Anyone think you're weird?

[Rasto36620]

I some times get strange reactions when people see i have a flashlight on my person at all times and even stranger looks when they find out how much one may cost. Now if im asked how much a light is i give a generic "20 bucks" lol. Anyone else experienced this?

The GF also finds it amusing that i can't sleep soundly unless i have at least 500 lumens within arms reach at all times

[jalal20]

Do you know anyone who doesn't think you're weird?
Everyone thinks I weird but weird is better than normal for me

[shelm]

The GF also finds it amusing that i can't sleep soundly unless i have at least 500 lumens within arms reach at all times

i think you are weird.
in order not to let people (incl. close relatives) think that i am weird, i sometimes hide my FL stuff before people come over for a visit. it *is* weird to show off one's EDC lights in public at any time but it's *not* weird to have a keychain flashlight: people carry all kinds of keychain pendants incl. photons, flash thumb drives, and nail clippers.

i hide my 1x AA light in my other pocket (deep carry pocket clip). nobody can think that i am weird because nobody sees me playing with my 1 or 2 pocket lights.

Thinking myself about it .. i do think that it *is* weird to have a 2nd flashlight (e.g. Fenix LD10) in your trouser pocket in addition to the 1x AAA keychain flashlight.

you are weird (sorry Rasto),
i am weird,
we are weird.

the life of a flashaholic we share

[Rasto36620]

On a side note i also get it when it comes to knives, when i was in school i was doing some odd jobs for this wealthy bay area family that a reative of mine knows and used to work for, any ways i needed to cut up some boxes and cut some packaging so i pulled out my sog flash 2 in front of the lady and she looked at me like i was jack the ripper lol

She said under he breath "you carry that on you?" found that pretty funny, wasnt a macette or anying lol

[brianna]

I think you are all weird for caring what other people think. Chance of darkness every day is 100%. If the power fails in office, mall, underground parking garage, or elevator now you become a hero to the people that think you are weird. Stop worrying what other people think and concentrate on you.

[BudK]

That Edison chap was a bit of a weirdo too .

[Bravo30]

id rather look weird then look ''normal'' an be weird..........

[Diablo_331]

That Edison chap was a bit of a weirdo too .

Seems like he turned out fine enough eh? A flashoholic is only weird until the lights go out.

[kamote-fries]

Anyone who doesn't understand would think we're weird. What is the basis for "normal" anyway? I'd rather be thought as a weirdo than be the "normal" guy who gets to step on poo cause he doesn't have a light.

[Axidrain]

my friends and family including my girlfriend doesnt understand my sudden interest in flashlights. haha! but im into em. what can i say.

[ToyTank]

I get strange looks, reactions all the time. Everyone appreciates some lights/lamps are brighter than others. Most people just zone out trying to explain things like tint, peak candela, beam profile and smoothness, etc.

I find though a quick D-mag vs. ZL H51 demonstration usually gets more questions and interest and less funny looks.

[Samy]

I think it's a bit weird to be carrying knives. But that's only because it's illegal here to carry a knife on you. I don't think it's even legal to carry a little swiss army knife on you, unless you can prove that you need it for work etc. I'm a bit wary of carrying my SAK or Mutlitool in case the police pull me over... not that they ever would have a reason to.

I work nights and use my lights for work every night. One of my employees (who also needs a light everytime she works) says to me last night at work "i bet you're carrying a flashlight on you right now!" i replied "Just one?" and promptly pulled out my 4Sevens Preon 2 from one pocket, my SC600 from another pocket and then my SWM V10A from yet another pocket. I didn't tell her about my photon or E01 that were on my keys She just laughed, rolled her eyes and kept on going.

And yes, i managed to use ALL those lights while at work!

cheers

[enomosiki]

"Weird" and "normal" are relative terms.

I have never met a "normal" person. Every individuals are "weird" in their own ways.

Most people question why I carry all of my lights. I think that's fine, because I question a lot of things that they do, as well.

