Flashlight Nostalgia

[dudemar]

Going back on Memory Lane...

I remember as a kid in the '80s the rubber/plastic squeeze lights made by Eveready (or Energizer?) were a big hit. They were roughly the size of a cigarette lighter, incan of course. The batteries weren't replaceable, so it was basically a disposable light. Anyone remember these?

When I was 7 (1988-ish) I was definitely fascinated with flashlights. I remember specifically asking my mom to take me to the hardware store so I could buy a 9V battery and a little incan bulb. I'd tape the bulb to the top of the battery using scotch tape, and voila. Flashlight. 🙂 I remember thinking it was the coolest flashlight in the world because I made it, and it seemed so bright at the time. It gave me a warm feeling.

Two years later I went to Target and caught my eye on a set of Coleman flashlights. It was 5 incans in one package, batteries included! IIRC it came with a 2AA, 2D, 2C and I can't remember the other one, lol. I specifically wanted it because it came with a little Coleman lantern that ran on button cells, and it had a little incan inside. Neat little light. I still have one of the 2D's that came with it, hard to believe I thought it was super bright back then.

A year or so later my brother discovered Mags and we all thought it was the best light ever made because it was made of "indestructible aircraft aluminum." It really was high tech back then. I immediately fell in love with the Mini-Mag, but I specifically loved the Solitaire. Tiny little light, and I loved the fact that it had a spare bulb in the TC. Nowadays it is the laughing stock of CPF, but it still holds a warm place in my heart.

When I was 14 I had a black Mini-Mag that had a wrist strap, and I loved that thing. Unfortunately I went on a snow trip and I lost it in the snow. 🙁 I was honestly heartbroken and angry about losing it, and it wasn't another year until I saved up and bought another one. I always got a kick out of the spare bulb in the TC of all Mag models, even their tiniest light. I thought it was so clever, I guess kind of the way the SF A2 has the backup LEDs- you'll never be left in the dark.

If anyone else has some cool memories feel free to share. 🙂 Mods, if this is in the wrong forum please feel free to move it, thanks.:thumbsup:

 

[GaAslamp]

I have a strange tendency to wax nostalgic over the crappiest things, and flashlights are no exception. Psychologically, I think it must be a form of misplaced pity or something like that--it's as though I'm rooting for the underdog (in the past). :laughing:

I remember as a kid in the '80s the rubber/plastic squeeze lights made by Eveready (or Energizer?) were a big hit. They were roughly the size of a cigarette lighter, incan of course. The batteries weren't replaceable, so it was basically a disposable light. Anyone remember these?

Sure, I remember those--they were around toward the late 1980s, I think. I never owned one, but I saw plenty of them near the checkout counters of supermarkets and such (for impulse buyers). A lot of flashlights from that period and a couple of decades earlier, including the Squeezelite, had #222 bulbs with built-in optics that threw a narrow (and highly artifacted) flood beam--basically the forerunner of the 5mm LED. One type that I recall from the 1980s had a sort of biconcave shape (from the side) and a dial switch. 🙂 Do you remember that one, or was it before your time?

I also saw a lot of disposable Garrity Life Lites (or clones thereof) during the 1970s, and this type is still being manufactured and used in some form today, albeit no longer by the general public.

By the way, it seems to me that the farther back we look into history (to a point), the more "pocket" flashlights there are--compact, roughly rectangular flashlights that are designed specifically for carrying around in a pocket. I wonder what this means, if anything. :thinking: Has the general public become progressively less prone to EDC flashlights over time? If so, perhaps that's because flashlights--actually their batteries--were (and still are) so notorious for failing to work when they're needed, having silently self-destructed in storage at some random point in time. :shakehead I guess we can thank both the "Flashlight Renaissance" we're experiencing as well as flashlight "apps" for mobile devices for turning things around. 🙂

When I was 7 (1988-ish) I was definitely fascinated with flashlights. I remember specifically asking my mom to take me to the hardware store so I could buy a 9V battery and a little incan bulb. I'd tape the bulb to the top of the battery using scotch tape, and voila. Flashlight. 🙂 I remember thinking it was the coolest flashlight in the world because I made it, and it seemed so bright at the time. It gave me a warm feeling.

Yeah, I did stuff like that back in the day, too. 😉 One time I rescued a proprietary 3.6V Ni-Cd battery from a broken wireless phone, and wired it up to a 2xAA flashlight. I wanted to make a brighter, rechargeable flashlight, and surprisingly it worked--the bulb never burned out, and to my eyes back then it seemed pretty freakin' BRIGHT! 😀 In fact, I still have that modded flashlight, although the Ni-Cd battery failed several years later during charging and is long gone.

A year or so later my brother discovered Mags and we all thought it was the best light ever made because it was made of "indestructible aircraft aluminum." It really was high tech back then. I immediately fell in love with the Mini-Mag, but I specifically loved the Solitaire. Tiny little light, and I loved the fact that it had a spare bulb in the TC. Nowadays it is the laughing stock of CPF, but it still holds a warm place in my heart.

