Why do you collect flashlights?

[cland72]

I find myself buying lights for different tasks/uses. Not so much a collector, but over time I've amassed more lights than most normal people would have. One light that is super bright, but low runtime. Another light that's not very bright, but runs forever. Another light that is momentary on, single mode only. The list goes on.

 

[Danielight]

I doubt that I'll become a great flashlight collector, but I'm waiting on my third LED light to arrive this week. I got interested in owning an LED light through a well-known battery website ... whenever I'd go there to buy batteries, the first thing I would see was a bunch of these flashlights. Eventually I decided to buy a light (4Sevens Quark AA2) for myself (at a different website). This past Christmas season, I decided to buy a light for my wife and for my daughter (who don't share my enthusiasm for the marvelous devices!), and another one for myself. As I learned more about the different types of lights (emitters, battery types, etc.), I decided that I would like to have a few lights with different features. When my third light arrives this week, I will have an XP-G R5 (the Quark AA2), an XM-L T6 (Quark MiniX-123), and an XP-G R4 (Shining Beam I-mini XP-G Neutral White, the latest one I ordered). That should satisfy me for the time being. :naughty:

 

[cland72]

Delayed double tap

 

[Straker]

I collect a few pieces here and there specifically because some lights end up as redressed props in films for various things. Most infamous is the 2nd Doctors Sonic Screwdriver from 1967 which was just an ordinary penlight.

 

[Straker]

Oh also, there are the more interesting and intricate antiques that I love to collect as well. I have a few old lights that are from the 0's that I've updated with LED's and such that just look really cool and it's nice to have something like that that isn't the normal flashlight they sell today...shame really they don't go retro with modern lights...

 

[TEEJ]

I'm not sure I'm a "Collector" - I mostly perform a lot of tasks in dark places, like inspections, disaster response, and so forth, and, I'm always looking for better tools for the jobs. I AM sure that I tend to look for CERTAIN tools harder than others, IE: I am aware that I work harder to find a good light for a particular aspect of my work, and less hard to find a good ink cartridge or shirt. I might be a "closet" collector.

OK, screw it...

My Name is Teej, and I am a Flashaholic...

 

[yiyans]

Just give one to your kid and wait for the spark in the eyes and the smile on the face.
I think it is in the blood....

 

[Mag-man]

I never really"collected" flashlights until my grandmother died last November. All I had was this old 3-D cell maglite that gave off yellow light that I used to keep in my Silverado. My grandmother lived in a big house and kept little flashlights on the table next to every lamp. The best one was a mini-mag but in most of the bedrooms were just little plastic flashlights, just in cases. As the story goes, back in 1955 there was a hurricane that knocked out the power in the big house and there was one flashlight in the house in the garage somewhere. So after that, there was a little flashlight in every room.

As part of my memory of her, I keep a little flashlight next to most lamps. She was very pro-American and Maglites are one of those classic American things, like Zippos and the 1966 Mustang. I upgraded my 3-D Mag to a very powerful LED. I got a 6-D and upgraded that to LED. We have several mini-mags, as they are great little lights. And I keep an XL50 in my pocket most of the time. The power goes out lately due to freak weather so my wife doesn't mind having flashlights around but I do feel like she thinks we are starting to have too many... It's great to have a light when I need it but it really reminds me of my grandmother and in some weird way, it's a security blanket in that makes it feel like she's still around. But personally, I like to try and maximize the lumens or light per dollar, because I'm cheap . Thanks for asking

 

[budynabuick]

I never really"collected" flashlights until my grandmother died last November. All I had was this old 3-D cell maglite that gave off yellow light that I used to keep in my Silverado. My grandmother lived in a big house and kept little flashlights on the table next to every lamp. The best one was a mini-mag but in most of the bedrooms were just little plastic flashlights, just in cases. As the story goes, back in 1955 there was a hurricane that knocked out the power in the big house and there was one flashlight in the house in the garage somewhere. So after that, there was a little flashlight in every room.

As part of my memory of her, I keep a little flashlight next to most lamps. She was very pro-American and Maglites are one of those classic American things, like Zippos and the 1966 Mustang. I upgraded my 3-D Mag to a very powerful LED. I got a 6-D and upgraded that to LED. We have several mini-mags, as they are great little lights. And I keep an XL50 in my pocket most of the time. The power goes out lately due to freak weather so my wife doesn't mind having flashlights around but I do feel like she thinks we are starting to have too many... It's great to have a light when I need it but it really reminds me of my grandmother and in some weird way, it's a security blanket in that makes it feel like she's still around. But personally, I like to try and maximize the lumens or light per dollar, because I'm cheap . Thanks for asking

Neat story!
Keith - who misses his Grand mother

 

[zz9000]

I began my flashlight collection when I discovered there were flashlights that worked without the occasional shake due to electrical problems. My first good light was a "well seasoned" 2D Maglite from a neighbor who moved away. I then stayed with the Mag Instrument family and bought 2D and 4D Mags the day after Thanksgiving for a decent price. It's nice to have one in the kitchen, car, bedroom ...

I am now casually looking for torches that are much smaller for weight and volume savings yet have a reasonable output and run time.

