Never was was much for New Years resolutions,but.....

[Saiga]

Though i was apparantly an un-diagnosed flashoholic for many years, i didn't come to this level of self awareness until i stumbled upon this very forum. This realization was two-fold,or bittersweet,if you will. While having to face the cold hard fact that i may indeed have a problem,never a pleasant realization, i also found that i was hardly alone,that i had become a member of an ever growing community of like minded compulsives,some considerably more demented than I.
Yet,still in the back of my mind was the feeling that my family and freinds' concern and confusion wasn't entirely unfounded. So,getting to the point (finally ! you say) I have decided, in an unprecedented fit of self control, to limit myself to a small degree concerning future purchases.My New Years resolution is to NOT purchase a new light while i still have one in transit,via US Postal, Fed-Ex,UPS,etc. I hereby affirm that i will not click on another "add to cart" icon until my most recent purchase has safely arrived. So let it be written,so let it be done.(great Yul Brenner quote).
P.S. yes,i've been drinking.

[1wrx7]

GOOD LUCK

[Flying Turtle]

I wish you success. Seems a reasonable goal. I've always tried to order only one light at a time, too, and no more than one per month. This has worked, mostly. It's tough sometimes to stay sensible.

Geoff

[Fallingwater]

My new year's resolution about five years ago was to never again make a new year's resolution. Going well so far

[Dances with Flashlight]

You could plan to pay for overnight deliveries - it might ease the pain.

[UncleFester]

LMAO.
I've got the problem on two fronts: Not only do I buy turnkey lights but I mod my own and buy parts and supplies to do that.
I keep telling myself I can quit whenever I want. I keep watching the $ outflow and for some obscure reason don't want. Totally illogical, Captain.
I keep seeing the new LED and the new reflector and the new heatsink and the new driver and the new battery..... HELP!

[Qoose]

There is one problem.

It's called expensive overnight/same day shipping, since you will have the excuse to use it.

You might want to append your resolution to restrict shipping services.

EDIT: Looks like Dances with Flashlight beat me to it. I need to start reading my tabs in a different order.

[Spence]

Mine is ONE SureFire a month....Ha, we'll see!

[Illumination]

I tried the "don't buy another light until the one in the mail gets here" rule, but it has only resulted in me buying more expensive lights from US dealers that ship quickly (Lighthound, Battery Junction) and other US sellers (McGizmo)
and fewer lights from the cheaper Chinese direct dealers.

It's a good resolution, nevertheless. I'm sure all of us have a light we wouldn't have purchased if we thought about it for just a few more days.

[ltiu]

Flashlight is a drug. I wonder if there are psycho-therapist on this list?

I wonder what chemical the brain releases whenever a flashaholic buys a new flashlight?

[tedjanxt]

I wonder what chemical the brain releases whenever a flashaholic buys a new flashlight?

Seratonin...ahhhhhh

[xevious]

It's actually the yearning for any item that is the issue, whether it be a flashlight, a knife, or some kind of collectible. It is likely a byproduct of the consumerism engine we all live under. Advertisements saturate us from every angle. Even flashlight reviews are a form of advertising. Someone has got something you don't, and they're gleeful about their cherished item. Then the "I gotta have one too" stage kicks in. When the next light comes around that hits us in our sweet spot (compelling feature, next level of brightness without runtime sacrifice, etc.)... can't resist.

[Saiga]

I actually started filling in my information for a LumaPower LM31 last night,then cancelled,and then started into buying a JetBeam,then cancelled that,too. DAMN !! New years ain't till tomorrow, and i came dangerously close to screwing the pooch TWICE already (yeah, i've been waiting on a light since last weekend).
This is gonna be a tough year.

[ltiu]

Seratonin...ahhhhhh

Where can I buy this? Forget about the flashlights.

[flashy bazook]

I like this resolution--clean and effective!

Now, also add a resolution to only buy at most one item at a time from China-based websites that take at least 1-2 months to ship to you, and do not inform you in the meantime about the status of your order, and you are completely set!

By the way, if you need to return an item, you are still not allowed to get another one! So since those websites will often send you non-functioning items, you can almost double the wait time before you can buy anything else.

You have one cheap item floating out into the ether for months at a time, either coming or going, and in the meantime your money stays put! And when it finally goes out, it goes out in small quantities. This is indeed a recipe for getting wealthy.

(As to healthy and wise, well, it's only ONE new year's resolution, you can't expect it to solve all problems!).

Happy new year's everyone!

[xevious]

I think I may have a solution that might work for a few folks. I'm certainly going to try it.

Here's the deal: Identify your personal flashlight categories. Certainly everyone needs an EDC... but then there are two types: pocket size and belt clip size. Maybe you use both, or one of them. Next, you need an emergency light, something to compliment the EDC or in case your EDC becomes lost. You might also need a "walk the dog" or "patrol" light, something that has a combination of decent spot and spill. Maybe you also need a task light, if you do a lot of portable work at night that requires a nice low beam for specific tasks and you don't want to continually drain your EDC. Just a few examples.

Anyway, organize your own categories of flashlights that you need to use. Then, decide which flashlight you have fills each category. Maybe you have two of them, one as primary and another as backup, or maybe one cheapie and one premium...

Then, if you're seriously not going to be a flashlight collector, all other lights you've got are excess... time to sell 'em on CPF.

Now, certainly you don't want to be bored with the same old flashlights every year, especially as new designs and increased performance keep coming up every few months or so. Well, keep a rotation going. You buy a new light, then one of your existing ones must go.

This way you're assured a manageable number of lights AND you won't bust your wallet buying too many of them.

[Spence]

I'm all set...I'm staying home for New Years (I let the amatuers go out and make fools of themselves). I've got the on-line order form filled out for a bulk order of CR123's and a new SureFire flashlight I don't already have. I'm ready to watch my stomic clock, and when it strikes 12.01 A.M., 2008, I'll pull the trigger and ring in the new year with a new flashlight on the way. What could be more fitting of a bona fide "flashaholic"? I wonder if any of you fellow fiends will be joining me?
Happy New Year to all CPFers!
Spence