I wonder

[I_rv_too]

You know, I'm beginning to wonder something.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm as excited about flashlights as the next guy. And always eager to purchase something new or supposedly better.

But I'm beginning to wonder if we are all suffering from some sort of mass hysteria here.

I find myself seriously considering spending several hundred dollars on the latest and greatest.

And I'm always excited to get a new LED flashlight (but am usually disappointed, i.e. the "no what I expected" posts for the KL1.)

When the truth be told, my Brinkman LX at a whopping US$20 is still the best "gee whiz" lite I own. It's also the one light I tell new addicts to run out and buy, because I know they won't be disappointed in their purchase.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a flashlight-addict because I'm truely a flashlight addict ... or if I'm a flashlight addict, because I log on here everyday and get all excited about the next great deal.

I also wonder where it's all going to end for me ... maybe at a Betty Ford Clinic for Flashoholics?

Because, as I said, the $20 LX is a helluva light ... which anyone can buy at their local Walmart.

And yet this place has got me thinking about spending hundreds of dollars more ... on flashlights I don't need ... on lights that, truth be told, will probably disappoint me when they are delivered.

 

[FalconFX]

You'd be surprised to see how far some guys on this board have gone as far as spending for flashlights...

I know I personally busted enough moolah to buy myself OUTRIGHT a new Beemer M5. Some of these guys here must've pushed enough to buy a good home, if that's as unbelieveable as it may seem.

 

[I_rv_too]

>>spending for flashlights

Don't get me wrong, I'm one of the worst. This is no reflection on all of you.

I'm just wondering, out loud, where I'm going to stop.

And I'm just wondering, out loud, why I do it.

Particularly, when as I said, the light I tell most folks to buy is the $20 LX.

 

[dirobesh]

The problem with a "fixation" - I'll not admit to an "addiction" - is that you just can't rationalise it. I've spent enough in the past couple of months to pay for quite a nice holiday. Since Chrismas alone I've bought an ARC LS and an E2e + Kl1 and in the next day or so I'll be hopefully buying a Trilight 3D from inretech as well as a surefire 6P to go with my soon-to-arrive KL3.

I can't justify the expense to anyone, not even myself. Gone is my interest in upgrading my computer, also absent is my desire to add to my CD collection, all my spare cash is going on flashlights.

Perhaps come the summer months, when there's less of an opportunity to use them, I'll ease up a bit, but somehow I doubt it. When I think about how much I've spent, I actually feel physically sick a little.

 

[FalconFX]

It's either a hobby or a fad. I think most here would agree, even if only to a cetain point.

Those who are involved with flashlights for a living, well, they're on a separate purpose, but those who buy flashlights because we want the best of the best (myself included), well, it's just a "want".

It's like collecting baseball cards or postage stamps, except in this case, it's flashlights. Kind'a an expensive hobby, true. But they way I see it is, if you can control yourself so that you don't go into debt or jeapordize your daily activities around your life in any way, then it's all good. So long as you know the limit and you know your own means...

 

[tkl]

i find myself wanting one of everything too. i try not to cause if it doesn't get used i'll sell it loosing cash. that is my motivation to not buy something i don't need. sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

i pretty much only need 3 lights and use them enough to justify buying them. photon on my keychain, E2E(being replaced by A2) in my pocket for EDC/house and rechargable in my truck. anything else is fluff.

 

[Monsters_Inc]

Hey, it beats gambling! At least you have something to show for all the $$ spent.

 

[TrevorNasko]

you lose interest- And you dont know why - thats how it happened for me. I spent a bunch last month in a domino effect spree :
kl3 begat
m6 begat
kl2 begat
kl1 begat
100 123's begat
10ft technora cord

I regret none and can't afford any. the way i see it - the stuff i bought makes 90% of the lights i wanted not worth buying- thats good.

 

[ttran97]

I figured my recent purchases (including the M6) were late Christmas presents and early Valentine's Day presents to myself. hehe.

 

[sotto]

If you haven't given at least some thought to a possible way of making your "flashaholism" deductible then you're not only addicted but you're wasting good brain cells.

 

[Sigman]

Originally posted by I_rv_too:
I also wonder where it's all going to end for me ... maybe at a Betty Ford Clinic for Flashoholics?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">-------------------------
Well at least we'll be able to meet each other and some of the other CPF nuts there!

 

[Josh]

I'll stop when te beast comes out...

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I was only going to get on here long enough to make a report on Homemade and Modified, but saw this.

I hope to heck that the Betty Ford Clinic opens a wing for Flashaholism, 'cause I have it BAD!

Today on a visit to Frys to get a LED or three, I got a Lightwave 2100, just BECAUSE! I would have gotten a 4000 but it is just to freaky looking!

I look at the newest creations of Wayne, Electrolumens etc. and drool. I went looking for a place that is a Streamlight Distributor here in Houston on a quest for a 3C 10LED....

I got it bad!

 

[jtivat]

I can't STOP!!!

