Ran into CPFer in Walmart

I know that cpf is not a paging service, but this is less of a page and more of needing to correct my stupidity. I was in walmart today, at around 4:30 and noticed someone in the flashlight isle looking at magled 2cell dropins. To my surprise, he was wearing a Fenix P1!! We talked for a minute about flashlights and i showed him my P1 that i was wearing too on my belt and then i forgot to ask him if he was a member of the forums, since most people have never heard of a P1 unless they are a member of the forums. So, if you are in the rochester NY area and were in the henrietta wal-mart and were talked to in the flashlight isle by someone wearing a green polo, let me know. Ive never actually ran into a flashoholic in the "wild" and this just shows my surprise.

Mods- if this is too much of a page, please feel free to remove the thread and issue me a stern warning. Im just excited as to finally meet a flashoholic other than myself.

I met a CPF member at a gun store before. Surprised you didn't ask him about CPF.

Bonez, why not set up a gathering for flashaholics in your area? See if there are any local ham radio fests in your area and arrange for a meeting there. You'll find there's some overlap between ham radio enthusiasts and appreciators of flashlight technology.

Right, FieldOps?

I didnt even think of the ham radio angle....... i'll investigate when there are ham radio events or just plan my own gathering....... meanwhile, if anyone sees this thread and is from rochester ny or surrounding area, feel free to chime in and let me know there are more of us in this city.......I feel stupid for not asking about his cpf name..........

I always get excited when someone else looks at the flashlights at walmart or target, but then i get sad when they pick up a pack of mini mag bulbs and walk away. Im too sad to recomend anything at that point

Just be aware that some CPF'ers might not want to disclose their affiliation with the forums, etc. Rothrandir and I had such an experience with someone we bumped into at SHOT Show.

I bumped into a fellow CPFer up in Seattle in the summer of 2001 in front of a dry cleaner's just east of downtown. I happened to be carrying my prototype Arc-LS and of course, wasted no time in showing it to him and demonstrating it for him. :thumbsup:

I went to taget the other day and helped a guy out to pick out a flashlight he was going for a regular Minimag and i told him to go for the Dorcy Single Cr123A light. He did and never talked to him since.

I always TRY to be nice and helpfull when I'm in the Flashlight aisle! I haven't met any other CPFers that way however...

PlayboyJoeShmoe said:

I always TRY to be nice and helpfull when I'm in the Flashlight aisle! I haven't met any other CPFers that way however...

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Ditto

I have yet to encounter a fellow CPF'r in the "wild!" That's gotta be a treat!!

Larry

Well Larry, just fire up that KW+ tank searchlight that I asked you about, and I'll find you! I live up the road about 7 miles from CM. Our street doesn't have street lights, so if I ever lose anything outside at night, I may have you fire it up and point it in our direction! LOL!

(sorry for the OT)

More on-topic, I will try to be more mindful of anyone in the flashlight asiles I frequent (Target, W*lmart, Big 5, Rat Shack). It would be good to have a chat with a fellow CPF'er or maybe "convert" an innocent shopper.

Bill

Giving advice at the flashlight asile at Walmart is like banging one's head against a wall.
A lady and her kid was luuking at flashlights. I suggested she check out the LED lights. The batteries last much longer I said. She thanked me and concentrated on the cheap 2D incans.
On another occasion the lady ended up with a Dorcy 6V lantern. I think the big block battery that comes 'free' with the lantern was the deciding factor.

Have much better luck at the battery asile. Stopped people from buying NiMH chargers with rechargeable alkalines or vice versa a couple of times. Persuaded them to match the battery type to the charger. The last time the lady settled on Pure Energy rechargeable alkalines and charger. Then her friend mentioned they were going to use them in a digital camera. Have to make them put their selection back and get NiMH.

Not easy giving advice at Walmart.

greenLED said:

Just be aware that some CPF'ers might not want to disclose their affiliation with the forums, etc. Rothrandir and I had such an experience with someone we bumped into at SHOT Show.

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Really?

greenLED said:

Just be aware that some CPF'ers might not want to disclose their affiliation with the forums, etc. Rothrandir and I had such an experience with someone we bumped into at SHOT Show.

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There is nothing to be ashamed about hanging out at CPF!

this is way off topic because it happened at Sears.................

I was in the flashlight and battery section of a Sears hardware store a couple years ago, and ended up talking with one of the managers. He said he had bought a Surefire A2 recently. I asked if he ever went to candlepowerforums, and he had not heard of it. I told him to google for candlepower, and it would be one of the first results. I don't know if he joined. Belleville, IL store, fwiw.

DUQ said:

Really?

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Yup. I don't know if it was because of where we were (not everybody likes CPF at SHOT, for reasons I can understand), or if they just wanted to remain private (which I can also understand). There were a couple of CPF'ers at SHOT who didn't mingle with the "crowd" that was there.

It's the same mindset as a person in sales understanding the needs of a potential customer. If a person is looking for a 99¢ flashlight, and you suggest a $15-20 flashlight, they will no doubt balk at your suggestion; even if they are friendly and just say "thank you". I think we often see the same kind of response here when someone posts one of those request for suggestions for a flashlight. Inevitably, without even getting a feel for the poster's budget, there will be suggestions for very high-end high priced lights that are not generally in reach of most of the people who frequent this site, or there will be recommendations for high priced home-made modification lights, without a thought being given to the fact that the original poster may have been looking for a commercially available product that is commonly found in a store.

And on the other side of the coin, you may also run into people that are a little leary and less than receptive to "advice" from strangers. I have run into people at places like Costco, Wal*Mart, and Frys, that were more than willing to offer their "advice" and share their "knowledge". Let's just say that after listening to them, I arrived at my own conclusions as to what they actually knew and ignored them.

LEDninja said:

Giving advice at the flashlight asile at Walmart is like banging one's head against a wall.
A lady and her kid was luuking at flashlights. I suggested she check out the LED lights. The batteries last much longer I said. She thanked me and concentrated on the cheap 2D incans.
On another occasion the lady ended up with a Dorcy 6V lantern. I think the big block battery that comes 'free' with the lantern was the deciding factor.

Have much better luck at the battery asile. Stopped people from buying NiMH chargers with rechargeable alkalines or vice versa a couple of times. Persuaded them to match the battery type to the charger. The last time the lady settled on Pure Energy rechargeable alkalines and charger. Then her friend mentioned they were going to use them in a digital camera. Have to make them put their selection back and get NiMH.

Not easy giving advice at Walmart.

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greenLED said:

Yup. I don't know if it was because of where we were (not everybody likes CPF at SHOT, for reasons I can understand), or if they just wanted to remain private (which I can also understand). There were a couple of CPF'ers at SHOT who didn't mingle with the "crowd" that was there.

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What exactly is SHOT, and why wouldn't its attendees like CPF?:thinking:

it is a proud day when boys become luMEN :lolsign:

TigerhawkT3 said:

What exactly is SHOT, and why wouldn't its attendees like CPF?:thinking:

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http://www.shotshow.org/App/homepage.cfm?moduleid=1968&appname=100300