Is it just me, or is there nothing new anymore?

I posted a thread almost two years with this same title (http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=86054) and am feeling the same way again.

I joined CPF in 2002 when my Inova X5 was a big deal. I went through the ARC phase, the CMG Infinity phase, and the Surefire E1e/E2e/KL1/KL4/TW4 conversion phase. I skipped some of the Surefires (too expensive) and most of the heavy custom/mod stuff (too exotic) but did some Mag drop-ins and some Chinese models. I did the Dorcy AAAs (all colors) and AAs, some of the River Rocks, a MiniMag LED, and moved on to a number of Fenix lights, and finally the Korean Amilite T5.

But, I'm getting bored now. I don't see anything new and exciting down the line. What's next? Another Cree? Another SSC P4? What new and better can possibly be in the future? Has flashlight technology peaked out?

Frankly, I don't see where it can go from here. I'm bored and starting to get into other interests, such as Spyderco knives, where there's more excitement.

Does anyone else share my feelings, or am I missing something?

Well I think we are going to be using Cree's or Cree based lights for at least a little while (1+ year).


I guess what I am waiting for is a Fenix L1D style light that runs fully regulated on all levels on a single 18650 cell. This combined with a textured reflector would be incredible!

Things come and go, wax and wane. Give it some time and you'll be excited about lights again, and you'll be bored with spyderco knives for a bit. It's quite natural and happens in many aspects of life. I go thru the same cycles with many of my interests. Enjoy variety and don't resist changes, things end up being easier when you just do what you like and don't worry about whether or not you should be enjoying one thing more than another.

My interest may be at a lower level than when I bought the Jetbeam CLEs and Rexlights, but it still remains. I counted 7 generations of LED flashlight evolution:

1st - red/yellow/green 5mm LEDs powered by series batteries.

2nd - white 5mm LED flashlights powered by series batteries

3rd - white 5 mm LED lights with voltage boost circuites (original Arc AAA)

4th - 1W Lux LED lights with voltage boost (original Arc LS)

5th - 3W/5W Lux LED lights with various kinds of boost and regulation

6th - digitally controlled LED lights (VB-16, Fenix LXD et al)

7th - Cree/Seoul lights

plus various hobbyists, modders and cute ideas (SMJLED PR bulbs, etc.).

Each generation created a wave interest. In between, manufacturers refined designs and cloned/undercut each other, so it was usually fun to watch.

Generations 6 and 7 occured less than a year apart - the Cree's seemed to come out of nowhere - so it seems worthwhile to keep watching. From my experience, guns and knives evolve much slower than lights.

as long as your rate of learning excells the rate as technology is being refined and developed theres always nothing new...

[somewhat off topic rant]
when I first got here it was wow wee ooooh ahhhh dee dew dee dew dee oo:
where nichia LEDs were just beginning to reach their golden peak before hearing about luxeon Is from lumiled...so going for whats newest I bought my inova XO[2]...then the three watt came out, then "bam!" outcomes this K2...contrary to the jeers about K2 lights the forum was actively discussing possibilities of this "K2"

after LuxeonV came out, then CREE, then Soeul....then this SSC P4 stuff
after a year its like :ironic: nothing new, same old same old...the threads are losing its creativity as users embrace new technology and lost the spirit that once popular on the forum
[somewhat off topic rant]

I've gotten a little bored lately too. I'm still on the lookout for my personal Holy Grails though:
1) Small lightweight 1AA headlamp with a OP reflector and multi levels. ( Basically a 1AA EOS with a reflector)
2) Small as possible 18650 light with multi levels. (Think 18650 FF3)

Leds have kind of hit their temporary peak right now. Why not go bigger, look into some HID lights?

The Cree's and Seouls are out,we just have to wait for the manufacturers to adopt them or to transition from Luxeons. The smart manufacturer will tool up in a manner that makes him quick to respond to changes in LED form factor. So far, the only manufacturers who have demonstrated that agility are the ones from the far east. When Surefire releases their Cree lights or when Arc releases the new LS, then I will get excited again. In the meantime, yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwn! I think I'll go back and play with AR's for a while

PhantomPhoton said:

Things come and go, wax and wane. Give it some time and you'll be excited about lights again, and you'll be bored with spyderco knives for a bit. It's quite natural and happens in many aspects of life. I go thru the same cycles with many of my interests. Enjoy variety and don't resist changes, things end up being easier when you just do what you like and don't worry about whether or not you should be enjoying one thing more than another.

Click to expand...

Exactly. In fact, just a couple of months ago I was really interested in Spyderco knives. I was hanging out at the Spyderco forum a bit, and much less here. Now, the winds of interest have kind of swung back over to flashlights, like the Fenix P2D CE and such. I've checked CPF at least three times already today, and haven't even dropped by the Spyderco forum!

Just go where your interests lead you.

Knowing myself, in a couple of months I'll probably be hanging out at the guitar forum I'm a member of, and may go a couple of days without checking CPF. But, I know my interests will continually fluctuate, and so eventually I'll find more interest here again... and back and forth between interests, ad infinitum.


Remember, variety is the spice of life!

Let me sum it up this way:

It's like your batteries are all used up and the regulation is pulsing in and out and is about to drop away into a dim glow. The darkness is swallowing you up… there are sounds of cracking sticks, breaking twigs and leaves in the underbrush all around you, closing in… a maniacal snicker slithers across the shadow filled clearing like a lingering disease…


Oh wait! Elektrolumens forum section!

