Have you ever not used a flashlight?!

A while back I was waiting to take the elevator to the 4th floor of the building in which I work. As I was waiting one of the office cuties arrives and we take the elevator together. Well the light was out in the elevator. At the time I had a Arc AAA-P and Arc LSH-S on my person. But I chose to ride in the dark with a good looking woman. It was naughty fun. Nothing happened, I just have a really active imagination!

Anyone else withhold light for cheap thrills?

Imagining such a situation, I might be more concerned with being branded a "flashlight dork". Now if the elevator got stuck with the lights out I'd have to be the knight in shining armor.

Geoff

Back in the early 70s if you wanted to get to Whittier, Alaska you had to take the Alaska Railroad, a plane or a boat. You could load a car onto the train at Portage and then ride the ~9 miles to Whittier. The train went through two tunnels on the way and at the time they were only big enough for one set of tracks, although now there is also a road so you can get there by just driving.

One weekend a friend of mine and I took the train to Whittier and then hiked back into Bear Valley -- the valley between the two tunnels. In order to camp there we had to walk through the longest tunnel which was about 2 1/4 miles long.

We only had one of the old plastic Mallory 2AA side by side lights (incan) and no spare cells. We talked it over and decided that the prudent thing to do would be to just slowly shuffle through the tunnel in the dark on our way in so we would be sure to have the light if one of us got hurt and the other had to run back through the tunnel for help.

So, we walked through in the dark, and wow, was it dark! For a while the tunnel entrance was just the tinyest possible speck of dim light. It was the darkest place I've ever been.

Also, a train went through while we were in there. We took off our packs and both sat down against the side of the tunnel. I have never been so close to something so loud and so big moving so quickly. That was different.

The Duracell Mallory was a good backpacker's light for it's time but what I would have given for a CMG Infinity with a green or blue/green LED -- and it's 41 hour runtime.

Flying Turtle said:

Imagining such a situation, I might be more concerned with being branded a "flashlight dork".

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Same here.

is that a flashlight in your pocket or....

hope your imagination didn't go too far...

Yea, sure, with an Arc-P she wouldn't have been very impressed anyhow

Kees

My co-workers already know I'm a dork. I have my Lighthound/Surefire/oldgrandpajack packages shipped to my desk. The light strapped to my hip is also a dead give away.

I am what I am!

Yes, when I was helping someone out who I could not trust with their car,
we ended up using their lighter

I've been stuck in several lifts. Once with an attractive young lady. The lighting wasn't great in the lift (it was a goods lift about 3x4 metres I guess). We sat at opposite corners of the lift and my girlfriend kept us talking (since she worked at the same place and was waiting for me by the lift door on the other floor). She knew exactly what I could get up to in a lift alone with an attractive young lady. My getting my flashlight out was the least of her worries.

There have been other times when (expecially in crowds) finding oneself plunged into darkness the temptation to whip out flashlights must be checked because introducing a really bright light into a crowd may cause panic. I was stuck on a packed tube train when the lights went out for what seemed like ages. There was something in the atmosphere - collectively everybody welcomed the darkness I guess since not being able to see that we were stuck was so-how preferrable to being able to see that we were stuck. There was no where to go and nothing to do but wait so solid darkness was easier to deal with compared to random bright light being shone around in the darkness.

Al

kelmo said:

My co-workers already know I'm a dork. I have my Lighthound/Surefire/oldgrandpajack packages shipped to my desk. The light strapped to my hip is also a dead give away.

I am what I am!

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That's right and so it should be!
Only yesterday my new starter commented on the L2 clipped inside my pocket and said she didn't realise I carried a torch all the time even during the day.

I may even be consulted on which flashlights the Agency is going to procure (which will be a national contract). A recent audit showed that 80% of the Agency's flashlights were non functional and the remaining 20% were not fit for purpose.

Sub_Umbra said:

We only had one of the old plastic Mallory 2AA side by side lights (incan) and no spare cells. We talked it over and decided that the prudent thing to do would be to just slowly shuffle through the tunnel in the dark on our way in so we would be sure to have the light if one of us got hurt and the other had to run back through the tunnel for help...The Duracell Mallory was a good backpacker's light for it's time but what I would have given for a CMG Infinity with a green or blue/green LED -- and it's 41 hour runtime.

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Hey Sub_Umbra, I agree that the Duracell-Mallory 2AA side-by-side is a true classic flashlight. I still have one - only one left of dozens purchased over the years that I was carrying them on a regular basis. I rarely use it these days, but it's still as functional and reliable as ever. For everyday use it was far superior to its main alternative, the MiniMag incan.

A couple of times, in caves I was familiar with, I shut off my lights and painstakingly felt my way back to the surface, completely in the dark. Figured it was good practice for the event of being stranded in a cave without light, for real.

Size15's said:

I may even be consulted on which flashlights the Agency is going to procure (which will be a national contract). A recent audit showed that 80% of the Agency's flashlights were non functional and the remaining 20% were not fit for purpose.

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If you are consulted, please do the Agency and nation a favour. I am sure your colleagues would be very please if they are issue with Surefires.

firefly99 said:

If you are consulted, please do the Agency and nation a favour. I am sure your colleagues would be very please if they are issue with Surefires.

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Whilst you could argue that yellow G2's are useful in the event of an emergency for when you need a lot of light for only a short period of time from a flashlight that should sit waiting for years at a time in firstaid kits, gloveboxes, server/plant rooms etc,
The sort of flashlights I believe the Agency needs and uses are more along the lines of larger industrial use lights - for area lighting for longer periods. SureFire do not have any off-the-shelf lights of that sort. Additionally, I'd rather the Agency purchased from an UK manufacturer if possible.

Al

Just out of curiousity, which agency are you guys talking about?

In the late 70's my adventure partner (climbing, whitewater, caving, etc.) and I decided to make an adventure of exploring an elaborate and abandoned zinc mine about 30 miles from Las Vegas. We had been in the mine before and knew that it had more than seven levels and miles of convoluted adits and drifts. It also had old ladders (sometimes) connecting the various levels. In some places the floor of a drift (think tunnel) would simply disappear into a 50 foot hole.

Well, to make it interesting, we decided to forego flashlights and go with candle lanterns. The lanterns were "Hope" brand from Japan. They were made of thin aluminum with mica windows and folded flat for storage.

We had to move slowly since the candle lanterns only projected a few feet. The lighting also added to the delightful sense of claustraphobia, since you could be in a huge room but your sphere of existence was just a small sphere of light. That mine could suck up light and spit out blackness.

Good times!

a maglite would be impressive if she asked, is that a flashlight in your pocket or...

well, if i was in the lift... i would continue to play on my DS!

maybe lend her my phone to play with to past time .

been there, me and a friend out of the blue, went to a place called kent falls and i had not light, we decide to climb this hill in the woods in the pitch black all i had was my lighter and cell phone, all theat wnet through my head was all the horror movies i have seen that take place in the woods .

I would have whipped it out ... my light, of course.

Be true to yourself. Embrace your flashlight dorkiness.

So the other day i was walking on a trail by my college with a friend. We came to a dark area and she was saying something along the lines of how she did like the dark. So i pulled out my arc aaa and turned it on. Guess what her response was? "No put it away! It makes it worse." :huh2: Maybe im missing something but if your afraid of the dark dont you want light?

Flying Turtle said:

Imagining such a situation, I might be more concerned with being branded a "flashlight dork". Now if the elevator got stuck with the lights out I'd have to be the knight in shining armor.

Geoff

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