Magic Matt
Enlightened
I have already sent Linger a thank you by PM, but I thought I'd share a little Xmas story with you about the last couple of weeks...
I only joined this forum just before Christmas... I think it was 22nd December... mainly because I wanted to walk to and from our local Observatory safely and was looking for recommendations for a good light.
http://www.hantsastro.org.uk/
We do lots of voluntary community work, mainly visits from local schools, colleges, cubs/scouts/guides and some social groups, and because I don't drive I find it hard to get there - it's about an hours walk across country. I posted looking for advice, and I quickly had a response which admittedly I didn't think was serious at the time... and then I found a private message...
"Free light offer"
"Here is my offer for you: I think you should get a multi-mode warm tint light."
"...send me an address..."
...a truely generous member of the forums offered to buy me a little flashlight.
Now, I have a sneaking suspicion that he may well have known that buying me this light would get me drooling over these ultra-small but very potent LED lights... what I don't think anyone could have predicted, was what happened next. My new flashlight arrived yesterday, and we'd already had a couple of days of really bad snow and mini power cuts... and on the day my light arrived (the morning of 7th Jan), this happened...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8442587.stm
In that story, you may notice a mention of a power cable coming down on the A3 near Clanfield. This is the main road that goes through my village, and one of the roads I walk down. I was out that night, and we had a massive power cut that actually affected several local villages. The night before I had walked to the observatory via that road with a passable light. I hadn't planned to walk that road again due to the bad weather, but it really made me stop and think.
I never normally walk around the village with a flashlight, due to all the street lighting, and I hadn't planned to go anywhere other than the local shop to help my girlfriend get back to my house to stop overnight, as the busses and taxi's had all stopped running.
That night, thanks to Linger, I had this in my pocket...
I don't think I've ever been so glad I had a light. The roads were dangerously slippery, there was no lighting, and people had just abandoned cars which had got stuck. To make things worse, in a local derelict building, there was what sounded like a burst water main.
Because this little flashlight is so small, and so bright, I was able to squeeze it through a gap in a vent to see inside the building and we then called the police to tell them of the situation - had we not done this, it's possible that the road would have become covered in freezing water to add to the snow and ice already there.
I used the focus to make a small beam that let me light up quite a distance down footpaths and see their condition before attempting to walk them - vital, as many are quite steep climbs up from the centre of the village. The spread was extremely useful while actually walking, to light up a wide are for me and two others to walk safely and not trip or slide on the ice.
The local police were out and about, but amazingly my little ligt was brighter than many of their maglights, and far more useful... I was astounded at this, but most of all I was just glad to have such an incredibly useful small light.
Conditions are still bad here, and we don't know when power will come and go, and set to be really bad again over Saturday and Sunday. I can honestly say that without this little flashlight in my pocket, I may not have made it home safely. Right now, it doesn't leave my side. The 'big' flashlight I have (the 50 x 5mm LED showerlight) is still useful... but impractical to carry so easily... it stays at home as an emergency light.
It's safe to say I'm a convert... these little things are just great! I think a TK40 to match it with would be ideal for me... a balance of power and portability, and real long-life muscle for when I need it... just need to save up!
I don't know what may have happened had I not had my new "mighty midget" in my pocket. I can not thank Linger enough for his generosity.
I only joined this forum just before Christmas... I think it was 22nd December... mainly because I wanted to walk to and from our local Observatory safely and was looking for recommendations for a good light.
http://www.hantsastro.org.uk/
We do lots of voluntary community work, mainly visits from local schools, colleges, cubs/scouts/guides and some social groups, and because I don't drive I find it hard to get there - it's about an hours walk across country. I posted looking for advice, and I quickly had a response which admittedly I didn't think was serious at the time... and then I found a private message...
"Free light offer"
"Here is my offer for you: I think you should get a multi-mode warm tint light."
"...send me an address..."
...a truely generous member of the forums offered to buy me a little flashlight.
Now, I have a sneaking suspicion that he may well have known that buying me this light would get me drooling over these ultra-small but very potent LED lights... what I don't think anyone could have predicted, was what happened next. My new flashlight arrived yesterday, and we'd already had a couple of days of really bad snow and mini power cuts... and on the day my light arrived (the morning of 7th Jan), this happened...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8442587.stm
In that story, you may notice a mention of a power cable coming down on the A3 near Clanfield. This is the main road that goes through my village, and one of the roads I walk down. I was out that night, and we had a massive power cut that actually affected several local villages. The night before I had walked to the observatory via that road with a passable light. I hadn't planned to walk that road again due to the bad weather, but it really made me stop and think.
I never normally walk around the village with a flashlight, due to all the street lighting, and I hadn't planned to go anywhere other than the local shop to help my girlfriend get back to my house to stop overnight, as the busses and taxi's had all stopped running.
That night, thanks to Linger, I had this in my pocket...
I don't think I've ever been so glad I had a light. The roads were dangerously slippery, there was no lighting, and people had just abandoned cars which had got stuck. To make things worse, in a local derelict building, there was what sounded like a burst water main.
Because this little flashlight is so small, and so bright, I was able to squeeze it through a gap in a vent to see inside the building and we then called the police to tell them of the situation - had we not done this, it's possible that the road would have become covered in freezing water to add to the snow and ice already there.
I used the focus to make a small beam that let me light up quite a distance down footpaths and see their condition before attempting to walk them - vital, as many are quite steep climbs up from the centre of the village. The spread was extremely useful while actually walking, to light up a wide are for me and two others to walk safely and not trip or slide on the ice.
The local police were out and about, but amazingly my little ligt was brighter than many of their maglights, and far more useful... I was astounded at this, but most of all I was just glad to have such an incredibly useful small light.
Conditions are still bad here, and we don't know when power will come and go, and set to be really bad again over Saturday and Sunday. I can honestly say that without this little flashlight in my pocket, I may not have made it home safely. Right now, it doesn't leave my side. The 'big' flashlight I have (the 50 x 5mm LED showerlight) is still useful... but impractical to carry so easily... it stays at home as an emergency light.
It's safe to say I'm a convert... these little things are just great! I think a TK40 to match it with would be ideal for me... a balance of power and portability, and real long-life muscle for when I need it... just need to save up!
I don't know what may have happened had I not had my new "mighty midget" in my pocket. I can not thank Linger enough for his generosity.
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