What was your first loved flashlight?

[iveseenthelight]

My first loved light was also a yellow fisher price light with blue bezel. I used to give my parents fits at night as they thought some burglar was wondering around the house and it was just me walking around in awe of the light. As I grew up I always loved flashlights but never imagined there was a market of lights such as surefire and others. Then one day I was looking in an outdoor magazine at the doctor's office and it had a Surefire ad in it. I thought I was going to explode! I wanted one so bad! I still don't have a SF but I intend on changing that very soon....

[carbine15]

My first loved light was also a yellow fisher price light with blue bezel. I used to give my parents fits at night as they thought some burglar was wondering around the house and it was just me walking around in awe of the light. As I grew up I always loved flashlights but never imagined there was a market of lights such as surefire and others. Then one day I was looking in an outdoor magazine at the doctor's office and it had a Surefire ad in it. I thought I was going to explode! I wanted one so bad! I still don't have a SF but I intend on changing that very soon....

Was this it?

[Niteowl]

Another trip down memory lane. They take a lot longer these days and I get lost easily, too many side paths to peek down.

The Radio Shack battery card, simply a reason to go back and go through all the stuff they carried at that time in my life. I did indeed have one of the cheap 5C "search lights" at one time. It was an awesome light for a kid like me. More of a lust thing though. Don't know what became of it. This past summer I was mysteriously drawn to a garage sale out of my planed route. Lo and behold, for the mere sum of fifty cents, I was re-united with a reasonable replacement RS Cheapo 5C. It's obviously of later vintage, but it'll do the trick.



Here it is next to the light that sealed my fate when I realized there were lights out there that were meant to last a lifetime. A 30 yr old Bianchi B-Lite, 4C. That baby never sees the back of the closet. Just popped a 3 cell xenon bulb in to spruce her up a bit.

The B-Lite would be my first lasting love.

[carbine15]

My first loved light was also a yellow fisher price light with blue bezel. I used to give my parents fits at night as they thought some burglar was wondering around the house and it was just me walking around in awe of the light.

I still wander around the house with one similar to this one.

[OCEANBEAMER]

Well the year was 1969.. I a 20 year old wounded Marine... was on a medical evac flight from danang,south vietnam(at the time) the plane was dark and I asked one of the nurses for a flashlight to read a letter from home..I must be getting older because I remember far more about the flashlight than the nurse....it was a sanyo rec argeable light that was very popular with pilots&stues for many years,,,white with over&under white&red lenses,the chargeing plug folded out of the rear of the light and was very compact.I owned 4 or 5 for years afterward. It was called the sanyo cadnica.

[Sub_Umbra]

For those of you who had Fisher Price lights as kids-

That's cool. Were your folks flashaholics? I've never heard of a Fisher price light before...I don't think they had them when I was a kid.

[Long John]

The B-Lite would be my first lasting love.

Oh yes, that's a Bianchi. Like the one I had, many years ago, only with 4D instead.

Best regards

____
Tom

[carbine15]

Well the year was 1969.. I a 20 year old wounded Marine... was on a medical evac flight from danang,south vietnam(at the time) the plane was dark and I asked one of the nurses for a flashlight to read a letter from home..I must be getting older because I remember far more about the flashlight than the nurse....it was a sanyo rec argeable light that was very popular with pilots&stues for many years,,,white with over&under white&red lenses,the chargeing plug folded out of the rear of the light and was very compact.I owned 4 or 5 for years afterward.

this looks to be a real useful light.

[jumpstat]

It was in 1994 when I first started working with construction company. First job was constructing a hydro power plant. Was introduced to the MiniMag 2AA by Austrian Clients. Fell in love with the 4D Maglite and bought one. Still have it with me, still a workhorse and have lots of battle scars.

Shall post pictures of it later..

[TKC]

I honestly can not remember what flashlight was my first love.

[Mike 208]

My first loved flashlight was also a B-Lite (4-D cell); my father bought that light for me in 1974, when I was a Sheriff's Explorer. Thanks to some very kind people on this site (who directed me to a company that had replacement switches), the light is up and running again.

