Impressing the Non-Flashaholic crowd....

One of the new guys at work has definite Flashaholic potential, he saw my belt holster with my Inovas (X5 and X0) and said "sure looks like you're prepared for anything", and proceeded to remark that he also carries a flashlight, and produces a stock black MM

i tell him about the $5 Nite Ize upgrade then have him turn his light on so i can do a comparitive beamshot with him.....

his MM emits the standard artifacty flood the MM is famous for, he then focuses to spot....

i pull out my Inova X1 and twist it to "on", and the spotlight obliterates his MM's beam......

"Whoa!, that's bright"

"actually, it's one of my dimmest lights", i then tell him it's a *single* AA light, and since it's LED based, there's no bulb to burn out, it's practically indestructible

he's quite impressed, i then pull out the X5 for a beamshot, then the X0, which *really* impresses him, especially since it's only slightly bigger than his MM.....

tomorrow i'll bring in a NI-upgraded MM so he can compare stock MM to the upgraded MM.....

i'd say out of all the three, he seemed to be impressed more with the X1, being a 1 AA light....

....i can only imagine his reaction to a Fenix 1P "this light's brighter than yours and uses *half* the number of batteries".....

A lot of non-flashaholics get impressed easy.. a friend of mine was quite suprised and delighted when i showed him my River Rock 2AAA, and he was amazed at how white the light was (or at least.. compared to his minimag) and how there were no rings in the beam.. ended up buying one himself to replace his minimag.

You need to try your hand at modding... Even on a tight budget, that's where the REAL 'WOW' potential lies.

Had a 190-ish lumen Red-Orange star in a Nuwai Q3 on an rechargeable 123 cell... talk about easily impressing folks. Plus, since it's reddish, almost everyone of them will make a comment about 'looks like a real fire!'

Looks like we have a new flashaholic in the works. You just need to spoil *cough*mentor*cough* them. haha

MacTech said:

....i can only imagine his reaction to a Fenix 1P "this light's brighter than yours and uses *half* the number of batteries".....

Click to expand...

My room-mate is quite familiar with my *hobby*, and though impressed by the U2, found it much easier to relate to the bright and affordable and AA-powered Fenix.

I think he's getting an L1P for Christmas now :rock:.

-Brad

All my friends laugh when I ask them if they want to see my new flashlight.


I tell them to stand in the corner and wait while I go in the other room and get it. I come out with the MEGARAY and give them a little blast.

From that point on two things happen.

1. They never ever make fun of me agian for collecting flashlights.

2. They may even want to find out more about my lights.

In either case I am no longer a flashlight GEEK to anyone !! Except my wife of course

I 'm a equipment specialist by profession and occassionally I train my clients on my products, which includes having to dis-assemble parts.

So ive been carrying around MY L1P to these sessions and i tell ya, as soon as I whip it out from the holster, my company's product plays second fiddle to the L1P!! Everyone seemed to be eager to touch it!:naughty:

I usually try to go the other way with them. I'll show them an old CMG Infinity that will get 40 hrs on one AA and may be driven on half dead cells from TV remotes in a pinch.

I'll show them Pak-Lites that run 600 hrs on a Coppertop -- or 150 hrs on a smoke alarm battery that's already six months old.

Most non-flashaholics have no idea that there are battery powered lights out there there that you don't have to own a case of batteries for if you want to be prepared for an emergency.

I'd rather have my neighbors using them then candles.

Heh, i'm going to play a dirty trick on him tomorrow....

i'll bring in one of my NI modded MM's (the black one that looks like his), and let him try it.....

then i'll hand him my new SureFire G2.....
that should get him hooked, "oh, and that SureFire you're holding is only $35 at KTP (local sporting goods shop), whaddaya think?"

heck, i may sell it to him if he likes it and then go back to KTP and get that 6P i really wanted (gotta save money so i went with the G2 for starters, i can always get a 6P later.....)

I voted the Fenix as the flashlight of the year.

Time magazine's man/woman of the year regularly causes an uproar as their picks reflect who changed the world the most, not necessarily the best person. Fenix will do more to change the entire flashlight world than other BETTER flashlights. Better lights which I might agree to be more deserving of the honor, if someone set criteria for the award.

When Maglight comes out with an LED light, the rest of the population will accept LED as hi-tech and superduper.

Yeah...can't wait to show my dad my new Streamlight Nightfighter. It's got the throw of the G2 (any P60)but the replacement bulbs are much more reasonably priced and a spare bulb in the tailcap. I don't blame you on the Aluminum Surefire, though...looked really nice when I saw it and was tempted...very tempted. I just can't get past this thing inside me that says "the initial purchase price can be justified,work of art kinda, but the running cost (batts and bulbs) has to be acceptable. The 123 cells I am getting from Amondotech rather cheaply, bulbs on the other hand...well, Streamlight has the advantage as far as price goes, it's *almost* a toss up for throw (Streamlight ever so slightly ahead here) and beam quality (Surefire is slightly ahead here) . I guess I will still pick up another Surefire someday but it will have to be when money isn't an issue as it is right now.

AWR figured out the ultimate way to blow their mind. Pull up 4 blocks away at night and call the unsuspecting party on the cell phone and have them come out to the middle of the street. Then shine'm with a Maxabeam on 1 degree beam. That always makes a believer out of them.

When I want to impress the crowd it usually doesnt take any flashlight at all

Ditto to igabo's post. Went to the doctor the other day and she had to examine my throat. She was embarrassed as her penlight was out of commission. I handed her my River Rock 2AAA and after telling her where the switch was, she visibly jerked backward once the light came on. Doubt I made a convert but it was easier than unhooking a Photon or Arc AAA clone from my keys. If I loaned her my Stryker she probably would've blinded me and fainted.

I found it fun and add more of a wow factor when showing someone a light
similar to there's in size. I have shown stage techs my E2d by saying "I got a neat light sorta like your mini mag, a bit smaller Here watch" turn it on and watch them flip out. same with family, mine of which all have solitaire's, see a Peak or ARC and wig out.

The only problem is when you tell them the price. VDG