Your Oldest LED Flashlight?

[degarb]

Im Only 19, but this was the first high output light i bought with a rechargeable 18650 battery i think when i was 13/14 just getting into Flashlights
The light is a Heider CFX rated at 700 meters throw, but its obviously not true haha, still works but i never use it now because of the better lights i now have lol.

What year did you purchase, and from what year, roughly, did it come out?

 

[degarb]

4. What was your first real high performance LED light?

What we think is high performance today, hopefully, will not be high performance, soon enough. I am still waiting on my 303 lpw at 350ma 4000k or 5000k cree: I want the 2014 prototype. But expect at least 240 lpw. I assume it is on the slow boat from China. Yes, yes, this is the reason I am still using my 2015 202lpw at 350ma, xpl home builds. Otherwise, I might believe Cree fired their head innovator.

 

[degarb]

Did a little Google. Correction: In 1998, C. Crane introduced the "CCTrek" flashlight. This flashlight used two white LEDs as opposed to an incandescent bulb.

The Bob Crane company is ahead of the curve on many items. But, probably lagged behind someone who was really ahead, as I have seen on other items. I wonder, who?

 

[degarb]

Im Only 19, but this was the first high output light i bought with a rechargeable 18650 battery i think when i was 13/14 just getting into Flashlights
The light is a Heider CFX rated at 700 meters throw, but its obviously not true haha, still works but i never use it now because of the better lights i now have lol.

Ok, I was reading lm 19, a. k. a.19 lm (lumens) , not I'm 19.

At only 19 lm, I was thinking it looked like my 2007 Jupiter emitter. But few used 18650s, except few on cpf.

I love that the 51 lpw jupiter bare emmitter is still selling in 2017. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FP22N26/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[Rifter]

Inova x5, one of the original grooved bodies not the later and brighter hex bodies.

 

[bykfixer]

1. Your Oldest LED Flashlight?

2. What was your first LED light?

3. What was the LED light that started your light addiction?

4. What was your first real high performance LED light?

1) Oldest? No idea how old my early LED lights are but I think the ARC AAA LE is the oldest.

2) First was an LED Lenser V2 triple. I have no idea when or where it was acquired, but do know I still drank when I got it and have been sober nearly 15 years.

3) A Coast HP7 started my fascination with LED lights. Being a recovered addict "addiction" is no longer allowed. I bought several versions of the HP7 before a SureFire G2x Pro turned my attention to all things cop lights.

4) My PK Design Lab FL 2 was my first "high performance" flashlight and is still my benchmark.

 

[ZMZ67]

1. Oldest - CMG Infinity (Red)
2. First - same light
3. Addiction - CMG Infinity (White), I sat it bezel down on the dresser one night and forgot to turn it off. When I picked it up the next morning it was still as "bright" as the night before. I was hooked!
4. Performance? Depends on the what you consider that to be. At one time high performance was 30-60 lumens from LUX I and LUX III or the 100 lumen "wall of light" from a LUX V. I guess the INOVA XO (original TIROS version),INOVA T1(TIROS) and the Fenix L2P come to mind.The CMG Reactor may have been the first I had forgotten about it.I think the XO was first. Never did get a LUX V fortunately the CREE XR-E came along and changed everything. My first XR-E light was the Lumapower D-Mini.

EDIT:Added a light I forgot about!

 

[Flashlight Dave]

My oldest light is a cheap plastic 2 celled light from the 80s or early 90s which my father had. But the earliest light i EDCed was a mini maglite from around 1995. I still have it.

 

[quangtan]

I have a flashlight . It's 20 years old :laughing:

 

[cp2315]

My oldest light with LED must be some 5mm blue/white keychain light from 2002-2003.
My first quality / real LED light is Fenix LD20 from 2007. Still kicking strong after 10 years.

 

[Jeff S.]

My oldest light (my first LED torch and the oldest flashlight I still have) is an HDS Systems EDC Ultimate 60 GT. <br>
<br>
It's still a great flashlight, and the tint is awesome. My most well-used light by far. For many years it was my edc light, and I also regularly used it as a headlamp (clipped to the brim of a hat). To this day, it still gets used as a backup light.

 

[Paul6ppca]

My oldest and first was my car key light the bulb burned out and online someone posted an upgrade to led. I was hooked.
Got an innova clone. The fenix l2p with nekomane cr123 body. All those are gone.
Now my oldest updated is Mr Bulk Chamelion. Driver acts up. But love the feel and UI. Circa 2004??

