What did you use your flashlight for today?

[Monocrom]

When I was dating my first wife we'd often grab fast food through a drive through and park at a local quiet spot. From there we'd go out to wherever we were going that evening. We just didn't want to go sit down in the restaraunt.

And when I pull a double at work with a long commute back home I'll pull in a safe looking place and take a nap. At my work just now I saw a guy snoozing in a pull over mail drop off. Upon checking on the guy he said he's got a bad cold and had worked a 16 hour day so he wanted to get a little sleep before driving home.

Won't lie, despite being 14 years old; I've had my car since new and take care of her. Don't care how gorgeous or "willing" a date might be, no one eats or drinks in my car. Not even me. That's my baby. Have used the cup-holders to transport various closed/covered up beverages to work. Just not risking food stains, or even worse; bugs because I didn't notice a piece of food dropping down into a crevice.

I've worked countless double shifts before. Usually on less than zero minutes notice. (Just how it is in security if your relief doesn't show up, for a variety of reasons.) I get being exhausted and needing a place to sleep it off. But the problem is, the client's site is actually a prime Terror target due to who the occupants of the building are. And also, because it's a local historical landmark. So, any unauthorized person found sleeping in the lot; gotta go. Can't have a terrorist or terrorist wanna-be scouting the location from the surrounding lot.

Unfortunately we get late-night deliveries of food. Building owner is too cheap to hire another guard to watch the main gate that's always left open. Despite a fully functional security booth being right there. The neighborhood also has a surprising number of parking lots. Both small and huge. Completely unpatrolled. Plenty of places to sleep a bit. Hoping the lot where I work develops a reputation for being unfriendly.

Used my Streamlight 1L-1AA to check out a weird black lump near the North entrance of the property, during the night. Switched the light on.... lump magically transformed into a stray cat that ran off. Entrance door steps are not a good place for a nap either.

 

[Monocrom]

Tried them and they all oozed on my while working out doors in the heat. Being under pressure meant they leaked when viscocity changed due to heat.

PK's tactical pens came with Fisher cartridges. View attachment 33006

Guessing you were using the far more common medium-point Fisher Space Pen refills. It's not just the Summer heat. Those things have a horrible reputation for leaking among the Pen community. Easy fix though.... Use the Fine point refills, instead. Those are reliable with very few incidents of leaking.

 

[aznsx]

Tried them and they all oozed on my while working out doors in the heat. Being under pressure meant they leaked when viscocity changed due to heat.

PK's tactical pens came with Fisher cartridges. View attachment 33006

Wow! Speaking of things NOT to try to take in checked baggage.......
TSA probably wouldn't just confiscate it, they'd probably just go ahead and have you arrested!! I think those might require a CWP/CCW just to carry in most states.

 

[fulee9999]

Guessing you were using the far more common medium-point Fisher Space Pen refills. It's not just the Summer heat. Those things have a horrible reputation for leaking among the Pen community. Easy fix though.... Use the Fine point refills, instead. Those are reliable with very few incidents of leaking.

that is fairly surprising, I've been using a medium for years, and I've never seen it leak. Maybe this was an older issue...?
( we do get 100+ °F in the summer here )

 

[Monocrom]

that is fairly surprising, I've been using a medium for years, and I've never seen it leak. Maybe this was an older issue...?
( we do get 100+ °F in the summer here )

Unfortunately still happening. Sounds like you've been fortunate.

 

[aznsx]

So I was using my Acebeam Rider RX for the last couple of weeks at the contstuction site, because it has a titanium armor and provides a decent amount of light for around and hour, but today for some reason it kept tripping the protection circuit in the 14500 battery, and we were in a hurry doing a job and I wanted to plop in an AA primary to have at least some light. It did not want to slide open ( the blue inner tube slides in and locks kinda like a bolt action rifle ) so I had to push and hit it to at least budge, but when I finally opened it up I noticed that the battery was stuck inside, so another minute of so of bashing cursing and shaking and no give... So I had to climb the ladder wielding a battery operated floodlight, which was very comfortable as you can imagine ( it was not ).

View attachment 32872

I tried to get the 14500 out, but while I was busy smacking the back of it to lodge it out the front even the front of the body got bent

View attachment 32873

For now I'm gonna get some simple AA/AAA flashlights to try and see if they work, but if anyone has a suggestion for a good penlight, that can do around 100-150 lumens for at least 2 hours and isn't phased by dust and dirt, please do share.

Also for some reason the 18500s in my Malkoff MD3 also decided to cut out on me in the previous days once or twice, so I gave rechargables a try, but this is a hard no for me, I'm a simple man, I push button, light comes out, and that's that, anything else is just not for me I found out.

