Am I too conservative in my recommendations?

[flashy bazook]

I guess recommendations should depend on who the audience is, and what's happening out in the world of flashlights.

Someone asking a question here at these forums, is not the same as someone you are talking out there as a friend, colleague, etc. Most people searching over the internet for a very specialized product want to know something about the latest tech. So giving them a few ideas that they can do more research on is good IMO.

Then again, with LEDs getting better so quickly, if you give them a recommendation that is 1 or even more than 1 years old, it's as if you told them to get an oudated computer--would you really do that if it WAS a computer you were talking about?

In the days before LEDs, or when LEDs were just starting out and weren't even up to incan standards, you could just recommend a Maglite and be done with it - reliability was decent and competitors weren't much better anyway. But now I don't think you should do that!

Finally, reliability is important but, to be honest, even if you've used a flashlight for a while with no problems it doesn't prove anything because one of anything is insignificant--you need large numbers to prove that a flashlight (or any product) is reliable or not reliable.

And you can't even go by brand name, really, because we don't have decent reliability data like we have for cars or some other consumer products.

So, the bottom line, is I think the proposed recommendation line is too conservative and not necessarily the best for our present situation.

 

[Patriot]

Good point Bill. I also feel the same way. So many new products hit the market monthly now and I find it difficult to keep up with the reviews at times. Yes, the flavor of the week recommendations really do crack me up. I have to problem with people who are enthusiastic about their new finds, but to recommend them as if they're the only thing to buy, like so often happens here, is a bit silly in my opinion. As a service to the newest CPFers looking for information, I think people should avoid steering noobies towards products which don't yet have a track record. Especially when the people seeking knowledge or recommendation are needing a light for professional use, such as military, police, firefighters etc. I always shake my head when some poor person asks for help and gets a link to Deal Extreme. :sick2:

 

[TorchBoy]

Then again, with LEDs getting better so quickly, if you give them a recommendation that is 1 or even more than 1 years old, it's as if you told them to get an oudated computer--would you really do that if it WAS a computer you were talking about?

Well, apart from my standard response being "Buy a Mac", maybe. One year old CPUs and graphics cards can make very good buying, and still have good performance. So why not? Unless the person specifically asks what the latest and greatest is, it would be good to give them a range of options. Perhaps people should ask more questions about whether the asker is leaning toward the latest and greatest, cost effectiveness, etc.

 

[SEMIJim]

One year old CPUs and graphics cards can make very good buying, and still have good performance. So why not?

Indeed. So far, of my Nuwai TM-301X-3 (given to me as a present), UltraFire C3 CREE and a OLight T20, my Nuwai is still my favourite light. We'll see if that situation remains after I have my LumaPower LM31.

The "latest & greatest" isn't always necessarily the best.

Jim