[Chronos]

My first love was a blue plastic, large turbo-head diving flashlight way back in the early 1980s. It was either 3 or 4 x C or D cells. I picked it up from a Longs Drugs store that I worked at. It was the only one we got in stock, and I know it was mispriced (too low) at the time at $29.99. It was the real deal with multiple O-ring gaskets and a magnetic switch. It threw like nothing else back then and had a pretty good runtime too. I used it while swimming at Drake's Bay and Stinson at night, at night time beach parties at Drake's and Stinson, hiking in the hills of Marin County, etc. I had it for many years until a cell ruptured and damaged the reflector. Sigh.

[garbman]

My very first one is a Minimaglite in silver. I used it a lot in my job and never let me down. Very sad that i have lost it some years ago.

[Northern Lights]

I worked for a wholesaler of Law Enforcement products while in college, late 60's and early 70's and maintained a business relationship after I graduated for years while I worked for "the government". The Kel-lite was a favorite of mine until the Bianchi B-lite came out. It had a faceted reflector. My first experience with beam improvement. They were supplied with clear, red and amber windows too! The windows had three or four concentric circular ribs that apparently had no optical affect, just a trade mark feature I guess. Often my cohorts refered to defensive tactic techniques as "advanced Kel-lite". Some folks got the long 6 D's just for the defensive aspect but the popular size for handling and illlumination was the 4D. I had a 4D B-lite (circa 1974) that saw tactical service. There were not many choices for bright bulbs. Some tried over driving standard PR bulbs. Eventually I had a streamlight, SL-20 and I put SL-35 bulbs in it. Was that my first hot wire mod? When the Mag Charger hit the street, I got one, got it still. That is over 20 years ago. It is featured in a few of my posts. The Mag Charger must be my favorite.
Because of the nature of the wholesaler I associated with I had met and worked with John Bianchi of Bianchi Leather and Neil Perkins of Safariland (Kel-Lite) along with personalities from the firearms industry. I miss the days of shot shows and IACP conventions and getting my hands on the new "toys" first! I spend all my time now, for the last 20 years working exclusively for the "G". You know, some time in late 2005 I wanted a better flashlight, I accidently found CPF, well, you know the rest, happened to all of us.
PS, Thanks for the picture of the B-lite, Niteowl, brings back flashbacks, and I still have one of those Radio Shack grey 5 cells, they were given away free with a clipped coupon from the Radio Shack flyer that would arrive in the mail.

[spanish]

What was the first flashlight that made you love flashlights?

For me it was this 2d Eveready that was waterproof. It was black and had a red button switch on the side. I loved how bright it was. I remember one summer swimming in the lake at night with my buddies and I was starring a big old fish right in the eyes underwater and he took a bite at my nipple! Scared the crap outa me. I yelled "piranha!" My buddies all heard the urgency in my tone as we escaped with our lives. You've never seen four teenage boys run so fast out of the water. My ex wife ended up with this gem in the divorce..



Image from flashlightmuseum.com

I owned one like this. I am sure is the same. In black and grey button.

Present me my girlfriend 20 years ago (today my wife). Was my first halogen and broken me a metallic piece between the back spiral and the bulb.

The brand in spain was UCAR.

[zespectre]

That's it right there! Wow I thought I was going to have to search out a picture for myself. My grandmother gave me one of these for my very first boyscout campout. I felt weird 'cause everyone else had the old military "L" head lights but it was great after dark because this one was so much brighter.

[JNewell]

Here's a quiz for you all. Back in the late 1960s I had a palm-sized, single bulb incandescent that was shaped kind of like a squished oval in cross-section and had a battery pack that I remember unplugging from the head and plugging into a 120v AC outlet to recharge. Does anyone remember a light like that?

[carbine15]

Here's a quiz for you all. Back in the late 1960s I had a palm-sized, single bulb incandescent that was shaped kind of like a squished oval in cross-section and had a battery pack that I remember unplugging from the head and plugging into a 120v AC outlet to recharge. Does anyone remember a light like that?

Was this it?

YOu guys should check out the flashlightmuseum.com.
I'm getting all the pics from there.

[Gene]

This started my addiction way back around 1956. It's a 1955 Eveready 1XAA "little Jim". I loved that thing and I slept with it under my pillow and carried it everywhere. It was about as bright as a match but I loved it because it was so tiny. It cost 50 cents and that was a lot of money back then! That was finding 25 pop bottles to return for the 2 cents deposit on each!


