Why flashlights and why CPF?

[Concept]

Work led me here needing to find a suitable new torch that I could EDC. Well with my interest of all cool little things gadget wise, I became hooked once I found the sheer volume of lights available and the great little community to share all the knowledge with.

I like this place.

 

[chmsam]

I've always liked quality tools/toys (best when they are both) and have had a few almost-kinda-sorta saved my life/butt experiences with flashlights. I have a lot of other interests that tie on with lights of various types. I knew I wanted something better and that leadme to stumbled upon CPF. I've learned tons and have only whetted my appetite for more and more powerful lights. This place has prompted me to do research, too. Ah, to bask in the glow of beautiful photons! To have the power of the sun in your hands!

Lots of good information here and lots of opinions to consider. Almost no uber "attitudes" here -- have you ever asked a computer geek a question and gotten only an "RTFM!!" response as they slam down the phone? Doesn't happen here.

This is a community.

That and the fact that we have really cool toys to play with that a lot of other people don't. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah! :nana:

 

[Uncle Bob]

I got seriously interested in flashlights after reading an article about the New York City blackout a few years ago. It focused on button battery key chain lights that proved very useful for folks stuck in stairwells, elevators etc. After getting a Photon I started more research and found FlashlightReviews.com and then CPF. With such great resources one flashlight led to another. I really don't "collect" them. I buy them to fit a need that I have or perceive to have. That's why I have pocket lights, headlamps, lanterns, and hand-helds for emergency use or every day carry. I'm never without a flashlight. There's always one on me or within arms reach.

 

[LEDcandle]

Love the whole material/machining/collectability and of course basic usefulness of flashlights. Nice coatings, custom bezels, custom tailcaps... they are just so nice to look at/use/feel. I guess having some of them being able to blast 4000 lumens out front and wowing others (and myself), just makes it even more fun!

I basically like gear/gadgets in general but have a special love for flashlights. I think it's a guy thing; a lot of non-flashaholics I know could appreciate a good flashlight deep inside. They may not go nuts over all the technical specs nor spend $200 on a light, but give them a good, small, quality light that is bright and they appreciate it a lot, especially when they previously thought M@g was THE light!

Slowly, they will convert and start getting lights for different purposes, then start collecting... then it all goes downhill from there! (for their wallets) :laughing:

 

[woodrow]

For me, I feel like Mel Gibson's charicter in "Conspiricy Theory". Except instead of a book, its always a new flashlight. I do not know how many times I have even looked at walmart or target (not the coolest place on earth to find flashlights) in thier flashlight sections, just to see the same lights they had a few days or weeks ago. I still must look. I don't know why...I just have too.

I love this place because others share my love of these stupid things and know even more about them than I do. There are people here who have spent over ten thousand dollars on FLASHLIGHTS...I have only spent a little over one (or two) thousand...so this place makes me realize I must be normal after all. Plus they tell me which new ones to buy.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I'm not entirely sure what started it for me. But I had lights, and was lightly modding them WAY before I even had a 'puter!

In many ways I am very impulsive. I went through guns (both real and Airsoft), Knives, DieCast stuff (mostly cranes and 18 wheelers), old Fishing Reels etc.

But always lights! In my early working years I mostly delivered stuff and din't really need a light. It became important when I was in vending! Machines were installed and pulled from places with no power. And often in dark crannies. A minim*g was IT!

Anyhow I have SO MANY lights (about 145) because of the impulse...

But I have GOOD ONES because of CPF.

What I find so great about CPF is that with all our members, if you have a question SOMEONE has an answer!

And I like how newbies get treated well, and trolls treated badly!

AND how I'm going to get a light Cree'd within my budget!!!

 

[Bobmeister]

I like to keep abreast of emerging technologies. Back in the 1970s, LEDs were always associated with indicators, and were (until recently) not powerful enough for illumination. Continuing advances in power and efficiency have now put them on our radar.

It's interesting to watch this progress, because to me it resembles a clash of armies, or at least a battle for corporate dominance - much like the upstart Microsoft unseating IBM and DEC back in the 1980s and 1990s. LEDs are now powerful enough to be used in flashlights, traffic lights, and spot lighting. In a way it's like empire-building. I look forward to watching LEDs conquer other areas in the near future: interior home lighting, steet lights, camera flashes etc.