 

[wjv]

 

[Fireclaw18]

I used to have one of those. On mine the body tube was made of translucent blue plastic but otherwise looks like the same light. A fairly big 3xAA light with two 5mm LEDs as the light source. I got it at a diving shop and it was the very first white LED light I'd ever seen. Prior to that around 1989 there were red "superbright" LEDs you could buy such as the Tekna Nighteye, but white LEDS didn't exist. Go back a few more years before 1989 and even the red superbright LEDs didn't exist. LEDs were still found everywhere but they were very dim and used mostly as indicators on the controls for various devices.

My friends and relatives were amazed when I showed it to them. They'd never seen a white LED light before so this was unique. The light "looked" bright because of the cool white tint. Back then, just about all flashlights were incandescent so seeing a flashlight without the warm orange tint seemed unique. Of course when I actually tried shining it on something it quickly became apparent that while the light "looked" bright, it was actually quite dim. A 2xAAA incan maglite was brighter and throwier.

I forget exactly when I got this light. Sometime between 1992-1995. Sadly, I no longer have it.

 

[degarb]

I used to have one of those. On mine the body tube was made of translucent blue plastic but otherwise looks like the same light. A fairly big 3xAA light with two 5mm LEDs as the light source. I got it at a diving shop and it was the very first white LED light I'd ever seen. Prior to that around 1989 there were red "superbright" LEDs you could buy such as the Tekna Nighteye, but white LEDS didn't exist. Go back a few more years before 1989 and even the red superbright LEDs didn't exist. LEDs were still found everywhere but they were very dim and used mostly as indicators on the controls for various devices.

My friends and relatives were amazed when I showed it to them. They'd never seen a white LED light before so this was unique. The light "looked" bright because of the cool white tint. Back then, just about all flashlights were incandescent so seeing a flashlight without the warm orange tint seemed unique. Of course when I actually tried shining it on something it quickly became apparent that while the light "looked" bright, it was actually quite dim. A 2xAAA incan maglite was brighter and throwier.

I forget exactly when I got this light. Sometime between 1992-1995. Sadly, I no longer have it.

Now this is why I am bothering to read this thread. So, what year, exactly, was this 2 led light from?

No offense people, but I am old and crotchety. I don't give a darn about your first 2011 led light. Heck, soon kids will post about their first dim xml they were fascinated with back in 2017, before they nearly choked to death on the light in their crib. And, how they wanted to like the 18650, until they realized they don't pass as easily in the stool as the trusty AA..... I want to know more about old leds. I have seen media misinformation, stating that the white led was invented in 1999. It could not, because the C Crane Co. was selling them in 1998.

I also was going to state that red leds and incan do not count. I remember toys with red leds back in 1981, or earlier. However, the super bright red, intrigues me.

So, anything pre 2000 led really is my interest. I do wonder how soon after the lux 1 came out, did people start using them. Did cpf members pimp out their 5mm's to 100 lumens before the 1 watt. And who killed the lux 2,3,4 siblings of the lux 1 and 5?


How many rgb, pseudo white, flashlights were made before the white led?

 

[bykfixer]

LED's were invented in the 1970's. It was the late 80's before they really took off. Late 90's before they began to be flashlight useful, and CPF was born long before they could outshine an overdriven light bulb.

 

[eh4]

Red 5mm led Infinity Ultra, at some point I pushed out the pill and sacked the aluminum twisty body, not exactly sure why now, but the pill/ light engine works as well as ever with any .8v - 1.5v power supply, and only weighs a gram or two.
A week of room filling, red light from a single AA battery is still pretty neat.

Before that I had a few of the original Photons, I'm not counting those.
The originals were nothing more than a glass filled plastic case and a fulcrum to keep one of the 5mm led legs away from the 2032 battery unless the body was squeezed.
These are fun to make as rebuildable disposable lights, using large diameter heat shrink tubing and a few smaller diameters to build up a shoulder around the led.

 

[Hoodzy98]

What year did you purchase, and from what year, roughly, did it come out?

Haha, im not sure it was years ago though, i think it only has like 300 lumens but thats only from what it looks like too the eye

 

[Hoodzy98]

Ok, I was reading lm 19, a. k. a.19 lm (lumens) , not I'm 19.

At only 19 lm, I was thinking it looked like my 2007 Jupiter emitter. But few used 18650s, except few on cpf.

I love that the 51 lpw jupiter bare emmitter is still selling in 2017. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FP22N26/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Hahah oh yeah thats My age to clarify haha 19" 🤣, very nice

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

Well i found that my oldest white led flashlight (post 38) came out in 2005, So that`s like 12 years old.

John.