elt1
Newly Enlightened
Hi all,
Had to tell my story to those of us who would truly understand the meaning of losing a valued light...
I'm an crimefighter/donut crusader up on the westcoast of the great white north.
We are supplied 1 Streamlight Polystinger plus charger (additional battery costs extra) as our duty light. For about 3 years, I lived in relatively peaceful bliss, using my stinger for car & house searches, lighting up rooftops, occasionally searching for criminals for contraband in places that are dark and scary and during one fateful meeting with a car thief in an unlit backyard where he had fled, I discovered the stingers benefits as an impact tool.
About 2 years ago, I became an LED addict: it started relatively innocently. I needed a knife and ended up researching for a good one on a popular forum (some of you will know which one). Naturally, after collecting a few knives of various sorts, one seller mentioned how he found some good deals on other forums, one of them being CPF non-light section...
Thinking nothing of it I found the CPF website and started reading... wrong move. Once I ordered my first Lumapower LED, I was hooked. I went from FlashCrazy's Coast mod to Fenix to Huntlight and on and on...
Anyways, since I've been on CPF I've tried out numerous LED lights in place of my trusty work SL incan- searching for the perfect light. I went through numerous lights. Recently I had settled on the EYJ U2 clone- its heavy duty, runs on 18650s, and has got pretty decent throw. As I've said before, its like that girl you date thats a solid 7 in every category...
Well, I changed sections and my new section requires plainclothes work so I wanted a smaller, concealable light. I had recently purchased the Surefire L1 Cree, tried it out and really liked it, both as an off and on-duty edc light. It was a suitable size, weight, runtime, had good throw & the Surefire reliability and quality. Just a fantastic light. Stupid me- I kept it in my pants pocket instead of a belt holster as I have a fair amount of stuff on my belt anyways....:sigh:
So, last night, I end up on foot chasing a car for a couple of blocks. Didnt think much of it until today where I realized my L1 was missing. It was one of those times where, you remember what you did the day before and you have that sinking feeling in your gut that its probably 90% gone. But ya gotta be sure so I checked the office area, my bag, the car. Nothing.
Its lost. And I'm sick to my stomach for the rest of the day. (I resign myself to losing stuff at work - its the nature of the beast. But it still sucks when its a good light & relatively expensive to replace. And really, I'd rather give it away to a friend than lose it.)
Anyways- just had to tell people who'd understand.
Which brings me to my next dilemma: I recently bought a Milky modded 1st gen SF L1 from Valpo and am debating whether or not to use it at work.:shrug:
My attitude is: if I own it- its gotta be a user. That being said, I have a NovaTac modded by whc which I am loathe to bring to work for fear of the same thing happening as my L1. And maybe its better to use a relatively cheap DX light. (But just doesnt feel the same you know?)
I'll probably end up using my ML1 as my work light (albeit an expensive one) but will invest in a sturdy holster for it. Wont guarantee I wont lose it but at least its better than in the pocket....:thinking:
Had to tell my story to those of us who would truly understand the meaning of losing a valued light...
I'm an crimefighter/donut crusader up on the westcoast of the great white north.
We are supplied 1 Streamlight Polystinger plus charger (additional battery costs extra) as our duty light. For about 3 years, I lived in relatively peaceful bliss, using my stinger for car & house searches, lighting up rooftops, occasionally searching for criminals for contraband in places that are dark and scary and during one fateful meeting with a car thief in an unlit backyard where he had fled, I discovered the stingers benefits as an impact tool.
About 2 years ago, I became an LED addict: it started relatively innocently. I needed a knife and ended up researching for a good one on a popular forum (some of you will know which one). Naturally, after collecting a few knives of various sorts, one seller mentioned how he found some good deals on other forums, one of them being CPF non-light section...
Thinking nothing of it I found the CPF website and started reading... wrong move. Once I ordered my first Lumapower LED, I was hooked. I went from FlashCrazy's Coast mod to Fenix to Huntlight and on and on...
Anyways, since I've been on CPF I've tried out numerous LED lights in place of my trusty work SL incan- searching for the perfect light. I went through numerous lights. Recently I had settled on the EYJ U2 clone- its heavy duty, runs on 18650s, and has got pretty decent throw. As I've said before, its like that girl you date thats a solid 7 in every category...
Well, I changed sections and my new section requires plainclothes work so I wanted a smaller, concealable light. I had recently purchased the Surefire L1 Cree, tried it out and really liked it, both as an off and on-duty edc light. It was a suitable size, weight, runtime, had good throw & the Surefire reliability and quality. Just a fantastic light. Stupid me- I kept it in my pants pocket instead of a belt holster as I have a fair amount of stuff on my belt anyways....:sigh:
So, last night, I end up on foot chasing a car for a couple of blocks. Didnt think much of it until today where I realized my L1 was missing. It was one of those times where, you remember what you did the day before and you have that sinking feeling in your gut that its probably 90% gone. But ya gotta be sure so I checked the office area, my bag, the car. Nothing.
Its lost. And I'm sick to my stomach for the rest of the day. (I resign myself to losing stuff at work - its the nature of the beast. But it still sucks when its a good light & relatively expensive to replace. And really, I'd rather give it away to a friend than lose it.) Anyways- just had to tell people who'd understand.
Which brings me to my next dilemma: I recently bought a Milky modded 1st gen SF L1 from Valpo and am debating whether or not to use it at work.:shrug:
My attitude is: if I own it- its gotta be a user. That being said, I have a NovaTac modded by whc which I am loathe to bring to work for fear of the same thing happening as my L1. And maybe its better to use a relatively cheap DX light. (But just doesnt feel the same you know?)
I'll probably end up using my ML1 as my work light (albeit an expensive one) but will invest in a sturdy holster for it. Wont guarantee I wont lose it but at least its better than in the pocket....:thinking:
