What spurred your flashoholism?

coolguy

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Joined
Nov 28, 2001
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74
Location
Hawaii, U.S.
I have to say that I have always loved flashlights. From back in the 80's when I was still a child, enjoying those little push lights that took n batts to the collection that I now own.

A few years ago as I was going through my college career these little blue ASP sapphires came out. I couldn't resist and bought a couple. Little did I realize that my ASP slowly lost power, and I wanted a light that I could service myself. So I ammassed a little collection of photon II's a year after. It wasn't until 2000 that I noticed that there is an LED light that took readily available and cheap AAA's batteries. I purchased three of these. A couple were presents and one was for me.

Back then all I really thought about to bring when I went fishing was this little ARC-AAA and a pelican pen light that took AAA's. It wasn't much light for my needs. I purchased my first PT Attitude soon after and I felt that I was set. I brought the attitude everywhere and it would always come out to the docks where I went fishing.

A little bit about where I fish. It's really dark because it's a private dock. It's a shipyard that my uncle works at and he is gracious enough to allow a couple of buddies and I fish there whenever I like.

There was one instance a few years back that kicked my flashaholism into full gear. While fishing the nimh batteries in my attitude died to the point that it was dimmer than my Arc-AAA. All I had for light at that point was my Arc-AAA which I knew didn't have much battery power in it. My friend who also had an attitude had forgotten to charge his batteries as well. We were screwed. There was barely enough light to do any of the tasks we needed to. The feeling of being unprepared and without light truly sucked.

It was since then that I am always overprepared when it comes to fishing. And since then my light collection has grown ten fold to the point that I am currently the owner of streamlight and surefire tactical lights. I never thought I'd buy so many of these things!!!
 

stockwiz

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 16, 2003
Messages
412
Location
Brookings, SD
I was looking for long lasting rechargable or solar powered lights on ebay last fall and discovered the wonders of the LED and it's long lasting characteristics.. through a few google searches I found this forum and the rest is history.
 

Kiessling

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Messages
16,140
Location
Old World
Light is beautiful,
reminds me of the stars.

Loved flashlights since I was a kid, but lost it somehow ... untill LedLensers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif made me discover LED lights and then the great Don dragged me here. It is all his fault.

bernhard
 

Charles Bradshaw

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
2,495
Location
Mansfield, OH
If you could call me a flashaholic, I would say the the advent of the White LED and hearing about the CC Trek Light is what spurred it.

Before that, my attitude was 'a flashlight is a flashlight'.
 

_mike_

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
1,198
Location
Wa. State
I was actually looking for information regarding laser "sites" for my Ruger 10/22 and flashlight mounts for my shotgun for varmint control. Wound up here at CPF, wound up getting some nice lights.

Still haven't gotten a laser site or flashlight mount for my guns ...... yet. DOH!

Mike
 

Penguin

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Apr 27, 2003
Messages
688
Location
Diamond Bar, California
Ever since I was young I was facinated with lights... My sister would scold me for running down the batteries. She would always say "WHAT HAPPENDS IF WE REALLY NEED IT!?" I used to think M@gs were king.. Boy was I wrong /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Big_Ed

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 28, 2003
Messages
1,768
Location
Sycamore, Illinois
For me, it was probably when I got my first flashlight, a disposable keychain light that looked like it ran on either 1 AA or AAA. It was for a week long school outing. We had to have a flashlight to participate in some of the night time activities, or else sit out. My Dad, being quite frugal, got me the cheapest one he could find. When we were using our flashlights, not too many were dimmer than mine. I guess I was tired of being out-gunned in the light department. For the next several years, I would buy flashlights, my parents yelling at me each time. "What do you need another flashlight for?!?!" What can I say, I was addicted. In retrospect, I think it was their fault. When I was 3 years old, there was a loud thunderstorm right at bedtime. The lights went out. I was scared and bawling, so my dad gave me a flashlight to hold. He still has it in a drawer in the kitchen. It's a chrome heavy-duty 2-D cell with a magnet on the side, and a red collar around the head. Maybe if he had not given me that flashlight to comfort me, I wouldn't have become addicted. Thanks, Dad! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

SFR

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Joined
Feb 13, 2002
Messages
179
Location
Hawaii
I always wanted a lightsaber after watching "Star Wars" when I was four years old. A very good flashlight is the next best thing.
 

357

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Messages
1,951
Location
usa
I've always liked flashlights, but one event got me hooked. Turning on my first Luxeon LED flashlight and comparing the beam to a 2D Maglite. I was how amazed at how white and pure the Luxeon was, and how brownish-yellow and ringy/blotchy/hole ridden the Maglite was. That discovery turned me away from Maglites, and inspired me to build a collection of LEDs.
 

The_LED_Museum

*Retired*
Joined
Aug 12, 2000
Messages
19,414
Location
Federal Way WA. USA
I posted this in the other "what started your flashaholicism" thread...but what the heck, I'll post it again.

I think I got the biggest push when I received an Eveready sealed beam lantern (later identified as an Eveready Big Jim) for Christmas when I was somewhere in single-digits in age. Maybe 6, maybe 7.

