What did you use your flashlight for today?

[Sabrewulf]

Took some pics of my jeep with holiday lights.

 

[DRW]

Not exactly what I did today...

Tomorrow morning is archery season opener for Whitetail Deer in Michigan. I'll use my Fenix HM61R low red mode to find my tree stand and get situated about an hour before shooting light.

 

[fulee9999]

So I was using my Acebeam Rider RX for the last couple of weeks at the contstuction site, because it has a titanium armor and provides a decent amount of light for around and hour, but today for some reason it kept tripping the protection circuit in the 14500 battery, and we were in a hurry doing a job and I wanted to plop in an AA primary to have at least some light. It did not want to slide open ( the blue inner tube slides in and locks kinda like a bolt action rifle ) so I had to push and hit it to at least budge, but when I finally opened it up I noticed that the battery was stuck inside, so another minute of so of bashing cursing and shaking and no give... So I had to climb the ladder wielding a battery operated floodlight, which was very comfortable as you can imagine ( it was not ).

I tried to get the 14500 out, but while I was busy smacking the back of it to lodge it out the front even the front of the body got bent

For now I'm gonna get some simple AA/AAA flashlights to try and see if they work, but if anyone has a suggestion for a good penlight, that can do around 100-150 lumens for at least 2 hours and isn't phased by dust and dirt, please do share.

Also for some reason the 18500s in my Malkoff MD3 also decided to cut out on me in the previous days once or twice, so I gave rechargables a try, but this is a hard no for me, I'm a simple man, I push button, light comes out, and that's that, anything else is just not for me I found out.

 

[aznsx]

So I was using my Acebeam Rider RX for the last couple of weeks at the contstuction site, because it has a titanium armor and provides a decent amount of light for around and hour, but today for some reason it kept tripping the protection circuit in the 14500 battery, and we were in a hurry doing a job and I wanted to plop in an AA primary to have at least some light. It did not want to slide open ( the blue inner tube slides in and locks kinda like a bolt action rifle ) so I had to push and hit it to at least budge, but when I finally opened it up I noticed that the battery was stuck inside, so another minute of so of bashing cursing and shaking and no give... So I had to climb the ladder wielding a battery operated floodlight, which was very comfortable as you can imagine ( it was not ).

View attachment 32872

I tried to get the 14500 out, but while I was busy smacking the back of it to lodge it out the front even the front of the body got bent

View attachment 32873

For now I'm gonna get some simple AA/AAA flashlights to try and see if they work, but if anyone has a suggestion for a good penlight, that can do around 100-150 lumens for at least 2 hours and isn't phased by dust and dirt, please do share.

Also for some reason the 18500s in my Malkoff MD3 also decided to cut out on me in the previous days once or twice, so I gave rechargables a try, but this is a hard no for me, I'm a simple man, I push button, light comes out, and that's that, anything else is just not for me I found out.

I tend to doubt that the light you reference is a serious professional working person's daily use light. When I look for such a light that's also reasonably priced, I look for something that says Streamlight on the side of it. I'm sure you can find something in that category that will meet your needs and is something you can count on.

My current pick is the Protac 1L-1AA, but being dual fuel it's a bit larger diameter than a true AA / 14x50-only 'penlight', although it is also tougher than average. It also offers what I'd call 'flexible simplicity' w/ Ten-Tap. If that's not a good fit for you, there's probably something in their lineup that is.

 

[JimIslander]

No power for 40 hours thanks to Hurricane Ian. Most import use was lighting up the bathroom during my nice hot shower. Thankfully we have a gas hot water heater.

