Vapor
Newly Enlightened
The Story of John the Flashaholic
Once upon a time, in a magical land far, far away, a simple and innocent man named John decided that his flashlight
was too old :thumbsdow and he wanted to get a new one. He decided he would just buy a newer version of his trusty old flashlight and everything would be good once again. However, when he decided to do some research he came across the newest technology which were LED lights. That old incandescent bulb in his flashlight could burn easily 
, had terrible efficiency, and was just not going to cut it. He went off determined to get a new LED flashlight. He had done his research, he was so smart. 
He would upgrade to the latest and greatest. John then bought his 5mm led flashlight. It wasn't that bright but it lasted a really long time. :thumbsup: A month later John came across a flashlight that had not one, but 10 LEDs! This would be way better than his light with only one. So he buys that one. A couple months later someone tells him that his LED light is not really that bright. John looks online and discovers that there was a revolution in lighting products. This latest and greatest LUXEON led
would change the way people thought of flashlights. He had to get one. To his dismay, after John bought one he discovered that the articles he read about luxeon LEDs were outdated. 
Nobody used those silly luxeon LEDs anymore. Luxeons were for wimps. All the cool kids :rock: were using CREE LEDs which were way better. So John spent the money and was happy with his purchase of a CREE led flashlight. But then he noticed that there were quad-die CREE MC-E emitters.
What's the point of having only a single die LED when you can have 4 times that for ONLY 3 times the price? :thinking: It seemed like a no-brainer at the time. John was happy. 
Even though these CREE lights were way better, boy was that price tag going up.
If John was spending so much money on his lights, he figured he would get something that was quality and had some cool new features. What's that you say? Your flashlight has only one mode? Well john's newest flashlight has 5 modes. It was expensive but his buddies would be jealous. :laughing: In case of that looming power outage, john would be able to outlast his neighbors in lighting up his house because he could set it to really low mode and it would last forever. However, since the price of that light kept going up, John wanted something durable. He didn't want plastic, he wanted something that wouldn't break and would make his purchases worthwhile. Then he came around to that tough-looking aluminum flashlight.
Boy was that thing rugged. It would be wise to get something made out of metal. :naughty: That thing would never break. Plus the metal would help the heat-sink capability of the light, whatever that meant. But what was the use of it lasting forever if it just looked ugly from all the wear and tear from everyday use? John didn't want his flashlight to look ugly. :tsk: John went back to the books and found his solution. Hard anodized type III aluminum! His flashlight would never scratch. It would always look brand new. But what was the point of having a sweet-looking flashlight that would never scratch and never be crushed if it would just short-circuit in a lousy rainstorm. :thinking: John needed water-proofness. But he didn't want just any water-proofness. He had to make sure his expensive light would be OK if he ever dropped it into a looming pit of water 3 meters deep. John thanked his lucky stars he had his waterproof to IPX-8 standards flashlight.
So while this new flashlight was really bright and nice, John noticed that it was using a lot of battery power. Even though his flashlight had 5 modes, those lowest-setting modes were just no fun. :thumbsdow He liked the high power. :twothumbsHe went to the store and bought himself some simple alkalines. But what's that John? They tell you that those simple alkalines can leak and ruin your expensive flashlight?
John was terrified :sick2: at that idea and decided to get the more expensive energizer lithiums instead.
After a while however, John noticed that this whole flashlight thing was getting really expensive. :sigh: He had to cut costs somewhere. He was tired of spending so much on those energizer lithiums so he spent the money to get rechargeable NiMh batteries instead. Even though it was a lot of money up front, over the long run it would save him money. In the long run however, John realized that those silly NiMh batteries were always drained when he needed to use his lights. 
They were a total waste. But wait, here comes the hero of low-self-discharge Mr. Eneloop
to the rescue. 
John had to bite his tongue at his spending-spree, but went ahead and spent the money to change his entire collection to Eneloops. John was happy for a while until one day an online community member showed him a flashlight that didn't use silly LSD NiMh batteries. Those batteries were for starters and non-flashaholics and ONLY had 1.2 volts. :shrug: His 18650 batteries
had a whopping 3.7 volts :hahaha:and offered better runtimes. John had already come so far that he would not be outdone. :hairpull: Even though his friends and family told him he was addicted to flashlights, John just didn't care. :help: In an effort to achieve the status of a true flashaholic he decided to buy some 18650 batteries and a special charger for them. However, John then noticed that none of his flashlights were even compatible with this type of battery. He started browsing the internet and bought some 18650 flashlights. Someone then asked John if he knew what an HID flashlight was …
The last time John was seen, he was off in the distance running into the light.
The End
Once upon a time, in a magical land far, far away, a simple and innocent man named John decided that his flashlight
, had terrible efficiency, and was just not going to cut it. He went off determined to get a new LED flashlight. He had done his research, he was so smart. He would upgrade to the latest and greatest. John then bought his 5mm led flashlight. It wasn't that bright but it lasted a really long time. :thumbsup: A month later John came across a flashlight that had not one, but 10 LEDs! This would be way better than his light with only one. So he buys that one. A couple months later someone tells him that his LED light is not really that bright. John looks online and discovers that there was a revolution in lighting products. This latest and greatest LUXEON led
Nobody used those silly luxeon LEDs anymore. Luxeons were for wimps. All the cool kids :rock: were using CREE LEDs which were way better. So John spent the money and was happy with his purchase of a CREE led flashlight. But then he noticed that there were quad-die CREE MC-E emitters.
Even though these CREE lights were way better, boy was that price tag going up.
If John was spending so much money on his lights, he figured he would get something that was quality and had some cool new features. What's that you say? Your flashlight has only one mode? Well john's newest flashlight has 5 modes. It was expensive but his buddies would be jealous. :laughing: In case of that looming power outage, john would be able to outlast his neighbors in lighting up his house because he could set it to really low mode and it would last forever. However, since the price of that light kept going up, John wanted something durable. He didn't want plastic, he wanted something that wouldn't break and would make his purchases worthwhile. Then he came around to that tough-looking aluminum flashlight.
So while this new flashlight was really bright and nice, John noticed that it was using a lot of battery power. Even though his flashlight had 5 modes, those lowest-setting modes were just no fun. :thumbsdow He liked the high power. :twothumbsHe went to the store and bought himself some simple alkalines. But what's that John? They tell you that those simple alkalines can leak and ruin your expensive flashlight?
They were a total waste. But wait, here comes the hero of low-self-discharge Mr. Eneloop
John had to bite his tongue at his spending-spree, but went ahead and spent the money to change his entire collection to Eneloops. John was happy for a while until one day an online community member showed him a flashlight that didn't use silly LSD NiMh batteries. Those batteries were for starters and non-flashaholics and ONLY had 1.2 volts. :shrug: His 18650 batteries
He started browsing the internet and bought some 18650 flashlights. Someone then asked John if he knew what an HID flashlight was … The last time John was seen, he was off in the distance running into the light.
The End
