First Ding and other mishaps

Yesterday I dropped my keyring--put the first ding in my new arc. It still works of course, but don't you just hate that first ding?

Am I alone in this? I don't want a shelf queen but I still hate that first ding.

What about you? What does everyone else do to avoid dings? Can you fix them?

I feel your pain! This past Sunday I dropped my first really good flashlight, a pristine SureFire 6P, onto my rough concrete driveway. I had pulled the flashlight from my jacket pocket facing toward me. I gently tossed the light in the air to flip it around and - oops! It landed on the corner of its bezel and bounced end over end into the rocks next to the driveway. Needless to say, my new 6P ain't pristine no more!

I bought my light to be a tool as well as a toy. It's a toy in the sense that I already have four lamp assemblies for it, a spare SF clone bezel, an A19 battery adapter and a DigiLight 9V range extender. I knew from the start that my SureFire would eventually pick up a few "character marks". Dropping it on the pavement was a bit of a heart-breaker though.

I offer this up for you to consider. All of my most prized personal possessions have one thing in common - wear marks that make them uniquely mine. I have a small watch collection, among them are a couple of pristine collectables that I hardly ever wear. Which of my watches do I really treasure though? Easily they are my Grandfather's gold retirement watch, my Great Uncle's watch that has a unique and colorful story to it, my college graduation watch that I've beat to death (but it still runs) and an old Seiko Diver's Watch that was my daily companion during my military days. In addition to watches, I attach the same feelings to an old SLR camera of mine, tools that I inherited from my Grandfather and my Father, and a few other storied items that my wife swears are just junk but that I will never part with.

If you don't use a thing it will never truly belong to you. Enjoy your Arc flashlight. When you can tell it at a glance from any other Arc, it will have become yours and yours alone.

You might try finding some nail polish that's close to the right color, though I don't think you'll have good luck finding HA green colored nailpolish. Most times a ding will make a slight raised area around the depression. If there's such a raised area on your light, you might file that down before nailpolishing.


I just wouldn't worry about the ding. It's not a "ding," it's a "battle scar." Flashlights are tools and meant to be used. :shrug:


Cheers. :buddies:

My L1P got it's first scratch from my attemp to put a split ring trought those tiny lanyard holes.... Haaaaargh !

"Accidental' dings are annoying. "Battle scars" that you can link to a great story are cool (like the time I used a 2D Mag to drive in tent stakes)

Well don't feel bad. I was wearing my old jeans that had a hole in the pocket. Not even 24 hours into my new A2, I put the light into that pocket and it fell through and came out of my pant leg. My poor light rolled a few revolutions on the concrete and left a few marks on the bezel.

Thanks! Good to know I'm not alone. I agree that tools get dinged, and a flashlight is a tool. It's just irritating. I can tell you where most of the dings in most of my lights came from (ok, except the minimags, too many to track).

I won't try to fix it--not that big a deal, just irritating. Like the first scratch in a new car.

I have a nice little ding on my HDS, and yes, it is quite painfull. Over time I have got used to it and don't notice it as much, but still......

Dings are nothing. The battery leaked in both my Fenix L1P and L0P.
The leak in my L0P is my fault for doing a battery drain test.

The Energizer E2 AA simply leaked, and partly corroded the inside of the L1P. The gas release was so strong the rubber button blew out like a bulb, and deflated when I released the pressure by unscrewing it.


I could have lost use of both lights within days of owning them. Thank God you only had a ding.

http://www.americanangst.com/dingfries.html Hillarious.

You should see the bezel of my ArcAAA :green:

I once dropped my 4D Mag so hard that it bent the bezel out of shape That one hurt. I don't baby my lights that much anymore.

I try to keep all my lights in good condition (and I don't have any uber-pricey lights). Tho they are tools, if you have more than a couple, they're also toys (I consider collection items toys) as they're not needed. All my lights so far are still in great or near perfect condition (and they do get used), but recently I dropped my V2 from about shoulder height onto my kitchen tile floor. It still works no prob, but it did get a bit nicked (not much tho) and slightly dented at the edge of the bezel (that was the point of impact). I didn't like it, but it happened and I eventually accepted it. I've dropped a couple of my other lights before, but on carpet and softer surfaces or from a fairly low height and they didn't sustain any damage at all. I still look at the dent now and then and don't like it, but I didn't expect to be able to keep them in pristine condition.

One day after I got my KL3. I was running with my 6P + KL3 head in my back pocket. And the bam out it flies, 3 or 4 moderate dings on bezel. I got them mostly covered with sharpie and buffed it up. If you have dings that are not on the knurling, you can put some sharpie on, then I use my Dremel buffing wheel, and make it look real nice.

GreenLED, I feel your pain. But I beat you. I was working on my putting up some new lighting fixtures in my theater. And I had a stock 2D Mag there, for ceiling bounce light. I reached for my wrench; boom down goes the 2D, 3 stories of scaffolding onto a tile floor, the Mag got the good end though…I broke 2 tiles. The Mag bezel was pretty bent of shape, lens wasn't doing so well either, of course the bulb was gone. I trashed that Mag...

My semi new but unscathed L4 slipped from my hand while I was on a roof, slow motion bouncing down the shingles onto a paved driveway..
That sucked.

I don't see how you can put a flashlight on a keyring...particularly a keyring.... and not expect it will soon begin to show signs of wear. Nothwithstanding, there are some lights that will wear better than others ...but that is a subject for another thread. An EDC is just that....and is subject to the "pratfalls" of being toted about. There are those that just buy lights to keep on a shelf to look at, or shine on walls......"different strokes"....one's needs may vary.

-Regards

Do you keep the new car in the garage with 000006 miles on the odometer just to keep that new car smell?

Put LOTS of "miles" on your flashlights and enjoy.

73
dim

I put a nice scratch in my Arc when i was taking off the pocket clip... Kinda just forced it. No porblem here as i knew it would be a mess on my keys anyway.

Removing the clip from my girlfriends ARC was seamless after my trial on mine.

I also have a Stinger HP which I used on duty when I worked for an Aux Police dept in mass.. I use to knock on doors with it and was kinda reckless. Considering my actions its in good shape and I love the battle scars...

My U2 has only seen 4 123a's and no drops.. it sits in the back of my car seat and in my bedroom. It's my pure "hobby" light and only gets nice play time. The E1l is in my pocket all the time and is still flawless. I'm amazed becasue sometimes I forget and put change in that pocket... Great light!

Sharpie = Instant Anodizer :naughty:

I try to avoid as best I can NOT to drop/ding my light(s). But eventually it happens. That's why some people like using those lanyards or those retracting GearKeeper attched to their lights. Trying not to drop my McLux.III.PD! :huh:

Funny you should mention that. I dropped my A2 today in class, about 4 feet from the ground. I was starting to get upset, and then I gave it a quick once-over, and it looked as perfect as ever. I tested both outputs, and it worked. Then I slipped it back into my pocket.

I've dropped the Inova X5 all over the place. Luckily its only scarring is light scratching on the stainless steel bezel.

I try to keep my lights as nice as possible, but I bought them to use, not to baby. I was totally crushed when I dropped my Powerbook, though.

carrot said:

I was totally crushed when I dropped my Powerbook, though.

Click to expand...

Whoa Hey Mai!

Yesterday I saw my friend's PowerBook and it was, looked "total" destroyed because his 18 month yanked the cord while charging from off the dinner table. Maybe one of those Panasonic ToughBooks—

ohh god.. i can only imagine.

I stepped on a powercord when a dell was charging and very lucky for me it did nto go flying! That would have cost me 10 U2's to replace lol