Ever run into non-CPF'ers using premium lights?

[tradderran]

This can work to our advantage
At the big Houston gun show
last fall I had the good luck to
have my tables next to a guy who
had taken in trade a Spy005
it was laying in his display case
when I enquired he said it was a good light but the batteries were outrageous about that time I had a custemer walk up
after he left this guy said I will trade you the light for that Case sodbuster you have there
Yes a trade was made.
So I got a nice Spy005 for the
price of a 22.00 knife.

 

[Haz]

My friend thinks he is using a premium light, he is using a maglite.

He did some research on the net, and heard that leds are more efficient and wishes to upgrade to leds.

He has somehow read up on "Cree" on DX and have decided to purchase a 3xAAA light, this is going to be his next premium light.

I tried to convince him that it's better to either go with single AA or 2xAA, or even CR123, however he is convinced that 3xAAA is the best!.

He's pretty stubborn, because he thinks he knows best, and is pretty hard to convince. When I told him what I think, he seemed really sceptical and thinks i must be wrong.

Should I just let him buy his 'premium' light, stand by and do nothing, or should I continue to preach him, hoping he will convert?

 

[csshih]

This can work to our advantage
At the big Houston gun show
last fall I had the good luck to
have my tables next to a guy who
had taken in trade a Spy005
it was laying in his display case
when I enquired he said it was a good light but the batteries were outrageous about that time I had a custemer walk up
after he left this guy said I will trade you the light for that Case sodbuster you have there
Yes a trade was made.
So I got a nice Spy005 for the
price of a 22.00 knife.

WHAT??!?!??!?!?!?!?!! o______________________O

 

[Th232]

My friend thinks he is using a premium light, he is using a maglite.

He did some research on the net, and heard that leds are more efficient and wishes to upgrade to leds.

He has somehow read up on "Cree" on DX and have decided to purchase a 3xAAA light, this is going to be his next premium light.

I tried to convince him that it's better to either go with single AA or 2xAA, or even CR123, however he is convinced that 3xAAA is the best!.

He's pretty stubborn, because he thinks he knows best, and is pretty hard to convince. When I told him what I think, he seemed really sceptical and thinks i must be wrong.

Should I just let him buy his 'premium' light, stand by and do nothing, or should I continue to preach him, hoping he will convert?

Let him buy it, then compare it to one of yours. Don't forget to remind him how sure he was that he was right.

But that's just me speaking...

 

[Tempsho]

This is a pretty interesting thread, and it got me thinking a little bit. If a lot of us cpf members don’t see very many people with "higher" end flashlights. So how big of a market is there for $50+ flashlights? Most people would think you are nuts for spending that much money on "just a flashlight" (My wife included) Obviously there has to be a market for them or they would all go out of business. I'm sure edcforums.com and cpf.com members alone don’t keep most of these companies afloat. (Although from what I’ve seen, you guys do buy a ton of nice flashlights!!) Word of mouth maybe? Obviously companies like Fenix, Surefire, Pelican, etc do well since police, paramedics, etc use them. I just bought my first real flashlight, an Eagletac T10L, so I hope up and coming companies like them do well and stay in business for a long time. Spread the word!! :twothumbs

 

[hyperloop]

most of the non-cpf-ers i know do NOT own any decent lights at all. My country is severely light polluted, its streetlamps everywhere, finding a dark place to play with flashlights is a bit of a challenge here.

I have given DX fauxtons to my co-workers and that's about it. But it felt good when one of them came in to thank me cos there was a power outage at her home and she remembered the fauxton which i gave her. She was so impressed with it and i didnt have the heart to tell her that actually it isnt that bright.

But that being said, when the lights go out, any light is better than no light. Think i will get them some DX AAA lights this year.

 

[jhc37013]

I pass some of my money on to a local gun shop and most of the guys there carry Surefires, they're not CPF'rs so I assume it's because they get some type of employee discount and the store carries them. One guy cracks me up with his bone stock SF C3, he loves to shine it across the room and tell everyone it's the most expensive and absolute best flashlight on the planet. Most people oooh and aaaah. I could screw with him even with my EDC without bringing out one of my better lights but why **** him off in front of his groupies.

+1 My local range employees and managers I'm friends with so I have no problem outshining them, and yes all they carry in the store is surefire and my buddy the manager has yet to take my advice and sell a very worthy product like the Fenix foe half the cost or less to his customer. This gives me even more drive to show him my nice EDC's. Hopefully I can bring them to the light side. And no other than them guys I have yet to see a civilian carry anything but store bought generally cheap stuff, thats usally mechaincs.

I dont even see people carrying lights at all, but everyone has a handgun on the belt thats for sure. I try to convience my buddys its almost a must to carry a light, and I try hard. I see them spend $200 a week on other crap but they just can't seem to pull the trigger on a $60 Fenix, Go figure. I wont give up I will continue to bug the holy crap out of them untill he(they) carry a EDC. BTW I think I typed such a long post becouse this is one of the best threads I have seen in a while

 

[oronocova]

I never see anyone carrying a light period, much less an expensive one. The guys I work with (we are technicians) carry lights. Sadly their "better" light is a 1xAAA off DX I gave them all. It's brighter than their MagLite or the run of the mill 3xAAA-9-LED junk.

Thinking about it, I don't really carry "premium lights" either. Most of mine came off DX, but even if you show someone a cheapo AkoRay that will out shine anything on the walmart/kmart/****s/etc shelf (save a halogen spot light...) when you tell them it cost 20 bucks!!! "Who the heck pays 20 bucks for a flashlight!?!?"