Around this time, my big brother started to tinker with hot rods, and I'd always find things like ignition coils , spark plugs, and headlight bulbs in the garage. Hooking a car headlight bulb to a pair of 6 volt lantern batteries with wire and alligator clips and then taping the whole mess to my banana bike made me the brightest S.O.B. on the block, but batteries were expensive on my 50 cents a week allowance, so I didn't use this light very much.

Then I got involved with LEDs. My first one was a dim red one that cost me more than 3 months worth of saving my allowance; I managed to blow it up within the first three minutes.
After that, I was *much* more careful, and learned there's a reason why resistors were invented. When I got my second LED (of the same kind - the only kind available) a few months later, I was much more careful and I think it lasted many years before becoming lost or being thrown out by an evil stepmother.

By the time I hit the big one two, I started experimenting with things like strobe light circuits and lasers; all the while trying to make the best flashlight that used cheap, readily available batteries.
I was no longer interested in those metal 2-cell Ray-O-Vacs, and around this time I got my first Mag-Lite. First thing I did was go and get the best bulbs I could find, so I could once again be the brightest S.O.B. for miles around. Only the police had brighter lights than I did, and theirs weren't *that* much bettter.

As with most obsessions, I went through a "dark period" that lasted from the late 1980s through the mid 1990s. With the exception of still looking for the brightest and baddest LEDs, I didn't do a whole lot with my flashlight obsession, other than maybe buying a light once every few months to replace those stolen at my job site.

But it wasn't until early 1999 that things took off again upon my first exposure to this thing called the internet, or world wide web. Before that, I'd never seen a web page was, and probably couldn't even tell you what a browser was.

Late 1999 was the turning point. October 18th, around 2pm to be exact. That was when I did something I'll never regret: I posted a single 14K web page about LEDs. I used an adjunct to an already existing baseball website.
It had a few K of text and a smattering of tiny black and white pictures taken with an old computer-mounted camera that looked like a defective golf ball on a smashed tee. Yeah, I had a webcam before I even knew what the web was... a friend gave it to me a few years earlier.
Little did I know back then what kind of a monster I'd end up creating, or how large a following I would develop.

And as they say, the rest is 60 megs of history.
 

BlindedByTheLite

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 6, 2003
Messages
2,170
Location
Bangor, Maine
i think it was tripping over crap in the dark constantly during camping trips and overnight hikes.

i also used to hang out by the docks quite often. some aren't lit whatsoever. i first got into Maglites. then diving lights when i started hanging out with white water guides.

then i picked up on LED technology in flashlights last year, and found CPF.

and since i'm obsessive compulsive, i have to get the beautiful lights i hear about thru fellow CPF members/supporters/reviewers.
 

FlashlightOCD

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Apr 7, 2003
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Location
Central FL, USA
I impulsively bought an Inova X5T with blue Leds in a Discovery Channel store. It just really intrigued me and I wanted to get one with white Leds. While searching the Web for one, I stumbled into this site ... it was all down hill after that.

Interestingly the Blue Inova X5T that I thought was so cool and started my Flashaholism was one of the first lights that I parted with on B/S/T, but I do still have a white and UV X5T.
 

Wylie

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Oct 2, 2002
Messages
997
Location
Shoshone Idaho
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif Darkness /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif
Okay night fishing and the darkness.
 

eluminator

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 7, 2002
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1,750
Location
New Jersey
I saw a 7 LED flashlight in the CCrane catalog and I had to have it. I guess it's called the Expedition. Actually a Tektite dive light I believe.

Why I had to buy about 25 more lights, I don't know. Actually I think I'm almost cured. I don't believe I've bought a flashlight in a year.
 

metalhed

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Jan 29, 2004
Messages
671
Location
Washington State
My initial fascination with flashlights started at a young age. The fact that I could take 'em apart and understand the limited electronics fed my interest. I'll never forget shining my dad's navy surplus signaling light off of low clouds. Geez...what a feeling of power. I think that light died after my youthful attempts to modify it.

The disease lay dormant until triggered by the purchase of a Dorcy AA 4 led model a few months back. I'd had cheap lights and Mags, but the realization that led's could put out some light started me on the path to ruin. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

'Course I actually prefer to think of flashaholism as a chronic (see sig) condition, much like my HBP. As long as I take my medicine regularly, I'm just the same as everyone else. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
It's not a cure...but it'll do!
 

Flying Turtle

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
6,509
Location
Apex, NC
I think I've had the flashaholic gene for many years. Like most of us I had a MiniMag and Solitaire along with many odd penlights. Then I found the Dorcy Cool Blue and the Eveready Folding Lantern and wanted only LED's at that point. But the real spurring occured when I discovered the LED Museum followed by CPF. Seeing I was not alone opened the flood gates. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif
 

darkzero

Flashaholic* ,
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
4,459
Location
SoCal
cpf member nqwan v2.0, who is my little bro away from home in the Service, gave me a Mini-Mag with a MM/adj., NX-05, & an acrylic sphere, for Christmas a couple years ago. I had a Stinger that I EDC'd for work but ever since that first Luxeon given to me, I was hooked.
 
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