Has Your Flashlight Hobby Waned?

[Orion]

I've not posted on this sight for quite some time. Though I still like my flashlights and EDC,....I found that I lost interest in the hobby. I guess this can happen with any hobby, really,...but I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen with this specific hobby? Now,.....I realize that anyone who has had this happen...such as myself....may not even SEE this post! hehe

So, what is the reason? Changing directions in life, of course,....but I think I realized that I wasn't really interested in the "continued battle to find the brightest light I can".....which often requires a new set of batteries and chargers. My last purchased flashlight, an OLIGHT Seeker 2, I only got it because of the magnetic USB connector.

I really have no idea what the current "best and brightest" is out there. I may pop in from time to time, I suppose.

 

[parang]

What you own, owns you back. I am happy with what I have, in fact I feel saturated. I have enough lights, batteries and chargers, plus other batteries and chargers belonging to other hobbies, plus a collection of cordless power tools with batteries and chargers..

Other than that, since I am not an early adopter, I am just waiting for LEP tech to become more affordable right now.

 

[nbp]

Yes, I definitely have waned somewhat since most of the good modders and custom builders I am interested in have left the forum for Facebook and Instagram and such social media platforms. I don't have the desire to chase all over those social media sites to find and discuss what I like, so it is challenging to even know what is happening in the flashlight scene anymore. Most Mass production and budget lights don't interest me that much, and beyond that there isn't much to talk about when the small builders aren't around to talk to. I would like to continue in the hobby but I am not sure how to go about doing it anymore.

 

[hsa]

The "best and brightest" is still a moving target. Seems like you have figured out what is "good enough". We will all get there someday. I like hearing stories of what everyone does with what they have, adventures. I live in the country so I keep track of the deer and other wildlife while keeping my dog entertained.
What part of Missouri are you from?

 

[Burgess]

I still love flashlights as much as Ever.

But didn't buy ANY since 2020,
because I decided I have * PLENTY * of 'em !

 

[KITROBASKIN]

It is always great to read posts from enthusiastic newcomers, but seeing the old timers come on here is really great as well. Like romance/marriage, flashlight interest matures, but hopefully the flame still exists in some way, shape or form! If not, well ideally there is something else.

 

[idleprocess]

Interests ebb and flow. For me each resurgence of interest tend to be of lesser intensity than the initial.

 

[ledbetter]

From somebody who doesn't miss white gas, kerosene, bulbs, old battery chemistries, etc., it's all about the newer technologies of led's and li-ion batteries. Of course there's the initial excitement of 10-15 years ago that has calmed down with lower costs, easy accessibility, and higher outputs of quality light that has been incremental, not monumental. So I think it natural that the hobby has mellowed and people are pretty happy with all the lights they have, and miss the ones they sold or could have bought back in the day. In any case, it's a very cool technology and this website is a storehouse of info on its history.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Times have changed. People's priorities have shifted. It's a different world we live in today. With Covid, we no longer hand friends our lights to try out and use to show them off. We keep our distance more frequently which makes it harder to have conversations about our lights. With the shipping crisis and computer chip shortage, we have had to become more content with what we have since it's hard to find something new available. I'm still interested in lights, but I currently have what works best for me, and my money is needed for other things. I am enjoying putting my lights to good use more than buying the next best thing right now. We have achieved getting lights brighter than an h.i.d. spotlight that fits in a pocket and runs about a month on low. For whatever the situation, I think my current lights can handle it.

 

[3_gun]

Never was a hobby for me, I needed a better tool, tho I learned A LOT about what's out & the changes from the last time I was in the market for a light. Still I don't plan on getting that far behind again so maybe it's an interest for me instead of a hobby

 

[bykfixer]

Nope.
My urges are under control though. One day the "just one more" voices just turned off.

But I still enjoy the hobby. The passion for more subsided over time but that only bred an appreciation for what I already have.

I still look for a reason to use a flashlight nearly every day. And I still enjoy chatting with the CPF family every day. Plus now that we have a like button we can chat with just the push of a like button if we choose not to type words.

 

[kerneldrop]

Now is the time to get into simple builds and LED mods with all the emitters and ways to obtain them

 

[RUSH FAN]

Agree with you guys.
There are no new custom builders here anymore. I miss the days when custom builders would announce drops, and everyone would get on their list for a build.

 

[Poppy]

@Orion, my initial response to your question "Has Your Flashlight Hobby Waned?" was YES.
But with additional introspect, the answer is that Flashlights per se' were never a hobby.

Hanging here at CPF became a "hobby" I've enjoyed the friendships I have made. And learning from those who are here who collectively have a tremendous amount of knowledge. I check in first thing in the morning, and later at night. Also, often multiple times a day.

Initially my interest in lights was for them to meet a particular purpose. "Search and Rescue" Once I collected those that I would need for that purpose, I added other lights. Now I have multiple tools in my tool box. I don't have much interest in buying more/new tools. Just as I have multiple sets of ratchets, and sockets, I am not in the market for more sets.

Ten years ago, every six months there was a new LED. New lights were based on them and there was much discussion. Sometimes I'd buy a light to see what all of the energy was about. That does not happen too often anymore. I don't need a thrower that will do 10% more than what I already have, nor for that matter any other characteristic of a light.