As Global Warming enters our collective consciousness, another interesting aspect is added. LEDs are far more efficient than incandescent bulbs - I've heard somewhere that 90% of the energy used in incandescent bulbs is heat; the light is essentially a side effect - and as we strive to use less energy and become more environmentally aware, LEDs will play a larger role in our lives.

I am not lucky enough to work at a company that builds and designs new LEDs, so I can't push this development forward - but I can "go along for the ride", via these CandlePower forums.

 

[AlgaeEater]

Funny story, my tale isn't as inspirational or honorable as others here.

As a really young kid:
My dad told me never to waste money. When I wanted a toy, he said "That's just a big waste of money, why don't you want something useful?"

Dejected, one day on my trips with him to the store, I picked up a 4 AA flashlight. None of my friends had flashlights other than those large cheap plastic ones that used D-cells. I simply asked: "Can I have this?". My dad told me "Sure, we could use it around the house."

I basically used my flashlight non-stop from then on out, wasting batteries so much my dad got me a rechargeable flashlight. I then had two flashlights. With some money saved up from allowance, I bought myself another flashlight, this time a pocket light that I could bring to school. I also bought one of those cheap laser pens which were, back then, legal to carry around and annoy everyone with. (Before they put a ban on them)

Sooner or later, as I got older, I just kept getting more flashlights. Can't explain it... it's like coded into me. I don't need any more, but I always browse the flashlight section of the store I'm visiting. Usually I'm scoffing or shaking my head at their horrible selection, while other people passs me not knowing what I'm mumbling about.

Well... yeah, that's it I guess.

 

[Bobmeister]

This is indeed a higher calling. I realize that some of our members are criticized for their hobby/obsession, but their significant others fail to grasp the inherent importance of our collective quest. As proof of this importance, I offer to you, the Holy Bible itself... page one.

Immedidately after the universe was created, before God made Man, plants and animals, or even the dry land, He said "Let there be light". Not only that, God saw the light and declared that it was good. This, in my humble opinion, makes our preoccupation with LEDs, Xenon and HID bulbs a worthwhile, decent, and dare I say it, "divine" pastime. Flashlight collecting is therefore the most noble of pursuits, making the CPF members closer to apostles than mere hobbyists.

In short, the creation of light is nourishment for the soul, as it elevates us mere mortals to a deity-like state of extistence.

 

[alanagnostic]

I had a few experiences when I was younger that I could have really used a light and I didn't have one. I didn't know that anyone made a better light than a Maglight. In the last couple of years I started to prepare for emergencies (civil unrest, earthquakes, the coming revolution etc.) and I started looking for a good flashlight that would be bright and wouldn't fail me. That led me to Google which led me to Surefire and here. I haven't left since.

I like the way people are treated here...hardly any animosity. I also like the wealth of knowledge and the willingness of everyone to share that knowledge. I never would have bought most of my lights if I didn't have this site and Flashlight Reviews to get feedback. Thanks for the help buying all the great lights I have.:goodjob:

 

[FatTony]

I didn't even know I had a liking for flashlights until I found this forum. I do a lot of urban and sub urban exploration so need some good reliable long running lights. In the UK there is this opinion that the Maglite is the best thing since sliced bread, but it's useless in every respect for what I do. I tried a few diving torches which were better but after a lot of searching found this place and finally bought some decent lights suitable for the task.

It still makes me smile when on group explores people bring out their old fashioned caving head lamps and Mag LED's raving about how good they are, until I turn on my Princeton Tec Apex and Streamlight PP Luxeon (both recommended from here).

There is a downside to this forum though, and that's I am no longer happy with an average light, only the other day I found myself building a ROP and now I have a bunch of Seoul P4's on order. I fear that I may have started the slippery slope to flashoholicism. Thanks everyone!

 

[PeteBroccolo]

I do not have a real job, but the government does pay me to go out and try to keep the peace, so I do! Anywho, I have always worked a lot of 0:dark30 shifts, and it seemed like a flashlight became a symbiant part of my hand.

I bought a Kel-lite 4 D small head (no, sorry, ABTOMAT, you can't have it - it is in my son's car!) back in 1975, and used to demonstrate how tough it was by throwing it down onto the pavement. I even bought an ugly, large red bezel and grey bodied plastic Radio Shack 5 D back in 1977 to try to get more light when out and about.

