When will quality flashlights hit the mainstream public

[Outdoors Fanatic]

People won't buy too many cars which cost
a quarter-million dollars.


But i kinda' thought they'd buy a Mini-Mag LED 2AA (for $23.74)
rather than the lesser-performing Mini-Mag 2AA "classic" (for $8.78)


I was wrong.


_

But that's more than double of the incan price. That's what make average people pick Hondas instead of Accura... As simple as that. Flashlights are occasionally used tools for average Joes, like screwdrivers and hammers. They won't spend 100 bucks on a hammer unless their lives depend on it. Our little community does not represent the real world.

 

[DM51]

The car analogy is worth pursuing. Cheap cars today are faster, safer, more comfortable and better in every way and feature than the best cars made 50 years ago, and in real terms they are certainly no more expensive. Car radios and even heaters were luxury extras in those days!

These improvements are now considered perfectly normal, and everyone accepts them - and buys them. The same has happened with other technology, including lighting, and no doubt improvements will continue. LED technology is already showing the way.

The stuff we CPFers regard as cheap trash today will simply disappear as better items become cheaper and more widely manufactured.

Even our cutting-edge lights today will seem antique in a few years time, as improvements overtake them. That is the nature of a competitive market.

 

[Steve Curtis]

As with any things in life you are willing to spend money if the subject matter is of interest to you.

cars
watches
rifles
scopes
flashlights
hi-fi
home cinema
bikes
houses
holidays
cell phones

the list is endless

you can but the "basic" no frills item that will barley do the job or the super flash "deluxe" item that been hand made by a team of angels on cloud 9 ......................

if you aren't interested in the subject matter then no one will be able to see the advantage of spending extra cash .

i don't have a real reason to have most of the stuff i own other than the fact that i take a keen interest in everything i spend my hard earned money on and would rather buy quality.

people will only see the advantage of a $50 flashlight when they are flooded out of their houses and the $5 lantern they got from walmart if full of water or dead cells.


no point trying to convert people ,just enjoy what you have :thumbsup:

 

[saildude]

I think a lot of the issue is both the which came first the chicken or the egg coupled with relative hight prices - not a lot of people are going to spend $50- or $ 100- unless they have a very specific application for the light or are flashaholics - when I mention $55- for my Fenix L2D-CE most people just turn pale after saying "real bright light - wow"

Got to thinking about progress the other day - dug out an old spare Britestar 2D light of the type that I used to use when I worked in Alaska Canneries - the 2D with fresh batteries had a bit more total light than my ProPoly 2AA LED when compared by a wall bounce - BUT - the ProPoly totally blew the Britestar into the weeds when I looked at beam quality - for working on machinery the ProPoly is much better. But just try and buy something like the ProPoly 2AA Led at your local tool store. Just not there.

Streamlight has several nice lights for industrial use but I just don't see them in places that most people go to - until quality lights get out into the public and general use area they are not going to take off - nothing beats selling something when you see your buddy drop his light from height to a cement floor or into a salt water bath and it keeps on working - when your buddy has a light that works with a good beam and the batteries last all month people tend to again say - "I want one of those" - but until Streamlight and others wake up and push at least a few of their lights into general distribution at a reasonable price they will be an also run - I go into industrial supply stores and see mostly low priced stuff of questionable quality on the shelves -

If Streamlight wants to set things on fire ( sorry about the sort of pun ) - they should push part of the ProPoly line into distribution channels they might not know are there - the 2AA LED & 4AA LED & 4AA Luxon are perfect lights for mechanics, electricians and such - they would make a great item on the Mac & Snap-On tool trucks also -

Last Christmas I gave Pelican L-1 LED lights for presents and everyone was blown away by the brightness and such from 4xA76 batteries and they thought my Pelican 2410 was way cool - and yes both of those while being nice lights are not state of the art and might even be looked down by many of the regulars at CPF - - this year it looks like the ProPoly 2AA LED will be the gift of choice.

If people don't see quality in the stores they won't buy quality.

just my $ 0.03 cents worth rant

mb