 

[nihraguk]

so far all the lights i've bought were meant to be used...those that i didn't, were sold at a loss. flashlights like the M6 might be more of a toy to most people, but the arc AAA is truly an EDC workhorse. i carry it all the time, and so far three other non-flashaholic friends have requested i help them order some.

i think self-control is key here. if you can't control your flashlight purchases, what else can't you control? one's lack of self-control might manifest itself in different ways, be it gambling, going over the speed limit, etc.

buying flashlights is also in a very large way a very guy-gadgetry thing. most guys i know have some form of hobby or another involving expensive gadgets or gizmos. some spend by the thousands on computer parts, hi-fi equipment, knives, cars, airsoft guns, etc. so yea, its probably a bit of a mass hysteria thing; just try to control yourself. at least collecting flashlights is relatively cheaper, when compared to the other things you can go crazy about out there

 

[avusblue]

Flashlights are fun, and they're really not THAT expensive compared to some other hobbies /vices -- such as golf, guns, cars, airplanes, boats, computers, bicycles, motorcycles, skiing, camping gear, yada yada.

Now I must confess I've spent (cumulatively, not a small amount of) money over the years on all of the things on the above list. I will also admit that I struggle with the allure of new and fancy "things". But "things" can be so darned fun, eh?

All that said, some of these hobbies give me motivation to find stuff around the house to sell on ebay. I've spent several hundred dollars on flashlights in the past 6 months; all of it was financed by selling off obsolete stuff first. (and I still have a little cash stash that'll pay for the McLux that I gotta have!

)

I've got to believe that many other CPFers are financing their new purchases "guilt free" by cashing out of their old purchases? Care to share a story?

 

[logical]

I like having good stuff. I like the hunt for it as much as getting it. I have lots of good tools but I use them and avoid paying mechanics for my cars and motorcycle. I am into knives too but only to the point that I have about 8 nice ones....each one gets used.

Once I stopped by here I realized there were lights out there that were much better than mags and other discount store stuff. I bought a few surefires and a few arcs but they all get used. would I have been just fine without them..sure but on the other hand I can afford them and like having them. Same way with my guns..more than I need but each with a purpose.

What I don't understand is the knife, flashlight and gun guys that buy 3 and 4 of the same thing as if they were collectible or something. or that have to have something just because it is new. I suppose as long as it is expendible income, no harm is done...but if anybody is spnding money they don't really have they need to get a grip.

I'll admit to getting temporarily obcessed about things and at the moment its good flashlights for my keychain, cars, pockets, house, etc. But soon I'll move on to something else. One year it was new golf equipment and i spent hours geting just the right stuff and hours getting it as cheap as i could. But then I was satisfied and still have the same clubs...i don't run out every year and get the newest titanium graphite whiz-bang of the moment set. Ten years ago it was guns but I have all I need. Five years ago it was knives. Last year it was a new motorcycle...all I could think about was geting it and customizing it with exacly the parts i wanted......now I just ride it and don't think about it.

Although...I really should get an E1e with a KL1 to carry on the bike now shouldn't I??????????? hehe

 

[ToddM]

Yep I've spent some $ on lights.

My real "problem" is having too many hobbies I seem to phase in and out of in cycles. Knives, flashlights, archery, sunglasses (stupid oakleys)road and mountain biking, music, rock climbing, and more.

If I could pick one I'd be fine, but I'll go 6 months without thinking about buying a knife and the next thing I know I'm immersed in looking at knives again. Go a few months without even thinking about a new light then wham, I'm looking at invoa x5t's and KL1's etc. And so it goes. My other weakness is I'm a sucker for a good deal. It seems my brain can't understand that just because it's a really really good price doesn't mean I have to have it

About the only one that is always a constant is cycling for me. That is a year round persuit of training and racing. It costs a heck of a lot more than my flashlight, climbing, knife hobby, or archery combined. Of course I justify it with enjoyment I get out of it, and the fact that it keeps me in very good shape both physically and mentally. Hard to put a price on your health.

It could be worse though some people spend it on drugs, or beer sitting in a bar, or a casino, or a new $50K car that will be worth $10K in 5 years.

As I've gotten older though I've found I no longer need to buy one of everything, my knife collection has pretty well shrunk down to those quality knives I use. There may be several of them for different purposes but everything I didn't use I got rid of. My flashlights have gone the same way, I still have a few I don't use but in order to buy something new it really has to impress me.

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Same here. Before I found CPF, I spent a good deal of money on computer parts to get a stable computer system. Certainly not the latest and greatest. Once I attained the 100% stable sweetspot, I no longer need to spend money on computer hardware. So, my interest turned to flashlights and headlamps.

I have kept my spending to within reason and within my criteria and budget. Even my 85 year old mother has come to like LED flashlights.

I guess like most CPFers, I like to check out something new. Though the higher priced items, I like to read to the reviews and all the objective information I get, before I make a decision.

Right now, I am torn between getting Kylix 3 Pro (Linux programming), and getting an X5T and Eternalight Elite Marine. All are on my shopping list.

Funny thing, I like to sit here in the basement Recreation Room (where my computer is), in the dark, wearing a headlamp while sitting at the computer. (Got it bad, huh???

)

My latest light purchase is a Petzl MegaBelt and I am using the 3 LED bulb that came with the Zoom I got from C. Crane (and bezel from same). I have the battery pack loaded with 3C Alkalines on the headband, and getting used to the extra weight on my head.

I am not an audiophile, in that I don't go for the expensive equipment (which I can't afford anyways), nor a videophile for the same reason.

 

[Mr HG]

...omg.