenix E05 to light up the interior of a friends PC while upgrading some components in there. The floody beam is perfect for lighting up small spaces.

You mean the guy who charged at you was a different low-life than the one who bumped into you on the street during that other occasion?

 

[HotWire]

I lost my keys and one of them was an impossible to duplicate foreign security key. My spare key had been stolen earlier. I used my flashlight and a primitive lock pick to open the family safe (Of course I had the combination).

 

[Richub]

You mean the guy who charged at you was a different low-life than the one who bumped into you on the street during that other occasion?

Yup, it turned out the first guy still was on (the Dutch version of) parole, so he is in jail now.
Besides that, they couldn't be related. Different skin colors. No racism intended, I'm definitively NOT a racist.

Heck, my first and only girlfriend was of African descent, black as coal (which turns into diamond under the right circumstances ), and I'm just a white guy.

----------

Before I went to bed, my TK41 got used again to scare off two fighting tomcats again.

 

[chmsam]

Sorry for the long post but here's a safety lesson to remember.

While coming home from working a road rally last night at about midnight my friend, his son, and I came around a corner on an overpass and saw a car off at the guard rail. Since I knew we had flares and other items we stopped to check on things (would have stopped anyway but it's good to be prepared as we all know).

While my friends checked on the occupants I went up the over pass to drop a flare. The road was covered in black ice. For those who don't know black ice is a thin coating of ice that's truly invisble. Usually happens on overpasses, bridges, or road elevations when the temp has been higher during the day but goes down and a light rain has fallen so that it freezes to a dull, flat, icy surface. You cannot see it and there is no traction. Doesn't take much for things to get exciting. It happens a lot around here.

Black ice is bad when even the heat of the flare won't stop it from rolling downhill and against the outside of the road.

I've got a lot of experience with this sort of stuff so I decided to go back against traffic but since I knew that flares wouldn't be much good I went to plan B. I pulled out a flashlight I carry whenever I'm in a vehicle. The 5.11 ATAC L2 has 220 lumens and a strobe feature. I also carry a Fox40 Sonik with my keys.

I never took my eyes off of oncoming traffic since I've learned about that from working motorsports events and from other traffic accidents. Also because there was a drop off on the other side of the guard rail so there was little time or room to move if I needed to (I had a plan for that even before I started walking up the overpass though).

Waving the light did nothing to stop drivers or slow them down. Not one thing. Let that be one big lesson to others. It is always a good idea to assume that everyone else on the road is a complete moron. Never assume that any other driver knows how to react in an emergency. You'll live longer that way.

However, once I used the strobe feature they started to slow down, pay attention, and move over. So, yeah, I do like the strobe feature on a flashlight. I ended up pointing a bright strobe directly at the windshielf of other cars. Nothing else worked in the least.

I had to use the whistle several times to alert my friends of cars spinning out so they could be sure that they were in a safe position.

It was a bit intense for a few minutes. At least four other cars spun out and maybe more (I was a bit too busy to count). Two hit the outside concrete wall but drove on. One spun 180 degrees and stopped about 10 feet from the bumper of the car we stopped to help. One driver not only did not slow down but actually preventeed a semi from moving over to get out of the way.

What impressed me was how scared the deputies who repsonded were when they got out of their cars. A lot of wide eyed looks. That's what shook me up once I got home.

We kept everyone in their cars and got the cars that spun out as far off to the side as possible. I don't think we were life savers but no one was injured and it could have (probably would have) been much worse if we had not helped. This little posting should indicate how dangerous traffic accidents can be. My number one suggestion is that if you are not trained to handle situations like this simply call 911 and if you stop at all be sure that you park well off the road and far beyond the scene. Sad to say but it is most likely better that the average person not stop at all and just call 911. It's just too dangerous these days.

Hopefully you won't be in an accident but here are some things to learn from this:

- Flares or triangles are usually good but do not count on any one warning device to work 100% of the time (neither were worth a darn last night). Have at least one backup plan.
- If it is at all possible NEVER get out of the car if you have been in an accident. The car will take a hit much better than you will.
- If you do get out of the car, do not block the tail lights (or headlights if you've spun 180 degrees) from on coming traffic. Others need to see what to avoid to have any chance of not hitting you.
- Always keep your eyes on traffic coming toward you. Do not take your eyes off of it for one second.
- Do not stand between cars (Squish!!)
- Do not stand between the car and a guard rail or wall (Squish!!).
- Get well off of the road surface (at least three times the distance you think will be safe -- 10 yards or so is no more than a good start). Cars will travel a lot further than you think and obstacle might slow them down but could also bounce them in unpredictable directions. Ask me how I know this.

I'm no professional but I strongly believe that what I've posted here could save lives. I know of instances where people have been killed by secondary accidents after they have stopped to help. Best to either learn how to do it the right way (and that's still very hazardous) or better yet just call 911 and that should be enough.

 

[Flugbolaget]

I used my Fenix TK15 to look for mammals along forest roads. Saw red fox, badger and what might be wolf tracks.

 

[buds224]

Pretty bad rain this morning. After dropping off my daughter at school, on foot, I usually take my son, by stroller, for a long walk around the Naval Installation. I hung my TA21 from my EDC backpack, pointing down, set to beacon mode, and let it flash intermittently so traffic would have no trouble seeing us during our walk through the rainy storm.