 

[Stillphoto]

Must be something in the water here in CA...On a film set the other day, my buddy's girlfriend sat to eat lunch with us and pulled out an incan E2D out of her pocket so that she could sit. Of course my jaw dropped. She also pulled out a leatherman crunch...

 

[Monocrom]

One of the guys at the job site carries a Surefire Z2. Never asked him about it, or where he heard of Surefire. He's never said anything outright, but it's clear he hates his job; and would prefer to be left alone. I usually don't have to interact with him in order to get my work done, so I leave him alone.

 

[bloke-gear.com]

I discovered something interesting lately which is that my family doctor is a flashaholic too! Although I've only seen an E2E-HA on his desk though. Not sure if he's a CPF member though, maybe I'll ask him next time.

 

[oldblazer]

Two mechanics in the shop have Surefires (one a G2L and the other 6PL).

Another guy that used to work here has a DRAWER full of Stinger incan and LED stuff (batts, bodies, & chargers).

Not premium lights (but "good value" light), at least three other guys each bought a Task Force 2C Cree at Lowe's after using mine to look into the many recesses of small aircraft.

:naughty:

 

[funkychateau]

Have you run into non-CPF'ers using premium lights? I know that most police, fire fighters and possibly EMT's probably have some, but I'm talking about people who aren't exactly the target customers of the companies that make the more expensive lights.

Sure, me. I collected flashlights for years (many were "premium" at the time, but antiques now), and only recently stumbled across this site. But I'm a gadget nerd, and I don't limit it to flashlights. I'm into guns, amateur radio, motorcycles, airplanes, pool cues, and video/sound editing. And tools .... I've probably spent $10K just in hand tools, plus the normal stuff like precision measurement, torch, welders, lathe, bandsaw, grinder, drill press, sander, etc. And one spare room is nothing but electronic test gear and components. Yep, I'm a nerd. I guess it keeps me single. If I got married, we'd have to get a new house so I could keep this one as an oversize adult playground :)

Also, have you ever seen someone using a flashlight, and started a conversation with them about flashlights only to discover they are a CPF'er? I haven't.

No, never. The majority of folks buying nice lights at places like Bass Pro or EVS would have never heard of CPF. They just like to have quality tools, and wouldn't care one way or another whether a small group of nerds is making a hobby of one particular tool :)

 

[AKDoug]

I have never seen anyone other than the "target audience" using premium lights. Which seems kind of odd when you consider that here in Anchorage there is less than 5.5 hours of daylight on Dec 21. Fairbanks gets about 3.5 hours that day and the the North Slope gets around 58 days with no sun at all every winter!

 

[f22shift]

it'll be probably hard unless prem lights end up in dept stores.

 

[Owen]

A year ago, I'd have said no, but...
Turns out my neighbor has a SF E2DL and some Underwater Kinetics lights, along with several Maglites. I want to get him a F04 beamshaper for his E2DL...maybe he'll actually use it then.

A guy I know who's an ex-paratrooper and has a surplus store carries an E series SF, as do a couple of guys at a local gunshop. Someone was having a SF M3 mounted on a SA M1A SOCOM's side rail instead of a regular weaponlight when I was in there, too.

Two area supervisors at work recently bought Fenix TK10s or 11s. Not sure which, or what the difference is. I know they're nice lights, and brighter on high than the Malkoff M60W in my work light, though I prefer it for its tint.

After going on night shift from evenings last year, I found that some of the mechanics and electricians on my shift have their own Streamlight and Pelican lights, plus there's a lot of cheap headlamps, both on straps and clip-ons. These are all tools, not toys, but the main lights are "premium" in the sense that they're tough, and are much more usable than standard Maglites or the Rayovac Industrial garbage the company supplies. 'Course they're all models that take alkalines, which we also get an unlimited supply of.

I'm sure none of these guys has ever heard of CPF unless I've mentioned it to them.

Oh, and I had a waiter comment on a SF I plopped on the table at a restaurant, who said he was a SF fan. I told him my name, and asked if he posted here, but he said he didn't.

 

[1203]

Good thread.

I haven't seen anyone packin' any light worth mentioning.

 

[angelofwar]

Three times...and all three times, only 1 of them really knew there "value". Two of them had C2's...one just wanted a really bad-a$$ light, and knew quality when he saw it. Didn't know half the stuff about it, or even what it was called, but knew it was a good light (he's a potential flashaholic). Another had a C2, which I tried to buy off of him, cause he didn't respect it, and then he brought it back from the desert with hand etchings on all four sides:mecry:. He TOTALLY ruined it, appearance wise...I almost cried to see an SF mishandled like that. the other had a 6P he had issued, and once again, failed to understand what he really had...he just complained about the short battery life, blah-blah-blah...I managed to get it from him for a G2 before he totally ruined it.

This is much the same reason I let few people borrow my "premium" lights...they have no idea what they hold!

 

[Stillphoto]

Hate to say it but, surefires are meant to be used! What exactly are hand etchings? Just heavy wear? Or had he dorked around and ruined the finish stupidly...?

 

[Chrontius]

most of the non-cpf-ers i know do NOT own any decent lights at all. My country is severely light polluted, its streetlamps everywhere, finding a dark place to play with flashlights is a bit of a challenge here.

I have given DX fauxtons to my co-workers and that's about it. But it felt good when one of them came in to thank me cos there was a power outage at her home and she remembered the fauxton which i gave her. She was so impressed with it and i didnt have the heart to tell her that actually it isnt that bright.

But that being said, when the lights go out, any light is better than no light. Think i will get them some DX AAA lights this year.

In terms of bang/buck or bang/bulk, they really *are* pretty bright. Seriously, I've had fauxtons brighter than Mini-Mags.