What do the super expensive lights get used for?

I'm not trying to put down those of you that can afford expensive lights, which to me is $200+ and I've seen some lights over $500, and certainly there are more expensive lights.

So I'm curious. Those of you with $200-$500+ lights, what do you USE them for? WHY do you NEED a light that expensive?

What does a $500 light do that a $100 light will not do? What do you NEED to light up more than a $100 light will do?

I guess you could relate my questions to "Why have a 200mph sports car when the speed limit is 75mph?" How often do you need that "extra" power?

Most of the time it is for show. It's like owning a Ferrari instead of a Toyota. It's being in the spotlight and having your 15 minutes of fame.

KingGlamis said:

I'm not trying to put down those of you that can afford expensive lights, which to me is $200+ and I've seen some lights over $500, and certainly there are more expensive lights.

So I'm curious. Those of you with $200-$500+ lights, what do you USE them for? WHY do you NEED a light that expensive?

What does a $500 light do that a $100 light will not do? What do you NEED to light up more than a $100 light will do?

I guess you could relate my questions to "Why have a 200mph sports car when the speed limit is 75mph?" How often do you need that "extra" power?

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They're just really nice lights, like a Sebenza pocket knife or an Omega wristwatch. It's less about functionality than appreciating top quality gear that was made with a lot of creativity and respect for the medium.

Also, they hold at least most of their value. It's not like taking $500 out of the bank and blowing it on sushi after which it's gone. It's more like taking $500 out of the bank and carrying the wad of cash in your pocket. Barring accidents, if you need to pay a bill with it, you can always put it back in the bank.

I think it's a fairly subjective question to pose. I own some of these lights and I wouldn't argue that the actual performance benefit is justifiable. I just consider these lights like I'd consider a fine piece of art. I can spend $2 on a poster, $50 at a hotel art show or I can spend $50 million on a Van Gogh. It's just like any other subjective item; cars, beer, clothes, watches, fishing rods, knives, fast food, trailer home, etc.

It's more about the passion of the artist to make something special for us. Something that lasts, that never fails and performs it's job exceptionally well.

If you haven't had the pleasure of owning one of these lights I suggest you find a passaround to sign up on. It will get one of them in your hands and then you might discover and appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into making one. At that point you'll be able to decide whether or not you should purchase one yourself. Luckily this hobby has plenty of cool lights around the $200-400 range that are affordable by anyone. You just have to have a plan to squirrel away the money for it. Sometimes its weeks, sometimes months, sometimes longer still. Then you gotta convince the wife/GF it's worth it. That's even more difficult then the price justification. :sigh: :thinking:

As for what I do with them? They don't call'em shelf queens cuz they're royalty. I rotate through my EDC collection on a irregular basis to keep them fresh.

Hope that helped
T

i had my ti PD for the same reason i still have my strider SnG they are the best.

I carry my TiPD every day as well as a Sebenza and both gets used, everything i buy gets used but i take care of my stuff

yep, and you get what you pay for, i dont know about any of that "15 minutes of fame" mess i also agree that they hold their value much much better than cheaper lights. you can actually make a profit off of most McG's but i wouldnt do that.

So I'm curious. Those of you with $200-$500+ lights, what do you USE them for?

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Illuminating stuff.

WHY do you NEED a light that expensive?

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I didn't need to pay that much, but the build, finish, design, UI and overall quality of my HDS lights makes the high price worth paying (IMO).

I assume you have somethings that are more expensive than they need to be? It's nice to own a few quality items instead of "run of the mill" stuff.

BTW, no offense taken...it's a fair question, and one I used to ponder myself (until I bought my first HDS).


CFU

greenstuffs said:

I carry my TiPD every day as well as a Sebenza and both gets used, everything i buy gets used but i take care of my stuff

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I'd love a Sebbie...pointless me buying one living in the UK though, I'd never be able to EDC it.


CFU

KingGlamis said:

WHY do you NEED a light that expensive?

What does a $500 light do that a $100 light will not do? What do you NEED to light up more than a $100 light will do?

I guess you could relate my questions to "Why have a 200mph sports car when the speed limit is 75mph?" How often do you need that "extra" power?

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because the government hasn't got around to ban them yet. you just wait. pretty soon there will be a law against it and your wishes will come true, like platic grocery bags in San Francisco.

I thought people from Arizona would have better sense than to ask questions like that.

My super expensive light... is a light I know I can count on. I don't think I've ever gotten into a situation where a light has saved my life but it has definitely made my day (night?) safer and easier countless times. That said, I like having things that I know will work properly and this is one of them. It is somewhat elegant and built tough, so it matches my preference in toys. There really is nothing cheaper that performs and operates exactly what it does, either.

270winchester said:

because the government hasn't got around to ban them yet. you just wait. pretty soon there will be a law against it and your wishes will come true, like platic grocery bags in San Francisco.

I thought people from Arizona would have better sense than to ask questions like that.

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LOL, 270..this is CPF not Calguns .

