current LED flashlights can outlive us, right?

With cree LEDs having a rated lifetime of 50,000 hours, it's quite possible that my SF 6P with a cree XRE drop-in with the stock twisty tailcap switch (no clickie to fail) will become a cherished heirloom to pass to my grandkids right? Im 30 years old right now and I EDC it and rarely have the need to turn it on an extended period; just a few seconds to check patients.

My wife and I have a heated debate on this on how extremely good values the current crop of LED flashlights are

Please help me convince her I'm right

Wishywashy7,
How much do you cherish your Dad's old Atari 2600?
I'll bet you can't wait to get home each night and fire up that old speed demon for a hot round of Space Invaders!!!

In 50 years I don't think your kids will give a rip what flashlights your playing with today other than the novelty of showing their friends the big heavy things their Dad used to make light that needed something called a battery.

Rated life isn't always what you'd think it means. Most LEDs will get dimmer over time.
My advice...tell you wife she's right. Even if she's wrong, it makes life smoother. Then just buy whatever you want and hide the reciepts. SHe won't know the differance when new lights show up. I have over 100 lights and believe me, one or 2 more in the pile won't be noticed. And even if they are, she just assumes I modded something.

Reallt great advice from Star Wars - Let the Wookie win!

killforfood said:

Wishywashy7,
How much do you cherish your Dad's old Atari 2600?
I'll bet you can't wait to get home each night and fire up that old speed demon for a hot round of Space Invaders!!!

In 50 years I don't think your kids will give a rip what flashlights your playing with today other than the novelty of showing their friends the big heavy things their Dad used to make light that needed something called a battery.

Click to expand...

Hell yes I would give it a rip. I wish I had an old Atari 2600 to play Space invaders on.

Qoose said:

Hell yes I would give it a rip. I wish I had an old Atari 2600 to play Space invaders on.

Click to expand...

Your wish is my command...
http://tinyurl.com/ythmty

There are a ton of them on ebay for nearly free. The above is "new" made with NOS parts, rebuilt controllers, and a bunch of games.

Anyway, on the flashlight front, I suspect some of the Surefire's will maintain some semblance of value and usefulness since Surefire will likely be in existance and make new/replacement bulbs with the latest LED tech.

Then there's always the collectibility factor -- heck, we're collecting flashlights while they are new. Wait 3 or 4 decades - someone will always want those cool gadgets from their youth.

One example: I collect 70's digital watches. Like - who'd think anyone would care these days, when a Casio that's more robust and runs 5 years on a battery and costs $12 at the grocery store. Well, the collectible digital watch market is huge. 70's LED pulsars go for hundreds of dollars. Even early LCD models are $100+ when minty.

50,000 hours is 5 or 6 years of constant use. So, you shouldn't have to worry about failure any time soon.

However, by the time your grandchildren get it, cree will have their Z12 bin out doing 682.4 lumen/watt, and everyone will laugh when they're told it's Q5 in there!

Until about 10 years ago I was still using some of my father's old incan lights that he had bought for work back in the 1950s and 1960s. I fully expect that some of my better LEDs will last at least 50 years with similar care.

Some of my SureFires may end up like great-granddad's axe, which has had seven new handles and two new heads, but is still great-granddad's axe to the family. Heck, if future generation of Leefs, Malkoffs and McClickies are still making parts, our SureFires may be immortal.

killforfood said:

Wishywashy7,
How much do you cherish your Dad's old Atari 2600?
I'll bet you can't wait to get home each night and fire up that old speed demon for a hot round of Space Invaders!!!

In 50 years I don't think your kids will give a rip what flashlights your playing with today other than the novelty of showing their friends the big heavy things their Dad used to make light that needed something called a battery.

Click to expand...

Actually that does look kinda fun in some strange, goofy, archaic way...

I wish I still had my Coleco Vision.

ampdude said:

I wish I still had my Coleco Vision.

Click to expand...

I just said that two days ago!! Original Donkey Kong, OMG!