[eh4]

I'm more a tool fanatic than strictly aflashlight fanatic. Flashlights that are well made and well designed are great tools. But there are lots of weirdos out there that think I'm weird. ;-)

[eh4]

And Samy, that over protective society that forbids people to carry basic tools such as a knife - our oldest tool, is weird to the extreme and must be suffering basic socially structural flaws... What is next, removal of thumbs? Thumbs are Very dangerous, so are frontal lobes. My condolences, it's getting pretty weird here too. Stay sharp.

[TEEJ]

I can get away with a bright light if its dark, and a light is needed, and I simply seem to have - to them, the mother of all lights.

My brother also works at night a lot, and I have given him lights...but I tend to get him HID's historically, as they fit his use patterns better...

He was at a truck stop where they have those "shower head" LED lights for emergencies, and due to Hurricane Irene, he grabbed a few.

I was over at his house, and he showed me how BRIGHT the LED was...as to HIM, that LED was bright for an LED flashlight...making a nice white circle of light on his wall.

I pulled out a ZL SC600 that was about the size or smaller than his shower head LED, and turned it on LOW, and it blew his patch of light into oblivion with a larger patch of white light.

He asked to see it, rolled it around examining it...and exclaimed he had no idea that LEDs had gotten that good.

I asked for it back, and mentioned it was on low, and turned it to medium...and his jaw dropped, and now he wanted to shine it around and see what he could see with it...so we went outside.

THEN I showed him HIGH....rinse/repeat....but he started asking just how many levels did this crazy thing HAVE?

He laughed and joked that it couldn't reach all the way across the hwy to buildings 200 yards away...and I said, sure, but this can, and pulled out a 4Sevens X10 that Vinh had modded, and lit up the entire complex with a 5" light.

He also needed to play with THAT, etc...and then he looks at me, and says "Hey, why do you have all those flashlights in your pocket....isn't that kind of weird?"

I mentioned I use them for work, from which I'd stopped off on the way back from...and he was OK with that. It DID make me hesitant to show him the other 3 lights I had in my pockets though.

[Tegan's Dad]

Everyone is weird. There really is no normal, just more people willing to justify a particular behavior. Just as we justify flashaholics by saying it gets dark. To each their own.

My wife collects Hello Kitty stuff and Beenie Babies (not to mention shoes and purses). Much less useful than a flashlight to me, but she also understands that I like to collect something too so we understand each other. Usually bringing up something other people collect makes the strange looks go away.

[ev13wt]

I use and collect old vintage audio gear from the 70s. I am also weird for many people.



Friend: "A Reel to reel tape machine, are you crazy that is gonna sound like crap compared to a CD!"
Me: "Actually, it can sound better."
Friend: "Weirdo."

So I am used to it.

[davyro]

To be honest it doesn't bother me one bit what other people think about me & my flashlights.I do know one thing that's a fact though if anyone i know wants to buy a flashlight to go camping or for whatever reason they all come to me to ask my advice.
I'm very happy to give my opinions but i don't go into fine details as all they want is a bright light that works with AA batteries.

[somnambulated]

You go through this when you get into collecting anything. You start recognizing qualities you may not have seen before, and considering factors that the uninitiated wouldn't even think about. When I first got into collecting folding knives, I thought Gerber still made good products for $20-$30. Then I learned about blade steels, and bought a few Benchmade Mini Griptilians, and loved them. They were more expensive at about $60 with a polymer handle, but I thought it was worth it.

Now, I hardly even look at knives in the $30-$60 range, unless I'm buying a work beater. I'm not interested in FRN or Noryl handles any more, even if it's practical. The knives I EDC are in the $130-$200 range, and while everyone who asks me about them wants one themselves, they're consistently shocked at the price. I think this is why I've put off buying a Sebenza or the William Henry EDC 6 for as long as I have--they're not that much more expensive, but I'm afraid to get into that quality level of folders!

[TMedina]

They'll think you're weird, right up til the point they need something.

[chmsam]

Don't much care what others think as long as I can get done what needs to be done at the time.