The expensive lights just offer something intangible sometimes - I have several fenix lights, but I EDC the McClux because of the simplicity of the user interface, and it's rugged reliability. I still grab the Surefire U2 over the cheaper imported counterparts, which I also own, simply because it also has a simple user interface. I also grab the ROP with 2C AW cells, simply because the cheaper lights don't give me 500+ lumens, when I need to flood the backyard for the bump in the night.

'cos they're better.

I think my PD (And Ti-PD, L1, etc) are functionally, structurally, and artistically superior to a mini-Mag, to the point where that does actually pay the difference for me.

It's like - you can buy a crappy socket set, and use it for all your life, yeah? Sockets are sockets. But if it's got a loose lock or pivot, or isn't made of great metal, it'll rust, bend, or make itself a pain in the *** to work with. Yes, it works. Yes, it accomplishes the same job as a really great socket set.

But the better stuff does the job better.

OP,

I think if you spend enough time here, you will understand. When I joined CPF back in 2004, I scoffed at the thought of paying $40 for a Fenix L1P/L2P. I reluctantly bought them and was blown away.

I told myself I would never buy a flashlight over $100, but here I am, having owned or owning Orb Raw Ns ($180), Modamag Drake ($150), 2C Mag Mod (over $200 now), and planning to buy several Cree Surefire's (~$100 each).

Right now I am tempted to get a Wolf Eyes M300 or 10W Boxer HID. Surefire M6 is still on the wishlist...

This hobby is too addictive...

creampuff said:

LOL, 270..this is CPF not Calguns .
.

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creampuff, email me you name and address, I need 500 bucks real quick...

The Gladius was under $200 when I got it, but I guess it qualifies as a $200-500 expensive light I bought it for its build quality, smart UI and brightness (at that time). I wanted the funky strobe for fun to blind friends as well, and very few or no affordable lights had strobe at that time (including Fenix etc... )

Other lights that fall into that category are probably my Brightstar 24w HID... it just happens HIDs are all priced about there or up (save exemptions like the Amondotech Illuminator etc..). Worth the price for 1300 lumens with 2 hr runtime in a fairly solid, flashlight form factor body (though big as hell nowadays).

Other lights that I might have or exceed that category are custom mods for specific needs. Otherwise, for normal uses, a Fenix or Jetbeam CL-E just works fine for me. In fact, my 'cheap' EDCs get a helliuva lot more use than my expensive lights. After all, EDC lights are not called EDC for nothing.

Of course, there are CPFers who EDC expensive lights for the quality or collectability or whatever; but I can't bear to lose a $500 Ti light or get it confiscated at customs or whatever. I'll stick to my affordable lights for EDC

In short, most times, a light is a light. A $20 light might not be able to do what a $100 light can do, but a $100 light will probably do most or all things a $500 light will do. When you reach that kind of price, its not so much about what the light can 'do', its more of how collectable it is, how its built, what its made of, who made it, how it looks etc...

<< My super expensive light... is a light I know I can count on. I don't think I've ever gotten into a situation where a light has saved my life but it has definitely made my day (night?) safer and easier countless times. That said, I like having things that I know will work properly and this is one of them. >>


I agree with Carrot's comments. I also perform a lot of volunteeer work for our county. This includes emergency communications, stream and creek monitoring for possible flooding conditions, ground search and rescue, etc... This work needs to be done under all weather conditions. While $100 Huntlight can do the job, I prefer the feel, build quality, and durability of the higher end SureFire lights. I do often carry and use a less expensive light for general purposes. But if I am involved in something of a critical nature, I also always have higher quality light(s) on board as well.

CSI Miami?

Interesting thread/replies, like some others here when I joined CPF I found even $40-$50 too expensive for a light, setting an upper limit of about $30. Then I bought a Fenix L0P, and was surprised at the build quality and usefulness compared to all lights I'd ever used. Then it got worse from there - my next purchase was a Fenix P1D-CE, at the time at the premium (new item) price because it had only just become available.

In my opinion you can 'feel' the difference between the expensive and cheap lights easily, and it just feels nice to hold something like that in your hand, and even nicer to rely on it and use it as required. I have not yet had the chance to handle a surefire , so for me expensive means the higher end Fenix lights right now.

Even so, the cheaper lights will always get used by me mostly for EDC (for example, I'll still EDC my C-LE even once I have the more expensive and better build L1D-CE available) and I rotate my EDC's to keep things interesting too.

*wants to try a surefire* ^_^

My only +$200 light is the Draco and it gets to bang around with my keys in my pocket. I spent the money for this one because nothing can touch it's size/performance/features ratio, and the fact that I'd have it with me constantly and would get my money's worth of use out of it. I'm not fond of shelf queens personally.

From what I understand, the LODCE isn't that far off in performance, and is obviously only a little longer and a lot cheaper, but I could afford one nice light and AAA sized lights were just a PITA in my pocket. The Draco I don't notice at all and it's worth the $$$ to me.