What was your first?

[TyJo]

My first good light was a Fenix TK11 R2.

 

[wuyeah]

Surefire A2 White follow by A2 YG.

 

[crescentstar69]

Bianchi B Lite and a Kel Lite, both from old cops, before I became one myself. Sorry to say, they are long lost, and I could kick myself now for letting them get away!

 

[Capitalistpig]

3 D and C cell Maglites plus Minimags in the '80's---I was astounded how bright they were over the Eveready and Ray-o-vac junkers I had when I was a kid.

Then in the early 2000's I was on the web and found all this talk about Surefires---bought a 6P around 02/03ish----little bugger absolutely stomped my Maglites

And then in 05/06 or so found out about LED's--bought an E1L thats been in my pocket every day ever since-----found a reduced price KL3 head that went on that first 6P and also a 6P Defender that got the LED upgrade when I gutted a first gen G2 LED.

Bought a first gen LED Maglite and Minimag when they first came out---they're around the house somewhere------a couple of Inova's are around too.

A junk Chinese Eveready 1W has got a lot of pocket time and the finish is all worn off but it still works ok.

A new Cree 3 cell Maglite today---can't beat it for $15 bucks.

 

[khmermann]

my first was a crappy smith & wesson light from Big 5. I was so disappointed that I bought a Tiablo A9, my first REAL flashlight, and man was it an upgrade!

 

[JohnnyBravo]

My first flashlight that I got that I really liked was in the mid to late 70s, an Everyready Captain 2C. Over the years, I've bought and donated many lights. To this day, my most expensive one is still my Surefire 9p - that I bought around 1996, for around $70, I still have it.

 

[Dizos]

Arc LS

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I started with a 2AA Minimag in the 90s. Then found a 4AA florescent light from Radio Shack that was way brighter, but easier to damage and not waterproof. Then came the Princeton Tec 20 which was very waterproof, the bulb lasted longer than the mag, but runtime wasn't good enough. Around 2000, I started getting into l.e.d. lights when the first good ones came out. Among the first were the CC Expedition (7 l.e.d.), CC Trek light (2 l.e.d.), L.R.I. Photon II, Princeton Tec Matrix headlight, and Inova X5. When 3 watt luxeons came out, I spent $50 on the Gerber LX 3.0 which was the first one bright enough to night hike in the fog. I wanted more lumens for less money. I got excited when the 3 watt l.e.d. Maglites came out and bought a bunch since they were half the price of the Gerber light. Runtime stunk, and I wanted something that I could actually use for backpacking without having to carry pounds of spare batteries. I finally found the perfect light, the Fenix P3D Q5. It ran 16 hours on about a 50 lumen medium. I could hike all night long any time of the year without having to change the batteries until after sunrise. I could find the trail at a distance or signal for help with the 200 lumen turbo. I could go on night hikes in the fog or go trail running for extended periods of time without the batteries going dead with the 109 lumen high. I could also read or walk around camp at night without screwing up my night vision with the 5 lumen low that lasts over 70 hours. The P3D is the light that got me hooked. While I have more efficient lights today, I still use the P3D occasionally as the settings are perfect for my needs and the newer lights tend to have less throw. I have used it on backpacking trips as long as a week and on that week long trip, I never had to change the batteries once.

 

[Mr_Black]

It was a blue Mini-Mag AA in the early 90s. I was tired of using the cheap plastic flashlights that my parents let me borrow for camping trips so I saved up my money for a Mini-Mag Lite and then a 3 D Cell Mag Lite. I still have it around the house somewhere.

 

[kahuna2793]

I'm new here. But my first is Fenix LD01 SS. Looking to get sunwayman

 

[jsalmika]

Nitecore EZ CR2w bought two years ago is still hanging on my keychain...

 

[FulgensLux]

Well, I'd always loved flashlights, but only had a cheep plastic drug-store light and later a Princeton Tec 20 incandescent. I then bought two LED lights at the same time that I consider my first real flashlights: a CMG Infinity Ultra (in green) and a CMG Reactor 3 (the later on closeout). They were quite the revelation, and it's unbelievable how much progress has been made since then. By the way, both still work and see use on occasion.

 

[Mr_Moe]

My first was a Maglite 5D, then a Underwater Kinetics Q40 (that started my great fondness for flashlights). My buddy liked the Q40 so much he got one too. Then his Father in law liked his so much, he got his own too. My first LED light was an Inova T3 and X5. Later on a Fenix L1. Same thing with that one, my buddy liked it and got one, after that his Father in law. Eventually two other guys from my circle of friends got the later Fenix L1 models.
My Fenix didn't last that long though, never bought another Fenix light since then.

 

[Swedpat]

Since I was in teenage I have had a serious interest in flashlights, and earlier bought some common 4AA and 4D lantern. In the end of 90s I wanted quality and bought my first Maglites: Solitaire, MiniMaglite AA, 2D and a 6D. Of course I thought these lights were bright for their size...
A few years ago I became aware of Maglite starting offer LED versions, and considered to buy a MagLED 2AA or 3AA. The salesman of the local shop then persuaded me to get a Ledlenser 3AAA instead, so this Ledlenser became the start of the true flashlight addiction. Maybe a year after that I got my first Fenix, an L1D Q5 and a Tiablo A9, and the continuation is written in the link below...

 

[GeoBruin]

On the advice of some members of this forum, and after a lot of reading, I purchase a Solarforce L2P host and a Nailbender 4500k SST-50 drop in. It was awesome.

 

[Haelous]

My first metal flashlight was a Maglite Mini also, but the first I purchased based on researching on this forum was a Quark X AA-2 Tactical from the BF sale.