Photo courtesy of www.flashlightmuseum.com

[carbine15]

Surely there are more first loves out there?

[Black Majik]

Maglite black 3C. I got it for a camping trip for school in 6th grade. I loved that thing, but lost it recently. It still had the gold strip from when I first printed my name on a label maker, the gold strip is still on the light but my name rubbed off many years ago.

It was a great light...

[qip]

Surely there are more first loves out there?

my real favorite is my 3d mag simply cuz its aluminum, before that all we ever had in the house were cheap plastic lights

look what i found in the back of the junk drawer ,eveready and garrity

[Ruockolt]

I saw an ad in a magizine for the surefire L4. This was when it had just come out. I just had to have one. I just got one this past week.

[jlomein]

As a kid I had a Fisher Price 4 cell light that I used all the time. Pictured below, it has a rotator switch on the other side that you can use to move red or green filters in front of the bulb.

[Rusty Joe]

Mine was the Dorcy 1 watt Metal Gear. It was when I first realized a beam could be projected that was nice and round, unlike mags.

[Burgess]

Got this Eveready Cordahide ShopLight 2-D cell flashlight in 1959,
when i was just 6 years old. It has served me well ever since.





Saw it on the drug store shelf, and instantly knew that i wanted it.

Keep in mind that these were not individually packaged (like lights are today),
but just randomly "stuffed" into a shelf.

Most of 'em were the popular two-tone color schemes.

But this was the only one there which was All-Blue !

My favorite color !


Was so proud of myself for actually finding this all-blue one,
but now came the hard part . . . .

Convincing my Parents to actually BUY it for me !

And this wasn't one of those "cheapies" for 99 cents . . . .

No, these were Eveready's workhorse Premium flashlights, for $1.49.

And, no, batteries were NOT included !

Once i'd explained to them how important this was to me,
my father said he would buy it for me.

But, take good care of it, 'cuz this will be the LAST flashlight
I'm ever gonna' buy for you !


Had it for 47 years now.
It lives on the nightstand table, right next to my bed.

It is THE flashlight which i reach for when i'm in bed.





Here are the individual components, broken down for you.

Note -- this is not the original reflector or lens.

About 25 years ago, i came across a discarded Eveready,
which had some similar parts i could salvage.

Decided to perform a minor transplant, since i had pretty-near
wiped all the shiny silver off the reflector over the years.

This was my mainstream hand-held flashlight
for the next 24 years, until i got a Maglite 3-D cell in 1983.

Oh, the stories it could tell !


Yes, i admit that i have perhaps "one or two" additional flashlights now.


But my blue Eveready will always be special.

[dalekcommander]

Last year I bought a Blackhawk Falcata 9v. That's what got me started on this whole thing.....

[alanagnostic]

My HDS B42 was the first light that I really Loved. I was hesitant to buy it because of the expense (even on sale for about $100), but it was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Carbine15, I can't believe your wife got your 2D Eveready in your divorce. Did she know how much it meant to you? I can't imagine her taking it except out of spite. I have a 2D Eveready but it never would have occured to my ex-wife to ask for it in the divorce. Now I would fight like hell to keep my HDS's or my McGizmo, but that's another story.

[Niteowl]

Got this Eveready Cordahide ShopLight 2-D cell flashlight in 1959,
when i was just 6 years old. It has served me well ever since.

That's outstanding. IIRC, that is the longest I've seen here of someone keeping an originally owned light.

I was a fairly destructive little kid and was never really tought to appreciate my belongings. About the only thing I have from before my teens is a teddybear I got on my first birthday in '63, and I don't know how that survived.

[thelightdude]

This started my addiction way back around 1956. It's a 1955 Eveready 1XAA "little Jim". I loved that thing and I slept with it under my pillow and carried it everywhere. It was about as bright as a match but I loved it because it was so tiny. It cost 50 cents and that was a lot of money back then! That was finding 25 pop bottles to return for the 2 cents deposit on each!


Photo courtesy of www.flashlightmuseum.com

I have one of these with a turquoise color head - it still works!
I must have bought it in the late 50's - early 60's