OTOH, my hobby of entering into conversations with other members here at CPF has not waned.

 

[Rhodie]

@Orion,

Ten years ago, every six months there was a new LED. New lights were based on them and there was much discussion. Sometimes I'd buy a light to see what all of the energy was about. That does not happen too often anymore. I don't need a thrower that will do 10% more than what I already have, nor for that matter any other characteristic of a light.

I agree with your sentiment. I can go back a 20-year span when I first joined this forum under a different username. The CP Forum was much more active than it is now. The HID/Spotlight Forum now is pretty stagnant. Back in the day, it was a very active forum, and technology changed rapidly, with multiple new posting's daily.

 

[bykfixer]

To me this thread is a sign of the times. A possible answer to why activity in the WTS section or in general.

I missed the days when folks discovered how to achieve 500 or more lumens from a 2D incan flashlight or that magic moment when LED's passed the 100 lumen point. I surmize there was a day when LED posts exceeded those in the incan section so somebody created an LED child forum.

And the days when a "who makes the best flashlight" led to arguments and thread closures?Can't say I miss those. I used to read, read, read old threads instead of posting here in order to understand the past and how it evolved.

It seems like the day when formerly known as Sasha sold the joint things changed. I suppose the day she bought the joint it did also. Yet the changes were already taking place, just largely unnoticed. Apparently there was a time this was all but a SureFire forum to some who left in a huff and even started other forums. Ha, I remember a time when talk of a certain other flashlight forum was all but verboten here. I joined it and saw it wasn't my cup of tea so-to-speak.

My hobby has never really been about the things many here enjoyed until the day it seemed that ideas were becoming stale. I still prefer to use many a flashlight from several years back. They were good enough back then and still are today. But the forum itself began due to some folks building brighter flashlights. So I suppose when things seemed to die down in that regard many just logged out one day.

For me the hobby is sharing thoughts and ideas with members of a flashlight forum called CPF. Many-a friendship has resulted. I suppose we could argue with idiots on social media, but this is relaxed place to communicate and enjoy each others lives even though we often live far apart.

 

[idleprocess]

Hanging here at CPF became a "hobby" I've enjoyed the friendships I have made.

This is also the case for me with most interests. Doing the very thing serves as a way to generate a common interest upon which to build friendship.

I've been a member of - and in leadership positions on multiple occasions - the local makerspace for years. I ended up making fewer things than expected but made a number of friendships along the way. It's also no small secret that just ... hanging out ... at the makerspace is something that a great many do, with making - like catching fish on a fishing trip - oftentimes a secondary concern.

 

[Orion]

hsa, I'm in SW MO.

Thanks for all the replies. I enjoyed reading them all. Yes, when I was new into this, there were a BUNCH of modders out there and I even managed to pick up some. Some were sold at some point in the past [regrets], but yes, what I have I've found to be good enough....especially my EDC lights. I realized that "super bright EDC lights" certainly CAN be very bright, but they heat up fast to the point where you really should only use them for a few seconds to "wow your friends". But the best EDC for me are the magnetic ring style so I can choose dim to bright depending on the occasion.

Here's a bit of "blast from the past". How many of you ended up modding the unique colored Maglite D cell flashlights? What colors did you get? I have a light green and a copper.

 

[Poppy]

I only have one magnetic ring style light. a Niteye MSC20. It lies on top of a small bunch of lights in a drawer of my roll top desk. I often grab it to look into an unlighted closet/pantry. It only has an XML LED in it, and although I like it a lot, I rarely carried it because if the tail cap was not locked out (and who wants to do that) it was susceptible to turning itself on. Otherwise it is a really great light.

 

[bykfixer]

@Orion I purchased a beat up, faded, alkaline damaged 3D Maglite Vari-Lite with the intention of doing a G4 mod like one of those ROP lights. I traded it to a guy with G4 parts like the ceramic plug, upgrade kit and iirc a bulb or two. Dude restored it to like new then one day it showed back up at my house…without the upgrade stuff. Yet I was ok with that since a member here had sold me a genuine 2C 2x18650 fed ROP build at a good price.

Later I bought a Malkoff drop in for it but used that on a green 3D number with an orange peel metal reflector from a CPF friend. And not long ago I purchased a midnight blue 2D from Maglite dotcom with intentions of building that one to take advantage of a Streamlight TL-3 bulb someday.

Now when Maglite first introduced a 2C minimag style called ML25 they came in LED and incan versions. They caused some buzz around here for a bit. Vesture of Blood machined one to be a single cell'd LED with an Action Sports drop in. A couple others tried to make the incan into an ROP bright number but since the bi-pin bulb hugs the reflector heat melted them around the bulb.

I figured out to oversize the hole around the bulb a few millimeters, fuel it with 2 18500 solar lamps batteries and a 4 cell bip-pin to get way more punch without melting the reflector. Also a 3 cell version using 2x 18650's and a TL-3 bulb. Both put out the same amount of light as the LED versions while being completely reversible.

So later I built up a few vintage 2C lights with solar lamp batteries and 4 cell Maglite PR bulbs for mini sized 7D flashlights