How things have changed.

[powernoodle]

Back in the day, not that long ago it seems, cutting edge flashlight technology consisted of a Surefire 6P. It "cranked out" 60 lumens. The filament died after a few hours. If you dropped it, the bulb broke. You couldn't feed it rechargeables, and its output began to diminish as soon as you turned it on. But compared to a Mag-lite, we were shocked with how advanced the technology was.

Fast forward, and today we see - for example - the Quark Turbo 123x2 X, which cranks 450 lumens from a light the size of the old SF 6P that gave us 60 lumens. Its regulated so the output does not diminish over time. The LED will last virtually forever, and it eats rechargeables if you are into that.

You guys who weren't into flashlights in 1990 might want to consider how good you have it these days. Lights which we could not have dreamed of back then. Heck, going up to 80 or 120 lumens in a modded Arc LS made us giggle back then. Now days, you can EDC a Quark on your belt that out performs search lights from the old days.

And thats just the tip of the iceberg. Even a little $15 Fenix EO1 is crazy stuff compared to 1990 technology. 11 hours of regulated runtime, plus another 11 or so of moon mode, from an AAA light that rides on your keychain. Who would have thunk it.

So maybe take a minute and think about how things have changed, and where we are going to be in 10 years. 1200 lumens from 2xAA? Its not that far fetched.

Old school:

Blast from the past: advanced Surefire technology.

Arc AA.

We own the dusk: Arc LS.

 

[angelofwar]

Nice food for thought, Powernoodle!

 

[ragweed]

Great pics! We have come a long way for sure. The technology will move forward in the future I hope.

 

[kelmo]

Amen to that!

Yet I find myself closing the circle and carrying an E2e in my backpack even though I have some bleeding edge tech to carry.

For me before CPF my EDC was a mini-mag in a belt holster. Now it is a Aeon in my pocket and that is now pretty much out of production.

Good times.

 

[sween1911]

Good thread! I myself just graduated to a few new Surefire's lately, the L1 Cree and an L2. Amazing to carry this much light in my pocket. I remember when I carried my 4D Mag in my backpack when I wanted to BLOW other lights away. Carrying an incan Mini-maglite was a sign of a professional. My Surefire G2 was an amazing creation to hold that much light in my hand. Now LED drop-ins with multiple levels, regulation, etc make me wonder what we used to do when lights "only" had one level of output. We really came very far in the last few years.

 

[DaveG]

Powernoodle,you hit the nail on the head on this one.I still turn on my Mag-solitare in a side by side beam shot with almost any led aaa flashlight now and then to see how far we have come. Blows my mind how fast lighting has changed,in not that long of a time.

 

[mbw_151]

I lived with AA MiniMags for several decades and was happy. After the last 6 or 7 years of rapid change and constant churn in my collection my purchases and sales have slowed down. Lights for almost all my applications now have more than adequate lumens and runtime. I'm clearly in the "new toy" phase. Lights will continue to get better but I don't need better lights, just want. It the joy of being a Flashaholic.

 

[dellayao]

very impressive! i like the Arc AA.

 

[mvyrmnd]

Never mind the accelleration of the speed of which things change...

When I joined CPF in late '09, the XR-E Q5 was the latest and greatest. Look how far we've come in that short time!

 

[Burgess]

Great thread !

:thumbsup:


As some have already stated, i still judge my "modern" flashlights
as compared to the "classic" Mini-Maglite, which i EDC-carried for Decades.


http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?141266-My-very-first-Mini-Mag-light


This is indeed a Great Time to be a Flashaholic.



lovecpf
_

 

[Warp]

You are right.

Except the quark turbo X is most definitely bigger than a 6P.

But yes, the tech has really improved nicely, even in the 5 years since I joined.

 

[LEDninja]

I still have these on my keys.

My goto EDC is now a Quark MiNi AA neutral though.

Solitaire,
Dorcy AAA,
Fenix L1P,
Civictor V1,
Fenix L0P SE,
Fenix L0D CE,
Nitecore EZAA,
Quark MiNi AA.

 

[thedukeoftank]

I still remember carrying a mag solitare and a Victorinox Swiss Champ in a survival sheath in BoyScouts. I always had a mini mag or 2D mag (Grandpa insisted) in the backpack as well... the other Scouts thought I was weird for carrying 2 flashlights... some things change while other things stay pretty much the same

 

[powernoodle]

i like the Arc AA.

Then check out these lugged Arc AA's. Less than a dozen were made, according to Peter Gransee.

Except the quark turbo X is most definitely bigger than a 6P.

The X is an inch longer, and the 6P has a larger body OD. Close enough for me.

 

[Stress_Test]

Back in the day, not that long ago it seems, cutting edge flashlight technology consisted of a Surefire 6P. It "cranked out" 60 lumens. The filament died after a few hours. If you dropped it, the bulb broke. You couldn't feed it rechargeables, and its output began to diminish as soon as you turned it on. But compared to a Mag-lite, we were shocked with how advanced the technology was.
.
.

Yup, this is what I try to remember when I find myself obsessing about whether I'm carrying "enough" light for edc duties. Back then SureFire considered ~60 lumens to be a "tactical" level of light output, and in a 6P you only got it for about an hour.

Nowadays a Preon 1 can give you about that much output and run time, and a lot of single AA lights can do apx. 100 lumen for an hour, which is about the same as the P90 lamp performance in a 9P!!

So even a couple of small pocket lights provides plenty of output for everyday stuff, even though we may feel undergunned!

Also, it's very interesting to go back and read some of the flashlight story collection threads, and notice how most of the time people were "saving the day" with pretty basic, 10 to 20 lumen lights.

 

[Burgess]

Great thread, PowerNoodle !

Thanks to everyone here for your comments and contributions.


Up until just VERY recently,
(for decades and decades and decades),
the world's "standard" flashlight was 2 D-cells, and a PR-2 bulb.

This combination gave adequate light output for many (if not most) of our needs.
My trusty Eveready (below) weighs 15 ounces (with batteries), and is over 7.5 inches long.

As much as i wanted to, it was simply TOO BIG & BULKY to carry everyday. :sigh:
(post # 86)


https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1910137&postcount=86


lovecpf
_

 

[Nitroz]

Here is what I would say was one of the first Cree LEDs to go in a Mag back when I started experimenting with the Xlamp LED. It didn't look good then but look at them now!
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?112109-Xlamp-3-in-2-quot-C-quot-cell-mag

 

[OfficerSheepDog]

Armytek may release in the near future a XM-L light using one 18650 (4.2V) Delivering 1000 Emitter Lumans, That is current today's date technology. It would be driving Hard yes, 3A but the point is we have it available now.

In 10 years I am most certain 2 AA's (3V) Will be much much more than 1200 lumans.

 

[slannesh]

Hi everyone, new here.

It is pretty amazing how far flashlight tech has come. I haven't made the plunge into anything high end yet but i've been working myself up to it. I've been lurking for a while but figured i'd pop in and say hi.

I've got a bunch of AA Maglites from a couple years old to a decade or so, i've converted most of them to LED but recently have been wanting more light than they throw. I'll be keeping my eyes open and do a bunch of reading. Liking the forum so far!

 

[jayflash]

I got on board at the most expensive time -- just as the technology plateau ended and ramped up to the heavens. As soon as I'd get what was cutting edge, it became "old" within a few months. Well, it's been a really fun, fast, ride. I wonder when we'll reach the next plateau in lighting technology?