Which LED Light Started it All?

[1Stratos]

Started with a no name brand from Costco. Then a Coast from Home Depot. Just got a Streamlight Micro and a Fenix PD35 is on the way.

 

[a4d]

Mine was a Fenix L2D. Still have it, and she still works great.

 

[Kabible]

Arc LSH

 

[techwg]

The first really "good" light I had was a Nuwai ALX-113AA that took 3 AA batteries. It has a purpleish tint. I had other rubbish lights before this but that one really was the first OMG light that kickstarted me into buying more lights.

 

[Brasso]

First led was a CMG Infinity.

 

[schizeckinosy]

Surefire 6p was my first quality light - 1995. Nite-ize mag "bulb" was my first LED, and I quickly bought a Malkoff M60 and a Peak Pacific and it has been downhill ever since...

 

[nicknapp]

I think my first LED light was the Streamlight 4AA. It was by far the best thing I had come across during the several years that I used it. From there I moved to an LED Mini-Mag (easier to EDC). And then came my first Surefire, a 6P LED and it was all over from there...

 

[Jash]

Bought a Nitize led upgrade for my Minimag. That's where it started... it hasn't ended.

 

[edpmis02]

Garrity LED KEYLITE Keychain Light. Looks like a piece of chewing gum. Wanted an upgrade from my Maglite Solitaire.

 

[mtullis]

A Streamlight MicroStream 1 AAA.

 

[spydie fanatic]

Fenix L2D Premium Q5.

I sold my original on cpfmarket, but now I have several I bought before they disappeared.

 

[tvsinesperanto]

For me it was this little sucka...

A whopping 16 Lumens!

If only I had known what was out there before I dropped $35 on this thing. Oh well, you live & learn. It was nowhere near bright enough for my needs but it was small enough to carry on my keychain & I used it a lot.

I had many standard incandescent flashlights before owning this (including a very nice Snap-On 3x AA) but this was my first LED light. Unfortunately it met it's end after a 7 storey fall.

 

[degarb]

I think this thread would be more interesting if people would post the year and led type. More details the better. Your application is important. It is the realization that, hey, we can do things with these lights (never practical before), that the "light bulb" really goes off.

For me, I got flashlights since 1987 every year, but threw them in trunk, where every 3 years, I might need, but the cells were dead. Working nights in 1998-2000, I was happy with my incan keychain squeeze lights (held in mouth)--no need for battery worries, cheap enough to buy a dozen to stash around house, cars, in briefcase, toolbox, glove compartments. CC Crane advertised led lights back then, but still felt no draw to another penlight. An indoor hall job where it was impractical to constantly move fixed worklights, and I paid hundreds in touchup; so, the idea of headlamps for daily use came to mind--but 20 to 40 minutes of useful incan lights hardly makes sense. It was a 2004 or 2005, an NPR newstory on the white led (and for the year 2005 it was overinflated, hype of 10x runtime; which got me interested. Fortunately, Wallymart had the lux1 Brinkman headlamps 3 AAA, which claimed 17 hour runtime (real world was 2h45m to 3 h of useful output). Modifying it to 3 AA with variable resistor, one could get 7 to 12 hours of useful lux! Unfortunately, the getting comparable candela at a similar runtime, was very elusive for years (even with the xr-e generation with any light or reflector I could find-remember, we are talking 12 hours off 3 AA). It never dawned on me that the USA didn't have the best stuff in the stores, until the Brinkman lux 1 was discontinued fall of 2007. I suspected and found cpf, which illuminated the existence of "real" leds that weren't seconds or outdated. Retailers think consumers are dumb. This creates a challenge for people needing max output and runtimes.

Got to love the family members. Never fails, each Christmas, I am still getting huge store lights (usually D cells) with penlight runtime and output.

 

[drillbit]

For me, it was a CMG Infinity Ultra. Can't remember exactly how many lumens, but it was tough, reliable, and very, very useful. It was my EDC for 1-2 years, then I moved on to high-flux LED's, with an Ultrafire AA torch, and I've been continuing on this(well-lit) path since.

Karl

 

[GrooveRite]

Lightwave Classic!! Who remembers that?! When my buddy whipped it out when we had that huge north east blackout, he hands down won the 'who has the best flashlight' title. I had never seen LED's till then. I was completely in awe and my flashaholism with LEDs began!

 

[FlashKat]

LOL.. I had one of those way back. They are super efficient on batteries. I remember we were at a place where it was pitch black, and my buddy had his trusty AA maglite until the batteries died. I told him let's swap out batteries and I put the dead batteries in my Lightwave which ran with no problem, and he was able to use his Maglite again.

Lightwave Classic!! Who remembers that?! When my buddy whipped it out when we had that huge north east blackout, he hands down won the 'who has the best flashlight' title. I had never seen LED's till then. I was completely in awe and my flashaholism with LEDs began!

 

[P_A_S_1]

Lightwave Classic!! Who remembers that?! When my buddy whipped it out when we had that huge north east blackout, he hands down won the 'who has the best flashlight' title. I had never seen LED's till then. I was completely in awe and my flashaholism with LEDs began!

That was some blackout, at the time my duty light was a magcharger which was great till the battery went dead after an hour of use. Good times.

 

[GrooveRite]

That was some blackout, at the time my duty light was a magcharger which was great till the battery went dead after an hour of use. Good times.

My goodness that day(s) was terrible! I remember walking home from work going over the WillyB sweating buckets all the way into Maspeth! Good times indeed, lol!! Best thing about that whole experience was my introduction to LED lights! :thumbsup:

 

[GrooveRite]

LOL.. I had one of those way back. They are super efficient on batteries. I remember we were at a place where it was pitch black, and my buddy had his trusty AA maglite until the batteries died. I told him let's swap out batteries and I put the dead batteries in my Lightwave which ran with no problem, and he was able to use his Maglite again.

Yeah, they were not only great and efficient but beat out any old crappy incandescent lights we had at the time. Its STILL one of my favorite lights today! Sentimental value I suppose...

 

[P_A_S_1]

My goodness that day(s) was terrible! I remember walking home from work going over the WillyB sweating buckets all the way into Maspeth! Good times indeed, lol!! Best thing about that whole experience was my introduction to LED lights! :thumbsup:

lol. That day for me was quite a busy work day! All day, all night, and all day again......good times.

Maspeth from lower Manhattan, nice walk .