Your significant other

I met my fiancé close to two years ago. I gradually let her see I enjoy reading about flashlights and EDC one. She never has understood it but doesn't say much about it either. Now keep in mind I don't have tons of lights. I only have what I'll use. Currently I have a Surefire E1B, L1, E2L, Peak Pacific & NovaTac. Last night she seen my E1B and realized I had bought a new light. That surprised me some. She must pay more attention to my lights than she wants to admit. Later in the evening I was shining it along with my L1 on the wall to compare the beams. She had to laugh and ask if I have a problem. I said I was just seeing what the difference was between the two lights.

She really doesn't support me with my hobby but it doesn't cause any problems with our relationship either, well the part of me being on CPF to much can irritate her a little. What's funny to me is how many times she asks me to borrow my light. She is always asking to use one. She'd be lost without me! Luckily we both manage our own money and buy what we want to buy (within reason of coarse). She just doesn't get it and I understand why she wouldn't. It does seem silly.

How does everyone elses significant other deal with your "flashlight" problem?

sbebenelli said:

I met my fiancé close to two years ago. I gradually let her see I enjoy reading about flashlights and EDC one. She never has understood it but doesn't say much about it either. Now keep in mind I don't have tons of lights. I only have what I'll use. Currently I have a Surefire E1B, L1, E2L, Peak Pacific & NovaTac. Last night she seen my E1B and realized I had bought a new light. That surprised me some. She must pay more attention to my lights than she wants to admit. Later in the evening I was shining it along with my L1 on the wall to compare the beams. She had to laugh and ask if I have a problem. I said I was just seeing what the difference was between the two lights.

She really doesn't support me with my hobby but it doesn't cause any problems with our relationship either, well the part of me being on CPF to much can irritate her a little. What's funny to me is how many times she asks me to borrow my light. She is always asking to use one. She'd be lost without me! Luckily we both manage our own money and buy what we want to buy (within reason of coarse). She just doesn't get it and I understand why she wouldn't. It does seem silly.

How does everyone elses significant other deal with your "flashlight" problem?

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My gf and I have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to the flashlights. I did just give her an E1B, though...so I'm happy to know that she has a decent light to use whenever I'm not around. :twothumbs

My wife of 27 years knows that I have never spent money we could not afford to. Neither has she.

So she looks at my many flashlights and just smiles: she's happy when I'm happy.

I look at her drawers overflowing with shirts (shirts? ... yes, shirts) and I just smile: I'm happy when she's happy.

sbebenelli said:

I met my fiancé close to two years ago. I gradually let her see I enjoy reading about flashlights and EDC one. She never has understood it but doesn't say much about it either. Now keep in mind I don't have tons of lights. I only have what I'll use. Currently I have a Surefire E1B, L1, E2L, Peak Pacific & NovaTac. Last night she seen my E1B and realized I had bought a new light. That surprised me some. She must pay more attention to my lights than she wants to admit. Later in the evening I was shining it along with my L1 on the wall to compare the beams. She had to laugh and ask if I have a problem. I said I was just seeing what the difference was between the two lights.

She really doesn't support me with my hobby but it doesn't cause any problems with our relationship either, well the part of me being on CPF to much can irritate her a little. What's funny to me is how many times she asks me to borrow my light. She is always asking to use one. She'd be lost without me! Luckily we both manage our own money and buy what we want to buy (within reason of coarse). She just doesn't get it and I understand why she wouldn't. It does seem silly.

How does everyone elses significant other deal with your "flashlight" problem?

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Maybe if you gave her a really nice light of her own she might "get it".
I have been included into the whole flashaholic thing and I have a few of my own lights that I enjoy.
SheDevil

I don't buy a heck of a lot of flashlights, but my spouse occasionally kids me about my "childlike fascination with light." Ok, so it's true. There is something special at a very basic level about being able to produce light wherever you go, whenevr you need it.

I've got to wonder whether Thomas Edison would've been a flashaholic if he had access to the lights that we have today.

We have 3 little boys. They love flashlights too. I get a pass because of them. My wife now understands the attraction from afar.

I guess there was a time when she did say to me "I'm really, genuinely worried about you. What is it with the flashlights?" But shortly thereafter my bank account tanked, we had the rest of the kids, and I got super distracted by other things in life. The most I've bought in the last year was a couple Tigerlight upgrades. No mods, except that recently I did take apart my old Niterider bike lights to see what I could do with the skeleton of it...

It also helped when a buddy who's also a computer geek called 2 weeks ago & asked if I could come out for a night mountain-bike ride. Seems he was looking for a new bike light and discovered this great site named CandlePower Forums. He'd bought a bunch of Fenix LED lights and strapped them to his his handlebar, his helmet, same for his son. We all went out & had a great time. Well, I was sucking wind because I hadn't ridden enough since the snow started, but I still had fun too.

My wife just went

Go CPF!