I've gotten to the point where if people make a comment about the stuff I EDC (lights included of course), I now just tell 'em that I'm the type of guy they want to see coming their way if they're in trouble. I usually tell my friends that if they're heading away from trouble they should not follow me 'cau

As for weird and normal being relative terms, normal is not a term I would use with my relatives.

[jabe1]

Friends and family thought It was weird that I carried a light or two at all times, until I started gifting keychain lights. Now I hear alot of " I should have had one years ago".

[jmpaul320]

People have labeled me as odd for years... Doesnt bother me in the least nor has it stopped me from enjoying life lol

[HighlanderNorth]

My Mom thinks I'm weird for collecting element samples of 44 of the listed elements. She sees no point in having sodium, uranium, potassium and cadmium chunks in my house(all under mineral oil except cadmium) I'm sure someone is going to say something about the 3 lasers I just bought from Amazon.com for $26(all over-spec, actually 30-100mW apiece, 405nm, 532nm, 650nm), and the 100mW 650nm I ordered from O-Like. I keep my 3 FL's in different spots not out in the open. I always carry a Jetbeam BC-10 with me. I am a little concerned that people might think it's odd if I buy more FL's though. I found these fantastic crew socks at this local discount clothing store chain called Forman Mills, and they were on sale for $3.99/ 6 pack, compared to $20/ 6 pack from JC Penny for thinner, less desirable socks. So I bought 11 of the 6 packs! I too can go overboard.......

[HighlanderNorth]

From what I've seen, you can spend an incredible amount of money on a top folding knife or hunting knife! I'm talking way above $200. I decided to buy a new, high quality kitchen knife set a few years ago, so I spent $100 on a 7 pc JA Henckels set, and it was garbage! I've seen $20 sets that were similar in quality! So I did some deep research into the true high quality kitchen knives and I remembered buying a decent Kershaw lockblade knife 20 years ago, so I looked to see if maybe Kershaw made kitchen stuff, and it turns out they are owned by the Kai Shun company, which makes bad A$$ kitchen knives. So I bought a Shun Classic set that looks like its made of Damascus steel, because its hand dipped in 24 layers of stainless steel, after being hand made out of top quality Japanese knife steel. They are also insanely sharp from the getgo, and they will sharpen them for free for life! By the way, Kershaw still makes the lockblade I bought 20 years ago, but it is a mediocre everyman's knife. Made of 440 stainless I believe, which isnt all that great. I own a Gerber Suspension utility knife.

[leeholaaho]

Don't much care what others think as long as I can get done what needs to be done at the time.

I've gotten to the point where if people make a comment about the stuff I EDC (lights included of course), I now just tell 'em that I'm the type of guy they want to see coming their way if they're in trouble. I usually tell my friends that if they're heading away from trouble they should not follow me 'cau

As for weird and normal being relative terms, normal is not a term I would use with my relatives.

I had a friend inquire why in the world would I be interested in flashlights

So I went to the internet and found lists of hobbies

So everyday I emailed him about 100 hobbies

After a week I got an email saying he now understood

My wife used to collect little bells - who cares what someone likes if they enjoy it??

[Ian2381]

If Carrying flashlights is weird the I have no idea what my family and relatives think about me after our vacation.

[needle]

"And Samy, that over protective society that forbids people to carry basic tools such as a knife - our oldest tool, is weird to the extreme and must be suffering basic socially structural flaws... What is next, removal of thumbs? Thumbs are Very dangerous, so are frontal lobes. My condolences, it's getting pretty weird here too. Stay sharp."

+ 10

We live in a society of wusses and mental defectives.

Anyone remember the little internet video some years ago that went virile where some guys with a camera went into a happening nightspot in California and asked the people there [mostly women] when the twin towers terrorist attack in NY happened. They asked "what was the date the 9/11 attacked occurred" ? 95% of them couldn't name/didn't know the date.....
Then they asked the same people what Paris Hilton's little dog was named. 95% of them KNEW the name of the stupid little dog ...........

These are the kind of zombies that think people who tote a flashlight around with them are weird.

[PhotonWrangler]

A flashoholic is only weird until the lights go out.

Exactly!