I'm fairly new to LEDs, having only bought my first lights a few months ago. The "bug" is probably in the incubation stage.
My EDC: a white Arc LE on my keychain, a blue Photon II knock-off in my pocket, and a turquoise Arc AAA in my work bag. At home I have a red LED flashlight toy from a McDonald's Happy Meal (or was it Burger King?) and another blue Photon II knock-off in my dresser drawer (they were on sale during Christmas for $5 each). Speaking of Christmas, I gave away two white Arc AAAs as gifts.
As you can see, all of them are single LED flashlights. If and when the infection goes "full blown", I'll start buying multiple LED lights and lithium powered ones. Should I go "terminal", I might even make my own mods!
It all started a few years ago when I saw LED flashlight ads in Sharper Image and Lifestyle Fascination catalogs. They were for Photons and Lightwaves. I didn't give the lights much thought, except that someday I might buy one.
Then, in the summer of last year, I was watching the show "Popular Mechanics for Kids" one Saturday morning. The show's focus was either military, police or covert operations. During one of the segments, "Charlie" made a red LED flashlight from Radio Shack parts. What interested me was that he said red is good for night vision, LEDs are durable and energy efficient, and navy SEALs use them.
Here I was carrying a Mag Solitaire for 8 years on my keychain. At that moment, I desperately wanted a red LED flashlight. I went to Ebay to see if I could find one for sale. Lo and behold, I found dozens of LED lights for sale. I was going to bid on a CMG Infinity because it sounded like a great light, but I held back. I decided I wanted to learn more about what else is out there. I went to Yahoo and started searching. Eventually, I found my way to the Arc website, the CPF, and all the great flashlight review pages out there (you know who you are). I read a lot of good things about the Arc AAA and wanted to buy one, but I still held back.
Then, in September, my department at work hired a new guy. When I gave him his office keys, I saw that he had a blue Photon II on his keychain. This must be a sign, I thought. I talked to him about it and he said he even had a Krill light at home. He brought it in a few days later to show me. This definitely must be a sign, I thought.
And so, I finally gave in and bought an Arc LE. (Long live Arc Flashlight!)
Now, I have my eye on the new Arc 3.0, an Arc LS, an Inova 5X, and a Lightwave 4000. The "bug" probably mutated itself because I also want a Surefire E2e, a Streamlight UltraStinger, and a Spyderco Spydercard!
In conclusion, I would like to end with a line I just saw in the 1981 classic "Swamp Thing": Oh, s***. There goes the neighborhood.