 

[fulee9999]

serious professional working person's daily use light

well it's marketed as "EDC" light, I'm fairly sure it's great for that, but the design of it did not lend itself great for heavier use I must confirm

the 1L-1AA should be great, I have the old ProTac 90, which is basically the same, just angled, but currently I'm looking for something else, but great suggestion tho, from personal experience I can confirm they can take a beating

 

[aznsx]

well it's marketed as "EDC" light, I'm fairly sure it's great for that, but the design of it did not lend itself great for heavier use I must confirm

the 1L-1AA should be great, I have the old ProTac 90, which is basically the same, just angled, but currently I'm looking for something else, but great suggestion tho, from personal experience I can confirm they can take a beating

10-4 on that. The main reason I said "tougher than average" is partly a Borofloat glass lens, but more to the point, an honest 2-meter FL1 impact rating. I doubt that Acebeam offers(ed) either of those, but your ProTac 90 probably does. Those are 2 things that aren't so easy to find these days, and that impact rating is important for my work lights. Statistically, impact is what's most likely to kill my work light at just the wrong moment (not that there's a good moment, of course).

 

[bykfixer]

Elzetta Alpha 415 on low was used see the back yard at 5:00am.
Wrist strap makes it a centrifugal device if the need arises.

 

[fulee9999]

View attachment 32877
Elzetta Alpha 415 on low was used see the back yard at 5:00am.
Wrist strap makes it a centrifugal device if the need arises.

maybe I'm in the wrong here, but my "what was that noise?!" flashlight is a fully loaded old Maglite 4D right next to the door... you know... "if the need arises"

 

[hsa]

Adrenalin and Maglites go together.

 

[aznsx]

View attachment 32877
Elzetta Alpha 415 on low was used see the back yard at 5:00am.
Wrist strap makes it a centrifugal device if the need arises.

maybe I'm in the wrong here, but my "what was that noise?!" flashlight is a fully loaded old Maglite 4D right next to the door... you know... "if the need arises"

I know I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of either of those, gentlemen!
(Both pretty darn bright!)

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Over here Bic pens with fine points come with opaque orange reservoirs like these below:

That makes it very hard to see the level of ink inside. So I used my Lumintop EDC01 to illuminate the inside of the reservoirs of a few of my pens and check how much I've used them.

Turns out I use red a lot more than I do black, but neither compares to the sheer amount of blue ink I write with. The blue pen has ink only inside the nib itself (the reservoir is dead), red is about 60% full, and black is basically brand-new.

 

[Monocrom]

3D cell, 500 rated lumens, LED Defiant flashlight:

Politely and professionally kicked out yet another overnight trespasser at the client's site parking lot, fast asleep in their vehicle. Used it to check inside the vehicle before tapping on the window to wake him up. He was groggy, said nothing, but left after climbing out of the backseat of his SUV, putting on some pants and a shirt, and getting behind the wheel.

They're so predictable too. Always parking against the HUGE far wall on the Southwest side of the lot. I guess they think security will never check there. Honestly, it's the first place we check because everyone trespassing onto the property parks against that wall. My favorite ones are the ones who try to block the windows with blankets, trash-bags, windshield sun-shades, etc. Yes, thank you for making it even more obvious you're sleeping in the back of your vehicle. I just shine my light in at an angle from the driver's side window. They comply when informed they need to leave.

These aren't even homeless people living out of their cars. With one exception, everyone I've kicked out was driving a newer and nicer vehicle than I am. Go home and sleep! I did consider that they might be drunk, and looking for a place to sleep it off before driving and risking the lives of other drivers. But again, nope! All of them were clearly sober. One was a young guy who brought his girlfriend to the Wall. To hang out and eat fast food. What the hell kinda cheapskate plans that as a date?! And, what kinda young woman has so little respect for herself that she puts up with that? That's just sad. So yeah, kicked out another trespasser.

 

[bykfixer]

When I was dating my first wife we'd often grab fast food through a drive through and park at a local quiet spot. From there we'd go out to wherever we were going that evening. We just didn't want to go sit down in the restaraunt.

And when I pull a double at work with a long commute back home I'll pull in a safe looking place and take a nap. At my work just now I saw a guy snoozing in a pull over mail drop off. Upon checking on the guy he said he's got a bad cold and had worked a 16 hour day so he wanted to get a little sleep before driving home.

Early this morning I was using a flashlight to find a light bulb for my Tom Thumb light that blew the bulb. I found one, then ordered more online. Tom Thumb light worked again, so I went back to sleep.

