What did you use your flashlight for today?

[tacticalpineapple]

A little off topic, but I'm in the process of relocating for work, and I'm living out of boxes at the moment. For the last week or so I HAVEN'T been carrying my EDC light (Fenix TK 15), and I've needed it EVERY SINGLE TIME I'VE LEFT THE HOUSE!!! I coudn't take it anymore, so I dug it out of my stuff. Boy did I miss this thing. TK 15 is an excellent EDC light for those winter months where you have on extra clothes/jackets w/ larger pockets. Personally, I don't like carrying the Tk 15 in the summer or when I'm down south--it's simply too bulky to carry in my shorts.

I had a LED Lenser P3 which I REALLY enjoyed carrying until it corroded on me. Coast was pretty cool about accepting it back and replacing it, but I never got around to it because they wanted me to pay for shipping each way. A new P3 was only $15, and that was pretty much the same price as shipping. I thought I would never buy another Coast/LED Lenser product again, until I was in Batteries Plus last week and saw the M1. I was very tempted to buy it, but decided I couldn't trust the manufacturer yet. Anyone have any experience w/ the LED Lenser M1?

Sorry for the rant.

Ehdios,

TP

 

[zeedeegood]

Power outage and grabbed my Fenix E01 in a pouch close by, ready for such an emergency. Epic FAIL, no longer working and I've used it maybe once. After stumbling around in the dark, found the home depot cheapies. Battery in the EO1 was just fine, put multiple fresh ones in and after some sputtering it went out for good. Will have to see how their customer service handles it and if it's even worth while for 12.50. It's just the principle of it.[/QUOT

Props to Fenix for good customer service, they fixed it and sent it back in a timely manner. Just the cost of a stamp to send.

 

[Richub]

@zeedeegood: First time I hear about an E01 malfunctioning. Nice you got it fixed though. .

Yesterday I helped a neighbor find things in her dark shed with my E05. She was so impressed by it, she ordered one for herself almost on the spot.

Earlier this week I carried my TK45 with me, and I saw a police officer light up a parking lot with his LedLenser as a reaction to some unfamiliar sounds there,
Standing a few feet behind him, I fired that TK45 up on turbo above my head and lit up that whole parking lot up at once. I now know what a policeman's jaw sounds like when it hits the concrete, LOL.
Those sounds? A couple of mating dogs!

 

[Cataract]

Well, now come on, you gotta give us more details on the officer's reaction! He certainly could not have just said thanks and walk away...

 

[Jakeyb]

Used my tain flute tooooo... Ok well there really wasn't any reason, I just felt like playing with it.

 

[Richub]

Well, now come on, you gotta give us more details on the officer's reaction! He certainly could not have just said thanks and walk away...

Well, he just uttered a "What the eff...?", looked around to see where this light was coming from, saw my TK45, and dropped his jaw.
He wasn't too friendly though, being tired after a long shift, so he just went on with his business after this. I couldn't blame him for that.

A few bystanders got curious though, and asked questions about my light, but there was no real enthusiasm.
They just wondered how expensive it was and how I could pay so much money on a flashlight and honestly thought I was crazy.
Well, I didn't tell them about the 20+ more lights at home, and the two more lights (E05 and LD25) in my pockets,

All this happened a few blocks away from my house, where a fire in a house was discovered and extinguished. Nobody got hurt, luckily, and the house wasn't too badly damaged either.

 

[Cataract]

Well, he just uttered a "What the eff...?", looked around to see where this light was coming from, saw my TK45, and dropped his jaw.
He wasn't too friendly though, being tired after a long shift, so he just went on with his business after this. I couldn't blame him for that.

A few bystanders got curious though, and asked questions about my light, but there was no real enthusiasm.
They just wondered how expensive it was and how I could pay so much money on a flashlight and honestly thought I was crazy.
Well, I didn't tell them about the 20+ more lights at home, and the two more lights (E05 and LD25) in my pockets,

All this happened a few blocks away from my house, where a fire in a house was discovered and extinguished. Nobody got hurt, luckily, and the house wasn't too badly damaged either.

Even that short policeman reaction and by-stander attention (even if tainted with ignorance) is worth hearing about. Sounds like a busy night for the city services. Thanks for expanding on this

 

[weez82]

Well I feel like a dope but I did have a little migraine headache so I can forgive myself. And heres what I did

I was waiting at the bus stop at 11pm. When I ride the bus at night I like to take my E01 out and flash the drive so he knows Im there but I was having a hard time seeing what was coming because of the migraine. And all the oncoming traffic wasnt helping either. All those bright lights where making my headache worse. I was having such a hard time seeing that I saw what looked to be the bus so I flashed the driver and he didnt slow down, he kept on going. Turns out it was a big tow truck, opps lol. 10 minutes later the bus is coming and I couldnt even tell it was the bus. By that time I was so light sensitive that it was a big blur. Luckily I had my light colored hoody on and he saw me. Got home save and sound

Also, sorry for the poor write up, still have migraine and dont care too much about grammar

 

[LGT]

At 3am, responded to a car hit utility pole in a town that the electric company I work for covers. Used my Armytek barracuda to insure that all wires on the adjacent poles were still secured, and used my hardhat mounted ZL H 600nw for all of my hands free close-up work. I really enjoy when my lights are used as the tool that I bought them for. BTW, the driver of the car wasn't injured.

