Sometimes it's not worth the hassle!

I was wiring up a bathroom today and asked the home owner to turn off the breaker for me. "No problem, let me use your flashlight, I've got one just like that but I can't find it."
I hand him my high CRI RA clicky and say "No, you don't have one like this!" "Sure, mines a blue one, they sell them at Harbor freight for like $3 a piece!"
I saw no point in going any further with that conversation and turned the light on for him. Some people just will never get it!:naughty:

I don't understand, what is there to get?
A flashlight is a good flashlight if it does what it was designed precisely when you want it.
If you find high CRI to be easier on the eyes thats great! But theres not that big of a distinguishing feature.
If your intention is to turn a bolt, it doesn't matter if the wrench your using is a $10 craftsman or a $100 snap-on. At some point in time you'll realize that your too obsessed with the tool rather than the work that should be done.

Thats what my father told me when I tried to pursue him away from using the angry blue 5mms and use NW CREE XPGs instead, he tells me I've been too preoccupied with flashlights when in fact I should be improving the work quality, not improving on tools that doesn't need to be improved. I think I haven't bought a cutting edge light in about 2 years now. Sometimes its not worth the hassle to buy a new light to do what the existing one can accomplish

You mean that Harbor Freight flashlight I bought is not a a real RA high-cri light? His blue flashlight probably emits a high-blue beam! Hi-cri makes the color of the wires easier to see. I could tell you stories about how my SnapOn tools outperform others, but it's not worth the hassle! lol

I've had the $3 lights, sure they CAN work, but they don't light up in between floors when fishing wires, they don't distinguish wire colors as well in a dark room, I was using four core romex, red, black, white and ground. They aren't very useful past 3-4' unless it's pitch black.
As for your tool analogy, I bought a brand new Craftsman professional 3/8" flex head ratchet and took it to work the next day. I was rather proud of it, until I used it the first time. I had a tight bolt to break loose and leaned on it, it reversed itself and I busted my knuckles open. I tried again, same results. At this point I wasn't a happy camper and chucked it across the shop. The Snap-on man had just walked in, saw me throw it, grabbed it, went to the truck and got a new Snap-on version. The Snap-on took that bolt, and the other three like it, right out. I can tell you EXACTLY where that ratchet is right now! I can't find the Craftsman and could care less to! I'll never buy another Craftsman ratchet!
So no, not all tools do the same job, the same way. I've learned that a lot of times you get what you pay for! You can have your angry blue cheap lights that work when they get rapped on the wall and flicker at will. I'll keep the one I know will work when I click it, provides enough or as little light as I need, when I need it and I can see what I'm looking at, thank you!

Agreed saw. I electrical tape my surefire backup to my Roy rods when fishing, when I people ask about the light and I tell then the price they are dumbfounded.

If only they knew how much all the tools in my bag cost. The light would be the least of their worries.

The Terralux Lightstar 80 high CRI pen light is a good option for around $20.

If the tool does the job the way you want and you are happy with the price paid then it's all good. Different people have different expectations and different budgets. It is good to have the choice.

I have some cheap stuff, and some expensive tools too (eg stahlwille). I'm quite prepared to pay more for higher quality when I feel the need. Mind you higher price does not always mean higher quality, sometimes a cheaper product is actually better.

I have to admit that If I was ever in the position of "I can't find it" with my flashlight, I would hope it would be a $3.00 one. I find that I keep up with expensive things much better than the cheap ones. A $3.00 light is better than no light, if you can find it and it actually works.

Some people don't get why some would spend that kind of money something of quality. Of course the mantra of you get what you pay for is mostly true it's now always true. But when it comes to tools or even flash lights. I think it's absolutely true.

metalmania31 said:

Some people don't get why some would spend that kind of money something of quality. Of course the mantra of you get what you pay for is mostly true it's now always true. But when it comes to tools or even flash lights. I think it's absolutely true.

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I was in a windowless warehouse trying to find something during a ice storm power failure using a cheap plastic flashlight. A worker there had a Surefire flashlight that to me looked like a search light. POOF a flashaholic was born. I want, I need, I have to have the best flashlight I can get my hands on now.