 

[bykfixer]

Over here Bic pens with fine points come with opaque orange reservoirs like these below:

That makes it very hard to see the level of ink inside. So I used my Lumintop EDC01 to illuminate the inside of the reservoirs of a few of my pens and check how much I've used them.

Turns out I use red a lot more than I do black, but neither compares to the sheer amount of blue ink I write with. The blue pen has ink only inside the nib itself (the reservoir is dead), red is about 60% full, and black is basically brand-new.

I used to use blue the most then one year I switched to mostly black. Don't know when or why to be honest. I carry a mechanical pencil and a Cross clicky with a black ball point ink. We have a lot of recycled paper that causes modern oil based ink to skip at the darndest times, which is why the pencil for taking notes.

I used to use a light bulb flashlight the most but little by little LED lights got the most use. Probably more for run time than anything else. But lately the light bulb lights get the most use. Seems like each year when we go from summer heat to fall chill it happens again. If I need really bright the LED is chosen because really bright bulbs are getting as rare as an honest politician.

 

[fulee9999]

We have a lot of recycled paper that causes modern oil based ink to skip at the darndest times, which is why the pencil for taking notes.

why not just buy a fisher space refill? it's somewhere around a tenner and you can write on glass while underwater with that

 

[bykfixer]

Tried them and they all oozed on my while working out doors in the heat. Being under pressure meant they leaked when viscocity changed due to heat.

PK's tactical pens came with Fisher cartridges.

 

[Monocrom]

When I was dating my first wife we'd often grab fast food through a drive through and park at a local quiet spot. From there we'd go out to wherever we were going that evening. We just didn't want to go sit down in the restaraunt.

And when I pull a double at work with a long commute back home I'll pull in a safe looking place and take a nap. At my work just now I saw a guy snoozing in a pull over mail drop off. Upon checking on the guy he said he's got a bad cold and had worked a 16 hour day so he wanted to get a little sleep before driving home.

Won't lie, despite being 14 years old; I've had my car since new and take care of her. Don't care how gorgeous or "willing" a date might be, no one eats or drinks in my car. Not even me. That's my baby. Have used the cup-holders to transport various closed/covered up beverages to work. Just not risking food stains, or even worse; bugs because I didn't notice a piece of food dropping down into a crevice.

I've worked countless double shifts before. Usually on less than zero minutes notice. (Just how it is in security if your relief doesn't show up, for a variety of reasons.) I get being exhausted and needing a place to sleep it off. But the problem is, the client's site is actually a prime Terror target due to who the occupants of the building are. And also, because it's a local historical landmark. So, any unauthorized person found sleeping in the lot; gotta go. Can't have a terrorist or terrorist wanna-be scouting the location from the surrounding lot.

Unfortunately we get late-night deliveries of food. Building owner is too cheap to hire another guard to watch the main gate that's always left open. Despite a fully functional security booth being right there. The neighborhood also has a surprising number of parking lots. Both small and huge. Completely unpatrolled. Plenty of places to sleep a bit. Hoping the lot where I work develops a reputation for being unfriendly.

Used my Streamlight 1L-1AA to check out a weird black lump near the North entrance of the property, during the night. Switched the light on.... lump magically transformed into a stray cat that ran off. Entrance door steps are not a good place for a nap either.

 

[Monocrom]

Tried them and they all oozed on my while working out doors in the heat. Being under pressure meant they leaked when viscocity changed due to heat.

PK's tactical pens came with Fisher cartridges. View attachment 33006

Guessing you were using the far more common medium-point Fisher Space Pen refills. It's not just the Summer heat. Those things have a horrible reputation for leaking among the Pen community. Easy fix though.... Use the Fine point refills, instead. Those are reliable with very few incidents of leaking.

 

[aznsx]

Tried them and they all oozed on my while working out doors in the heat. Being under pressure meant they leaked when viscocity changed due to heat.

PK's tactical pens came with Fisher cartridges. View attachment 33006

Wow! Speaking of things NOT to try to take in checked baggage.......
TSA probably wouldn't just confiscate it, they'd probably just go ahead and have you arrested!! I think those might require a CWP/CCW just to carry in most states.