Growing up, I remember coveting Maglites, but I could never justify the cost. Somehow I was under the mistaken impression (I think an adult told me) that all Maglites stayed bright for their entire runtimes (long before regulation became common), so I really wanted one, but my family disapproved of spending like $15 on a flashlight (or was it less at the time?), and later on I discovered that they weren't regulated after all (back then), so I ended up NEVER buying a Maglite, even to this day. 😱

Obviously things have changed for me over the past several years, but that's my sad little flashlight story, in a nutshell. For most of that time, I carried my crappy little 2xAAA Concept penlight that I had bought at Disneyland when I was like 6 years old. :laughing: Then it was the aforementioned 2xAA Duracell Durabeam pocket flashlight that I modded to be both extra-bright and rechargeable, years after it had been purchased and forgotten in the back of a kitchen drawer by another family member (probably my mom). Say or think what you will about them, but I carried both of these cheap, low-quality polystyrene flashlights for years and years, and they still function just as well as they ever have (well, the 2xAA now runs on a pair of eneloops, but I may mod it again to take 3 AAAs :devil🙂. I took good care of them, and they have never let me down--not even once (some luck involved there, but they didn't break).

If anyone else has some cool memories feel free to share. 🙂

I have no idea how many people would be interested, but I do enjoy sharing old flashlight stories like this one for those who might be. 🙂

 

[HotWire]

I have an old Eveready chrome 2D cell flashlight from when I was in the scouts. Many years later I bought one of the first Kel-lights (2-C). Still have them both and they work fine! I also used to have a 6v lantern with a blinker and a spotlight, but that one has disappeared over the years. You will not believe how dim these lights are. Yet, at one time they were state of the art!

 

[JohnnyBravo]

I have two Eveready Captain (all chrome) lights circa 1977. My 3D still has the incan bulb, while I replaced my 2C's with an LED. I like the red button on the sliding switch. Great for momentary on...

 

[makapuu]

I guess the first sign that indicated I was going to be a flashaholic was when I got my 1st Mag.
Before that I had those plastic colorful incan lights they sold at Woolworth's (remember that store).
They were about as bright as candles, and the filament always broke when you dropped them.
I also had those chrome lights that Hot Wire/JohnnyBravo mentioned.
My 1st Mag was a 2D. I was so impressed that I started going bigger and bigger.
Finally I got a 6D, and I thought that was the ultimate light, I used to carry it everywhere (how's that for a edc)
I also remember having a lot of lights with swollen or bleeding batteries that got in stuck there.
The one thing I'm thankful for is that a lot of the Mags that I still kept till now could be retrofitted with the modern mods they produce today.

 

[dudemar]

Thanks so much guys for your replies, they're awesome!

I guess the first sign that indicated I was going to be a flashaholic was when I got my 1st Mag.
Before that I had those plastic colorful incan lights they sold at Woolworth's (remember that store).
They were about as bright as candles, and the filament always broke when you dropped them.
I also had those chrome lights that Hot Wire/JohnnyBravo mentioned.
My 1st Mag was a 2D. I was so impressed that I started going bigger and bigger.
Finally I got a 6D, and I thought that was the ultimate light, I used to carry it everywhere (how's that for a edc)
I also remember having a lot of lights with swollen or bleeding batteries that got in stuck there.
The one thing I'm thankful for is that a lot of the Mags that I still kept till now could be retrofitted with the modern mods they produce today.

I remember Woolworths. 🙂 My mom and I always went there, they even had a pet section where you could buy hamsters!

I also EDC'd a 6D Mag! lol I bought a Nite-Ize holster to let it hang off my hip, and I thought I was really cool. Like you I started small on the Mag food chain, with a 3D. When I got that 6D I also thought it was the brightest light you could possibly get... until I saw a SureFire 6P about 4 years later lol.

Now we think the 6P is a little puss, lol. The times they are a-changin'.

 

[Swede74]

This happened in the early or mid-1980's.

When I grew up, the local savings bank had an annual event, where kids could come with their parents and have the contents of their piggy banks deposited to their accounts. Grown-ups were treated to coffee and cake, the kids to soft drinks and a toy. One year the toy was a small flashlight, and some time ago mine reappeared. I opened it and not surprisingly the batteries had leaked and the smell was rather unpleasant. I managed to clean it up pretty well (used a nail file and steel wool on the contacts) put in a pair of fresh batteries and, lo and behold, after 25 years (possibly even 27-28) the bulb lit up!

It looks like a light that runs off a 9V square battery, but it wants 2*AA

 

[mohanjude]

Wow I had a similar light... I can't even think where it might be now. Strange how we discard things over time. I wonder if my Ti collection will end up that way ?

 

[Bravo30]

light porn !!

 

[dudemar]

light porn !!

Quick, shield your children's eyes! Oh wait it's just a bunch of bright lights. 😛 Love the silver one on the left.

The light photographed by swede74 is pretty neat. I think I've seen it somewhere before! These posts bring back a lot of good memories.

 

[kicker9898]

I remember those old 6v lanterns that fit on top of the battery. Dad had a couple. Ours were the poor version, without the red blinker.
I am also remembering a plastic one triangle shaped with incan on 1 end and blinker on other, car safety light. It sucked even then.
I had a few of the little bar of soap style lights, and one that was angled that had a dynamo in it. No batt, just sqeezedit and it lit up. Wish I could find some of those.
Also used a 5d Mag every night to feed horses after dark in the winter. I was one happy 9 year old when Dad gave it to me. I had asked for a "police light" and I was so proud of it. I think that Dad turned me into a flashaholic that night.