Quality depends on the need, but yeah if your trying to distinguish one wire from another [especially telecom, light blue, light green, light orange] then yes... but most AC wiring are standardized down to 3-4 wire colors, unless your kitchen somehow runs on three-phase, then you'll have to dig the book out :laughing:

I think there is definitely a law of diminishing returns when it comes to the refinement and quality of craftmanship of one's tools (assuming that all tools are at least minimally effective), but even if nice tools only made work more pleasant or slightly easier over a long period of time, they can be worth the extra cash--it all depends on how you value different things. Then are some extreme cases in which better tools can mean the difference between success and failure.

eg1977 said:

The Terralux Lightstar 80 high CRI pen light is a good option for around $20.

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Note that its LED does not have a higher-than-normal CRI, as far as I can tell. The neutral white CREE XP-C it uses, though a budget part, does have a nicer spectrum than the XP-G, and is a big improvement in color rendering over common cool white LEDs, which makes this penlight worthy of consideration, but it's not really what the manufacturer says it is (doesn't output anywhere near 80 lumens, either).

Illum said:

I don't understand, what is there to get?
A flashlight is a good flashlight if it does what it was designed precisely when you want it.
If you find high CRI to be easier on the eyes thats great! But theres not that big of a distinguishing feature.
If your intention is to turn a bolt, it doesn't matter if the wrench your using is a $10 craftsman or a $100 snap-on. At some point in time you'll realize that your too obsessed with the tool rather than the work that should be done.

Thats what my father told me when I tried to pursue him away from using the angry blue 5mms and use NW CREE XPGs instead, he tells me I've been too preoccupied with flashlights when in fact I should be improving the work quality, not improving on tools that doesn't need to be improved. I think I haven't bought a cutting edge light in about 2 years now. Sometimes its not worth the hassle to buy a new light to do what the existing one can accomplish

Click to expand...

I got into CPF because I was sick of low quality stuff from brick and mortar stores. For most people here lights are a mix of hobby and utility. I'm an electrician so my tools are tested and used daily. Good tools make a difference in the time it takes to do a job and the way your day plays out. Cheap tools are ok for fumbling around at home but they will ruin your day if you need to use them constantly.

I do have hobby lights that are for my personal enjoyment (tritium and titanium don't seem to add utility ) but flashlights are also a tool and there is a very real difference between the lights around here and the junk at the dollar store.

"I'm too poor to buy cheap."

Some people will never understand that, and that's OK, but I've never lamented buying quality.

It's the same difference between a 12 dollar and a 70 dollar bottle of scotch. Technically they do the same thing, but there is no comparison. Not everyone gets that.

I usually tell people that I can either spend half the money on something that won't do the job, and THEN spend the same amount of money I just spent to get something good... or skip the extra expense and go for the tool that does what I need it to do, and does it well.

I can add even more to this scenario! I was finishing up the wiring tonight, this is on the main floor of the house, the bathroom floor has been taken out. I was on an eight foot step ladder on plywood, my flashlight on top of the step ladder.
We've all been there and done that. I knocked the light off and down to the basement it went, landing on the concrete floor.
The home owner, "Well, that lights done!" He goes down to get it, it's still on and working normally. I'm not surprised at all, my old Novatac took harder drops than that, but he's just blown away! "I can't believe that thing still works!"
"Yeah, that's why I bough a $120 flashlight, it WORKS!" He has a different opinion of it after that!

gravelrash said:

"I'm too poor to buy cheap."

Some people will never understand that, and that's OK, but I've never lamented buying quality.

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I feel the same way.

Why spend time to convince someone that flashlights are worth spending hundreds/thousands of $$$ ???

They have their opinion, we have ours... But if they want to BORROW our "$3" flashlight for something, then - heck no !!! Buy your own HDS HI-CRI ROTARY for $3 where you just said they have...

Probably should have let him think it was a Harbor Freight .... might start thinking he's paying you too much now.