BTW, fulee9999: Have you any theory(ies) regarding root cause of whatever happened to that Acebeam? Only reason I ask is because being a 14500, and apparently being somewhat 'stuck' inside the light, that suggests possible cell swelling(?), and that might suggest you were lucky it didn't end worse than it did. Just curious...

 

[fulee9999]

BTW, fulee9999: Have you any theory(ies) regarding root cause of whatever happened to that Acebeam? Only reason I ask is because being a 14500, and apparently being somewhat 'stuck' inside the light, that suggests possible cell swelling(?), and that might suggest you were lucky it didn't end worse than it did. Just curious...

It was really stuck in there, and I wasn't gonna mess around trying to get it out and risk puncturing it only to have a li-ion fire... I've taken it to a recycling place where they dispose of batteries alltogether. To be honest I'm not quite sure what happened, the protection kicking in more and more could have been indicative of an internal failure, and maybe the battery was indeed swelling inside the tube, or - as it was used in fairly harsh environment - maybe something hit the softer steel inner tube that houses that battery which caused it to be lodged inside. I kept the titanium armor and the pill with the electronics and the LED, so maybe someday it will live again in some frankensteinian form.

 

[bykfixer]

Wow! Speaking of things NOT to try to take in checked baggage.......
TSA probably wouldn't just confiscate it, they'd probably just go ahead and have you arrested!! I think those might require a CWP/CCW just to carry in most states.

When they arrived in America in volume customs required the purchaser to fill out an affidavit form that they would not be used as explosive devices or to harm others. Same with the FL-2 flashlight.

 

[aznsx]

It was really stuck in there, and I wasn't gonna mess around trying to get it out and risk puncturing it only to have a li-ion fire... I've taken it to a recycling place where they dispose of batteries alltogether. To be honest I'm not quite sure what happened, the protection kicking in more and more could have been indicative of an internal failure, and maybe the battery was indeed swelling inside the tube, or - as it was used in fairly harsh environment - maybe something hit the softer steel inner tube that houses that battery which caused it to be lodged inside. I kept the titanium armor and the pill with the electronics and the LED, so maybe someday it will live again in some frankensteinian form.

Thanks - just wondering. A conclusive post-mortem is likely near impossible, and in any case would almost certainly be ill-advised to even attempt, so we'll likely never know. The thing that really matters here is that it only resulted in a failed light and an inconvenience to you, with no collateral damage or injury involved. That's what's important!

 

[gurdygurds]

Right now have my Yuji’d Photon Freedom hanging on some paracord lighting up my bedside table. Low, warm output doesn’t bug the wife and I can still see my little titanium mug with my tea in it. Zebralight SC52w and Fenix e01 waiting to see who will be chosen to do the final walkthrough and make sure all doors are locked.

 

[fulee9999]

Unfortunately still happening. Sounds like you've been fortunate.

I just remembered I have one of my space pens in my "tech-bag" ( a backpack loaded with small electrical stuff that you would need when you go to a very ehrm rural (?) place or hotel, where you have electricity, but no PC or SD card reader, no HDMI cable readily available, no pendrives laying around, etc ) and I used it for a while, but it has been tumbling around in that bag for quite a few years now, so out of curiosity I took it out and took a picture of the ballpoint to see if it leaked over the years of unuse:

it did not. also writes perfectly fine. it still has the factory medium black cartridge inside

Edit: to be ontopic, I've used my Malkoff M61N to light up the ballpoint of a pen to take a macro picture

 

[Lumen83]

i did a 7 mile hike this morning to the summit of a mountain in the middle of a national forest to beat the sunrise. I started at about 3 a.m. and hiked for 3 hours in the dark to the summit with my Olight H1N headlamp.

 

[Monocrom]

Finished up checking the massive parking lot at my night-shift job, on foot. Found a slightly older Lexus IS 350 parked during the start of my shift. No one in her. Bit surprised to find an authorized parking pass properly displayed. Couldn't believe the size of her. A genuine compact. (In the market for a new or newer ride. Looking for a smaller vehicle.) Sadly is was also clear that the owner was living out of her. Decided to continue with my foot patrol and then get a proper look at her when I was done.

I finish up. Turn around, and some massive Ding-a-ling is parked out in the open with his lights on! Really?! Okay, slowly walk up to the open driver's side window with my 3D-cell LED Defiant flashlight in hand. He jumped like a frightened little kitten when I came up to his window. Smell of weed blatantly obvious. He whimpered that I scared him. I politely apologized for doing so, and wished him a good night. Guy was in his mid.-20s driving around in a luxury car. It was pathetic.

Don't want to be scared a couple of weeks before Halloween by a big, burly security guard who looks like the psycho from the film "Full Metal Jacket," then don't trespass on private property where you know you don't belong! Seems simple enough.

BTW, yes I do recommend that Defiant model if you're looking for a robust but less expensive option to a 3D-cell Maglite. Only sold at Home Depot and ironically comes with a tailcap switch. But not bad at all for $19.oo only.