 

[Ishango]

Last night my SO and myself went walking by the lake with our dog. Usually my girlfriend has better night adapted vision than I do, especially in the parts which are overgrown. Usually she doesn't want me to use my lights (even on moonmode) to keep her night vision, which to me is not too handy. However our dog is afraid of the dark and barks at everything in the dark. So this time I could use my lights. So I used my 4Sevens Quark 123 on medium to light our way and used my 4Sevens Mini 123 S2 to look around at the diversity of plants. The S2 has a slightly better color rendering in my opinion. I also used my Nitecore MT26 just to try out how powerful it is compared to my Quarks.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

Well, he just uttered a "What the eff...?", looked around to see where this light was coming from, saw my TK45, and dropped his jaw.
He wasn't too friendly though, being tired after a long shift, so he just went on with his business after this. I couldn't blame him for that.

A few bystanders got curious though, and asked questions about my light, but there was no real enthusiasm.
They just wondered how expensive it was and how I could pay so much money on a flashlight and honestly thought I was crazy.
Well, I didn't tell them about the 20+ more lights at home, and the two more lights (E05 and LD25) in my pockets,

All this happened a few blocks away from my house, where a fire in a house was discovered and extinguished. Nobody got hurt, luckily, and the house wasn't too badly damaged either.

How do you people get reactions like this? I mean in the city I've shined my pocket rocket 1700 lumen Surefire C2 and nobody seems to even notice or care. And I could see why - 1700 lumens is still a tiny pip of light in any street lighted area. Although I've actually been yelled at from afar at a park, "heYy tuurn that light offf..."

The TK45 does look futuristic though with those 3 barrels. But I'd be more annoyed if anything if someone surprised me from behind like that and was silhouetting me.

 

[Richub]

I didn't silhouette that cop, I was slightly taller than he was, and raised that TK45 above my head. So all he saw was instant daylight, and only a hint of a shadow of his head near his feet.
And as for those reactions: I usually don't get much response too while using my lights, and posting about not getting any response at all isn't that interesting, so I limit my posts to the interesting comments.

I used that TK45 again this evening, to light my way cycling through some very dark streets. They are replacing the street lights there, and I hardly could see anything outside the beam of that LD25, so I used my TK45 on high to provide extra light. Having it handheld helped a lot aiming it down/away when I encountered other people on the road to avoid blinding them.

I'm beginning to use my lights more and more at night since I discovered I have the onset of cataracts, this ruins the very good night vision I had until last year... If I have surgery to fix this in the future, I hope my night vision returns... I miss it.

 

[Cataract]

Yesterday, used my H51fW to shine the kitchen sink. Those abrasive pads can do a number on the finish after a while. The sink is almost scary shiny, now!

[....]
I'm beginning to use my lights more and more at night since I discovered I have the onset of cataracts, this ruins the very good night vision I had until last year... If I have surgery to fix this in the future, I hope my night vision returns... I miss it.

Night vision seems to be more of a brain adaptation; I sometimes have to enter dark rooms; at first I couldn't see squat, but the more I do it and the more I see. Same for coming out of there an be blinded by the light (pun intended); the more I do it and the quicker my eyes adjust. I should start a thread on this when I get a chance rather than talk about that in here... PLZ, ignore me and get back on topic, folks

 

[STiFTW]

Last night my SO and myself went walking by the lake with our dog. Usually my girlfriend has better night adapted vision than I do, especially in the parts which are overgrown. Usually she doesn't want me to use my lights (even on moonmode) to keep her night vision, which to me is not too handy. However our dog is afraid of the dark and barks at everything in the dark. So this time I could use my lights. So I used my 4Sevens Quark 123 on medium to light our way and used my 4Sevens Mini 123 S2 to look around at the diversity of plants. The S2 has a slightly better color rendering in my opinion. I also used my Nitecore MT26 just to try out how powerful it is compared to my Quarks.

Get a red filter or better yet a drop in, then you can play with your lights and no complaints about loosing night vision

 

[glg20]

Got up last night to take a wizz. SF Outdoorsman lit the way. Nightlight would be cheaper but I like grabbing a light on the nightstand.

 

[klmmicro]

I have started using my spare ShiningBeam S-Mini to illuminate my room. Battery life is such that I can go almost a week without having to turn my room light on. Saves me a bit of money that would otherwise be giving to a utility company. Been using my C8 and HL-30 for night hiking. Obscenely bright when I need it to be, mellow trail lighting otherwise.

 

[Lichtinsdunkel]

Got my Piko TL Max used a few days ago to remove my drumset from the stage. After the gig we drunk some beer and had fun, and the stage crew had gone. It was absolutely no problem with this tiny big light.

 

[EZO]

Today I was having a set of new tires put on my truck and while I was waiting around I needed to use the restroom (if you could call it that) in the funky garage at the tire place. Well, the lights didn't work in the bathroom at all and there was no way to leave the door open even a crack 'cause it faced the service desk reception area and the waiting room. Once you closed the door it was pitch black in there but I used the Quark MLR2 on my keychain and it lit up the room just fine. When I emerged from the bathroom I saw a couple of the guys who work there look over my way with funny, puzzled expressions on their faces, probably wondering how I found the toilet and sink in the totally dark room so I gave them a quick flash of my light and they all suddenly started grinning. Then I realized they probably got a kick out of watching customers trying to deal with this all day but I was the only guy who had a solution to the problem.

EDC saves the day again!

 

[Richub]

I was at a funeral yesterday, and there were also restrooms without any light... Shame on that funeral home owner! When I told him about this, he just shrugged and told me the maintenance guy was sick.
My E05 got used several times as a restroom light.

I also had to use my TK45 as a bike light last Thursday: The batteries in my LD25 which I normally use as a headlight were depleted... Shame on me for not charging them in time. :fail:

As for that ruined night vision: Cataracts do hinder night vision. Even when simply looking at the clear night sky, I notice far less stars than I remember seeing in the past. Every light source I see now has a fuzzy grey halo around it which can be pretty annoying when it's a bright light source.

 

[LSX]

A bit odd but I used my M10 Maverick to see the back of my computer to plug an eSATA cable in

:lolsign:​