Suddenly the possibilities swell into a crescendo, the sneering demon imps of the dark recesses and corners shriek and recoil… Quad Star! Stunner! Blaster! The names invoke sensations of power and confidence one again, mastery over a small patch of darkness is reclaimed… multiple SSC P4's to the rescue! The wall of light you unleash illuminates the ghastly host that sought to ensnare you and harvest your soul... the deformed creatures of the night…stooping, groveling, now fleeing... melting silently back into the twisted forms of the cursed sacred grove. They are pursued by your bullets nontheless, tearing the taunt photon filled air like pursuing capsules of truth against their lies. You made it through. Welcome to the Next Level. Where Anything under One Thousand Lumens is not worth your time…

Time to Get into... multiple emitter arrays.

My interest may have waned a bit. At least I'm not buying as many little junk lights lately. But, I think there's actually more new stuff than ever, at least concerning the flood of LED products showing up. They really are going mainstream in a hurry, and why not. We certainly saw it coming. I think multi-level, high efficiency, and high power LEDs will continue to keep my interest going.

Geoff

alberto said:

Frankly, I don't see where it can go from here. I'm bored and starting to get into other interests, such as Spyderco knives, where there's more excitement.

Does anyone else share my feelings, or am I missing something?

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I have a stash of Spydercos as well. Loads of models for almost any use (I prefer the Millie and Caly3 though )

I think after you get a great light in most important categories (keychain, EDC, mid-sized incan/LED and large incan/HID) it takes quite a bit more to get excited.

I have an old HDS with a new Seoul in it and it still stomps most lights coming out. I've upgraded almost all my users to Seouls, except the U2 since that isn't a good upgrade IMHO, and there isn't anything new that beats them.

Most of the new Cree/Seoul lights I have gotten have been given away as gifts. I'll get a new Novatac/HDS when they come out and that one I'll keep

Alberto:

from what I have, um, come in contact with, the new Novatacs will be some good stuff, you can always discover McGizmo's Seoul and Cree based products to keep your purchasing finger active

The Fenix lights came out first and other manufactuers are following suit with Cree/SSC lights. Peak has their line outfitted with SSC P4 LEDs and you can specify what power level, material the light is made and type of switch.

Still not enough? HDS/Novatach is about to release their new 120/135 lumen model pretty soon. Peak is releasing their Volcano that runs on 2AA/2 CR123A or 2 RCR123 batteries without adapters. The light auto-detects the batteries and adjusts the current regulated output accordingly. (1.5 watts 2AA to 8.9 watts RCR123) Variable output at the head and a tail clickie with three SSC P4 emitters should gain your attention! Arc should have their new LS series rolling out this year so watch out for that.

Surefire is going Cree and Pelican has a Cree light for the LAPD police running Lithium-Ion cells. Maybe the Luxeon Rebel LED should show up in a 1AAA light soon since it is a quarter of the size of a regular Luxeon.

I would not say there is nothing new, it is just the excitement over the last 6 months has spoiled you for "light of the week". Relax, grab a brew and see how the new stuff rolls out this summer.

pretty normal I guess. My interest level in flashlights comes and goes. I get all excited for weeks on end and post and post and read and read, then I get in a flashlight funk, continuing to use them as tools, but with no further interest. At which time, I might focus my energies on some of the other forums tickle my interests at the time. The Motor Oil forum (bobistheoilguy) gets me excited for a few weeks every 3-4 months. I sometimes spend a lot of time reading other car forums, or maybe just a week of youtube, lol. I think the transitions are very natural.

If it ever happens the Novatac light will be very new and very interesting.

I have never been more excited about lights than I have in the past four months. My first Cree light impressed me as much as my first hid and 6p did. Now 4 months later, I am starting to feel a little bored myself. But I will keep looking and waiting. I am really looking forward to new bright lights from Pelican, UK and SL. (I will not buy anything that is not cree or equiv) I also am hugely looking forward to seeing the new SF L5. I am hoping it will be cool enough that I can justify its purchase.

I am still hoping for a great flashlight year.

Current favorite lights: D-mini, C2, Huntlight XRE, SurvivorLED

Looks like there are quite a few folks that share my up-and-down interest in lights. It just seems that over the past five years there have been a fairly constant steam of innovations in LEDs, switches, rechargeable batteries, and designs -- but it's now slowing to a crawl.

How much more light can you get out of a small CR123 or AA light and still maintain decent runtime? Switch technology and multi-mode lights have overshot their practical limits with SOS and strobe modes. Reliability, design, and build quality are about as good as it gets. Beam color and shape is almost perfect. Prices are very reasonable.

What more can there be in the future? Maybe some incremental improvements with Cree and Seoul emitters, but will there be really big and exciting new stuff in the future? Maybe those of us who experienced all the excitement of the last few years are the lucky ones.

Fortunately, there are still people out there who are still Mini-Mag users and will hopefully discover the excitement and thrills of current LED technology, and to them, there is still much to look forward to. But to us old-timers, I'm not too sure.

Its just you. In the past 6 months, LEDs have DOUBLED in efficiency. You can now have twice the light as before for the same battery consumption. If thats not a huge change, I don't know what is.

We're likely to see more huge increases in the future. We're getting closer and closer to that LED keychain light we joked about years ago that has variable brightness from 1-200lumens.

Minjin said:

Its just you. In the past 6 months, LEDs have DOUBLED in efficiency. You can now have twice the light as before for the same battery consumption.

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True. And I have a Cree and a SSC P4. That's old news.

We're likely to see more huge increases in the future. We're getting closer and closer to that LED keychain light we joked about years ago that has variable brightness from 1-200lumens.

Click to expand...

Call me pessimistic but I doubt we'll see that kind of advance in battery technology, heat distribution, and circuitry size reduction in the near future. Anyway, I'm not sure I have an interest in a 200 lumen keychain light, although it would be technically intriguing.