I've done what I'd sworn I'd never do (a tale of extreme flashaholism)

Planterz

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Dec 14, 2005
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Tucson, AZ
After a not-so-warm-and-fuzzy experience with a Surefire L2 and their CS department, I'd sworn completely off Surefires. Then I ammended my oath to only avoid their LED models, since I couldn't resist buying (Carrot's fault) an A2 Aviator (which I've been more than happy with).

So what happened? Well, I finally ordered that Aleph 19 UV I've had my eyes on. But rather than buying the full light (head/body/tailswitch) from the Shoppe, I bought the head alone from lighthound. But of course, I need the rest of the lego set to complete the light. An E2L body and Z59 switch would have cost $70. So I figure WTH, I'll get an E1L, E2L or L4 from OpticsHQ.

I decide on the E2L since I like the longer clip and I'd always wanted to try the KL1 head because I don't own any light that'd be considered a real "thrower". And if I don't like it, I can always sell the head, and come out ahead compared to just buying the body and tailcap.

Then I get to thinking that I should also pick up an E1E/E1L body just for kicks. But then, I'm thinking to myself that it's cheaper to buy an L4 and a KL1 head than buying an E2L and a KL4 head, and I can use the rest to get the E1 body. But lighthound's out of stock. $@&#! But I want an E1 body and I want an E2/L4 body.

So then I'm thinking to myself that I can get an L4 and E1L, have both heads, both bodies, and I can switch the Aleph 19 UV head between the two bodies. So that's what I end up buying from OpticsHQ. I always wanted to try a TW4 anyway.

Now it's time to order the Aleph 19 UV head from lighthound. I'd already filled up my shopping cart with the A19 head, a couple R123As, 3 17670s, and a couple Twofish bike mounts. I'd forgotten I'd also added the E2L body and Z59 tailcap. So I just figure WTH, I'll leave those in my cart and buy those too.

So this, my friends, is a tale of how a man can start with the intentions of buying one complete flashlight, ponder adding an accessory component or two, and end up buying 3 complete flashlights and spending nearly $600 in a single night. Mostly from a company I'd sworn I'd never give any of my money to ever again. I guess I can still sell the parts that I decide I don't want.

Hello, my name is Planterz, and I'm a flashaholic.:help:
 
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ICUDoc

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Aug 20, 2004
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Sydney, Australia
[ALL:] Hi Planterz!


Just give in.
Go with the urge.
Save your thriftiness up for something important.


And post a few cool fluorescing beamshots....
 

SCblur

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Dec 30, 2005
Messages
818
I can relate, brother, I really can.

As for SF CS, I have also had a simiar experience. One out of my four calls to them has been sour, the other three were great. I find that it only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch sometimes. The next time you call them (if you ever do), if you get a grumpy CS rep, do what I did: hang up and call again. When you get a different person, chances are he'll be nicer. It worked for me, and it salvaged my potentially horrible experience. The second guy to take my call fixed me up no problem, and he did it cheerfully.

Enjoy your three lights (or is it four, or five?). That's the trouble w/ lego sets, they're so hard to count.
 

Planterz

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Dec 14, 2005
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Tucson, AZ
ICUDoc said:
And post a few cool fluorescing beamshots....
To be honest, the main reason I'm getting the Aleph 19 UV (even though I already have a Jil UV with the same Cree LED) is that I've got the stainless bezel rings from PEU coming in with the tritium mounting holes. So when I turn on the light, the trasers should glow too.

So, in fact, I spent $600 on 3 flashlights (and batteries and stuff) because of a $25 chunk of metal.
 

Chris201W

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Oct 27, 2005
Messages
340
Location
MA
Haha! This sounds like what I do, except I luckily only do it in my imagination. The fact that I don't have a credit card or a paypall account has probably saved me from a similar fate.

Enjoy your new lights!
 

Long John

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Mar 16, 2006
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Spain, near Cadiz
:lolsign: Great story Planterz:laughing:

It's always the same, the life can change your mind:nana:


Best regards

____
Tom
 

Oddjob

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Mar 24, 2006
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London, Ontario, Canada
Admitting you have a problem is the first step. :grin2: But seriously we can all relate I'm certain. "Been there, done that" comes to mind.
 

Virgo

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Jun 19, 2006
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Location
Central Texas
Hey Planterz,

So what do you think of the light? I bought a complete light ( Nakahoshi's AlephUV19 on a black HAIII E1E body). He had installed one of GreenLEDs glowOrings under the window, and I added a Ti bezel ring from the shop and a blue NITE Glowring. It's a neat package. I use it to charge my GID stuff and light up scorpions at night.

Great story! It's "fun" to mix and match the parts and see what kind of lights you can come up with.:)

edit- Oops, just saw the other thread. You probably don't have it yet.
 
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TigerhawkT3

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Jul 2, 2006
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CA, 94087
I recently got a credit card and started using a PayPal account, but I haven't yet done what you did. I made an impulse buy when I wanted a Gladius from Strategos and ended up also ordering a book about low-light tactical encounters for $15, and when I wanted a 4AA PR host from The Wal*Mart, I ended up getting the 4AA PR host, a 4D PR host, a 6V lantern battery, four D cells, and a second NI PR LED.
 

Hogokansatsukan

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Aug 14, 2006
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Tucson
and what about the situation where you just buy a light, then it drops dramatically in price, so you buy the same light again, so that your price is lower per light? Why, I just saved tons of money on my U60GTs.
If I keep saving money like this, I'll go bankrupt.
 

Blazer

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Dec 10, 2005
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Location
Ontario, Canada
Hogokansatsukan said:
and what about the situation where you just buy a light, then it drops dramatically in price, so you buy the same light again, so that your price is lower per light? Why, I just saved tons of money on my U60GTs.
If I keep saving money like this, I'll go bankrupt.

Actually that's a really good way of doing it because you actually average out the prices in the end, and in the meantime you get a product that's new on the market, has that WOW factor, because nobody's seen it before, then you get a spare for less money long term.

My first U60 $160
My second U60 $125
TOTAL $285 (wow I don't like totalling up my light purchases)

Divide that by 2 = $142.50 so I paid $142.50 for each HDS U60 which I think is a reasonable price but I've had one for a while, now I have a backup.

It's all good.:thumbsup: (as long as you can pay the mortgage, feed the kids, heat the house and buy gas for the car)
 
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