[edit] No, wait. I did buy a U2 Ultra sort of recently too. It was for work though. Crawling under desks, working after dark, and just trying to look prepared & authoritative when I walk out of a building in some dark place at 3am carrying $10-15K of computer gear. I needed it! Well worth the $$$. The Tigerlight was just too big sometimes, and I didn't always want that brightness like when looking at a patch panel, and the Arc LSH-P wasn't nearly bright enough down a hall or sidewalk, and the 8NX batteries just aren't good long term. The U2 is just right for so many times. Of course, I have the Tigerlight with me too, for those necessary safety times, and I do use the 8NX around the house a lot, and the Arc is always in my pocket as a backup. ... And gosh those Fenix lights were great. I could use a couple of those myself.

Unfortunately, we end up with two of everything in this house. My husband will get a cool light and "I want one too!!"... or I will get a cool light and he can whine just as well as I can. We go out together and the joke is for people to ask us which one of us is carrying more flashlights. I usually win...

27 years married and 3 kids grown with a most wonderful wife. Like most, we have the "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" thing (particularly when the guy is an engineer...), but her joys make me happy and vice versa. Our priorities have been shared for many years, and luckily, there's now enough wiggle room in them for some little entertainments, like this silly hobby, here.

I'm a real lucky guy...

EDIT:

Don't get married...ever.

A legal contract that is grossly unfair, and unjust.

My wife isn't to hard on my flashlight purchases, we basically have a don't ask dont policy though. She doesn't really want to know what I spend on lights, although I do share the details sometimes. The way she looks at it, I could have worse and more expensive hobbies than flashlights, actually I do have at least one more expensive hobby than buying flashlights, I like to buy, odify, and race cars, and currently have four vehicles in the garage.

I've heard it all from my wife. "Why do you need so many lights?". "What's that one cost?".
After a few years "Can I have an Arc for my purse?" Next came a request for a Tritium Glow Ring to go with the Arc. Not a flashlight but next came "I need my own knife. I'm tired of using yours". When the Arc DS came out, I gave her the CS and she would not give back the BS Arc. Last night see saw the free light that Batterystation gave me with an order. It was one of those little Photon like light. It's very bright. She said "That's so cute". Do you want it? "Can I?" In the purse it went.
To add insult to injury, she told me that she is more of a flashaholic than me cause she carries more lights than I do. :devil:

Looks like it's time to buy a Nautilus.

I'm another one that my wife doesn't understand, but she just treats my flashlight (and lantern) hobby with amusement...and benefits from it when she needs a good light for something.

Of course as we all know the "addiction" is subtle and comes on unexpectedly as evidenced by this old thread about my wife...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/94997

:naughty:

At this point, when my wife sees me trolling flashlight and knife forums, she just rolls her eyes and says, "I wish you'd just look at porn like a normal guy."

Joe Talmadge said:

At this point, when my wife sees me trolling flashlight and knife forums, she just rolls her eyes and says, "I wish you'd just look at porn like a normal guy."

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Buns and Ammo magazine?

sbebenelli said:

How does everyone elses significant other deal with your "flashlight" problem?

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My girlfriend appreciates my geeky hobbies... be it audio or flashlights, or computers. She carries a number of lights now (L0DCE and UF C3 mostly)... and even carries a Ken Onion Chive... and has used them on many occasions, so she recognizes the usefulness.

But then again, she also loves scifi and fantasy, and is excited about tech.

She may not be a flashaholic, but she fully supports me in all my hobbies and interests. I am a very lucky guy.

sunspot said:

.... To add insult to injury, she told me that she is more of a flashaholic than me cause she carries more lights than I do. :devil:

Looks like it's time to buy a Nautilus.

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oo:

Your wife is going to love carrying that in her purse.

My finacee is very understanding and supportive. As long as I don't buy more than I can afford she's fine. We're starting the process of building a new home, so I've cut wayy back, which she appreciates. I bought her a pink mini-mag for this Christmas along with an led drop-in and a glass lens. We sat down and I instructed her how to mod her first light. She got a kick from it, as did I, but it's my passion not hers.

We work together and she told 1-2 co-workers about my flashaholism in casual conversation. Then a few weeks back the power went out for a few hours and everyone came to me to borrow a light to use in the bathroom! They all commented on how 'neat' it was. So in a way I have her to thank for the others in my office that now have a little better understanding or appreciation of my interest in flashlights.

Like Kilovolt said, I'm happiest when she's happy and vice-versa.

Monocrom said:

oo:

Your wife is going to love carrying that in her purse.

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I think you're right.

Buy 2??:twothumbs

BTW, I grabbed my Aleph on the way out the door. Beat that, honey

sunspot said:

BTW, I grabbed my Aleph on the way out the door. Beat that, honey

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One day, you'll notice your wallet is missing.... don't automatically assume that you lost it.

Many years ago I gave my wife a blue solitaire modded by tonyb. It is her favorite flashlight and EDC.

At her job there are tables that when things roll under them a flashlight is real handy. Her coworkers though it was strange at first-"You carry a flashlight with you?". Then when they saw how handy it was, they changed their minds.