Suggestions for thread on the 2007 Flashlight of the Year?

I don't see a thread yet so I thought we could discuss how to go about it this time. What should the criteria be and who would like to MC?

L1 Cree

Valpo Hawkeye said:

L1 Cree

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Whoa there! This isn't the voting thread. I've just started this thread to ask how we should go about it this year. For example; should we only vote for one light or can we name our top three? Are flashlights made prior to 2007 eligable? Are Headlamps allowed or should we restrict the voting to handheld models only? I think last year there were two threads; one for nominating and one for the final vote. I think we should discuss how to do this before we actually start calling for votes.

EDIT: BTW, I don't want to step on anyones toes. If someone already has this planned please say so.

Well, if you want to get involved, I think we should name our top three. Someone would keep stats on those candidates, and the light most consistently in that list would win, followed the the second most common and third most. That way we have the top three of the year!

I think there should be 3 different catagories: LED, Incandesent, and HID because they are really different beasts each with their own advantages and disadvantages. There should also be a best spot light catagory and best custom/moded light.

How to proceed, then? Compile a list of contestants, like the L1 Cree, set up a timeframe for votes, then accept votes, then proclaim a winner. I personally disagree, I think there should be an overall winner, regardless of type of light.

Some good ideas! Keep'em coming.

We need categories. The Zebralight H50 and the cree E2L are both fantastic lights, but they're difficult to compare. An overall "best of the best", chosen by vote, would be interesting as well.

I say do it by:

Battery considerations as well as by bulb types.

Example:

LED Category (Torches):

• 1 CR123
• 2 CR123
• 1 18650
• 1 AA
• 2 AA
• 1 AAA
• 2+ AAA
• 1 CR2
• 1+ C Cell
• 1+ D Cell

LED Category (Headlamps):

• All types, regardless of battery type

HID Category:

• All types, regardless of battery type

Incandescent (Torches):

• 1 CR123
• 2 CR123
• 3+ CR123
• 1+ D Cell
• 1+ C Cell
• AA Format

But hey, that's just me, because I like categories. Not sure if this possible. After all, when it all boils down to it - there is no perfect flashlight. It's a matter of give and take. The perfect flashlight is only perfect for it's intended role.

Catagories are fine though there would be too many. What about sheer output, long battery life, programmable UI, different modes, pocketable, small size, etc... and what about those who were not able to own/sample some? Do we includes mods also?


The ARC mania SF-V, Extreme II, Extreme III and the Extreme Micro are all new for 2007 and are not mods.

There will always be a Flashlight that can almost replace the others yet, the SF-V is untouchable... That would be my One and Only choice for a 2007 winner (IMHO).
If only there were enough around so that all could have experienced it.


Njoy...

I honestly think it will be almost impossible to nail down ONE light of the year. And there will be farrr to many categories.Maybe the only way is to go for "most purchased flashlight" this year...which might just be the L1 cree..who knows...

Crenshaw

So far the consensus is to have categories and an overall flashlight of the year.

The basic categories suggested so far:

Flashlight of the Year
Best LED
Best Incandescent
Best HID
Best Spotlight
Best Custom/Modded
Best Headlamp


Mercaptan suggested we break it down further by battery sub-categories under each general category. Does anyone else think that is a good idea or would that be going too far with categories? Perhaps to keep it simple just battery type (best 1-AA, best 2-AA, etc.), or is that still going too far with categories?

Two other categories that might be good are "best bang for the buck" and "worst flashlight of the year".

I'm wondering how we should keep score if we name our top three for each category. What about 3 points for our top pick, 2 points for our second choice, and 1 point for our third choice? That way a voter doesn't have to list as many as three lights, and the person tabulating the votes would have a much easier time keeping score by point values. Does that sound like the best way to do it?

Should we only allow lights manufactured/released in 2007 or leave it open? I'm thinking to keep it simple lets leave it open so nobody has to figure out when their choices were made/released. Another benefit of leaving it open is a light that is older that makes the list will be shown to stand the test of time. What is your opinion?

How long should the voting window be? I'm thinking two weeks is about right. Perhaps when we open it up for votes we could ask Sasha to post a note on top of the main CPF page.

You'll need to add a few sub-categories for the LED section.
Brightest, best long running/low level and best multi-level.

LowBat said:

The basic categories suggested so far:

Flashlight of the Year
Best LED
Best Incandescent
Best HID
Best Spotlight
Best Custom/Modded
Best Headlamp

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Looks like a good start to me. Maybe too many categories still. Breaking down by battery type just isn't practical imho.


Were there any stock incandescents made in 2007 worth mentioning? HID/ Spotlight are kind of the same thing to me, I'd lump them in with the high power incans.

1. Best Overall Stock Flashlight (Grand prize if you will)
2. Best EDC
3. Best Headlamp
4. Best High Power Light
5. Best Mod
6. Best Custom

Don't allow any light to win more than one category. I think a vote is a vote. Keep it simple. I don't see any big reason to break votes down into points. I would say it should only be lights released/ created in 2007. One vote per person in each category.

LowBat said:

Two other categories that might be good are "best bang for the buck" and "worst flashlight of the year".

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Let the flame wars begin!

Flashlight of the Year
Best LED
Best Incandescent
Best HID
Best Spotlight
Best Custom/Modded
Best Headlamp

PhantomPhoton said:

Looks like a good start to me. Maybe too many categories still. Breaking down by battery type just isn't practical imho.

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+1

I'm working on a ballot based on everyones suggestions. Please keep up the opinions.

I would do 2 threads on this. First would be the "nominations". Then, based on volume of nominations, start a second thread for the actual voting. Be sure to set deadlines in each.

Valpo Hawkeye said:

I would do 2 threads on this. First would be the "nominations". Then, based on volume of nominations, start a second thread for the actual voting. Be sure to set deadlines in each.

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I'm thinking an easier way might be to let voters make changes to their ballots up until the deadline.

EDIT: Actually VH your idea maybe better. If we narrowed it down to 10 or less per catagory we could use the pole feature here on CPF. Results would then be tabulated automatically and have a bar chart too.

I just experimented with the poll feature in the practice forum and I think this is a great way to go. The only drawback I see so far is that each category will require its own thread. Perhaps someone in admin could allow us to setup one thread with multiple poles. Either way I think we have our voting machine.

TITAN.

...enough said.

MSax

Ok I think I'm figuring out how to make this work. Unless anyone has any objections I'll start a new thread calling for nominations. On this nomination thread there will be the "basic" catagories we have come up with. I don't want to go with battery types too as that makes for just too many categories. I'll let somebody else do the best flashlight by battery thread if they want.

Here are seven catagories.

"The 2007 Flashlight of the Year"
"The Best LED Flashlight of 2007"
"The Best Incandescent Flashlight of 2007"
"The Best HID or Spotlight of 2007"
"The Best Custom or Modified Flashlight of 2007"
"The Best Headlamp of 2007"
"The Best Bang for the Buck of 2007"

If they need to be reworded or changed somehow please let me know now. When the nomination thread starts it will call for one entry per category per person. After a selected time has passed I'll then take the top ten nominations for each category and create a seperate thread for each one. Each thread will have up the ten choices to vote on, and only one vote will be allowed per category. The built-in day and time poll closing feature will also be set. I'm thinking two weeks should be enough time once the polls open.

Opinions please, this is a group effort.