TrevorNasko
Flashlight Enthusiast
Last weekend I went to a convention in Durham, NC and came away with a bit of a flashaholic story. You see i had heard there would be a dance on saturday night but i didn't really know anything about it. The girl i was with really wanted to go so, of course, i was going too. heh. about 3 hours before it started i started seeing people with glowsticks walking around. Before long everyone was carrying several and i was green with envy. I had nothing to light me up. I was completly unprepared for what was looking to be a rave. I had left all of my pretty lights at home with only serious firepower on my person (fenix p3d).
My lady freind and i retreated to the hotel room where i survayed my equipment and options. Its widely known that i carry my timbuk2 bag with me everywhere and it always seems to have just what i need in its depths (kinda like the bat belt). I can even rely on it for a clean pair of socks. Upon looking I immidiatly struck gold- A turq (of very bright blue tint) ARC AAA i always keep in my bag for backup. It normally sits dormant waiting for a time of greatest need. My freinds, i was in great need.
I grabbed it and d-ringed it to my con badge. Bright but its just pointing down and only a bit is hitting my shirt. Not very noticeable at all. GASP! All my defusers are back at home! I look around the very bare hotel room for something, anything that would make a suitable defuser.
[By now I'm in full throttle flashlight geek mode with tehgrrl just looking on in amusement (she loves when i get all intense on this stuff for some reason).]
First i tried notepaper but it was too thick to adequately be used as a defuser. This in addition to being not very durable and my lack of tape to secure it properly made me discard it as an option. Having exhausted the main room I zipped into the bathroom..... could it be? SUCCESS!
Those bottles of shampoo look perfect for arcs! I snatched one up and proceded to clean it out in the sink (harder than you would think to get all the soap bubbles out). Once clean I used the hair dryer intermitantly to get the remaining water droplets out. The finished product was this:
I was tickled that even the brand logos and stuff were easily removable stickers. I was even more pleased that it fit so perfectly on my arc. easy to put on but snug so that it could be swung all night without ever budging.
ITS SO BRIGHT!
OMG!
After this the lady suggested we run to wallmart and get a ton of glowsticks and sugar. This being the very height of brilliance I instantly agreed. We ended up getting eight large glowsticks (2x blue,green,orange and yellow) and splitting them between us. Again my timbuk2 bag came to the rescue in the way of 10ft of paracord I have kept in there for a year or two "just in case".
I threaded them onto a peice of it and then ran the cord through the beltloops of my 5.11s and tied the cord at the front. I let them hang pretty loose so they could swing a bit. I put my conbadge and a blinky ball around my neck and left the room a much brighter more colorful man as you can see:
It was my first rave and i had a blast. So much color and music. I ended up being The brightest guy there. The area around where we were dancing was lit up turquoise and people kept coming up and asking me where i got such a bright light. I wore it in a well lit room the next day walking around and a couple LEOS running security asked me where to get it too. All i had was my cameraphone for all of these pictures so excuse the quality.
BONUS!!!!!!! Glowstick dancers:
BONUS!!!!!! MOKONA!!!!!
I think i did alright with what i had but next time ill be far more prepared.
My lady freind and i retreated to the hotel room where i survayed my equipment and options. Its widely known that i carry my timbuk2 bag with me everywhere and it always seems to have just what i need in its depths (kinda like the bat belt). I can even rely on it for a clean pair of socks. Upon looking I immidiatly struck gold- A turq (of very bright blue tint) ARC AAA i always keep in my bag for backup. It normally sits dormant waiting for a time of greatest need. My freinds, i was in great need.
I grabbed it and d-ringed it to my con badge. Bright but its just pointing down and only a bit is hitting my shirt. Not very noticeable at all. GASP! All my defusers are back at home! I look around the very bare hotel room for something, anything that would make a suitable defuser.
[By now I'm in full throttle flashlight geek mode with tehgrrl just looking on in amusement (she loves when i get all intense on this stuff for some reason).]
First i tried notepaper but it was too thick to adequately be used as a defuser. This in addition to being not very durable and my lack of tape to secure it properly made me discard it as an option. Having exhausted the main room I zipped into the bathroom..... could it be? SUCCESS!
Those bottles of shampoo look perfect for arcs! I snatched one up and proceded to clean it out in the sink (harder than you would think to get all the soap bubbles out). Once clean I used the hair dryer intermitantly to get the remaining water droplets out. The finished product was this:
I was tickled that even the brand logos and stuff were easily removable stickers. I was even more pleased that it fit so perfectly on my arc. easy to put on but snug so that it could be swung all night without ever budging.
ITS SO BRIGHT!
OMG!
After this the lady suggested we run to wallmart and get a ton of glowsticks and sugar. This being the very height of brilliance I instantly agreed. We ended up getting eight large glowsticks (2x blue,green,orange and yellow) and splitting them between us. Again my timbuk2 bag came to the rescue in the way of 10ft of paracord I have kept in there for a year or two "just in case".
I threaded them onto a peice of it and then ran the cord through the beltloops of my 5.11s and tied the cord at the front. I let them hang pretty loose so they could swing a bit. I put my conbadge and a blinky ball around my neck and left the room a much brighter more colorful man as you can see:
It was my first rave and i had a blast. So much color and music. I ended up being The brightest guy there. The area around where we were dancing was lit up turquoise and people kept coming up and asking me where i got such a bright light. I wore it in a well lit room the next day walking around and a couple LEOS running security asked me where to get it too. All i had was my cameraphone for all of these pictures so excuse the quality.
BONUS!!!!!!! Glowstick dancers:
BONUS!!!!!! MOKONA!!!!!
I think i did alright with what i had but next time ill be far more prepared.
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