What's the "general public's" perception of flashlights?

Today my boss was telling me about this great flashlight he got for Christmas. It's $7 a "shake up" flashlight.

He says "It's great. I shake it twice and I can use it for 5 minutes!" I broke the news that it was probably a fake and he was bummed.

Then I showed him my HDS U60. He played with it a while and said "This is great! What's it cost....about $20?"

That seems to be the common attitude amongst the general public. They have no idea quality flashlights even exist, let along what they cost.

In my neck of the woods, most common people have no idea of the higher end flashlights the industry offers now.
Totally seperated entitys imho.

Need more proof, tell your boss what you flipped over for the U60, i get them reactions from Surefires never mind higher ends lights.

Same as a lot of other items, like my benchmades, wow nice, its got plastic, whats that worth 30-40 bucks? lmao
I tend not to pass my good items to these people at all, these are the reasons i carry EDC loaners, if its thier money theres a visible difference in prices between 30 and 300, if its yours, they have no idea or care.

IF

My answer is always "twenty bucks" (or twenty quid)

magic79 said:

He says "It's great. I shake it twice and I can use it for 5 minutes!" I broke the news that it was probably a fake and he was bummed.

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What do you mean by "it was probably a fake?" It's a fake light? The light isn't real?

Maglite's release of 40-50 dollar lights will awake the general public to what's available and what the price range will be. No longer will 20=highest quality available.

When I first saw my friend's G2 (it was in the dark while he was using it) and he told me he paid $40 for it, I thought "damn, that's a lot for a flashlight, he must be crazy. As I looked into them more, I started to like them myself and got more into them...now look what happened! (damn CPF!) Even when I saw lights at target for over $20, I always thought "err, I'll pass...I got my 3D mag + minimag at costco for cheap, this isn't worth it"...that was only 4-or-so months ago. Now, I look at flashlights in every store I go in.

My experience is that the general public doesn't even have a perception.

Flashlights (like a lot of other items) simply fall into the background noise until they are needed and then when they are needed you still can't educate because most people respond with something along the lines of "I don't care about all of that, just give me some light".

IonFire said:

... tell your boss what you flipped over for the U60 ...

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Careful. If your boss doesn't appreciate higher end flashlights, there's a danger that he will think that you were foolish to spend so much money on a light and that perhaps that you are an overpaid employee.

"It's just a flashlight! Nothing more. So what's the big deal?"

I've been greeted by such comments.

The public's concept of a flashlight is a Maglight. LEDs are changing things some, especially since you can find them right next to Mags at Wal*Mart and Sears, and "100,000 Hours!" and "Bulb Never Needs Replacing" are plastered on the packaging. Of course, the general public still doesn't know anything about throw, flood, lux, discharge curves, or regulation. If you look around and do some research, you can find very nice lights for $20-30, but people will just buy what looks good.

LOL, Its just a flashlight.

Why do you need more than One Brightness level??

CR123, whats that??

Man, I just bought a 4D mag!!!

Those are common things heard outside of CPF land...

I'm with zespectre on this one. The public is clueless. The public's idea of a flashlight is just something that they wish they had when they find themselves in a situation where they need one. Flashlights are just a hindsight thing.

As far as the big picture goes, I'm totally confident in stating that well over 1/2 of the humans on earth own no flashlight at all. (Quality is not even an issue.) Even many of the relatively affluent in the Western World see no need to own a flashlight -- but that's not out of charactor because most of them lack virtually everything else that they may need to cope with most emergencies.

public's notion of flashlight is very basic. As others said, "high end" lights are mag lights - as I thought so 10 years ago wehn I got my mag 2-D for xmas. And minimag is the standard "carry / pocket" light. Most have a 99 cent 2-D for when electricity is lost and many have dead batteries in them. I know, as my 84 year old mother-in-law sent her lights home with wife last week as they didnt work (you guessed it, new bateries and work fine). Not a clue other than the small minority that have asessed their overall preparedness (which was me pre-cpf).

It all depends on who you call the "general public"

I have met many in the "general public" that thinks high end lights are great and others that are shocked at the price.

Who do you hang out with?

I work on large LASER equipment and I EDC 3 lights. Most of the people I work with are engineers and experienced operators and therefore arent general public,BUT... By the time I pull out my second EDC to check a mirror or optic, I useually get the remark "How many lights do you have?" At this point I pull out all 3, and they useually give me that wierd look. To that I quickly say, think about it, Flashlighs are like any other tool, each one has its optimal purpose. You wouldent use a hammer to drive in a screw, though it 'would' work in the end, or use a grabby extention to pick up something 6 inches in front of you, though you could. I show them how my 'dimmest' light works GREAT for looking for scratches on front surface mirrors, and how my 1x 14500 LUX III is GREAT for looking for tools that have fallen underneth somewhere. To which they understand and reply 'that makes sence' . Then when price comes up I also say that you can get screwdrivers and ratchets from walmart or even the dollar store... or.... you can order TOP OF THE LINE tools for WAYYYYYY more, BUT you get what you pay for. Then they are ready to listen to things like UCL's and custom IMS reflectors and the like. I know I have made a few budding converts here and there.

Jeff

I almost gave a coworker a heart attack when I told him how much I paid for my SF M6. 95% of the general public has never even been exposed to high quality flashlights. (and I'm talking the much less expensive ones like the G2 or even SL's Propoly 4AA Lux)

Will Rogers once said, "We're all ignorant, just about different things." That's true of all of us regarding the appreciation of many fine things which other enthusiasts pay what we would consider insane prices for. So, perhaps we shouldn't get too uppity about judging how clueless the general public about stuff.

Flashlights (and other mechanical toys like guns, knives, and whatever) speak to this crowd, but I know there are $100 wine glasses, $600 scarves, $4000 dollar handbags out there. An endless list...

People buying those might think we're all clueless for not understanding why whatever they provide beyond their basic functionality (read: Maglite) is worthwhile.

Also I have to admit that some of the really high end lights do seem, even to me, overpriced. But I do realize the subtle features, like HAIII and company reputation and warranty info. I myself would not be able to buy some of those, but I also prefer to make/mod my own stuff. also, many of you collect product lines, and therefore could be considered an investment. I mean people collect stamps, a 1/2" by 1/2" piece of paper with ink smeared on it, and you paid $500+ for it??????? but to someone who only sees a stamp, this is normal.
If the GP only see a device that emmits light, they will gawk if it costs more than $20, let alone $300.

Jeff

What's in their drawer: a 10 year Eveready, or one of those freebie plastic things Radio Shack used to give away.

What's a "high-end", "quality" light: M*glite.

What's a "high tech" light: a shake or dynamo powered light.

I have to admit you're right, the general public is oblivious to most of the flashlight market especially the better lights. I am a firefighter and even on our department the guys balk at the $120.00 streamlight liteboxes that are relatively weak compared to my toys. When I talked to a select few about my next light nearing the $1000 mark they look at me like I just bumped by head. However when we are paged to a night rescue, they all look to me to get my big lights out and bring them because the departments lights aren't going to cut it. They appreciate them but have no clue what quality costs.