My beautiful wife and our kids bought me a Mag 3 C several Christmases ago, and while I appreciated the gift, I had been hoping for a 3 D, but what are you going to do, right?

A few years ago now, I was researching on the Internet about electronic flares, found the Dorcy site, was intrigued by the Spyder, so called them and spoke to AlCanada1, who hooked me up with some items.

I did some more research, eventually found CPF, begged Sasha to let me join, and she has regretted it ever since, much the same every woman I have ever known has reacted to me.

So, here I am, surrounded by a number of modified Mag, Goncz, Pila, Wolf-Eyes, Dorcy, LED Logic, e-lectronics.net, AW and Dorcy products, trying to convince my partners that it IS worth the money to jump up to better quality illumination tools. I have had some success in that regards, so who knows?

 

[Gone Jeepin]

Simple answers for me... Love using flashlights and enjoy this community.

 

[prof]

Not so many years ago, I replaced the cordless telephones in our house. The new ones (since dead) had BRIGHT blue led charging indicators in the base units. My daughter (less than 2 at the time) commented that they were like flashlights. Lightbulbs went off in my head. I enjoy hiking and photography and always take a light with me when I'm out--but the idea of an LED-based flashlight really struck me. I searched for this online, and found flashlightreviews and CPF.

Why flashlights--because they're fun and useful. Also, they're a great distraction from life in general. I teach computer information systems and am a technology buff--but after teaching computer concepts and IS concepts all day, I need something different--but still gadget-like.

Why CPF--first, because of the great people like GreenLED and Topper, just to name a few. A lot of people here have helped me out, either publically or privately. Despite the occasional flame wars, this is a great community. Second--where else can I possibly find a bunch of people also interested in flashlights? Third--lots of knowledge here, and many people happy to share what they know.

In general, flashlights are like my other collecting hobbies--except that my coin collection has never helped me find my way home from an evening hike in the woods!

 

[FlashCrazy]

This is indeed a higher calling. I realize that some of our members are criticized for their hobby/obsession, but their significant others fail to grasp the inherent importance of our collective quest. As proof of this importance, I offer to you, the Holy Bible itself... page one.

Immedidately after the universe was created, before God made Man, plants and animals, or even the dry land, He said "Let there be light". Not only that, God saw the light and declared that it was good. This, in my humble opinion, makes our preoccupation with LEDs, Xenon and HID bulbs a worthwhile, decent, and dare I say it, "divine" pastime. Flashlight collecting is therefore the most noble of pursuits, making the CPF members closer to apostles than mere hobbyists.

In short, the creation of light is nourishment for the soul, as it elevates us mere mortals to a deity-like state of extistence.

Haha that's great!! I might have to quote this the next time my wife asks me why I have so many lights. :laughing:

 

[Cribbage]

I tried to come up with something to say, but, this is one of those rare occasions when I am simply without words; y'all just stole them from me.

I am humbled.

:bow: :bow:


+1 to all threads above!

 

[RemingtonBPD]

Won't bore you with my "hook" so to speak...seeing as it is basically the same as most starting when I was young.

Why CPF? Simple...what other group of guys and gals understands your fetish for flashlights? Everyone else I know thinks I am weird for loving lights so much.

 

[Jay R]

I asked a similar question a while back. See here for replies.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/120263

 

[TORCH_BOY]

There are Forums for people who are into Big Fast Cars, Computers, guns, Fancy houses, Boats, Ipods, Cell phones, Aliens, just about anything. Why not Flashlights, just about every home has one or two ore more Torches, I like coming here as we all share the same interests as you don't have to have Big Pockets and be a Big man to prove otherwise.
Here just about everyone is on the same level, out to have enjoyment and to create

 

[AndyTiedye]

I think it started when I was really small, and afraid of the dark.
Daddy gave me a flashlight so I could make the dark go away.
One of those chrome-plated things with a slide switch and a momentary button.

Do we ever completely outgrow that? I don't think so.

Why CPF? I came here looking for a better bike light.
I arrived just as the Cree XR-E LEDs started coming out, and it was
clear that these represented a technological breakthrough compared
to previously-available power LEDs. This is actually a lot more interesting
that flashlights, per se. The way we light up our lives is about to change.