 

[Exide]

It is an odd hobby over here in England because a few sellers i talk to at carboot sales have never heard of it and some find it strange but i tend to think each to there own an there is a collector for everything so why not flashlights, i started out with radios until i found some old torch batteries and thought i need a period torch to display with them, from that day i was hooked, more so with the Ever Ready torches as they go great with the batteries, i can pick these up cheap to as over here they are not classed as collectable unless there the real old Military ones. I often make up covers for modern batteries as i did with radio an now i have more torches than radios an i enjoy finding lamps that are unusual, better still if they have old batteries that i can rebuild, my best loved one is that lamp from Ever Ready that had its original 481 battery as it was an easy rebuild plus the lamp is very rare as is the battery. I like them better than radios as there not so hard to fix.

 

[davyro]

I've had a flashlight since i was 7yrs old,I'm now 45 & i've always used different lights for different tasks.So i always had 3/4 through health reasons i had to stop drinking so as someone who
doesn't drink & smoke i thought i'd spend some of the saved money on a good light.Well that was it once i had a great light i just wanted more great lights for different tasks.

 

[Erik Mejia]

I'm not quite sure why I collect them. I just like flashlights. I started collecting Fenix Flashlights about two years ago. I think my next couple of purchases will be offerings from EagleTac. And maybe a FoxFury or two.

Does anyone know where EagleTac lights are made?

 

[trevordurden]

I needed a flashlight for work/biking camping so I bought one, since I have a habit of losing things, i bought another flashlight to find the first one when it got lost, and now i need a 3rd one to find the first 2 and so on and so on or at least that's how i justify another light .

 

[Pat364]

Like Eric, I like Light (Flashlights and Tactical Lights). Why? I don't know! And I don't put myself the question
I begin with some Surefire, and now with Fenix, Solarforce, SUNWAYMAN (I am waiting a V10R Ti with AA extension).
Next step: JETBeam, and all lights that I like and can buy ;-)

@++

 

[Midnight Run]

Why do I collect flashlights?

I have no idea ...

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[chuckg]

For me, I have always had a decent flashlight around. I like to feel prepared for "just in case" situations and most of them involve a need for light. I used to be a die hard Maglite owner, but recently purchased a Fenix PD32 .. then an LD12 ... and I'm going to order an EagleTac and 4Sevens next week, then lay them all out and decide where they'll suit me best. I truly appreciate fine craftmanship, and they serve a useful purpose at the same time. win-win!

 

[DanDfellow]

Odd one this I have no idea. Just like them. Probably cos of the 1st I has one Xmas that I used to read comics with at night. It was a plastic cheapo with 3 colours red amber & green, plus normal light. It had red handle & white Mushroom round top with the holes with the coloured filters around. To switch colours there was a wheel at the side. I loved it! The red handle I seem to remember was square.

 

[dlmorgan999]

I have so many lights that I can't possibly claim that I actually regularly use all of them. To me though, I first got hooked by the quality machining of the Sunwayman lights. Then I started wanting to have different LEDs and different user interfaces.

And then I found out about custom lights and things started to snowball! To me, there are so many custom lights that are works of art. I'll admit that I wouldn't want to actually carry quite a few of them for fear of scratching or damaging them but they still give me a great deal of satisfaction. I never used to understand why people would collect art or jewelry, but now I guess I do.

And then there is tritium - don't get me started on that. Another thing that I quickly became addicted to! :devil:

 

[iTorchFetish]

It's not an addiction, as the word flashaholic implies, although I can understand why people would see it that way - it's a fetish. And I'm willing to bet that it's mostly males that suffer from this wallet draining affliction. It's like you can't ever be satisfied with what you've got - you're always looking for more, something more powerful, something that throws farther, something more dazzling - it's like ***** envy :help:. Ok, I expect people are beginning to think "this bloke has lost the plot" so I'll leave off this topic, but before I do, I'd like to remind you that you collect torches too - and if that's not weird, what is?

I now have 14 torches, 5 more on the way and I'm still scouring the internet for more. I've bought a soldering iron, 3rd hand, and just about all the other tools and supplies needed for basic modifications. I have also purchased several LED's, drivers and torch hosts and I'm teaching my self electronics so that I can further indulge this strange fetish. Right now, I'm desperately struggling to resist the powerful urge to buy both the TN31mb and DEFT-X but I already know very well that I'm doomed to fail in this struggle - think I've got it bad. :sigh:

How did it all start? Well I guess it's something in my genes, or an unconscious traumatic memory that predisposed me, that made me susceptible to this fetish. The fetish was triggered when I acquired my first torch with a Cree LED in it. It was only a Led Lenser P7, but when I switched it on, it dazzled me - both literally and metaphorically - and my fetish was born.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly why I developed this fascination, this fixation, this obsession with LED torches - perhaps it's the way they light up the night, perhaps it's the way they feel in my hand, perhaps it's the sense of security. the sense of empowerment I feel when I power up my torch and cut through the night turning it into daylight. A torch is not just a torch for torch fetishists. It's a tool, a weapon, a companion, an object of fascination, even a phallic symbol and ... who knows what else.

Why do I collect torches? For all the reasons above and for other other reasons that might always remain a mystery.