 

[3_gun]

Roasting fruit flies with turbo on my Acebeam E70, only takes about 1 sec

 

[Stress_Test]

The "sleeping in parking lot" stories remind me of my high-school senior year. I had a car by that time and at lunch, I didn't want to sit with the mob in the cafeteria (we were allowed to leave campus for lunch). I'd go out to my car, scarf the lunch I brought, then take a nap in the seat. The campus cops would eventually roll by and wake me up and tell me I couldn't sleep out there and to go inside.

I still kept doing it on a regular basis It kind of became a game. I'd park in different areas of the lot (always super crowded) so they couldn't find me right away. When they did find me, they wouldn't bother to get out of the squad car anymore, they'd just blip the siren and I'd snap awake, then grab my stuff and go inside. Never gave them any back-talk and they never seemed to mind that much. They were probably bored anyway and enjoyed the "game".

Anyway, flashlight use: needed to air up my car's tires and wanted to wait till it wasn't in the sun so that I'd get a more correct pressure. Waited too long and had trouble seeing the gauge, so flashlight to the rescue. SureFire G2 with an old SolarForce XP-G (R5) drop-in. Overkill, but it was what I had on my belt at the time and I didn't want to dig another light from my pack.

 

[Monocrom]

The "sleeping in parking lot" stories remind me of my high-school senior year....

Hey, at least you were intelligent enough not to park in the same spot. I swear, everyone lines up against that massive Southwest wall! It's sad! We know where they are! Every single night.... against the wall. Why are people stupid? And yes, some are repeat offenders. There's not even anything to look at on the wall! No artistic graffiti. No giant movie posters. No adult rated images. It's literally just a beige wall! What is so fascinating about a wall!?

3D-cell Defiant again. Tonight, blasted my Citizen BM7080-03E model Eco-Drive watch for a couple of minutes to help maintain the charge on the solar battery inside, while at the security desk.

 

[knucklegary]

About 20 yrs ago motoring across I80, I sleep in my car at a sheriff's station parking lot, figuring it's the safest place. In the morning, I walked in and used the bathroom facilities, poured a cup of coffee, on the house, and left before they threw me in jail.

 

[fulee9999]

Okay, slowly walk up to the open driver's side window with my 3D-cell LED Defiant flashlight in hand. He jumped like a frightened little kitten when I came up to his window. Smell of weed blatantly obvious. He whimpered that I scared him. I politely apologized for doing so, and wished him a good night. Guy was in his mid.-20s driving around in a luxury car. It was pathetic.

To this day I get grief from the missus for scaring the living daylight of stoners and/or people trying to the dirty in the bushes when I walk my dog at night... I mean, if you're willing to "hide" in a dark park at night, don't be surprised if the lights come on, it's not like you're anywhere private. I don't scare them on purpose, but as I'm walking in the night it's pretty important to know if that big black blob not so far from us is a person, a piece of cardboard or just some nylon bag floating in the wind. ( to be fair, people in their 40s and 50s trying to get "private" in a public park is always the funniest when caught, the "act natural" walk looks so off even from a distance it's just surreal )

About 20 yrs ago motoring across I80, I sleep in my car at a sheriff's station parking lot, figuring it's the safest place. In the morning, I walked in and used the bathroom facilities, poured a cup of coffee, on the house, and left before they threw me in jail.

they've been mighty cordial then I just remember once we were on our way to take the ramp to the highway and a huge blizzard suddenly came up on us, so highway ramp plan aborted, and I pulled up in the first drive-in I saw to wait out the weather to pass. Not long after we parked I see the door on the building we just pulled up to open, a police officer stepping almost outside, and in that very moment he realized that cherry sized ice is falling from the sky, so he just looked around and went inside. That's when I realized I'm in the parking spot for the local police department in a few minutes the icy part passed, so we were on our way, but I half expected for someone to come out and try tell us that we were not supposed to be there

 

[Monocrom]

....but I half expected for someone to come out and try tell us that we were not supposed to be there.

Normally I'd never recommend lying to law-enforcement. But under the circumstances you described, nothing wrong with a little White lie. Some shady character in a black Buick was following you for several miles. So, you decided to pull in, and noticed the vehicle was no longer behind you. Thank the officer profusely for coming out to check on you.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Used my Sofirn SP40 last night to clean up a broken glass door. The tempered glass door of the apartment block beside mine just... exploded, for no discernible reason (bad job at tempering, I suppose). Went down there with a trash shovel and a squeegee (excellent for dragging a large amount of glass shards!) to give our superintendent a hand. The two of us, with help of a few other neighbors, got rid of everything in less than 15 minutes, with the SP40's beam helping us find stray shards.

The Sofirn made an impression on all the muggles, and some even talked about getting a headlamp of their own. I doubt they will, but eh.